• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Really Confused About Amazons!

cassiesdad

Ripping up the road
Weather Authority
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
3/21/11
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Erie PA
Real Name
Bob Weisman
'Zons have always been a mystery to me. They seem not to like me, for some reason. Like @melissasparrots all I get is growling, lunging, or the big ignore.
I do have a soft spot for Wasabi, though- and immense respect for @Wasabisaurus...
 

sunnysmom

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/16/13
Messages
28,911
Location
Pennsylvania
Real Name
Michelle
Like so many have said, every bird is different!

Maverick, the hawkhead, who just turned 1, is WAY more of a handful than Mopar. I've been bitten countless times, he is moody, and is very much like a 2-yr-old child. He gets into everything, turn your back for a minute, and he's somewhere else in the house causing trouble! And when he wants something he can't have... good luck trying to get him to forget about it. He is a stubborn little guy. I'm sure he thinks his name is "stop it" by now. LOL! But he's so full of personality, so funny, cute and cuddly... I wouldn't have it any other way.
LOL- thinks his name is Stop It. :laughing2:
 

Sharpie

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
11/5/09
Messages
4,376
Location
Now TN
My 30yo YNA boy is every bit the bird the stereotypes talk about. Hilarious, charming, loves being the center of attention, but also hormonal, protective, and happy to both make and carry through on threats. He's also about as "tough" to read as a neon billboard. Unfortunately it's one of those flashing electronic ones that only lights up for about 0.2 seconds. So, you CANNOT fail to pay attention to him without consequences. No watching movies snuggled up together here. He warns you very clearly, but you have to be watching.

He KNOWS he intimidates people, and will 100% guaranteed lunge at every.single.new.person he meets. Then, when you jump, he laughs maniacally. Which typically makes all the people laugh. And in that way, he instantly becomes the Center of All Attention, which is what he was after from the start. After that, he will typically accept treats and occasionally allow people to scratch him. Because, again, Center of Attention. He's not much of a screamer, usually he's only loud a couple of times a day for 5 minutes or so... or if he thinks you're talking to him...like when you're on the phone.

Let your attention wander though? Nope. He will bite the one he's with if he can't get to the one he wants. I almost never let him perch on me, and don't have hands-on time (other than head scritches) unless we are the only humans in the room (he knows he can drive off the cats and dogs, so they won't trigger bites), because the chances of him biting go up AND the chances of me being distracted, perhaps by conversation, are also up. He hasn't drawn blood in 7 years, but I do have a couple of scars acquired during the 'learning process.' Now that we have a relationship, even if he does bite, it tends to just be a hard pinch rather than full-power. He loves scratches and to wrestle, and (normally) will let me touch him all over.

TL;DR Hot 3 males are wild animals. They act like it. IF you are willing to respect that and use your smarts to work around them rather than expect them to conform to your expectations of a 'pet,' they can be a blast because they have HUGE personalities.
 

LuvMyBirds

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/19/09
Messages
3,060
Location
Georgia
Real Name
Barbara
My Yellow Nape has been a part of my life for 28yrs. She is the dynamic opposite of a typical hot 3. For me, sweet lovable hug muffin. She has preened my eyebrows, ears, in my avatar she is nibbling my toes. She does not have a large vocabulary - maybe 20 to 25 words. I would not trade what I have with her for a bird fluent in 3 languages :)
IMG_0601.JPG IMG_4966-002.JPG
 

Fuzzy

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/30/10
Messages
4,360
Location
Jersey, Channel Islands
Real Name
Roz
Ollie the Orange-wing came to me "untame" and showing very fearful behaviour around humans. 4.5 years later and he's an absolute sweetie - totally trustworthy, and I have worked hard to gain that trust. Even when in the throws of hormonal stuff he's incredibly gentle and will put his head down for a skritch. I love Ollie's playfulness - the person who initially rescued him called him a "mute statue" but now he doesn't stop playing. Rosemary Low says that Orange-wings partake in shadow boxing and Ollie is no exception. It's hilarious to watch. He's curious about everything now and I absolutely adore him. Thankfully although shut in a cockatiel cage for 4 years his flight skills are improving all the time.

Bobbie the Red-lored is also proving herself trustworthy. She is ok about touching me and being handled and likes to preen my hair. I'm sure she wants to preen my eye lashes too as she works toward them, but she's too new to allow that yet. She seems to be the "cuddler" or "snuggler". I have to admit at first I found her a little boring compared to the three males but I am realising she is just not so in your face. I also think she is very intelligent. Sadly although fully winged she can't fly as she was shut away in a cage for some years and is bigger/heavier than Ollie so will take some teaching to fly again. It means she doesn't have the choice like the others to join me or to hang out on the hanging toys.

Chico the Panama is more complicated as he's had a history of ill treatment preceded by a long standing male person who I think he was very bonded to. He's at least 49 years old and came to me showing pretty aggressive behaviour. He has calmed down a lot and I can now preen the feathers around his head and neck which he can't do himself because he has arthritis. Chico fell out of his cage a couple of months ago as I was cleaning - he can't fly so I had no option but to catch him with my bare hands - the bites I received were the most painful I had ever experienced. I don't trust Chico but that is not his fault. I want to make his final years as comfortable as I can.

I love Amazons - they are so straight forward and easy to read.
 

Clueless

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
TAILGATING
Joined
11/3/12
Messages
24,114
@Fuzzy

I agree about the amazons.

Thank you for taking Chico on.....sorry about the bites. Let's hope that seeing the interaction with the others can speed up the process.
 

Fuzzy

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/30/10
Messages
4,360
Location
Jersey, Channel Islands
Real Name
Roz
@Fuzzy

Thank you for taking Chico on.....sorry about the bites. Let's hope that seeing the interaction with the others can speed up the process.
Thanks Clueless. I wish he could see the interaction with the others but to make life more complicated, he is partially blind which I think is part of the reason for the aggression. Even when I give him the audible signal that I am about to skritch him, he still jumps at the initial touch. All he needs is patience and time to build trust. :)
 

Kiwibird08

Jogging around the block
Joined
12/9/14
Messages
947
Location
Oregon
My "hot 3" male (BFA) has earned his bad boy reputation for sure:bfa: :scared5: Just like any other parrot species, it takes a certain type to want a zon, especially a 'hot 3' zon and especially a male. It takes a "leader" type personality who is not going to tolerate bad behavior and/or be afraid of the bird. Amazons need a leader for an owner, not a person who views themselves as human 'equal' with their bird. They WILL take charge if you let them, and that's a surefire way to lead to rehoming of the bird as it becomes more and more dominant/aggressive.

It takes LOTS of dedication to the bird to keep him or her well behaved, bonded and not too naughty. It can be done, but it's a matter of their determination to misbehave vs your patience with them to teach them otherwise. And ALL zons must be handled with care during the breeding season. Most, with love and care, are the best birds you could own the rest of the year, but when that breeding season comes around WATCH OUT. Some of the smaller zons tend to be better behaved than the "hot 3", but they're all pretty similar. Most has to do with the parrot-human interactions, not so much the species.
 

Yoyo'sMom

Jogging around the block
Joined
4/20/11
Messages
711
Location
Cali
Real Name
Carol
Amazons are by far my favorite parrot! They're funny, charming, smart and kind of clumsy. My Boo is the typical Amazon in that she's funny and more on the independent side. She can be really sweet also and loves scritches and cuddles, on her terms of course. She is a 1 person bird and lunges at my husband or son. Our other Zon Ojos really liked my son and me but his personality was very similar to hers.

I have had encounters with a double yellow who boards at the hospital that I work at and he's extremely hilarious and smart. A little on the naughty side in that he loves to chase people he doesn't like and try to bite them. All the while laughing and saying "ow".

I find they're body language very easy to read. If they're too excited keep your hands out of the equation. My tiny Poi Kiwi is much more vicious than my Zon.
 

Sassy12

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/28/14
Messages
28
Location
Missouri
Real Name
Charles
The Yellow Shouldered Amazon is a shy bird with a nosey attitude. Meaning the bird is looking at you in the kitchen, to see if you have food for it. Shy means they rarely speak in front of strangers. My parrot is named Sassy. She talks and is very affectionate. Loves crawling under my shirt and cewing. Loves being held and patted on wings and head. Loves kisses on beak and wing. We keep her about 6 feet from my chair, so she feels apart of the family. She is positioned where she can view the front door, dining room, and kitchen. She is very gentle and sweet to me and my wife, but friends, mother in law, sister, brother, my adult children she becomes aggressive toward. She is only a one or two person bird.
 
Top