Severe Macaw
General
Also known as the Chestnut-fronted Macaw. This macaw is by far my favorite amongst the smaller macaws. The Severe Macaw becomes so tame, it could sleep, with you, in your bed! Severe Macaws are very rewarding pets as they are extremely affectionate. They LOVE to be cuddled. They need a lot of attention, but are less demanding than Cockatoos.
If they are hand reared and obtained when they still eat formula, they will join a family with ease, providing the whole family gives equal attention. Otherwise they might reserve their affection for one person and could be jealous of other people or pets.
Severe Macaws spoil very easily!!! The routine you teach it as a chick will be the routine it will be used to. Don't fall into the trap of spoiling them with attention at times that you will not be able to maintain.
Severe Macaws are loud!
They are definitely not suitable for children under 10 years.
Fact File
Length: 49cm
Weight: 360g
Origin: Panama and South America
Incubation: 24 - 26 days
Chicks in nest: 12 weeks
Chicks Available: Approximately December to May
Price: R3 500.00
(All facts are approximate. Details like ’chicks in nest’ are according to
birds in nature.)
Aging
Macaws live about 25 - 60+ years.
Talking Ability
Severe Macaws do not mimic voices, but rather ‘speak’ in a deep voice of their own. They are noisy birds, but could be trained to be quieter. Hand reared babies are usually more quiet and easier to train. A good idea is to keep them busy with toys, leather and wood to chew on and give them enough attention. This will also help to keep them quieter.
Acceptance of their owner
Severe Macaws don't have a preference for the sex of their owner and bonds with the person who gives them the most affection.
Nervousness
Severe Macaws do not seem to suffer from stress and are not nervous birds at all.
Choosing a Severe Macaw
It is always best to choose a baby when it still eats hand rearing formula 3 times a day. If you must, you can leave your parrot with the breeder until it only eats hand rearing formula twice a day, but any later than that is not advisable. Leaving them too long might be a problem when it comes to bonding!
A good age to get a Severe Macaw will be 8 - 10 weeks old.
Feeding your Severe Macaw hand rearing formula gives it time to bond with you. There is no need for you to be afraid to feed it formula, it is not difficult to feed a chick; it is the same as feeding purity to a baby. (See Feeding your chick).
Severe Macaws that are hand-reared are usually very tame, but make sure the chicks are handled by the breeder, when they feed it. Spoon fed chicks are the tamest! There are other ways of feeding chicks , but then the chicks may not be handled when they are fed and they are not necessarily very tame or easy to feed! You could buy an older bird, but it will take much more time and effort to tame and get it to bond with you.
Diet
Prescribed diet by Rosemary Low
Cooked beans and pulses, boiled maize; sunflower seed - dry, soaked or sprouted; walnuts; fruit, especially apple, orange, grapes, banana; various fresh vegetables; dry or semi-sweet biscuits; spray millet; cooked chicken or chop bones.
Our basic diet
To make things easy, give the Basic Food Mix as it's daily food. Give a separate bowl of fresh fruit, raw vegetables and healthy treats as suggested by Rosemary Low.
Clean water on a daily basis and extreme hygiene is important for your parrot.
For a more detailed list on foods to give or avoid in general see Food in general.
Basic Food Mix
1 Heaped tablespoon cooking mix (cooked) - We use
SAM Cooking Mix.
1 Heaped tablespoon of Avid-plus Complete Breeder pellets or Avi-plus
Maintenance pellets
1 Teaspoon Sunflower seed
1 Teaspoon mixed fine seed
Mix together and feed 2x a day to your parrot. Adjust the measures to suit your parrot's dietary needs.
Accommodation
Their cage should be big enough for it to exercise its wings. I would suggest the Half Macaw cage available from Beth-El House of Seed.
Make sure your parrot can reach the food and water with ease.
A perch is also a good idea! They love the freedom of a perch and if trained from a young age, they do learn to stay put on their perch.
It is advisable to let it sleep in it’s cage. They like to go to bed at a respectable time, so put it in the cage and cover the cage.
Most parrots are messy, so keep them on floor surfaces that are easy to clean.
Be sure to disinfect the cage on a regular basis and even the perch needs a good scrub regularly.