I have been considering welcoming a hyacinth macaw into my life recently.
I have one macaw already, and according to some friends I have chatted with, it would be best for him if I could get him a companion.
I’m simply enchanted by the plumage of the hyacinth macaw—it’s so unique.
I wondered, though, whether it would be able to share the food with my other macaw—both in terms of behavior and taste!
In any case, I decided to look into it.
So, what do hyacinth macaws eat?
Macaws and hyacinth macaws need a variety of fruits, berries, seeds, nuts and vegetation. In the wild, they subsist mainly on a diet like this, with nuts and fruits being their staples. Most of what they eat in domestic settings will be seeds, with some fruits as treats every now and then.
Balance is just as important in a hyacinth macaw’s diet as it is in our own.
Seeds will be most of what they eat, but it’s important to get the requisite nuts, berries and fresh fruits in there too.
This will keep them happy and healthy, and give them the best shot at a long and happy life.
Let’s look further into this.
What do I feed a hyacinth macaw?
The staple of a hyacinth macaw’s diet is going to be seeds and nuts.
They need a more or less constant supply of these, and you can buy specially formulated parrot food at any good pet store.
Even better would be feed specifically designed for macaws.
Being the largest of all parrots, hyacinth macaws naturally eat a lot more food than most species.
You can help them out by making sure they get foods that have plenty of nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, as well as their protein.
You also need to feed them regularly with fresh fruits and vegetables.
They need a lot less of this, but it’s still vital to their diet.
Once a day or so, provide them with some amount of fruit, ideally.
They love things like figs and berries.
They will also eat vegetables, although they are more accustomed to eating fruit.
After all, their natural habitat includes a lot of tropical fruits.
For full balance, you should also provide some form of simpler vegetation for them.
Leafy greens are great for this.
As long as they get at least some of all this, they will have no problem.
What are a hyacinth macaw’s favorite foods?
Hyacinth macaws are highly intelligent as individuals, and so they will very often have a lot of personality.
This personality will often mean that they have unique and individual taste.
So, what your hyacinth macaw’s favorite food is will depend.
In general, though, they tend to get most excited about fruits.
As I said, one thing they love almost universally is figs.
If you can get your hands on some fresh figs, then they make a great favorite treat for your hyacinth macaw.
But your hyacinth macaw may prefer strawberries, bananas, or any other kind of fruit.
You’ll just have to experiment and see what they enjoy the most.
Walnuts and other kinds of very juicy nut are also a great choice, as hyacinth macaws love breaking them open, too.
Is there any food you can share with them from your own diet?
What human food can hyacinth macaws eat?
In general, my advice is to try and avoid sharing foods with your hyacinth macaw.
If you want to eat with them, eat fruit when they do.
Fruit is obviously fine for both of you, so it’s a great way to bond over it.
Don’t give them anything highly processed, like bread, sweets or cake.
Anything that was produced in a factory as opposed to grown in a field is best avoided.
While it may seem like excessive caution, there is always the chance of a knock-on effect if you keep giving them even tiny amounts of human foods.
Sunflower seeds are something they tend to love, and you can share those with them.
The same is true of any nut, although you should be careful about eating nuts and seeds that are formulated for parrots.
You should be equally careful about feeding parrots nuts that were formulated for humans.
So, you can share fruit and veg with them—but which ones?
What fruit and veg can hyacinth macaws eat?
So, as I said, their favorite tends to be things like figs.
Very, very sweet fruits with a high sugar content.
They can eat one or two and then that is plenty for them.
In terms of vegetables, leafy greens are great, things like cabbage, kale, and spinach.
These are all safe for your parrot.
They also enjoy carrots, beetroot, and they usually love peas.
In general, virtually any fresh fruit and veg is going to be safe for your hyacinth macaw to eat.
It’s really just a case of finding what your one likes most and providing that reasonably often.
So, though keeping a hyacinth macaw isn’t necessarily simple, their diets certainly are.
With plenty of seeds and nuts you are off to a great and healthy foundation.
Then, you just need to find the balance of incorporating the fresh carbohydrates, in the form of fruits, vegetables, and vegetation of multiple kinds.
If you make sure to get all this in their diet, you will keep your hyacinth macaw happy and healthy for many years to come!