Guess who?

[PlaxMacaws]

4855

[Dragonlady2]

Aw....he's beautiful. His eyes are so gentle looking. He looks so much smaller than I would have expected, compared to your hand. Maybe it's the way he is sitting there.

[PlaxMacaws]

4856

[PlaxMacaws]

Aw....he's beautiful. His eyes are so gentle looking. He looks so much smaller than I would have expected, compared to your hand. Maybe it's the way he is sitting there.Yeah, I'm holding him above my head and looking up at him with the phone cam... the ceiling is behind him. He's the same height and actually gives a very similar size impression to that of Salsa... they're pretty well matched. But Salsa weighs considerably more.

[Quakerella]

Definitely one of the most beautiful birds I have seen.

[luckyandjenn]

Aww.zaf reminds me of a big ol babby with thoes eyes ..... he always looks so cute and cuddly and calm does he ever have super loud and crazy days like other macs do (or i know at least lucky does) ????

[kendrafitz]

Hi handsome Zaffer!!!


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[PlaxMacaws]

Aww.zaf reminds me of a big ol babby with thoes eyes ..... he always looks so cute and cuddly and calm does he ever have super loud and crazy days like other macs do (or i know at least lucky does) ????Actually, not very often. Zaf's a pretty quiet bird most of the time. Once in a great while he'll let out a few yells but he then resumes his usual non-vocal state. He truly is a big fluffy, cuddly perpetual baby! :D Thanks for your nice comments, Jenn :)

[luckyandjenn]

Any time and thats cool so hes a quiet big ol lovible squishey guy i love it lol i try and cuddle lucky but hes not super touchy feely lol i wouldnt mind a birdy that just wanted to perch on my shoulder all day lolz but i have my hands full with my lucky boy lol

[Lady]

There's something special about Zaffer! His beautiful big blue feathered body and his kind sweet face makes me want to hug him!

Thanks for sharing his handsome self with us!

[PlaxMacaws]

Any time and thats cool so hes a quiet big ol lovible squishey guy i love it lol i try and cuddle lucky but hes not super touchy feely lol i wouldnt mind a birdy that just wanted to perch on my shoulder all day lolz but i have my hands full with my lucky boy lolOh yes... I forgot, he's squishy too! He squishes up against me very nicely :D

[PlaxMacaws]

There's something special about Zaffer! His beautiful big blue feathered body and his kind sweet face makes me want to hug him!

Thanks for sharing his handsome self with us!You're welcome. And thank YOU, Alice :)

[Girl_Digital]

Tony... Zaf is such a beautiful bird! My partner wants one, but I feel like our one macaw is enough. How does he compare to other macaws? Is he a whole lot bigger? Or just a little bigger? (I've never seen one in person)

[PlaxMacaws]

Tony... Zaf is such a beautiful bird! My partner wants one, but I feel like our one macaw is enough. How does he compare to other macaws? Is he a whole lot bigger? Or just a little bigger? (I've never seen one in person)He appreciates your compliment, Carmen. As do I.

As far as weight goes, Zaf is lighter than my GW, Salsa. Salsa weighs just under 1600 grams, whereas Zaf currently weighs just over 1300 grams. (All weights given are empty in the early AM.)

Zaf used to be a bit heavier. He weighed in at almost exactly 1400 grams until the beginning of 2015 after developing some lesions under his tongue. Those lesions negatively affected his already finicky appetite. While I'm not sure he'll ever gain back the weight he lost, when he's next to Salsa -who is a fairly good size GW- the perception tends to be that they seem equal in size.

As for my other two... Jack is certainly no B&G dwarf. He's a rather tall B&G who holds the scale at around 1250 grams or so. And then Maynard, my Military, weighs in at about 920 grams.

Despite all the claims floating around about how huge Hys are, it turns out that most captive ones weigh in within the mid 1300g range. There is of course the occasional HUGE boy or girl. But typically captive GWs are heavier than captive Hys. I have some data to confirm this.

[kendrafitz]

He appreciates your compliment, Carmen. As do I.

As far as weight goes, Zaf is lighter than my GW, Salsa. Salsa weighs just under 1600 grams, whereas Zaf currently weighs just over 1300 grams. (All weights given are empty in the early AM.)

Zaf used to be a bit heavier. He weighed in at almost exactly 1400 grams until the beginning of 2015 after developing some lesions under his tongue. Those lesions negatively affected his already finicky appetite. While I'm not sure he'll ever gain back the weight he lost, when he's next to Salsa -who is a fairly good size GW- the perception tends to be that they seem equal in size.

As for my other two... Jack is certainly no B&G dwarf. He's a rather tall B&G who holds the scale at around 1250 grams or so. And then Maynard, my Military, weighs in at about 920 grams.

Despite all the claims floating around about how huge Hys are, it turns out that most captive ones weigh in within the mid 1300g range. There is of course the occasional HUGE boy or girl. But typically captive GWs are heavier than captive Hys. I have some data to confirm this.That's pretty interesting. I always assume Hys are bigger. I wonder why they are smaller in captivity. Maybe more muscle use in the wild from flying? But I suppose that would really apply to all birds.

Of corse, Zaf is larger than Rosie. My Rosie is a very petite GW. She is under 1100 grams. She even has smallish feet - skinny toes. She isn't underweight for her size, don't get me wrong. Just petite. The vet has said if she ever goes above 1200 grams she will have a weight problem.

So to me all your guys are HUGE. I imagine she would look like a mini GW next to Salsa, lol.


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[PlaxMacaws]

That's pretty interesting. I always assume Hys are bigger. I wonder why they are smaller in captivity. Maybe more muscle use in the wild from flying? But I suppose that would really apply to all birds.

Of corse, Zaf is larger than Rosie. My Rosie is a very petite GW. She is under 1100 grams. She even has smallish feet - skinny toes. She isn't underweight for her size, don't get me wrong. Just petite. The vet has said if she ever goes above 1200 grams she will have a weight problem.

So to me all your guys are HUGE. I imagine she would look like a mini GW next to Salsa, lol.Speaking in terms of weight (as opposed to comparative area displacement), I used to consider Zaf a medium-sized Hy. Even now, he doesn't look smaller than Salsa when right next to him. But because his morning weight values currently fall between 1305 and 1325, my opinion is that Zaf can certainly be considered on the smaller side as Hyacinths go. Throughout his pre-oral-lesion period he would bounce between 1395 and 1415 grams or so. And that was for 10 years. Some of the lowest weights I've seen for adult Hys have actually been in the mid to low 1200 gram range. I do watch Zaf's weight quite carefully. If his food intake dwindles I compensate with syringe feedings.

As for why captive Hys may be smaller than their wild counterparts, some folks believe it has to do with nutrition quality, delivery and timing during hand-feeding and weaning. If juvenile birds don't receive the correct nutrients (and enough of them) during the critical growth phase, it may be that their growth becomes effectively stunted. So it could be a significant factor affecting the average weight of domestically bred Hys. And it may affect other species as well. But it may also be that Hys in general are not as large as they're frequently reported to be.

Scott McDonald's weight data for all of the Hys he has seen at his clinic over the years is as follows:

Average weight: 1301
20% of average weight: 1170–1430
Heaviest weight:1624

And then the book "The Large Macaws" by Speer and Abramson shows a weight range for Hys of 1200 to 1700 grams. I've posted the documents for those numbers in the following thread: [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Girl_Digital]

Tony... That's a lot of interesting info. Thank you! One of these days I will get to see one. :th_smile:

[Mark43]

Aww beautiful. His color it's awesome

[luckyandjenn]

Thanks for all the interesting info and of course sharing the big squishey guy with us I hope his mouth lesion doesn't bug him too much I just love reading about you and your flock

[PlaxMacaws]

Thanks for all the interesting info and of course sharing the big squishey guy with us I hope his mouth lesion doesn't bug him too much I just love reading about you and your flockYou're welcome, Jenn. Thanks for your interest :)