Diet

What should I feed my macaw?

A well balanced diet is important so your macaw will enjoy a long & healthy life. Macaws require a lot of fat & oil in their diet. Mixed nuts provide a great source of fat. Recommended nuts include: brazils, almonds, pecans, walnuts, macadamias & filberts.

Pasta, beans (cooked), sweet potato & brown or wild rice are great foods to keep your macaws diet balanced. Other "people food" such as scrambled eggs, french toast, spaghetti, crackers & bagels are ok to feed also. Generally, if the food is nutritious & wholesome for you, it is safe to feed your macaw.

Most big birds love their fruits. There's no need to take the skin off (but do wash it) of the banana or orange.... they will "de-shell" it! Apple, banana, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries (without the pit), coconut, grapefruit, kiwi, melons, mango, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, raspberries & strawberries.

And don't forget veggies! Asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, corn cucumber, kale, peas, peppers, potato, pumpkin, spinach, sprouts, squash, tomato & zucchini.

I stay away from peanuts because they have a high level of mold. I also don't feed iceberg lettuce or celery as they don't provide a lot of nutirition.

NEVER FEED AVOCADO (guacamole) OR CHOCOLATE

Besides a diet of "people" food, macaws should be fed pellets. I offer about 30% of his diet in the form of pellets. There are many different choices out there for pellets and you may have to try several different kinds before you find one your bird likes.

Macaws waste a lot of their food. They love to do the "beak toss" as they rummage through their bowl. I think Toby just likes to watch me sweep! But "wasting" their food is not an unusual behavior in macaws. As my husband says, they "feed the forest". All the smaller animals that live below where the macaws eat, scramble after the food they drop. (of course, in our house, it's the dogs that Toby feeds!!)