Looking for breeder to give advice!

My family has two Macaws and the one pictured laid an egg today. We recently adopted her and have never had the other macaw we own officially sexed (we're pretty sure it's a boy though). They get along well enough, so we think there's a chance that the egg is fertile and want to do what we can to hatch it if it is. I've done a lot of reading about the situation and I know a lot of what you're supposed to do, but still need advice about what to do starting off. I tried to "candle it" without disturbing it, but I couldn't tell much. My main issue is that we don't have an incubator, she hasn't returned to her egg for a couple of hours, and when she was moving it she seems to have a damaged it slightly. Not sure if we should make a nesting box, leave it be, or take it and replace it with a fake egg for her. We've been rotating it every 2 hours or so for her without letting our skin touch it, but other than that we have left her and the egg alone. She is still near the other macaw (who seems interested), but on separate perchs/stands. I called an animal hospital but since it's Sunday nobody is available and a vet should be calling me Tuesday. My dad is the one who primarily cares for the birds, but I've wanted a baby macaw for the longest time and this might be my best chance for having one. Any advice would be appreciated!

Well first things first

Stop touching the egg. Stop rotating it. She will either sit on it or she won't, and your interference will only DECREASE the chances of survival. What surface is it laid on? Parrots don't always start sitting right away; she may lay the whole clutch before sitting.


Second, sex your second bird right away. It costs $20 and is important for health and safety as well as in situations like this.

I'll do what I can to give you advice because the egg is already here but I can't stress enough what a bad idea it is to just dive into breeding birds like this. The potential to permanently damage the mental, physical, and emotional health of your baby is astronomical and there is also a huge risk to your adult birds particularly the female. And if you happen to have two females they could actually stimulate each other to lay and one or both could "lay themselves to death" through egg binding or other nasty complications.

I am a breeder, I am pro breeding when it is done RESPONSIBLY. Many people don't like me because I won't pretend something is responsible when it is not, especially when it comes to breeding birds.


Like I said though, this egg is already here and I'll give what advice I can to help you keep it alive.

You don't need an incubator because you are not qualified to feed a day 1 baby and it would be cruel to start there. If she sits she sits, if not you don't have a baby.

Sex your original bird immediately.

What sort of ground is the egg laid on?

What is the current cage setup?

What is the current diet?

How has her behavior changed since laying?


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Hi, thanks for taking the time to respond.

The egg was laid in her food dish, but my dad moved it to a towel at the bottom of her stand after he discovered it. She attended to it for a while, but returned to her main perch. It might be important to note that her previous owner said she laid an egg once before, but only one.

My dad has her on a large stand made of branches with some toys. She used to sleep in a cage, but refused to go back in the cage since she was adopted.

She's been eating a macaw blend that she's been used to, but my dad is planning on supplementing her diet with protein and calcium to help her. He told me he forgot the exact name of the blend, but was not planning on getting a breeders blend because he said he didn't trust them.

She's been acting aggressive around everyone who is not my dad recently. I've seen her try to step on his hand today after laying the egg and it appeared she was attempting to regurgitate on him. I've been trying to keep away so she doesn't get stressed.

Like I said I'm not the primary care taker of the birds, but am trying to help. I understand the importance of doing the right thing here and only want the best for the birds. The egg hasn't been touched for the past few hours, and it was moved a total of 2 times. Dad was planning on getting the other bird sexed soon, we were told he was a male but just haven't confirmed this yet.

Well it honestly sounds like the bird is bonded to your dad, not the other bird, in which case this one is most likely not fertile.

How old is the bird? Also what species? I'm not seeing any pictures.


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She's a 27 year old Blue and Gold. I tried attaching an image in the original post, having trouble figuring out how.

The other bird is a 17 year old Great Military macaw, and my dad let's them interact with each other every now and then so they could become familiar with one another. I was thinking she potentially laid the egg for my dad, but i figured we shouldn't immediately rule out the possibility of a fertile egg.

Yes it's possible that it is fertile but not likely. And I very much hope it is not especially since the baby would be a hybrid and they have even more complicated needs than non hybrids.


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This caught us off guard to be honest, but I would really like to learn more about breeding. I'm not sure if the two we have will bond, but I will like to be prepared and know how to start out because this might be something I'd like to do when I'm older. Are there any good sites or posts you know for novices?

Well I have an article I recommend you read the whole thing but especially the last part about questions to ask yourself. There is also a post in the breeding section here that I will try to link as well.

I would also highly discourage you from EVER breeding these birds. Rescues have unknown health history and unknown genetic history and should not be incorporated into breeding programs.

http://www.silversageaviaries.com/handlinghormones/


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Please read this thread

Before I start to breed...

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...orums.com/showthread.php?t=54987&share_type=t


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Thanks for the links!