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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly about Amazons

alastair313

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
8/8/17
Messages
4
Real Name
alaister
I am a pet lover and i have two really adorable cats (male & female). Being a pet owner I know cleaning cat litters and hairs is really hard. Yesterday while surfing on google I found a link where i found detailed article on different vacuum cleaners. I am sharing this link here may be this could help you.

Vacuum cleaner
 

Kathryn

Meeting neighbors
Joined
5/2/16
Messages
36
Real Name
Kathryn
I love my Ricco. He is so pretty and sometimes very sweet and loveable, but then sometimes not. He does let you know when he wants a scritching and when he wants to be left alone though. I can read his body language and postures to figure out when to love on him. I have learned so much about him in the short time we have had him. I brought him home on October 18th of last year and let me tell you I am so in love with my BFA Ricco I could not imagine my life without him. He plays and it is huge entertainment for me to just sit back and watch him play. Yesterday he said, gooofballll. It was so funny and took me by total surprise. I laughed so hard. He does that alot. He will say something he has heard us say off hand. He is soooo smart. We are a Christian family and we do not say cuss words so it is okay if he repeats what he hears us say. I was kissing him today while he was being sweet and my lovebird Keeco was so mad. He was sitting in his cage chirping as if to say hey what about me. I keep them completely separated. They are in the same room but always apart in different areas of the room so we don't have an accident and I lose my Keeco to Ricco biting him. Keeco is so brazen and has tried to bite him so we have to be careful. I love my little flock. My daughter got a female cockatiel in December of last year so my flock is 3 birds strong. I have always loved birds, but my zon is absolutely amazing. I love him so much. I love my little Keeco so much too. Keeco is my snuggler and Ricco is my talker.
 

Clueless

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
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RingneckFan

Moving in
Avenue Veteran
Joined
8/22/12
Messages
7
Real Name
Pat
I have a brand new baby Yellow Naped Amazon! His name is Benny Francis. He's a sweetie pie.
The good: He's almost 5 months old. I first got him when he was a month old. Of course, I left him with the bird seller, whom I've known and trusted for over 32 years. I visited Benny Francis every day to handle and cuddle him. When he went to 2 feedings a day, I would take him home for a few hours, then bring him back to the store. This helped him to adjust to his new home.
He's such a lovely, gentle bird.

The bad: Absolutely nothing yet! He's pretty quiet so far, but he's starting to find his voice. He 'talks' to himself when he's settling in for bed. I was told 2 things: Do not put an amazon near my face. Hahaha! I am training Benny Francis to give kisses to get him accustomed to me getting close to him. He responds well. The second thing I was told is that amazons do not like their backs touched. So, I 'snuggle' play with my little baby so that he will not acquire that bad habit.

The ugly: How can there be anything ugly about this beautiful baby yet?

The special: Every morning and every evening I take Benny Francis outside and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to him while pointing and looking up. He is now making sounds when I sing to him, like he's trying to sing along. Now, when I want to take him outside, I say, 'let's go Twinkle Twinkle'. He hops right on my hand to go with me. When it's time to go inside, I say, 'let's go Benny Francis house!' and he looks toward the front door while happily ruffling his feathers.

I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Benny Francis from such a young age. Long ago, I had a Lilac-Crowned Amazon that was an adult when I got him. What a very different experience!
 

Catlady

Moving in
Joined
7/7/16
Messages
12
Location
San Francisco Bay area
Just found the Amazon thread - wish I had seen it in 2016 when I first rescued Missy, as a virtual bird newbie. At that time she had never had a bath, seen a vet, been on a hand or out of her cage, and was named Patrick. Her feathers were not too bad for living on seeds, but her liver did suffer, so she's on milkthisltle for life. Now, of course, she gets regular baths, full spectrum lighting for part of the day, rides the finger when she's in the mood, loves to travel in her modified cat carrier (except to the vet's) and rules the roost. She converted to Harrison's pellets in 3 days and never looked back. but eats almost nothing else, making it hard to give her a treat for training. However, kudos to Harrison's - everyone raves about her beautiful, healthy looks, including her vet.
She has rarely bitten me, and always for a real reason. She was bonded to me before I rescued her (which is why I took her in) and is very jealous. Once, when I was petting a cockatoo in his owner's arms, she flew across a very large room to attack him (with clipped wings yet!) so I know I cannot have another bird in the house. Also, she is not anyone's bird - has only stepped up for 4 people in 2 years.
Ordinarily she only squawks loudly in morning and evening, calling the flock together for meals. Otherwise, fairly quiet unless we commit the sin of talking in the next room. Amazon rule: all conversations must take place in front of the bird.
She is very active in her cage, loves petting but no hugging - very social as long as no one tries to touch her, prefers tall men above all - puts on a great show for them. She has happily adapted from at least five years of being virtually ignored to being adored, expanding me from a cat lady to a cat and bird person. (Stll waiting to pick up my first macaw, if Missy doesn't catch me at it!)
 

AutumnRain

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
3/2/17
Messages
1,061
Real Name
Kelsey
I grew up with a DYH Amazon named E.T. My dad named him after E.T. in the movie, of course. My parents got him from a breeder when I was only four years old. He was super sweet as a baby, as baby birds tend to be. He would preen our hair and cuddle, and was a joy to be around.

The Bad: As he got older, his hormones kicked in big time. He was super hormonal during puberty. After that, he would still get very moody around hormone times, and would try to bite anyone and everyone frequently during those peak times. He was not allowed on the floor at that point either, as toes became a fun new thing to bite...hard. During this time, he also decided my dad was to be his mate. My parents didn't know about the benefits of flighted birds at the time, so E.T. was not flighted. Even though he couldn't fly, whenever my dad and my mom were in the same room, he would make every attempt to climb over to bite her. He was fast and because of this, he was sometimes successful. His bites were the latch on as hard as possible and don't let go kind. When my dad was at work, or out of sight, my mom could handle him and even pet him. I was only bitten by E.T. twice, but I remember it well. It may not be a Cockatoo bite, but it's certainly a memorable experience. I was just a kid when I got bite #1. It hurt like crazy, but I was fine. My arm was badly bruised and indented, but it healed up, and there was no scarring or anything. This happened during hormone season.

When I was 10, my mother had to send him up to my aunt's house because my dad was too sick to be around the dander anymore (doctor's orders). E.T. never got over my mom dropping him off at my aunt's. He stayed furiously angry at her, and I think he still would be to this day. Even though she did visit him and bring him back home, I'm sure he felt abandoned, and I can't say that I blame him. Not to mention, my dad was his absolute favorite person in the whole world, and E.T. was only able to come back after my dad had passed away. I'm positive he associated my mom with my dad's absence and blamed her for that too. He probably thought she had caused his whole world to be taken away, and I don't say this lightly, but it was easy to see that he absolutely hated her for it.

He then became my sister's bird, as my mom could no longer handle or go anywhere near him without him trying to attack her. When my older sister went away to college, I became his caregiver. I was somewhat afraid of him though, but I tried to give him what he needed to the best of my ability. At one point, I was holding him and my mom came upstairs. The second he saw her, he bit me so hard. That bite, unlike bite #1, bled a lot. I didn't understand Parrot behavior at that point, like I do now, so I became more fearful of him after that.

The Good: Even though I was afraid of him, I really loved that bird. After all, I had grown up with him. There was a lot to love about E.T. He had a huge vocabulary, and spoke so clearly for a Zon. He was able to sound exactly like my mom, to the point where my uncle thought my mom was home one time while we were on vacation. My uncle was fixing the water heater, and he told us E.T. said, "(My dad's name), is at the garage." That was one of his favorite phrases to say when my dad was either at work or not there. He would look out the window waiting for my dad when he said it too. He would even sing songs, including the whole Lion King theme song. He also said things like, "E.T. phone home, want a cracker, my name and middle name together, my mom's name, my sister's name and middle name together, bird, wanna come out," and a whole lot of other words and phrases. My mom taught him to sing instead of screaming, so he never screamed. He was such a fun bird to have around. You could see when he was excited (eye pinning and head tilt), and knew interacting from a distance was best at those moments. I still appreciate how strong and clear Amazon body language can be. I avoided many potential bites because of this.

Next, it was my turn to leave home, and there was no way for me to take E.T. with me, plus he was still my sister's bird. So, my mom tried to keep him until my sister was finished with college, but she knew it wasn't working. E.T. was locked in his cage for almost a year, because she still couldn't handle him at all anymore. He wasn't happy, so she ended up deciding it would be best to rehome him to my cousin. Unfortunately, after having E.T. for several years, my cousin decided to rehome him again. I seriously to this day wish I could have taken E.T. when he was going to rehome him, but at the time, I knew I just didn't have the means to do so. I still think about him often and miss him so much. I really hope he went to his forever home where he will be showered with all the time, care, attention, and love that he deserves.

If you're considering getting an Amazon, I think they're some of the most wonderful birds you could share your home and your life with, as long as you're adequately prepared and able to deal with the not-so-enjoyable (and sometimes downright hard) aspects of being an Amazon owner. Sometimes life happens and a new home is best for them. I really do understand that, but if possible, I don't want to see these guys going through multiple homes like E.T. had to. That's why I tried to be as honest with you as possible about what an Amazon could be like. Going through multiple homes is really hard on them, so please do a lot of research before getting one. Since you're reading this thread, you're already off to a great start.

I remember we had to have our feet up on the furniture when this was taken, and I think my mom was wearing a pair of thick slippers so her feet would not get bitten, but this was our special boy. I only hope I did justice to how wonderful he was, despite all the hormonal issues that he couldn't help. He was worth it.
photostudio_1549266101558-picsay.png
 
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Emma&pico

Biking along the boulevard
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1/9/22
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Uk
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Emma
@Odette good read to start you off while people with Amazon answer for you
 
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