Ruby, a better choice of nuts for snacks would be almonds. High in calcium and little disease. Peanuts are grown underground and can be infected with aflatoxins from the soil. Human grade peanuts are less likely to have it, but there's no way to be sure. I have read that name brand peanut butter is less likely to have aflatoxins than all natural peanut butter, too. The peanuts are tested more frequently on the name brands. Any tree grown nut is safer than peanuts. Most nuts have extremely high fat amounts, though.

Annie

Annie is right about almonds being a better choice of snack, and now that you've got Simon interested in nuts, it should be easy to substitute an almond for a shelled peanut.  I don't give mine peanuts, mainly because I have the sister to Sherry's B&G Kocham, and he's got a very bad sensitivity to peanuts.  I can't take the chance that she will have adverse affects from them too, especially when there's better alternatives.  High in calcium, high in fat...but macaws can handle a bit more fat in their diets (if Simon is anything like my severe Shasta, he'll need all the fat he can get just to sustain that high-energy body).  Mine get one a day, but also about a dozen pine nuts...and I don't have any fat macaws around here.  Next time you're eating peanuts, sneak him an almond and see what he does.