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The best place to learn on how to breed Macaws is from an experienced Macaw breeder. However, breeding Macaws on your own can be quite an experience. There are people who breed parrots as a hobby and there are others who breed parrots for profit. Either way, you will need a mature and healthy pair for breeding. The pair has to bond with each other and be comfortable with their surroundings which should be spacious and clean. Macaws usually breed in spring and summer, but some pairs do breed all year round.
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You will need wooden nest boxes measuring approximately 24 inches by 24 inches by 36 inches, or 48 inches horizontal. Some large size macaws breed well in a vertical 12 inches by 12 inches by 36 inches wooden box. Decide which one is best for your birds and give them a good supply of chewing material to keep them active.
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Clutch size is usually two to four eggs but sometimes more. Incubation period ranges from 23 to 27 days. Some additional high fat seeds, like sunflower seed, should be added to the diet during the breeding season to stimulate reproduction. If you are inexperience in hand feeding, allow the parents to feed for the first few weeks.
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Check the nesting box daily to make sure the chicks are being fed properly. Offer fresh food and plenty of water daily. If the parents care for their young, you will not have to worry too much. However, if the breeding pair inexperienced parents, you may need to care for the chicks.
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You would need an incubator and feed the chicks every two hours. Hand-rearing chicks take time and the right equipment. There are commercial diets available, which need you to just add water. Feeding the chicks is not difficult to learn, but you should have your avian veterinarian show you how to do it properly. This is a critical period in the life of the new birds and it is during this time you may encounter a high rate of complications and mortality.
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When the chicks start to pick at smaller seeds you offer and you are confident that they can eat by themselves, it would be time to separate them from their parents. Some chicks take sooner than others. When this happens, it is time to start the taming process.
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Azmi Adnan is a writer and a bird enthusiast. Subscribe to his newsletter for fresh video clips on parrots and other bird species, ezines and interesting bird stories at his website http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html
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