Species Name:  Hahns Macaw

Latin Name: Ara Nobilis Nobilis

 Origin: natural range of north eastern

Brazil, south eastern Venezuela and the Guianas

Size:  Average length is 28-33 cm

Weight: 120 - 165 grams

Clutch size: 3-5 eggs

(Shazza above - 3 months old) (Higgins is below - 3 months old. Two of our babies )

Number of Clutches per year: 2

Incubation: 25 days

Fledging age: 8 -10 weeks

Average (healthy) weaning age: 13 - 15 weeks

Reproduction Maturity - 3 + years

Expected life span in captivity: 35 +

Description:   Smallest of the "Mini" macaw family.    General plumage is green, more yellowish on underparts.  Forehead and crown are blue, bend of wing is red, undertail olive green.  Facial area is white marked with hair-like dark grey feather lines.  Upper mandible is horn coloured in the young, darkening to black as the bird matures.  Lower mandible is black.  Feet dark grey.

Sexual Dimorphism: No.  DNA is advised to confirm sex. 

Sleep / Light Requirements:  10-12 hours of natural sunlight.  Full spectrum lighting is very beneficial.    10-12 hours of non-interrupted sleep.   If they share a family room with the family, invest in a cage cover to cover them for the evening. 

Cage Requirements:  Should be spacious with 1 1/2 times wing span. Ideally we would recommend 30 x 24, 1/2 to 5/8 inch bar spacing with horizontal bars to encourage climbing and  ensure lots of movement and activity. Cage bottoms can be lined with newspaper and should be changed daily.  A thorough cage cleaning and disinfection should be done weekly.

Cage / Play Stand Locations:  Away from such dangers as hot stoves, kitchen fumes,  fans, direct sunlight, cold temperatures, predators.  We encourage play stands to allow family interaction, play / free time away from confinement of cage. 

Perches/swings:  Sandy perches and swings keeps toe nails and beaks in top condition. Cholla perches are a lightweight perch and  stimulate forging activity and provide comfort and irregularity.  Rope perches / boings / swings are excellent to prevent pressure sores. These also offer amusement and are easily positioned in cage or out.  Manzanita perches  provide smooth comfort, irregularity and are easily cleaned.  Practically indestructible with natural shapes. Apple/maple/dragonwood are good sources of  natural perches.   1 inch to 1 1/2 inch diameter.  Offering at last three selections of perches will prevent potential foot problems.

Additional Toys: Should consist of foot toys, ropes, balls,  wood chew toys, acrylic toys may be offered,  educational, forging, destructible, swings, orbits, atoms, climbing ropes, jolly balls are a great hit.   Rotate toys on a weekly basis, checking all toys for safety and loose ends when rotating and cleaning. 

Bath:  Large shallow bowls/dishes for bathing should be offered on a regular basis. Hahns love water!  Misting will also be appreciated and should be done 3-5 times a week to encourage preening and good feather condition. 

Water:  Fresh water at least twice daily if a bowl is used. Can be easily trained to use a water bottle

Diet should be varied.  Good quality seed mix, nuts, vegetables, fruits, pellets, bread, rice, corn, beans, eggs, vitamins/minerals, etc.   A varied diet will also provide some "fun" times as they enjoy playing with their food and throwing it around for you to pick up!  See our Section on Nutrition for information on foods.

Behavior

Personality: Calm, gentle, intelligent, playful, live to be loved and love you in return.  We tend to call them our Velcro babies, as if allowed they would be quite content to spend their whole day with you. 

Sociability:  Very social birds.  As with many other parrot species, be careful  of the one person bond syndrome and socialize them at a young age with all family members and friends. 

Pet Quality: Excellent, when hand fed and hand raised.

Family Companion: Yes,  providing children know to respect the bird.

Biting / Nippy Behavior:  Uncommon to date with our babies.  They do have large beaks that could do damage if provoked. 

Noise level: As a single or two bird family, very low.  They will have vocalization periods early morning and early evening, which are normally short lived.  As with any bird, do not teach your Hahns that if he / she screams, you run for them. This, again as with any bird, will lead you into great troubles with a loud bird.

Talking or Mimicking ability:  Both male and female  moderate to very good.  Clear pronunciation.

Independence:  We teach our babies independence early on.  They learn to play on their own in and out of their cages.  We spend at least 2 hours of quality time with each throughout the day and evening. 

Copyright 2002 - 2006 Joanne and Louis Cormier