macaw eggs

[narjacs2]

can anyone tell me were to get fertile macaw eggs in australia i have incubator

[Shirley]

Hi there,
I can't recall anyone on the forum who raises macaws, and I've never met anyone in my experiences who would sell their fertile eggs, although I have seen really large breeding facitilities on the Internet in years past of browsing that do sell their eggs. It was in the US, not Australia.

[SadennaAndFlock]

No responsible, breeder or person would sell fertile macaw eggs or any speceis of parrot eggs, if you meet someone who does thats a big red flag..run don't walk the other way besides to me just does not sound ethical..If you want to raise macaws do alot of research, and invest in a pair of macaws but please do research and get in touch with a reliable breeder who can help you with it. If you are wanting a baby macaw as a pet buy one from reputable breeder as a weaned youngster thats no longer needing handfeedings...raising babies is definanlty not for the inexperianced to many things can and will go wrong..even experianced breeders have problems from time to time with newly hatched chicks or babies it can be worse for someone with no experiance at all...

[amazing greys]

Anytime I've seen anything about selling eggs....was a scam!

I agree with the purchase of eggs...not something I would do.

I would say if you wanted a baby to raise, find a breeder that you can visit during the growing/weaning process. That way you're still involved and the baby will get to know you, but it leaves the complicated stuff to the professional (breeder).

[gary&chloe]

Both GOOD ANSWERS !!!

[Shirley]

Yes, some breeders will in fact sell eggs -- and that's a cheaper deal than an unweaned baby. Of course, it's not something I would EVER condone... or purchase... but those who have incubators and loads of experience might take the risk of buying fertile eggs from a large-scale breeder who doesn't feel like hatching and raising babies. It's not the norm.

Now... not knowing a thing about narjacs2's level of experience, his situation, etc, I will not pass judgement on his choices one way or the other. I will only give the best answer I know to the specific question he asked.

And I like Barb's answer (not to imply at all that I don't like Sadenna's answer). I'll add to that this: The baby will get to know you *just as well* weaned as it will unweaned. Been there experienced that - makes no difference in the bonds that grow. Bonds are developed through building trust, and that can be accomplished with a weaned baby, a rescued abused parrot, an older parrot, it doesn't matter, and it certainly isn't "better" b/c the baby was adopted prior to weaning or at weaning.

[amazing greys]

I agree with you Shirley. narjacs2, you have a brooder so you must have experience? I was thinking that, most people don't just have brooders.

Here in the US I know most breeders won't sell the eggs...

[SadennaAndFlock]

looks like I put my foot in my mouth again..oh well, yeah some breeders do sell eggs but it's not a good thing though, the eggs may not survive the transportation from one place to the other,..none of the reputable breeders i know personally would ever sell and fertile egg to anyone experianced or not as they do not believe in it nor believe it is ethical business practice...I just don't think it's worth it to pay alot of money for a fertile egg and never know if it will hatch or not

not saying narjacs2 is inexperianced by anymeans just saying not alot of reputable breeders sell fertile eggs to people experianced or not at least not here in the states..other countries don't know about that ..unless there is someone local where he lives he can deal with , not sure what kind of permits and such are needed to ship from one country to the next but again not sure many good breeders will do that either not worth the risk..


alot of people say that handfeeding the bird from the time it is little will help it bond to you better and thats simply not true, I have 10 of my owner birds and out of those 10, 6 of them I never handfeed at all and they are just as bonded to me as the one I helped handfeed till they were ready to come home..

You may want to try finding different breeders in your area and contacting them I would think if you did a google search on macaw breeders in australia online you might be able to find a few.. not sure if anyone on here is from australia that could help.. If you have the experiance to hand raise a day 1 chick maybe putting an ad in your local classifieds in the pet section may help you, but not to many breeders are willing to sell fertile eggs some do but why spend the money on something you cannot gurantee will hatch...

[Shirley]

All very good and truthful info, Sadenna. :thanx:

fwiw, sometimes we answer more than what is asked -- or we don't mean for statements to be such blanket generalizations -- I'm guilty of that when I post in a hurry -- don't worry about it! :wub:

[Jim]

Well, the ole man has something to say about all this. We are all going to have differing opinions on what a reputable breeder is, what a responsible care giver is, etc. That's what makes us who we are. If we all agreed on what was reputable, good or the best we'd never progress.

When I hear this reputable, good breeder type of talk it implies that a breeder that sells unweaned babies or eggs or whatever is NOT reputable. I have to disagree. What does that say to the people that buy, own or plan to buy an unweaned baby or egg ???

I've been there and it doesn't feel good. Call me a care giver and disagree with what I do all you like. It's good for all of us and we all learn. Call me irresponsible or not reputable for the way I care for my birds and that's not true in my book. What is right, reputable, good, responsible to one person can very likely be wrong, not-reputable, bad, irresponsible to someone else.

We're all care givers caring for our birds as we see fit and breeders are all breeders breeding and selling as they see fit.

This is not personal or directed toward anyone. It's something I needed say.

[SadennaAndFlock]

I am far from being an expert I mean no one can truly be an expert on raising birds things change constantly from how to raise babies, to caring for our birds etc. but for me having had the opportunity to work with someone who is in the business of raising birds for over 30 years..in my 5 short years working with this person I have seen and heard the good and the bad but dont hear of a breeder selling fertile eggs to experianced nor non-experianced people I am sure there are some but I have never heard of any doing so at least none of the breeders that i know personally...even for an experianced person it's not easy to raise a day 1 baby by any means and even more harder for someone who does not have the experiance to do so. The gal I work for is on a couple of the professional breeder boards I may ask her to ask how they feel about fertile eggs being sold be interesting to hear their opinions since most of the pro breeders are well known and very respected. It's not going to be easy to find a breeder who does not hesitate to sell or question the person wanting to buy many just will flat out refuse experiances or not...eggs are not easy to transport and so many things can go wrong no matter how perfect the brooder enviroment is...


Raising a baby macaw from day 1 is whole different ball game all together than other birds, if one has never done it before it can be quite challenging at all the ages and stages they go through...


To me a reputable breeder puts the birds needs first, does everything and anything to make sure not only are their pairs cared for and maintained well but their offspring as well, and makes sure to educate about the care that goes into caring for a bird to a potential buyer and to make sure that that particular bird is a good match for the person and that that person or family understands what that particular bird is going to need to make sure it is well cared for...And I think a good reputable breeder puts the birds safety and interest first over the person buying it...can they ethically or consciously sell and a fertile eggs or unweaned babies...

[Jim]

I'm 100% sure the breeders you speak of would suggest not buying an egg and rightly so. I'm no breeder, just somewhat educated about some parts of it, and I agree it's not a good idea. That's all there is to it. Not suggested by professional breeders. Period. Saying it's not a good idea and sighting the reasons is great!

It's the labels - reputable, good, responsible - I don't think need to be in the mix.

[SadennaAndFlock]

resposible is a good word to use....there are many things on the internet that tell what to look for in a good repsonsible breeder and many times those words are used "responsible breeder"... there are many out there who are not and by irrseponsbile I mean are in for the money don't take proper care of their birds and only use them as baby machines to pump out cluth after clutch with no breaks or not caring for the welfare and health of their birds only the $$ signs they see they don't care about the health of the babies or the parents, or the the future of the baby or what happens to it..or sell to the anyone with the money, the breeders I have gotten to know in the last couple years screen potential buyers very well and first talks to them, and then will give them recommendations on books and websites to check out and make sure they have a good understanding of what it takes to care for a bird...I even know one that makes potential people take a test most of the questions are basic common sense. And they hand out a list of things that are good and bad and big no no's..

A breeder who maintains and cares for their birds to make sure they are healthy and get what they need is what I would call repsonsible...or any animal for that part and makes sure that baby gets the best start in life and gives it what it needs to thrive...so yes in my opinoin I think "responsible" is a good word to use....I know I would want to buy from someone who took the time to make sure their animals were in good health and well cared for wether they are be long time breeders or small hobby breeder and cared what happened to their animals..wether it be bird, dog, cat, or reptile or fish..to me thats being responsible

[Jim]

OK, you make a good point. So, where I got Teo the breeder would be, by your definition, not responsible and not reputable. You used the word reputable to describe breeds earlier.

The point I'm trying to make, if I may. Since I know about behavior and the science of it, as you know about breeding, let me put it this way.

We disagree on certain ways to get behavior. If I would say, which I wouldn't - Responsible care givers never put their bird in a cage because it is screaming. That is punishment and no responsible care giver would do that. To me, and I would think others, that implies if you do it you're not a responsible care giver.

When I say - The more positive, less intrusive method would be.... with no labels or judgement of the person, good or bad, then there is no right, wrong, not being responsible, etc.

No fowl - no hurt feelings.
Or as is said in the ABA community - do no harm.

[narjacs2]

thanks everyone for your help and advice the only reason iwanted an egg as i cant find a breeder in victoria and to ship the live bird too me via air is close to 300.00 in australia to ship an egg in an incubator is 35.00 huge difference i think i started something here.

[Jim]

Hi narjacs2

You didn't start anything. You got good info on the pro's and con's of getting an egg and raising a baby.

I'm the one that may have stared something. I'm in hopes if you get an egg or baby you will feel comfortable coming here to talk about. To me what ever you do you will get it from a breeder or person. I for one will not not label or judge that breeder/person. I will give you the info I can if need be.

[Shirley]

Hi there... don't worry about starting stuff... ;)

I"d be really worried about an egg breaking or pressure affecting it or whatever during shipment... I would not pay much at all for an egg -- it's a huge risk. They ship live organs for tansplant... would they handle an egg just as carefully? I think an egg would be really fragile to ship... :shrug2:

[amazing greys]

Good points everyone. Shirley, I wondered how they would go about shipping an egg, sure you can pad it and stuff, but what about the temp & humidity? That's my question.

narjacs2, there's nothing wrong with asking questions, that's how we all learn. You say you have a brooder, have you raised & handfed other birds before?

[CocosMomma]

i have hand reared cockatiels and what you are doing sounds great the tail feathers will grow back once he has settled down and relaxed in its new home keep up the great work keep us up to date with the progress goodluck from werribee victoria australia:wavey:

Narjacs2: This is your post from my thread about baby Petey - thank you again for your support - there's nothing like hearing from others who have gone down the road before us.... it got me through my nervous Nellie stage.:D You were right (of course...) he has settled down, relaxed, and now I'm just waiting for nature to replace those tail feathers!:rotflmao:

I am suspecting you may have hand-reared other types of birds and not just tiels? ;) :scratchch Thanks for your support during my time of need.:flower:

[narjacs2]

i have raised from eggs

cockatiels

rainbow lorikeets
and have learnt quite a lot from this site and the internet thanks everyone for your help and advice.

[Jean]

i have raised from eggs

cockatiels

rainbow lorikeets
and have learnt quite a lot from this site and the internet thanks everyone for your help and advice.

How many birds do you have? I'd love to hear more about your flock.:emot-danc