HARLEQUIN MACAWS NUTRITION AND DIET
Baby macaws will often stop eating in a new home due to stress. It is vital to keep a close watch on them for the first two week to be sure they are eating well. Offer your baby macaw small pieces of fruit and vegetables. If you find the baby is not eating, try offering softer fruit more often and try cutting the pieces smaller so they can grasp it more easily with their beaks.
An adult Harlequin Macaw needs variety in their diet. A good parrot food, either pelleted or seed, is a good nutritional base. A seed-only diet will offer more variety than a pelleted diet however fortified seeds contain a much higher fat content which can lead to obesity. These commercial formulated diets contain all the necessary nutritional requirements for macaws but they do not contain the phytonutrients that can be obtained from fresh fruit, vegetables and grains. Phytonutrients will provide a boost to the immune system and they also help speed healing. Nutritionists also believe that phytonutrients can prevent disease.
Harlequin Macaws will gain nutritional benefits and psychological enrichment when fed a varied diet containing a mix of commercial formulated feeds and seed supplemented with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and protein. Feed your macaw a variety of chopped leafy green vegetables like broccoli and spinach, which will help supply them with calcium. They will also enjoy carrots, squash, corn on the cob and chili peppers. Include fruit such as apples, grapes, bananas and oranges. They will also need additional protein. Add small portions of cooked meat, a cooked rice and bean mixture and boiled eggs to their daily diet. Any fresh foods that they do not eat should be discarded after 24 hours.
As with all birds, do not feed your Military Macaw avocados, chocolate, coffee or salt. Chocolate and coffee contain theobromine, an alkaloid that is toxic to birds. Avocado is also toxic to birds. Foods with a high salt content are harmful to birds because they can not excrete salt.
Offer your macaw fresh water several times a day.
African Greys | Nanday Conures | Blue Fronted Parrots | Cockatiels | Caiques
English Budgies | Military Macaws | Harlequin Macaws | Cockatoos
