Finding the best food for Macaws is very important if you want to maintain their overall health and well being. Macaws need to eat a nutrient dense food that contains a higher concentration of fat then most regular parrot foods offer. That’s why it’s important to find a food that has been specifically designed to meet a Macaws dietary requirements.
If you’re just interested in our top picks we recommend Tropical Carnival F.M. Brown’s Gourmet Macaw Food (Buy Online) if you want the best seed and nut mix, or ZuPreem Fruit Blend Bird Food for Large Parrots (Buy Online) if you prefer to feed your Macaw a pellet based diet.
Best Food for Macaws
Best Food for Macaws
Tropical Carnival F.M. Brown’s Gourmet Macaw Food Big Bites Big Beaks
Tropical Carnival F.M. Brown’s Gourmet Macaw Food (Buy Online) is one of the best foods for Macaws on the market. This specially designed Macaw food has nuts and seeds mixed in with fruits, vegetables, and Zoo-Vital biscuits.
The best thing about this specially formulated diet is that it contains a large portion of unshelled nuts that your Macaw will absolutely love cracking open. This mix contains nuts like almonds, pecans, filberts, and walnuts, which are all nutrient-dense foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fat. The nuts will also help relieve cage stress and boredom since your Macaw will have to work for their food just like they would have to in the wild.
Tropical Carnival F.M. Brown’s Gourmet Macaw Food also contains a nice mix of seeds like sunflower seed, corn, peas, pumpkin seed, wheat, oats, and soybeans. In addition, it also is chock full of fruits like banana, papaya, pineapple, dates, apricots, and kiwi.
This food also has an excellent macronutrient profile since it contains 14.5% protein, 10.5% fat and 11.5% fiber.
To top it all off Tropical Carnival F.M. Brown’s Gourmet Macaw Food has been fortified with beneficial bacteria that will help protect and enhance your Macaws digestive system. Moreover, the Zoo-Vital biscuits in this food contain essential fatty acids that will keep your macaws skin from drying out, and it will also help keep their feathers healthy.
ZuPreem Fruit Blend Bird Food Large Parrot
ZuPreem Fruit Blend Bird Food for Large Parrots (Buy Online) is one of the most nutritionally complete pellet foods for Macaws. These pellets contain all the essential vitamins and minerals a Macaw needs in their diet. They also are fruit flavored which makes them more palatable than some of the other pellet foods on the market.
If you’ve tried giving your Macaw pellet food before and they turned their beak up at it, then you might want to give ZuPreem Fruit Blend Bird Food a try. Most Macaws can’t resist the colored pellets with their variety of fruity flavors. The pellets also come in a mix of different shapes and sizes that will help break up the monotony of eating a pellet based diet.
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Ground Corn, Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Soy Meal
14% Protein
4% Fat
3.5% Fiber
Fortified with Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Positives
Contains all the nutrients a Macaw needs in their diet
Pellets come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes
Macaws love the fruit flavoring
Makes a great staple food versus a seed based diet
Negatives
The pellets can change the color of your bird’s droppings
Pellets might not contain enough fat and fiber
Kaytee Exact Rainbow Bird Food For Large Parrots
Kaytee Exact Rainbow Bird Food For Large Parrots (Buy Online) is a great choice if you’re looking for a nutrient-dense pellet food at an affordable price. These pellets also contain a blend of essential fatty acids and probiotics to help enhance their overall nutritive value.
Kaytee Exact Rainbow Bird Food For Large Parrots has a nice mix of large pellets that come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Each one of the different types of pellets also has a unique fruit flavor that gives them a taste that most Macaws will find irresistible. On top of that, these pellets have been naturally preserved, which means they haven’t been treated with any artificial preservatives.
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Ground Corn, Ground Wheat, Soybean Meal, Ground Oats, Ground Flax
15% Protein
6% Fat
5% Fiber
Fortified with Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Probiotics
Positives
Contains a mix of large pellets
Probiotics will enhance digestion, and they can help birds with sensitive stomachs
No shells or seed husks to clean up
Omega 3 fatty acids improve a Macaws plumage
Negatives
Artificial colors
Not as nutritionally complete as Zupreem
Higgins Higg Intune Food For Macaw
Higgins Higg Intune Food For Macaws (Buy Online) is one of the best natural pellet foods for Macaws on the market. These pellets are made from all natural ingredients, and they contain no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
By Feeding your Macaw Higgins Higg Intune Natural Pellets you can ensure that they are getting a complete balanced diet. With all the added vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, your bird will remain healthy and active throughout their long lifespan.
You can also rest assured that your Macaw won’t be eating any harmful substances since all of the dyes come from natural sources like annatto seed and turmeric. And the flavoring comes from real fruits like bananas and pineapples that are actually in the pellets.
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Ground Corn, Brown Rice, Ground Wheat, Oat Meal
15% Protein
5% Fat
5% Fiber
Fortified with Probiotics and Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Positives
No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
Large colorful fruit flavored pellets
Probiotics help improve digestion and prevent diarrhea
Natural pineapple, citrus and banana flavor
Negatives
Some birds might not like the subtle taste and smell of the natural ingredients
Pellets can be low in fat and fiber
ZuPreem Pure Fun Bird Food for Large Birds
ZuPreem Pure Fun Bird Food for Large Birds (Buy Online) are a great snack or treat to add to your Macaws regular diet. This food contains a wide assortment of dried fruit and pellets that are packed with essential vitamins and minerals.
This treat will help entice even the pickiest bird to come off their perch and try it. If you’re having trouble getting your bird to eat, you can mix a small amount of this food into their regular diet to see if it helps improve their appetite. Alternatively, you can feed this food to them as a snack if you want to ensure they are getting enough calories in their diet.
This food should only make up a small portion of your Macaws diet since it contains a lot of sugar and other high-calorie ingredients. ZuPreem Pure Fun Bird Food should only make up at most 30% of a birds diet, and the other 70% of their diet should be comprised of a staple food like a seed mix or pellets.
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Ground Corn, Dried Bananas, Pistachios, Carrots
6% Protein
6% Fat
8% Fiber
Treat or Snack
Positives
Great way to add some variety to your Macaws diet
Large pieces of dried fruit and pellets will help stimulate a Macaws appetite
Nutrient dense food packs a lot of calories in a small serving
Makes a great addition to a pellet based diet
Negatives
Shouldn’t make up more than 30% of your Macaws diet
Some birds still might pick and choose their favorite pieces
ZuPreem VeggieBlend Flavor Bird Food
ZuPreem VeggieBlend Flavor Bird Food (Buy Online) is a great food if you want to make sure your Macaw is getting enough vegetables in their diet. These pellets are packed full of delicious vegetables that tend to be lacking in most bird foods for large parrots.
Macaws usually get enough fruits and nuts from a normal commercial diet, but most foods tend to skimp on vegetables for some reason. You can help rectify that omission by mixing ZuPreem VeggieBlend Flavor Bird Food in with your Macaws regular food to help round out their overall diet.
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Ground Corn, Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Soy Meal
Vegetables: Green Beans, Carrots, Parsley, Beets, Peas
14% Protein
4% Fat
3.5% Fiber
Contains a Wide Assortment of Vegetables
Positives
Great source of vitamins and minerals
Adds variety to a Macaws diet
Affordable Price
Natural carrot flavor
Made in the USA with high-quality ingredients
Negatives
Some birds just don’t like eating their vegetables
Might need to mix it in with other food to get your Macaws to try it
F.M. Brown’s Encore Parrot Food, 4-Pound
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Sunflower Seed, Safflower Seed, Corn, Oats, Peanuts, and Peppers
13% Protein
18% Fat
20% Fiber
High Calorie Parrot Food
Positives
Very rich food with lots of calories
Contains a blend of seeds, nuts, and pellets
No artificial preservatives
Can be used as a treat, or as a complete daily diet
Negatives
Contains a lot of corn
Lots of peppers
Sweet Harvest Macaw Bird Food
Overview
Primary Ingredients: Safflower Seed, Green Peas, Buck Wheat, Oats, Wheat and Barely
9% Protein
8% Fat
11% Fiber
100% Natural ingredients, with Added Vitamins and Minerals
Positives
No dust or debris since it is triple-cleaned
Unshelled nuts will definitely keep a Macaw occupied
No artificial preservatives
It even contains uncooked pasta
Negatives
Some Macaws might not eat the small pieces
Might work better as a snack
How Much Do Parrots Eat?
Most parrots will eat ½ to ¼ of their body weight in dry food each day. A young bird might need to eat more than this to fuel their rapid growth and development. While older sedentary birds might need to eat less in order to prevent excessive weight gain.
Most Macaws, when kept in captivity, will only need to eat 15% to 20% of their body weight in dry food each day. You should only feed your bird as much as they can eat in one sitting, so the food doesn’t end up going to waste if they decide to throw it in their litter tray.
You should also try to feed Macaws smaller meals multiple times throughout the day. This will help keep them interested in their food, and it will give them something to look forward to over the course of a day.
What Do Macaws Like to Eat?
Macaws like to eat seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and greens. They also need to eat a higher level of fat in their diet than most other birds. That means they need to eat more nuts and seeds, and they will need fewer fruits and vegetables than most other parrots.
Nuts
Most seed mixes that are specifically formulated for Macaws tend to have more nuts. This helps ensure that they are getting enough fat in their diet. Some of the best nuts for Macaws are almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, macadamia, and Brazil nuts.
Seeds
A good Macaw food should always contain a wide variety of seeds and grains in order to provide your Macaw with a balanced diet. Some healthy seeds include Flax, Rape Seed, Safflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Soybean, Fennel, Poppy, Sesame, and Sunflower seed. While grains like wheat, corn, rice, millet, oats, and rye can also make up a large part of a Macaws diet.
Fruits
Fruits are full of vitamins and minerals, and they are also a rich source of antioxidants. In the wild Macaws would normally have access to fresh fruit all year long as the different species of fruit trees ripen throughout the jungle. In captivity, we can try to mimic this by offering them a wide assortment of fruits like apples, bananas, grapes, papaya, kiwi, strawberry, oranges, melons, and berries.
Vegetables
Vegetables should make up around 10% to 15% of a Macaws diet. Most people tend to overlook vegetables when they feed their Macaws, but they can be just as important as fruits, and they actually can contain more nutrients.
In order to ensure your Macaw is eating a balanced diet, you can add some vegetables like spinach, kohlrabi, carrots, radish, beets, broccoli, cucumber, and kale to their diet. Alternatively, you can give them ZuPreem VeggieBlend Flavor Bird Food (Buy Online) if they are used to a pellet food diet.
