Almost A Grandpa!

[Macaaaw]

My breeding pair of Green Winged Macaws is sitting on an egg!

I am unclear how to proceed with this pair. I do not know the history of these two, so I do not know if they are good parents or if I should be taking the egg.

For this first egg, we will let them go it alone. Wish them luck!

As this is my first Macaw egg, I am surprised to see how large it is. I have chicken eggs smaller!

[macawlover]

Congrats!!! That's got to be so exciting!! I think you're doing the right thing in letting them take care of this first chick, just to see if they're good parents or not.
Usually the first egg from a breeding pair in a new environment isn't fertile. In about a week I would candle the egg just to see if it is or not.
Good luck!!!

[r2rusmc]

Originally Posted by Macaaaw

My breeding pair of Green Winged Macaws is sitting on an egg!

I am unclear how to proceed with this pair. I do not know the history of these two, so I do not know if they are good parents or if I should be taking the egg.

For this first egg, we will let them go it alone. Wish them luck!

As this is my first Macaw egg, I am surprised to see how large it is. I have chicken eggs smaller!

Is this their first time laying or are they proven prior to your acquiring them?

You should expect another egg or two. Usually they'll lay every second or third day until they've completed their clutch of (typically 3). If they just laid today then you'll probably have another egg by Thursday or Friday. Keep an eye on them.

As for how they parent, I'd say let nature takes its course and give the parents a chance to do their job. If the don't sit on the eggs or destroy the eggs then decided whether or not you want to incubate. If the eggs hatch you won't know if they are good parents until they either do their job or not.

To reiterate, the usual doesn't apply to all birds and should be taken as a guideline, not gospel.

Keep us posted.

[Macaaaw]

I gave them a large macaw L shaped box months and months ago. The male spends all his time in there shredding everything he can get his beak on. Perches, paper, odd feathers. All woven into a real soft dense bed. Very good laborer. She just ignored it completely. Never seen her in it or interested in it.

Then yesterday I noticed she was not in the cage. I expected him to be in the box, but I assumed she escaped. My wife said she was in the nest box. I said "no she ain't, she never goes near it", like I knew what I was talking about. Sure enough, there she was. She was all proud looking, peeking out with one eye and all fluffed up like she owned the world.

I told my wife to look in the nest box and look for an egg. Sure enough!

We will see what happens. I am surprised how large the egg is. Larger than some chicken eggs.

[Ina246]

Congrats Grandpa to be. I think they are just the CUTEST babies ever. Good luck.

[Tom Lawless]

I have no advice to give. I just wanted to wish you good luck on this new adventure.

[Macaaaw]

Sorry I missed your question. These are supposed to be a proven pair, but people lie so much, I rarely believe what I hear, I choose to believe what I see.

[malcomb88]

congrats! hope all goes well for all your babies!

[Macaaaw]

Update!

2 eggs! And they are warm, which means when given privacy, someone is sitting on them! That is a good sign. If we approach the area, the female comes out of the nest box. So we are trying to just leave them alone as much as possible.

[Macaaaw]

Still two uncracked eggs!