BREEDING MACAWS
The first step in breeding macaws is to ensure that you have a cock and a hen. In recent years, sex determination has become much easier with the advent of DNA blood and feather sexing. All that is required is a few drops of blood or a few feathers plucked from the bird in question to be sent to a laboratory for analysis. Consult your avian veterinarian.
Before avian veterinarians used surgical sexing and DNA testing to determine the sex of a bird, aviculturists relied on egg laying to establish that a bird was, in fact, a hen. When two birds were paired and produced fertile eggs, these pairs were marketed as 'proven pairs'; they were proven to be a cock and a hen. Today, many breeders abuse the term 'proven pair'. Technically, the term only means that the pair in question has produced fertile eggs, yet many use this term for pairs that have successfully reared offspring together. When purchasing a proven pair it may be wise to request a copy of their breeding records. In this way, you can see exactly what history you are buying with the birds.Most parrot species are monomorphic, ie the cocks cannot be distinguished from the hens by their plumage or any other physical indicators. All macaws are monomorphic, even if the best aviculturists insist that they can distinguish visual differences. There is no truth to the statements that the cocks are larger, the hens have smaller heads, the cocks are louder, etc. Some old-timers swear by the 'pelvic bone assessment' as a way to determine sex. This procedure isto much interpretation and may not be obvious unless the hen is in breeding condition. There may be a 'tendency' for all these methods to be true in some birds, but to cherish it as gospel for all macaws will surely bring the breeding program to a halt.
Pairing Birds for Breeding
Breeding macaws is not necessarily difficult. It is true that some species appear to be more problematic than others, but for the most part, every species now kept in captivity has bred despite the type of set-up used.
The biggest problem in establishing breeding pairs of macaws is locating a bird of one sex or another within each different species. Consideration must also be given to the ages of the birds that are available as single breeder birds. To pair a sexually mature bird with an immature bird will result in an unnecessary waiting period before breeding can take place. Of course, in cases where unrelated bloodlines are difficult to find, this may be necessary, but the aviculturist should assess all the possibilities when establishing breeding pairs. Keep in mind that birds can be easily broken up and re-paired with other mates if genetic diversity is the ultimate goal of the breeding program. Parrots do not 'mate for life' as we were taught in the past. They may choose to remain with the same mate as long as no other bird has challenged the pair, but they readily accept another mate if the aviculturist breaks them up for whatever reason. Be sure to isolate the birds from their previous mates until a new pair bond has formed in the new pair. A well-bonded pair of breeding Greenwinged Macaws can be observed feeding each other. Be aware that same sex pairs can bond and will mimic similar behaviour. Mutual feeding is not an indication of the gender of the birds.
Mate Compatibility
How can you tell if two macaws placed together as breeder birds are really compatible? Usually two birds that are trusting of each other will sit side by side when resting and eat together from the same food bowl without squabbling. Keep in mind that a short spat once in a while is not necessarily a sign that pairs are not compatible.
Although compatibility is rarely a problem when establishing new pairs of macaws, it is something that needs to be considered. Occasionally a cock and a hen that simply do not want to be with each other are placed together. This is much more common when pairing Amazons or other smaller South American species, but it has occurred with macaws as well. Two macaws that are not suited to each other will usually strike at each other with their beaks. After a short bout of beak clapping, they are often content to share the cage with each other, but will sit separately and not as a pair. Miracles do happen, and sometimes these incompatible mates will have a change of heart, but it may take years for them to 'bond' and to exhibit good compatibility behavior. Do not allow the birds to harm each other. If aggressive behavior is noticed, and there is a chance that one bird will hurt the other, it is advisable to separate them.
When trying to establish new pair, which are displaying aggression toward each other, it may be wise to employ the 'age old' method of caging them side by side until they choose to be together. Place the macaws in separate cages, but make sure that these cages are close enough to each other so that the birds are aware of each other's presence. Place perches at exactly the same height and in line with each other. This will create the illusion that both birds are actually on the same perch, even though the wire of the cages separates them and keeps them from hurting or dominating each other. Eventually, macaws housed in this manner will want to be together. We are not sure what causes this 'change of heart', but it may be a sudden realization that they are alone, and a mate of their own kind might not be so bad. Some newly bonded pairs will even try to feed each other through the wire. This is a good sign that a compatible pair bond is forming. When attempting to place the new pair into the breeding cage, be sure to introduce them into the new cage at the same time. To place one bird or the other in the cage first may result in possessiveness and further aggressive behavior.
In a compatible pair it is not unusual to witness facial blushing, the clicking of beaks, dilation of the eyes and mutual vent preening. If two macaws exhibit this type of behavior when they are first introduced, it is an excellent sign that they will be compatible and will be good breeding birds once they are settled into their environment
Egg Laying and Parent Incubation
Unlike the domesticated fowl, which lays an egg almost every day of its adult life, parrots lay eggs in what we call 'laying cycles'. Although the most common time for egg laying is spring and summer, macaws can cycle and lay eggs at almost any time of the year, in any given hemisphere where they are housed. Extensive husbandry research on domesticated poultry demonstrates that the length of daylight triggers egg-laying cycles. Many parrots, however, are not domesticated and have originated from equatorial regions of the world, where they are not always affected by the length of daylight. Many aviculturists who manipulate the light cycle will argue this point, but a number of these trials have not been scientific, and fail to realize that the birds would have cycled even if the light cycle had not been changed. Parrots, including macaws, tend to begin cycling once a year despite the light cycles or other stimuli. A true scientific study would be one where an equal number of pairs of mature parrots are maintained in eight hours of light for an entire year to see if they still cycle and lay eggs. Many of us who have breeding pairs that breed in the winter months would expect that the result would be the same in both scenarios.
At what time of day do parrots lay eggs? Many lay in the early morning hours, others may lay in the middle of the day. Once you know when a certain hen lays eggs, she will usually maintain that time schedule throughout that particular laying cycle. However, laying problems such as insufficient calcium can upset the time cycle. Extremely cold weather can also affect the time cycle of egg laying.
When a macaw hen is mature and begins to lay eggs, she will probably lay an egg every two to three days during her 'clutch'. (Typical clutch sizes for each species are listed in the Species Section.) Most macaws, if not allowed to feed chicks for more than a week or so, will lay up to three, or possibly four clutches per season. Removing eggs from the nestbox for artificial incubation as they are laid can trigger a hen to lay eggs in a 'string', rather than in a typical clutch fashion. If the hen is in prime breeding condition and age, this string laying will not affect her health, and she will stop laying after she has laid the number of eggs that would normally constitute three clutches.
Breeders who do not take the normal breeding biology of macaws into consideration will often frown on those who remove eggs from the nest. In reality, macaws naturally replace eggs that are lost, even in the wild. This ability to continue ovulation is part of their natural breeding behavior and has little or no effect on healthy breeding stocks.
There are several benefits to having a hen string lay her eggs. One of the most important benefits is that hens may begin to cycle and lay eggs before the cock is 'in season' and able to fertilize them. Her interest in nesting and subsequent egg laying will often trigger the cock into breeding condition, ie the physical condition where his testicles can produce sperm. As eggs are removed, the chances of the cock fertilizing those that follow are greatly increased. Since some macaws only cycle for a few months of the year, it is to the breeder's advantage to remove infertile eggs from the nest as soon as possible to allow the laying of fertile eggs.
If the eggs of a clutch are not removed for artificial incubation, the hen will usually begin incubation within 12 hours of laying the first egg. She will spend most of her time sitting on the eggs within the nestbox. The cock may enter the nest, or poke his head into the entrance hole to feed the hen while she incubates the eggs. In some cases the cock may actually incubate eggs while the hen leaves the nestbox to eat. In breeding macaws, the hens do most of the incubation, and both parents will participate in the feeding of the young.
During incubation, it is not unusual for macaw hens to 'look a little tattered'. While actively incubating, many hens will pluck some of the feathers from their chest and lower abdomen. Exactly why they do this is unclear as it does not appear to be a 'brood patch' in the true sense of the term. Some hens only pluck the thick down beneath their body feathers, thus giving the feathers a 'loose' appearance.
Infertility
What are the most common causes of infertility in breeding pairs of macaws? Strangely enough, the causes can be very simple to remedy. Something as simple as loose perches can cause the cock and the hen to fail at their attempts to copulate, and infertile eggs will often result. Macaws copulate between the laying of every egg, and therefore a mistake can be the cause of one or two infertile eggs in each clutch.
Long, sharp toenails can cause infertility as well. If the cock has a habit of placing his foot on the side or back of the hen before copulation, he may 'irritate' her with his pointed nails and she may not accept copulation at that time.
Internal Papilloma Disease, (thought to be caused by a virus) causes wart-like protrusions from the vent area of the birds and can also cause infertility. In severe cases, an avian veterinarian can burn or remove these warts, and fertile eggs may result. However, the disease may still be alive and well within the parent birds, and they should not be allowed to hatch and feed their young. Eggs removed from these pairs can be incubated, hatched and the chicks handreared free of this disease.
The timing issue is probably the most common cause of infertility in captive macaws. If both birds are of sufficient age and are sexually mature, they may still have timing issues as described earlier in this section. Often the hens begin to lay eggs before the cocks have come into breeding condition. Delaying egg laying by late installation of the nestbox, boarding up the nest entrance temporarily or constant removal of the eggs until fertility is accomplished may be the best way to deal with this timing issue.
Parent Rearing
Allowing the parent birds to incubate, hatch and rear their young can be a very rewarding experience for the aviculturist. Having them fail miserably and break eggs or kill chicks can be rather depressing. Both scenarios are possible with any individual pair of breeding macaws.
There is no truth to the claims that first-time parents are 'always' poor parents. Most birds do know how to incubate and rear their young, even if they themselves were hand reared. Failure in the breeding nest is often due to 'human' factors, and not to inexperience or ignorance of the parent birds. Some aviculturists may interrupt the first-timers too often to check the eggs or the chicks. They may not provide the privacy needed for the pair to carry out their parental duties, or they may place the macaws in the aviary near another pair of birds that 'seem' to pose a threat to the nest, resulting in the parents destroying the eggs themselves.
Parent rearing is often preferred by those who believe that the chicks need to be fed by the parents in order to 'know how to feed their own young'. There is actually no truth to this statement either. Birds learn to feed each other and their chicks throughout their adolescent years and up to maturity. This is why you see macaws hooking beaks and 'mock feeding' each other all the time. They either have a very strong natural instinct or they teach each other the methods needed to rear young.
In most cases, birds that will not incubate their eggs are not the product of hand rearing per se. They are often birds that have been turned into pets shortly after they were weaned; they prefer the interaction of their human keepers to the duties of incubation. The number of pet owners who try to breed macaws is growing every day. Pet owners can make fine breeders, but they have to learn that most macaws, especially if they are extremely tame, need their time alone when they are breeding. Pet birds that are in a breeding situation can become aggressive towards each other and will compete for the attention of their owner. .
The statement that 'parent-reared birds are better future breeder birds' is only true in certain species of parrot. As a matter of fact, we have found that some species of macaw, when parent-reared, can be too nervous or overly aggressive in the caged environment. A very successful breeder of Hawk-headed Parrots in Texas in the USA claims that she prefers hand reared or partially hand reared birds to those that are parent-reared. She claims that parent-reared cocks are too aggressive and often end up killing their mates in captivity. This very same scenario can be true of parent-reared cockatoo cocks. At no time should a parent-reared macaw cock be placed with a tame handfed hen for breeding. If parent-reared stock is preferred by the aviculturist, then both birds should be parent-reared, or at the very least, one bird should be of wild-caught origins. Most macaw species have proven to be good breeder birds despite the methods of rearing. We now have multiple generations of most captive macaws, some from totally handreared stock, and others that were reared by their parents.
Over the years of keeping parrots in captivity, we have learned from the observations of others. The late Tom Ireland, a very experienced conure breeder once said that most species of conure breed at a much younger age if they are hand reared. Many breeders who keep Pyrrhura and Aratinga conures have now confirmed this experience, yet there are some species of psittacines that just do not function well when hand reared. Most of the problem species are within the genus Cacatua, or are members of the black cockatoo family. Even though this may be true, aviculturists have learned a few secrets to breeding these hand reared birds to multiple generations. Socialization of the young and interaction with the potential breeding birds can mean the difference between success and total failure.
Hand Rearing
Macaw chicks are easy to handfeed. Commercial hand rearing formulas now available on the market should be appropriate for most species, except Hyacinth and Green-winged Macaws. For some reason, Hyacinth and Green-winged Macaws seem to need a little extra fat in their diet, and most experienced breeders have established a way of making their formulas work better for these two species. The newer commercial formulas with increased fat and protein are doing a much better job and growth rates are much closer to normal.
Commercially prepared handfeeding diets have not been a problem for the offspring of most of the other members of the macaw family. The relatively few cases of 'stunting' or malnutrition are caused by the management of the chicks, and not necessarily the diet. Stunting, a condition where the chick does not grow at a normal rate, is often caused by excessively high brooding temperatures or a feeding schedule that is not frequent enough. Stunted macaws often have large heads, eyes thattoo high in the head, feathers on the head that grow in the wrong direction, thin wings, long legs and skinny, extended bodies. Most chicks will 'grow out' of their stunted stage after a few weeks of good nutrition and correct brooding temperatures.
Some Basic Guidelines for Handfeeding Macaw Chicks
On days 1-4 feed formulas should be very thin to promote proper hydration.
Keep chicks under one week of age at near hatch temperatures.
Slowly reduce brooding temperatures by a degree every few days.
At four or five weeks of age, chicks can be maintained at room temperature if protected from draughts.
Crop motility should be steady; any marked slowing could indicate brooding problems or illness.
As long as chicks are digesting properly, there is no need to wait until the crop empties to refill it. (Slow crops will need to empty once every 24 hours to avoid spoilage.)
Offer fresh foods, pelleted diets, seed and shelled nuts at about 8-12 weeks of age.
Monitor weight during weaning and do not allow a loss of more than 18% total bodyweight. Resume nightly handfeeding if weight loss is excessive.
Record Keeping
There is more to breeding macaws than simply producing offspring and making sales. Many of the species now kept in captivity are becoming increasingly rarer in their native habitat. Much of this decline is due to habitat destruction; however removal of macaws from their wild habitat for the breeder and the pet trade has also had an impact on many species. The worldwide conservation community is concerned that parrots may disappear from their native habitats in the years to come. As a result the threats to many species, international regulations are making it more difficult to take birds from the wild to be used in our breeding programs. For this reason, aviculturists must work hard to establish self-sustaining captive breeding populations' of all the species we now keep. Self-sustaining means that we rely only on the birds we already have, and their offspring, to supply the breeder and companion bird trade.
One of the most important things that we as breeders can do is to keep accurate breeding records of the birds we now have and produce. A centralized record keeping system would be ideal, but due to several activities carried out by overzealous law enforcement agencies, many breeders can no longer trust that their records will be kept confidential. It is not totally the fault of government; originally there were many aviculturists and importers involved in illegal activities. This has led to an ongoing standoff between the two groups. The result is that neither side trusts the other, and progress has been halted.
Why do we need records? Well, there are many advantages in keeping breeding data and records. With respect to our captive management of a macaw species, good record keeping could provide the data needed when trying to form unrelated pairs of birds. A centralized record keeping system could assist any participant in finding a needed mate for their bird and could put them in touch with others who breed the same species. Records, in general, increase the value of captive-bred birds by assuring that they are bred from registered pure bloodlines, and that no hybridization has taken place in the background of the birds. On the same line, hybrids could be registered and kept within the gene pool that has been created specifically for that sector of aviculture. Registration and record keeping can demonstrate that you are a legitimate breeder of the species, and that you are not incorporating smuggled birds into your breeding programs. In this way, a good record keeping system can protect you from any agency that seeks out wildlife criminals. Records can prove that you are a legitimate breeder.
A centralized record keeping system is probably not going to happen in the near future. At least not voluntarily! There is no doubt that many governments are now investigating a mandatory registration scheme, especially for birds like macaws that are endangered in the wild. In the meantime, each individual aviculturist can keep his or her own records. There are several new computer programs available to help manage this complex task. These programs allow you to add details of your breeding stock to the database, then assign egg number and hatch details, clutch activities, identification information such as banding or microchipping, health records and much more to the breeder bird's records or to the records of the offspring produced. Almost any data that would be needed to demonstrate relatedness, productivity, production ages and pedigree information can be recorded. It would be beneficial to aviculture in general if ALL breeders used a database program to keep their records.
If you do not own a computer, you can still keep valuable records on the macaws that you maintain or breed. Listed below are some of the important data that should be recorded and made available with the sale of any breeding stocks or offspring.
Records on Breeding Stock
Species data (including subspecies information).
Hatch date or age if known.
Any physical anomalies to identify the bird.
Leg band number or microchip information. .
Origin-where the bird was purchased.
Is the bird captive bred or wild caught?
If wild caught, research capture location.
Records of Breeding
Pairing data (eg identification of mates).
Egg laying data (clutches).
Incubation and hatch data of offspring.
Rearing data and weights.
Banding information and identification.
Sales data.
Positive Identification
Being able to identify your macaws from others of the same species can be very helpful for record keeping purposes. Positive identification is also a great way to recover stolen birds, or birds that have escaped from the aviary and are captured by others. Since one Scarlet Macaw may look very much like any other Scarlet Macaw, law enforcement officials require more than simply your visual identification as proof that a recovered bird belongs to you.
Permanently marking a bird with tattoos is just not practical. Tattooing ink is absorbed into the system of most birds within a few years. Even the black tattoo commonly used under the wing to identify sex, will eventually be absorbed over time. Thankfully there are other accepted ways to mark captive birds. The most common way to mark a bird is through the use of leg bands. Bands can be of thetype, which are clamped onto the bird's leg in adulthood, or closed leg bands which can be used on chicks hatched in captivity. Closed leg bands should be the correct size for the species and should be slipped over the foot and onto the lower leg at approximately 18-24 days of age. It is claimed that closed leg bands can cause pet bird accidents. Accidents happen because the keeper does not pay attention to the bird's environment. Leg bands are not dangerous, poorly constructed cages and toys are!
Microchips or transponders are becoming increasingly popular as positive identification. This is probably due to the difficulty of removing the microchip after it has been placed into the muscle tissue of the bird's chest. Even if the chip is located on an X-ray, surgical removal is almost impossible without permanent damage being done to the bird's chest muscle. Furthermore, there is no truth to the rumor that an electric 'shock' can be sent to the chip, disabling it from transmitting. For these reasons, microchips appear to be one of the best ways of identifying birds.
Positive identification of birds in captivity is simply the responsible thing to do. With so many problems associated with smuggling of birds from the wild, it is irresponsible for breeders to produce captive offspring and not mark them in some permanent or semi-permanent way. Avian veterinarians who are removing closed leg bands should be reported to their associations and breeders and keepers of birds across the world should insist that positive identification be supplied with each and every bird that is sold or transferred from one person to another. Government agencies in the USA have begun using DNA sample storage to identify the founder stocks of some rarer imported species. This is still an expensive way to accomplish identification, but it is the way of the future.
Artificial Insemination-Is it Possible?
One very important management tool to use with almost any domesticated species is artificial insemination. Unfortunately, birds are not regular in their ovulation patterns and this creates a situation which is difficult to overcome. Consistent work with raptors has yielded some positive results in this field, but to date no-one is working on developing these techniques in psittacine birds.
Artificial insemination requires that the sperm be introduced into the hen during the time when the ovum is about to enter the reproductive tract. Although some species have demonstrated the ability to store live sperm for short periods of time, most psittacines do not have this ability. This is the reason why there may be several infertile eggs within any given clutch and why most psittacine hens will leave the nestbox after laying an egg and mate, once again, with the cock.
Collection of semen from parrot cocks is not that difficult. Many very tame cocks will masturbate on the hand or arm of their owners, making collection possible. Collection of semen from wild birds can be accomplished with electro-stimulation. Forcing a parrot hen to ovulate is another story. Injecting hormones into the hens has yielded very poor results, which leaves only natural ovulation and timing cycles as a management technique. Another difficulty is getting the hen to 'overt' the oviduct so that the sperm can be introduced. In tame hens, this may be possible, but in wild birds the procedure is so difficult that sperm introduction may have to be done surgically.
The use of artificial insemination to propagate parrots is probably not a very feasible idea. Of course that was what was said about this procedure in raptors too, and a short time later, it became a useful reality. If and when selective artificial insemination becomes popular in parrots, aviculture may be able to breed those birds that have been too aggressive in captivity, or those that refused to accept a mate.
A Note on Hybridisation
Aviculturists across the world have, from time to time, experimented in crossing one species of parrot with another. The resultant offspring are known as hybrids. Hybridisation of plants and animals is a very common practice today and has resulted in many advances in food production and in scientific areas such as medicines. However, most of these 'controlled' hybridisations have been accomplished using plants or animals that are common, and are artificially propagated or bred in captivity. For example, the 'mule' is a cross between a horse and a donkey.
Many parrot species are endangered in the wild. And although I do not believe that private aviculture is the place to breed these species for release, there is a slim possibility that in the future some birds may be needed to repopulate certain areas of the wild, and domestically held or bred stock may be used. This means that certain breeding protocols should be followed by any organised breeding co-operative. These protocols would preclude purposeful and indiscriminate hybridisation of stock known to be pure or of wild origin.
Having said that, most of us do not belong to organized breeding co-operatives. As a matter of fact, in the USA, private breeders are not even allowed to participate in 'zoo' co-operatives unless the species in question is very rare, and it is an absolute necessity to allow private holders into the politics surrounding the program. Participation between private breeders and zoos is actually quite rare, but it seems to be a problem at the higher management levels of the zoo system, not with the curators or keepers, most of whom would gladly trade or barter with private sector breeders.
Hybridisation of macaws in aviculture is becoming more popular again. This is probably due to the 'dead end' programs for the release or assistance of private breeders to in situ conservation efforts in the countries of origin. We used to believe that our birds would some day be a valuable asset to conservation; however, we are sadly mistaken if we believe it now after several generations have been produced in captivity. Parrots are becoming domesticated very rapidly and many changes take place in their behaviors that will preclude them from ever being released back into the wild. With the acceptance of this knowledge, comes the realization that creating hybrids in captivity is but another marketing optionto those who keep and breed colorful parrots. Some pure species have dropped so significantly in price that hybridization is often a way for breeders to make more money. All hybridizations should be accomplished with this thought in mind: you can never turn back-once a hybrid, always a hybrid. Therefore, if you hybridize your macaws, the offspring will never be pure. The indiscriminate hybridization of rare or endangered species should be avoided, even if captive birds will not be used as release subjects. There is incredible beauty in the 'pure' forms of all species on this earth.
There are actually some benefits in allowing the production, sale and keeping of hybrid macaws and banning or restricting the keeping of pure species. First of all, with smuggling of pure species being such a problem, and there being no definitive way to identify a poached bird from one that has been bred in captivity, hybrids do stand out, and most of them are very different from their wild cousins. However, there are also some that are so similar to pure species that it would take an expert to tell the difference. It is because of these few, that hybridization in captivity will probably not become a fashionable pet breeding practice. As long as every hybrid is marked with a leg band or a microchip identifying its origin, discriminate hybridization of common species will probably not contribute to the demise of species in the wild.
Over the past few decades, breeders have assigned names to hybrid macaws. Unfortunately there are no consistencies to many of these names, especially when you progress beyond second or third generation crosses. For this reason the list below is very short, and is limited to those names that have been accepted among breeders of the birds.
There are some interesting facts about hybrid macaws. It is very interesting to note that any hybrid between an Ara macaw and an Anodorhynchus macaw is always sterile, ie not capable of reproduction. Another interesting observation is that crosses between the mini macaws (many now classified as the Propyrrhura genus) are fertile, and since, crosses between the conures in the Aratinga genus are fertile when crossed with the mini macaws, it stands to reason that crosses between Aratinga conures and macaws will probably be fertile as well.
CROSSES BETWEEN SPECIES HYBRID NAME COMMENTS
Scarlet x Blue and Gold Catalina 1st generation cross
Catalina x Scarlet Camelot 2nd generation cross
Scarlet x Green-winged Ruby 1st generation cross
Ruby x Ruby Ruby
Blue and Gold x Military Miligold 1st generation cross
Scarlet x Severe (Chestnut-fronted) Voren's Macaw
Blue and Gold x Green-winged Harlequin 1st generation
Military x Hyacinth Milihy 1st generation(always sterile)
Scarlet x Buffon's Verde 1st generation cross
Scarlet x Military Shamrock 1st generation cross
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION-
Selecting Eggs for Incubation
For the most part, any fertile egg can be successfully incubated under artificial conditions. Those that are cracked can be repaired with regular 'white glue', being careful not to coat more shell than is necessary. Internal damage such as torn membranes, broken yolks or severe addling will render an egg unhatchable.
If the aviculturist is selecting some eggs for artificial incubation and allowing others to be incubated by the parent birds, it is best to select slightly damaged eggs for the incubator. This allows you to repair the eggshells and prevent possible contamination by bacteria and fungus. Of course uncompromised eggs will have the best chance of survival.
Choosing an Incubator
Of all the commercially manufactured incubators available today, the best one will be the one that you can trust, ie one that is not easily affected by the room temperature or the environment and does not need to be adjusted every time you enter the room.
Choosing an incubator is usually a matter of affordability. Although the most expensive models are usually the best ones, cheaper models do operate efficiently if the aviculturist spends the necessary time to ensure that the adjustments for temperature, humidity and turning are correct. Because incubators are only designed to add heat to the internal environment, it is best to keep the temperature in the incubation room lower than the desired temperature in the incubator. Most incubators cannot cool air as it is brought into the incubator.
The same holds true for internal humidity. Most incubators add humidity from water tanks or from the incubating eggs themselves. It is difficult to find an incubator that will dehumidify its internal environment. Recently a few models have been introduced that have dehumidifying capabilities, and anyone living in extremely moist areas of the world should consider purchasing one of these machines.
Incubator Temperatures
The temperatures used in our incubators are not necessarily the same temperatures that are used by the parent birds, because incubators provide heat 24 hours a day at a constant rate. Parent birds take breaks where they are not actively adding heat to the clutch. Certainly this method of adding heat, allowing a slight cooling and then adding more heat, is a more natural way to incubate eggs. However, trying to simulate this in the artificial environment would require knowing the exact amount of heat added, and at exactly what intervals and stages of growth. We simply do not have this information and therefore have to compute a usable temperature that will result in live hatches if used at a constant rate over the course of incubation.
After many years of experimentation, we have learned that an internal temperature of 37°-37.5°C works very well for incubating all psittacine species under artificial conditions. Allowing some cooling in the incubator is of no consequence during the handling of the eggs. As a matter of fact, it may actually boost hatch rates and the strength of the hatching chicks. Since eggs are liquid inside, they remain at set temperatures longer and do not cool very rapidly.
Incubator Humidity
The relative humidity is what controls the amount of fluid that can escape through the eggshell. This transpiration process is necessary for proper development. High humidity in the incubator slows this process, while lower humidity settings allow for more transpiration to take place. Usually it is not necessary to place water in the incubator, as the eggs themselves will produce the necessary humidity in the incubation environment. The proper relative humidity for incubation is approximately 42% (ie 82°-83°F wet bulb thermometer reading). For some macaw species, even lower settings will result in a better hatch rate. During the hatch, elevated humidity settings are recommended to keep internal membranes moist and make it easier for the chick to escape the shell.
Positioning and Turning of the Eggs
Psittacine eggs should be incubated while lying on their sides, not in the vertical position. Experimentation with incubating parrot eggs in the vertical position has resulted in dramatically reduced hatch rates and poor vascular development throughout the egg. At times eggs may tip up into an almost vertical position, but this posture should not be allowed to persist over long periods of time.
Turning of the eggs is necessary so that the internal growth of blood vessels can progress normally. Gravity plays an important part in vascular development and the turning of eggs results in blood vessels being distributed properly throughout the internal membranes.
Most incubators come complete with automatic turning units. These units are often set to turn eggs every hour; the turn is not complete, but is usually a partial rotation of the eggs. Although this setting works well for domesticated poultry, it is not necessarily the best for macaw eggs. A reduction in turning from this hourly setting has resulted in a much higher hatch rate. In general, a partial turn (about a third of the breadth of the egg), five or six times a day is sufficient. At night, the automatic turner can be engaged without harming the embryo. In the later stages of development, turning becomes less and less important, and hourly turning at night is not recommended. Hand turning of the eggs is the best way to accomplish this necessary task. Gently roll the eggs one-quarter of a turn toward the rear of the incubator about five or six times during an I8-hour period. Try not to leave eggs in the same position for more than seven hours, even at night.
Hatch Time-What do I do?
Hatch usually begins about 48-72 hours before the chick is due to escape the shell. The first signs of hatch are only visible during candling and are recognizable as a change in the shape or size of the air cell, slight wiggling of the chick, or even pip marks in the shell of the airspace. Vocalization is not usually heard until the last 24 hours of the hatch.
Once it is established that hatch has begun, discontinue turning, increase the incubator humidity as high as possible and place the egg into a shallow hatching dish. There is usually not much 'action' in the hatching eggs until the last 24 hours. At this stage, the chick will be vocal, will begin to pip the shell in numerous places and will eventually begin to rotate inside the egg, piping slight holes in the shell around the entire breadth of the eggshell. At this stage, it is appropriate to 'pop the top' off the egg to allow the chick to crawl out.
Maintain newly hatched chicks in the hatcher/incubator unit for a day or two until they gain their strength and stand on their own. Weaker chicks may take a day or so to be able to stand, while others may be standing and soliciting food only minutes after they hatch.
