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A. Anderson—The Breeding of a Hybrid Macaw



THE BREEDING OF A HYBRID MACAW IN

NEW ZEALAND


By A. Anderson


Several years ago I obtained a Red-and-Yellow Macaw. About

seven years ago I obtained a Blue-and-Yellow Macaw direct from

Brazil, when it was just a baby, not more than four or six months old.


After getting it thoroughly acclimatized it was put into an outdoor

aviary where it has remained ever since with the Red-and-Yellow

cock bird.


Last January the hen, the Blue-and-Yellow, laid two eggs on the

floor. I did not anticipate that these eggs were fertile, but out of

curiosity collected the eggs and put them away in a tin. In February

the hen laid two more eggs, also on the floor. I thought then that

there was a chance of the eggs being fertile and, to prove it, put a box

in a corner on the floor of the house portion of the aviary, the box

itself being 18 by 10 by 4 inches deep. I put plenty of sawdust in

this box and placed the January and February eggs in a hole in the

centre.


Immediately the hen went to nest, sitting very closely on the eggs.

I did not make a note of the date as I really thought nothing would

come of the efforts of the pair.


Imagine my surprise, however, when on the 17th March, 1932,

one young one was hatched out. This bird was fed by both parents

on the usual seeds I gave them, mixed sunflower, peanuts, sweet

biscuits, and plenty of fruit such as apples, bananas, grapes, green

maize cobs, and occasionally bread and milk.


The young bird prospered right from hatching and surprised me

by its extraordinary rapid growth. In all my forty years of bird

keeping I have never seen a bird grow as fast as this young Macaw.

I have much pleasure in forwarding you a photograph of this young

one together with an infertile egg, and you will notice that it is standing

in a soft mass of refuse, sawdust, peanut shells, etc., It was five weeks

old when this was taken.


At two months the young bird was almost fully grown, the wings

were well developed, the back bluish green, underpants red and yellow,



