Zoo offers an Olive branch to baby macaws

Three Illiger's macaws have arrived at Wild Zoo, in Bobbington, near Wolverhampton, after their parents would not rear them.

Now zoo director Zachary Hollinshead has been hand feeding them every two hours until they are strong enough.

He said: "We've got three youngsters. I'm currently having to hand raise them and they're going to be the new stars of our free flight bird show.

"They're all siblings, they came from another zoo and we're having to hand rear them because their parents couldn't raise them.

"We always prefer the parents to raise them, we only step in if we have to.

"They are now five and six weeks old. I started off feeding them through the night every two hours.

"We have a special formula with all the nutrients in so they can grow well and it keeps them healthy.

"They should be flying in four or five weeks. They're doing really well."

The zoo's first macaw weighed just 39g when it first arrived – but now it is a strapping 200g.

"I'm used to it as we have lots of parrots here," said Mr Hollinshead.

"Normally it happens in the spring or summer, it's quite strange for them to be born in the winter so maybe that's why the parents wouldn't raise them.

"We don't know if they're boys or girls yet, it's very difficult to tell with parrots, but we think it's one male and two females.

"They should be flying for Christmas so we'll start training them then and they'll make their debut their February half term or Easter."