Why Macaws are expensive( Reasons and what to expect)

Why macaws are expensive?

I saw a Macaw for $2000 and an African Grey parrot for $1000 at Petco.com
Why are they so expensive? Is it that difficult to breed them?

Macaws are exotic birds from South America. You can purchase them if you want from a pet store, or a reputed breeder or adopt them.

The birds require lots of one on one interaction and are not locked in a cage all day.

That being said the long life span of this animal makes the macaw rather inexpensive considering its 80-year lifespan versus a bulldog that may last 15 years at most.

Macaws are hard to raise

They also reflect the breeder’s time in hand raising. Macaws aren’t like puppies that can pretty much take care of themselves. The breeder steps
in as soon as the eggs are laid in some cases and turn into the surrogate parent.

It takes a lot of time out of your life and a lot of care about baby birds.

When eggs are laid, then when they hatch, then the 2-hour feedings, and that is not just
during the day that is 24 hours of getting up every 2 hours for feeding…

Macaws are exotic birds from South America. You can purchase them if you want from a pet store, or a reputed breeder or adopt them.

Macaw are expensive in pet stores

The reason you see such high prices in pet shops for their animals is that
they have an overhead that basically requires them to make a certain
amount of Profit. Also in the pet trades, there is a place where they have to double their money, I know this is not true for some, but the majority.

If you can buy directly from the breeders, the prices are usually more
reasonable.

Macaws are expensive pets to maintain

Macaws are expensive birds to maintain from 85 dollars per 35-pound bag of food to a few hundred dollars a year of vet checkups.

Add to the list a proper macaw enclosure is going to run you 1200 dollars or more.

Add a couple of perch stands (We have several around the house) at 2–400 dollars a piece and you getting started on the financial side.

Outside of basic capital improvements to the house, let us discuss time maintaining these companions.

Macaws are large indoor birds with large indoor bird maintenance. Specifically, cleaning. I spend 4–6 hours a week cleaning.

That is enclosure space (cages), sweeping, dusting and cleaning up droppings in various places (see perch stands). I used to be able to subscribe to more than a few large (tabloid) sized trade journals.

These made excellent daily liners for perch stands and enclosures.

Today they may exist but not in my work field so I save more magazine-size paper combined with butcher block paper or painter’s paper and the like If its cheap and readily available it’s good enough for droppings!

As much as I love and adore my companions they are often found in less than desirable homes, abused and neglected by people who CANNOT AFFORD them in the first place.

If you cannot afford an expensive, difficult (not impossible) to maintain exotic animals of any type, please for the sake of the animal’s own welfare, do not adopt until your long-term financial situation is stable enough to maintain them.

Types of Macaws

There are 17 different species of macaw found in the rainforests of South America.

Macaws are native to Central America and North America (only Mexico), South America, and formerly the Caribbean.

Most species are associated with forests, especially rainforests, but others prefer woodland or savannah-like habitats.

Macaws are known as the giants of the parrot world, and the hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot, with a head-to-tail length of nearly 40 inches.

Macaws have long tail feathers as well as big beaks. Their large, curved beaks are quite powerful and are designed to crack open hard nuts and seeds.

The macaw is an omnivorous animal and feeds on nuts and fruit in the trees along with insects, eggs and small mammals and reptiles.

Is there anywhere I can get a pet macaw for a cheap price?

No. you would not be able to buy for a cheap price but you can adopt for a lesser price though.

A Macaw is an extremely intelligent exotic bird and will likely outlive you. They are not toys to show off your status. They come with the requirement of high Vet bills, a good cage, and a healthy diet.

I’m so tired of hearing about people buying birds like this and then abandoning them on craigslist a few years later because they have no time to spend with the bird, who by now is plucking its own feathers out from neurosis.

Then they try to sell the bird for at least as much as they paid for it because that’s all it was to them, a toy they have no use for anymore.

https://youtu.be/Mztbq5Zxpng