Mikey Blue
is my DNA'd male Hyacinth
Macaw,
born in 2006. He's been my baby since he was 4 months old.
A friend of mine found him for me, and she was kind enough to
handfeed him until he was weaned. He came home to stay at age
7
months, and was fully weaned by the time he was 8 months old.
Hyacinth Macaws are often considered the most desirable of
the
macaws--IF you can afford to purchase and maintain them. They
are
famous for their gentle,
playful
personalities, and, of course, they are stunning in both their beauty
and their size. They can often weigh 1500 grams, with
wingspans
approaching 4 feet in length. Absolutely nothing compares to
a
healthy,
happy
Hyacinth Macaw, in my opinion! Of course, these magnificent
birds
need equally magnificent housing and diets. Their beaks are
strong enough to pop welds--and they often do. Certainly,
Mikey
Blue does it on a fairly constant basis. Stainless Steel
cages
are preferred, in part because there is no powder coating to pop off
and possibly ingest, and in part because it's
a bit easier to repair broken welds, because the whole cage doesn't
need
to be re-powder coated, afterwards. Those big, strong beaks
are
big and strong for a reason--their diet in the wild consists almost
exclusively of palm nuts that are nearly impossible for other birds to
break
through the shell of. In captivity, they prefer macadamia
nuts,
brazil nuts, coconuts and other extremely hard-shelled, high saturated
fat nuts. Hyacinths need more saturated fat and less protein
in
their diet than other macaw species. They're also one of the
few
macaws that spend a lot of the time on the ground, where their favorite
nuts are often found and foraged from the droppings of cattle who eat
the whole nuts, but can't digest the shell and interior nut-meat.
Mikey is a typical Hyacinth boy--he's playful, silly,
unbelievably strong and loves to spend time playing on the floor.
You can see photos of Mikey, HERE.
Arthur,
another "big gun", is my DNA'd male Greenwing
Macaw.
Arthur was born in 2005. He is as heavy as Mikey
Blue, and
nearly as strong. He can also pop welds, and crack and eat
macadamia nuts and brazil nuts with ease. Unlike Mikey,
though,
he doesn't open coconuts, and he doesn't spend time foraging on the
floor. Greenwings are known for their playful, intelligent natures, and
are often referred to as "Gentle Giants". With their big
beaks,
wise eyes, and their deep red, green and blue plumage, they have a
stately, regal look to them, unlike the adorable clown-faced look of a
Hyacinth Macaw. Greenwings are nearly as large as Hyacinth
Macaws, and some even surpass them in weight, although rarely in
wingspan. Their diets include fruits, nuts, vegetation of
various
sorts, and probably the occasional small animal and insect.
In the wild, Greenwing macaws are often seen at clay cliffs,
ingesting the mineral-rich mud, presumably as a filter for
any
toxins they eat during their daily foraging, as well as for trace
minerals. Since the Greenwing Macaws don't share diets or
geography with Hyacinth Macaws, (Greenwings prefer high tropical
forests, while Hyacinths prefer a drier, more open woodland and meadow
territory), they aren't in competition for space and food.
Arthur
is a pretty typical Greenwing male. He is highly intelligent,
playful and has a large vocabulary. He likes to snuggle and
get
kisses, and he has a kind heart. You can see photos of
Arthur, HERE.
Kenobi
is my 3rd largest macaw, a DNA'd male second generation hybrid called a
Camelot Macaw.
He is 3/4ths Scarlet Macaw and 1/4th Blue and Gold Macaw.
It works like this: His grandparents are a Scarlet
Macaw
and a Blue and Gold Macaw. One of his parents, the offspring
of
this pairing, is a first generation hybrid called a Catalina Macaw.
Kenobi's other parent was a Scarlet Macaw. There is
a lot
of controversy surrounding the deliberate breeding of hybrid macaws.
People seem to be polarized on this issue, and I will not go
into
it here. You can find rationalizations for either viewpoint
at
the various macaw discussion forums and elsewhere on the 'Net.
Suffice it to say that I love my beautiful red-dominant boy
just
like he is. Like many hybrids, Kenobi is larger than either
of
the original purebred species he descends from. He is nearly
as
large as a Greenwing Macaw, and I think that as he matures, he may well
be the same general size. Kenobi was hatched on Easter Sunday
(April 8th), 2007. His personality seems to be a blending of
both
Scarlet and Blue and Gold Macaw, with the emphasis on the typical
Scarlet personality. He's extremely loving and loyal,
extraordinarily intelligent, nippy when excited or upset, and
very jealous of other humans or
animals who get into "our" space. He is a Mama's Boy
extraordinaire
:-). From his Blue and Gold ancestor, he inherited a playful,
clownish nature as well as visible facial feather stripes.
You can see
Kenobi's photos, HERE.
Bob
is my DNA'd male Blue
and Gold Macaw.
He was born in July of 2005. Blue and Gold Macaws
are one
of the most popular large macaw species. They are beautiful,
often make good "family birds", and they are entertaining, intelligent
and fun-loving. They are also more readily available and less
expensive than many of the other large macaw species. Bob has
an
amazing vocabulary and seems to learn new words or phrases almost
daily. Like other large macaws, he likes a varied diet of
fresh fruits and vegetables (the spicier, the better), nuts, cooked
grains, legumes, bread, pasta, protein in the form of chicken, and most
any sort of "people food", with the exception of some things like
avocados, chocolate, caffeine and onions, which are all dangerous to
macaws. Bob likes nothing better than flying over to my
shoulder
while I'm eating dinner, waddling down my arm and into my plate to help
himself to anything that he thinks looks good. Meal time can
be
messy around here :-). He knows how to show me his "Big
Wings",
and he loves to roll over on his back and play "Dead Bird"--a trick
which is usually ruined by his insistence on looking around while he's
playing "dead". Bob's best friend is Arthur, and they are
very
bonded to each other. I love this blue goofball of a macaw,
and
would be proud to show you pix of one of the most photogenic birds in
the house, HERE.
Ceilidh
(pronounced "KAY-lee") is my DNA'd male Scarlet Macaw.
He was born in June of 2006. His name means "dance"
or
"festival". What name could be more
perfect for a brightly-colored, joyous Scarlet Macaw? I have
had
Ceilidh since he was 6 weeks old. A friend of mine handfed
him
for about 2 months and taught me how to do it so that I could handfeed
him until he weaned. Like Kenobi, Ceilidh is very much a
one-person Mama's Boy. Scarlet Macaws have a reputation for
being
nippy and difficult. I don't find Ceilidh to be
difficultl--he's
a very loving boy--and his nippiness is, I believe, just part
of his way of communicating with the world, especially when he's
excited or upset. It's a Scarlet thing, as far as I can tell.
He spends a lot of time observing his world,
and you can see the intelligence in his eyes. He's also a
tough,
fearless bird, and his best buddy, Mikey Blue, knows that if push comes
to shove, Ceilidh is always going to come out on top. He has
a
good vocabulary, and can mimic Bob's voice exactly. He takes
particular care with his plumage, and often expends considerable effort
keeping his bright red, yellow and blue feathers in their proper
position and in good shape. Ceilidh loves to kiss and be kissed, and he would spend all day riding on my shoulder (and punching holes in my clothes) if he could. You can view Ceilidh's photos, HERE.
Bowie
is my DNA'd male, third generation hybrid, called a Capri Macaw.
He was born in May of 2007. His coloring--that of a bright
yellow
and orange sunset--is called "yellow dominant" or "high yellow".
He
is 7/8ths Scarlet Macaw, and 1/8th Blue and Gold Macaw. A
Capri
Macaw is one generation farther down the hybrid line than a Camelot
Macaw. Bowie's parents are a yellow-dominant Camelot
Macaw and a Scarlet Macaw. Bowie's personality is all Scarlet, but his
colors are just out of this world. The closest thing in the
bird
world that I've seen to Bowie's coloring, besides other yellow dominant
Camelot or Capri Macaws, is a Sun Conure. Bowie likes to fly,
eat
and hang out with his best girl, Rowan. He loves to shred
toys, and he loves to take showers. Even more, though, he
loves
to preen and be preened. He is very proud of his long yellow
tail, and spends a lot of time keeping it in shape. He is a
good
boy, and is getting friendlier all the time. His vocabulary
is
small, but his incredible good looks speak for him--this is one special
boy! You can see his photos, HERE.
Rowan
is my DNA'd female Scarlet
Macaw.
She was born in June of 2007. She is a tiny little
beauty,
with a super-wide yellow band of feathers, and the sweetest,
gentlest personality of any of the macaws who reside here.
Her
"boyfriend" is Bowie. The day she first laid eyes on him, she
said "Ahhhhhhh!", and claimed him as her own. He is totally
in
her thrall, and she knows it. You know how beautiful girls
are--they always know their power over the boys :-). Rowan is
kind to everyone, but she loves her Mama the best, and is happiest
hanging onto my shoulder, sticking her terribly curious little beak
into everything she sees. If she was a monkey, she would be
Curious George--always into things, causing trouble, and charming the
socks off of everyone. As it is, she's her Mama's little
darling,
and can do no wrong. She has a sweet speaking voice, a
Dog-awful
yelling voice, is the best flier in the house (I call her "My Little
Fighter Pilot"), and, like every other Scarlet Macaw I've ever met, she
fears nothing. She makes me want to bring more little girls
into
our house, just to see if they're ALL as wonderful as she is.
You
can see Rowan's photos, HERE.
Patrick
is a DNA'd male, second
generation hybrid macaw called a Camelot
Macaw. His color is called
"yellow dominant" or “high yellow”. Like our other
Camelot Macaw, Patrick is 3/4 Scarlet Macaw and 1/4 Blue and Gold
Macaw. His coloring, though, is closer to that of my Capri Macaw.
Patrick came to us from Louisiana at approximately 1 ½ years of age,
making him the newest addition to our colorful flock. He's not much
bigger than sweet little Rowan, but don't let his small stature fool
you. He has a personality as big as a Hy's. He's also a very sweet
bird. His previous human raised him well, and Patrick is
well-socialized and as kind a bird as you could ever hope to meet. He
doesn't know the meaning of the word “bite”, and from the
moment he came out of his airline crate, we could handle him in any
way we wished. Even when Patrick broke a blood feather on his wing
the second day he was here, we could patch it up without Patrick ever
offering to bite, eliminating the need to towel him. A big “thank
you” goes out to Kim, who raised such a sweet creature, and who let
us have the honor of making Patrick our own. You can see Patrick's
photos, HERE.
Eddie
(aka "Jasper") is my husband's DNA'd male Severe Macaw,
the largest of the "mini macaws". Eddie was born in 2000.
We were Eddie's fourth home, and we've had him about 3 1/2
years.
He is strictly a one-person bird (my husband's), and brooks
no
familiarity from strangers or anyone who is not his "Beloved".
It
is only now that I can take him out of his cage and transport him on my
arm semi-safely to my husband or a perch, and only just now that Eddie
trusts me enough to fly to my arm when he's done free-flying around the
house. Eddie is a typical Severe. He's extremely
intelligent, with the largest vocabulary of any bird in the house.
He is loyal and loving to his Chosen One. He is fun
to
watch, for his intelligence leads him into all sorts of entertaining
antics. He has THE most Dog-awful yelling voice of any macaw
I've
ever heard, and yet the sweetest of speaking voices when he wants to.
When he says "Hi Jasper" (his original name), or "Cracker"
(meaning he wants a cracker, a cashew or a bath in the kitchen sink),
his voice is soft and silky. However, if he's mad at me,
he'll
yell, "FIRE!" in his scariest "big bad parrot" voice.
Apparently, when
Eddie is mad at me, he wants me to spontaneously combust....
You
can see this little character's photos, HERE.