If this is a first bird or first macaw I would strongly suggest going with a mini macaw or if you have your heart set on a larger macaw the blue and gold. I have kept and handled through the rescue most every kind of macaw (don't have a hyacinth personally but do have a good friend with a pair and have met with others). For a seasoned bird owner a greenwing or scarlet either one are both wonderful birds. They are beautiful and can make good companions. Through experience though they are not first time birds. They can both be extremely moody. They tend to be more nippy then the calmer blue and gold. Ones that have been handraised can actually be more aggressive because they don't know caution of humans. With a knowledgeable caretaker they do learn to trust, and listen but with someone who has never kept birds or larger birds this can be a problem. The same goes for hyacinths. They can be quite mellow birds and what goes for other birds may not go for each individual. On a whole though even though they are not usually more aggressive the hyacinth will learn to use it's size to its advantage. For an inexperienced owner they will learn to lunge and possibly even bite to scare you off or just to have fun. It can become a game to do this.

The blue and gold even though I wouldn't suggest as a first bird mainly because of its size is a good family or single person bird. They usually do well bonding to one or a group of people. If well trained I trust them around children (supervised of course) although they can become moody (epecially during their first breeding season) they don't seem to show it as much as many other birds. They do still have the tendency to "test" their owners just to see what they can get by with but will "usually" only lunge or nip nofaactually bite. When they have learned their limits they seem to settle very well into them as long as they have enough interaction, space and toys.

As far as caging. If you can afford it and have the room I love the large stainless steel cages. Another choice (I just bought one) is the "Double Macaw Cage". I only house one macaw in it and it works perfectly. It is supposed to be the size for two macaws and might work for that but is much better suited for one energetic macaw. It is 64"X32"X64" without the divider which I don't use. I purchased in wrought iron but it is available in stainless steel as well.

As far as food pellets are a good start I usually use Zupreem. Veggies, some fruit, grains, pasta and even meat is needed for a healthy diet for a macaw.

They need lots of time out of the cage to truly be a well rounded feathered friend and loads of toys to play with which they will constantly destroy. Some people quit providing wooden toys because they destroy them so quickly but that is how you know they enjoy them!

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