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Hello everone
I'm new to this form. I have a Sever and a Hybred B/W & Military macaw. I've been reading quit a few coments about the problems with hybred birds. I had know idea! How does mixing breds cause an abundunce of unwanted birds. One of you said you wished the goverment would regulate breding them.
I've read a lot but I don't have the whole story. Would you please fill me in
Thanks

I don't know that hybrid birds necessarily causes an abundance of unwanted birds. There are many birds in rescues across the country that are not hybrids. I believe that is more due to impulse buying and pet owners not realizing what taking care of a parrot entails.

The bigger issue is the morality of deliberately breeding two different species, such as a Greenwing and a Scarlet, to create a hybrid. When these parrots are endangered in the wild, some would argue that we should be breeding these species to preserve the species rather than create a new one just because we think it's pretty. Some day, these parrots may not be found in the wild.

If Petdiva's straightforward explanation still leaves you pondering, maybe it would help to read about the ethical conflicts over human cloning. Perhaps that would give you some clarity.

We sometimes tend to look at macaws such as B&Gs and militaries and see differently colored feathers, a difference in size that seems relatively slight to us ... There are FAR more differences. An approach that is very overly-simplistic and hypothetical, but might help you understand is the situation of a human breeding with a chimpanzee. What ethical issues would that raise?

Welcome to UAS, Paca

More discussions on hybrids here and here.

Speaking of hybrids (know they are bad,etc.) but was wondering this week if anyone has ever known a greenwing and hyacinth to mate and bear fertile eggs.It would be accidental but what a colorful bird that woulld be!!!

greylover wrote:Speaking of hybrids (know they are bad,etc.) but was wondering this week if anyone has ever known a greenwing and hyacinth to mate and bear fertile eggs.It would be accidental but what a colorful bird that woulld be!!!

It's not a nice lookin' hybrid... I have seen one or two...

I haven't seen any GW/Hyacinth hybrids...

Millicynth - Military x Hyacinth


Colashua Macaw - Blue & Gold x Hyacinth


Emerald Macaw - Buffons x Hyacinth



I have seen other pictures of those types of hybrids but none of any other hyacinth hybrids that I can recall.

We sometimes tend to look at macaws such as B&Gs and militaries and see differently colored feathers, a difference in size that seems relatively slight to us ... There are FAR more differences. An approach that is very overly-simplistic and hypothetical, but might help you understand is the situation of a human breeding with a chimpanzee. What ethical issues would that raise?

Personally I don't find any of those pictured as pretty as what God gave us. Just my opinion.

I'm with you, Darlene.

Paca

bmcdowell wrote:"... An approach that is very overly-simplistic and hypothetical, but might help you understand is the situation of a human breeding with a chimpanzee."

What ethical issues would that raise?

Might be good exercise to see what thoughts you can come up with yourself

Nap when necessary.

Paca

A human CAN'T breed with a chimp !
So that can;t be a good example.
Jack

birdsmile wrote:A human CAN'T breed with a chimp !
So that can;t be a good example.

How do you know? We are closely related apes, and our most recent shared ancestor lived only a few million years ago; not a terribly long period of time on the evolutionary timescale. I'm inclined to think that we probably cannot interbreed, but intergeneric hybrids, though rare, are not unheard of.

Thank-you for the pics mfids.I guess I am kind of shocked that they can crossbreed like that given the difference in size.I agree.Nature knows what she is doing!!

darlene wrote:Personally I don't find any of those pictured as pretty as what God gave us. Just my opinion.

Obviously, you've never met my 3rd generation hybrid yellow dominant Capri macaw, Bowie.







Ya can't argue that a macaw that looks like a tropical sunset or a Sun conure isn't as pretty as what God gave us, considering He gave us the sunsets and the screeching little conures, too .

I think you'll find that hybrids are a hot-button issue. Like religion, pit bulldogs and abortion, people are going to have strong opinions about them, and you're not likely to change their minds easily. For me, if it lives, it deserves to be treated with love and respect, whether it's purebred or hybrid, old, fat, ugly, beautiful, bald or crippled. Do unto others and all that, ya know.