turings:

turings:

i know way too much about how large psittacids are bred to ever support the pet parrot industry

consider the blue and gold macaw, Ara ararauna. b&g macaws reach full sexual maturity within the first five years of their life, though their breeding age in the wild (though variable) tends to be anywhere from 15-30 years old. they will typically raise one clutch (1-3 eggs) about every other year. like (almost) all larger psittacids, they’re monogamous and have incredibly long lifespans.

going by their natural reproductive habits, the blue and gold macaw is impossible to profitably breed. even a super active, 100% successful pair would only produce three chicks a year, which is a pathetic payout when you factour in the costs of food, equipment, veterinary care, etc.

breeders know this, and they know they cannot change the nature of those birds, but they can tweak the environment their birds are in to maximise profit and profit exclusively. enter the current standard practise for breeding: stimulus deprivation. when you put two birds in a wire cage with nothing but a nest box and perches, the only real stimulation they get is from interacting with one another, and ultimately that leads to more mating. so, too, is the reason for the breeder’s minimal contact with the birds past the provision of food and water – bonding and interacting with one or both birds from a breeding pair significantly lessens the chance that they’ll breed. in addition to that, breeding pairs are often

• coerced into breeding at a younger age, with the “advisable” window being 4-12 years,
• separated from their mate if production is slowed down, then paired up with more active/virile birds,
• and often deprived of the ability to hatch their own chicks, but if they are allowed to incubate and hatch, the chicks are taken from them within the first week.

as it stands, the profitable average for large parrots is 2-3 clutches per year, or about 8-10 eggs annually, with 4-6 breeding pairs of each bird available being the general standard to maintain a regular and available stock.

at the end of the day, the basic living requirements for these birds (food, clean water, space to move around, a sanitary environment, veterinary access) are met, but the birds are far from properly cared for. missing toes, bald heads/breasts, obesity, and stereotypies are rife in medium- and large-scale breeding facilities. more unfortunate still, however, is that parrot breeders aren’t measured by the treatment of their breeding pairs as much as they are by the cleanliness of the establishment and the treatment of the chicks. that “lots of love” standard that these breeders always seem to brag about never extends past the animals they intend to sell, because that’s an active danger to the profitability of their business.

so i repeat: there is absolutely no way to breed macaws, amazons, cockatoos, etc for a profit while also keeping their health in mind. there is no way to make a living off of breeding them without ignoring their needs and effectively exploiting them. it is impossible to make any money off of breeding them unless you compromise their health.

(since i’m obligated to say it, parrots are not pets. all psittacids, with the debatable exception of the english budgerigar, are wild animals and not suited for household life. the appeal of sweet baby parrots or a smart “talking bird” or some high-class exotic is not worth the intensive care these birds require. and contrary to popular belief, the “pet” parrot industry does not support captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, and as a matter of fact, the rising popularity of hybrid macaws and excessive “pet” parrots flooding the market makes things worse.)