6 month year old blue front amazon

[gazzington]

Hi everyone. I was just wondering if somebody could give me some advice.
I have only recently brought a blue fronted amazon in to my home who is very friendly and only 6 months old. The place I got her from think she is female but isn't DNA tested. We decided to call her luna.

My partner has become very concerned because she has read about the terrible aggression these birds can have during their mating season. She is now not sure if we should keep her as my partner would like to have kids over the next few years and is frightened of the amazon attacking a)us b)kids c)pet cockatiel. This is upsetting me as I already love Luna and have recently suffered the death of my cockatiel. Does anybody have advice for me to pass to my partner? I must stress that my partner does also really like Luna but is just scared of her becoming agressive. Luna has only been with us a week and already feels like part of the family

I must stress we did read up on amazons before going out and getting one but unfortunately none of the books said that blue fronted amazons act like this. I only found this out by reading some forums. My partner says that if we need to take her back to the shop then we should do it quickly. The trouble is that we both already like her loads.

 

[andor]

By some small chance, you didn't get her from Bird & Reptile Connection in Walpole, MA, did you?

All birds are different when it comes to hormonal aggression, you can't know at 6 months what they'll be like in years. Birds aren't the easiest animals to live with (especially with kids), but it is very doable. Just teach your children that they're not to go near Luna without one of you around. If it is a particularly hormonal period for her, be extra careful and don't let the kids around. Bites are very easy to avoid if you know your bird's body language. The best way to prevent bites is to not get bitten.

That said, regardless of their typical temperament, it wouldn't be a good idea to allow a young child to handle an amazon unsupervised anyways.

 

[andor]

I should clarify the "best way to prevent bites" bit, because it was pretty "duh", huh?

Once an animal learns that it can get its way by biting, it will continue to do so. Avoid bites and thus avoid some of the aggressive behavior.

You should also stick train her so that if she ever does become unhand-able at a later age, you can always resort to moving her around on a perch if need be.

 

[gazzington]

Hi. Thanks for your reply. No I live in the uk and bought from a specialist bird store. I would never leave a child unsupervised with a parrot anyhow, not even our female cockatiel! If she does become aggressive at her sexual maturity would this last long term or is it something that goes away again?

 

[andor]

It tends to come and go and be seasonal. The first year of sexual maturity, when the hormones surge for the first time, tends to be by far the worst. Females are supposed to be less hot-headed when their hormones hit. But, again, all birds are different.

 

[gazzington]

My partner is also scared that luna will hurt her pet cockatiel. She should be safe if they are not out at the same time though. I wish the lady in the pet store had told us this as we may have had to think differently. It is really hard now as Luna has been quite lovely

 

[Bokkapooh]

They're products of how they're raised and trained. Diet, size of cage, amount of toys, vet care and training put into the bird makes a HUGE difference.. I suggest reading up on care and on parrot behavior, and start clicker training and positive reinforcement. Teach her early on where to station. Also right now is the perfect time to get her.socialized to little kids, I think that is very important. And prevent your zon and 'tiel from interacting and getting near eachother

 

[henpecked]

Hey gazzington, welcome to this forum too, LOL. i responded to your post on that other forum ,this is a great forum also. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

[jmfleish]

I think a lot of factors are going to go into how your Amazon will be as an adult and there is no telling now what she will be like six years from now. I just recently adopted a Yellow Headed Amazon who is the sweetest bird I have ever met and love her dearly. She doesn't seem to care for men all that much but will not go out of her way to attack them either. She's not a big biter and has never bit me. She will defend herself when the other birds in my flock harass her but I doubt she would ever hurt them. She just turned 11 in October.

I think as others have mentioned, it's really going to depend on how you raise her and what types of boundaries you set for her as well as the diet you give her and the toys you set her up with. As for kids and other birds, you have to be willing to supervise interactions to ensure that everyone is safe. Accidents do happen but you can minimize that by knowing everyone in the house and how they interact with each other.

 

[penny'smom]

We've had Zoe, an Orange Wing Amazon, for over 2 years without hormonal issues. She is about 17. I've never dealt with other zons, so my experience is limited to her. I will say that I worry about keeping my little caique away from the amazon cage, though.

 

[melissasparrots]

I would say it depend on the bird and how determined you are to make it work. I have aggressive birds and I have birds that hate my other birds. If I had kids, I'd still keep my aggressive birds. And I do manage to keep my little birds safe from my big birds. It all comes down to you and the other adults in your house. My amazons don't bite my little birds because they aren't allowed to have access to them. They don't bite children because I don't let them have access to children. I have a few that would chomp a kid's finger in a heart beat, and one old male amazon that will fly across the room to bite me, the dog and anyone else. That doesn't happen because I don't let it. And on the rare occasion we have a near miss, it was my fault for getting in a situation where it had the opportunity to happen. Females are generally much less of a concern than males.

Setting yourself up with a good routine right from the start is important. Teach the bird where its allowed to be in the house and not to go exploring on its own. Don't let it get into the habit of walking around on the floor. That way it never develops the behavior pattern of going looking for trouble. Have a nice cage, and a nice gym. The bird can be one of those two places, transported there by you. Depending on the bird you may or may not be able to sit snuggling the baby on the couch with the bird perched on your shoulder. Some will crawl down and attack the baby. Others will be fine with it. You won't know how your bird is going to be until it grows up and part of being a responsible large bird owner is being willing to work with all the stages your bird goes through and stick with it. You don't abandon a child when its going through the wild teenage years and gets into a fist fight at school or loud raging arguments at the parents. You don't do that to large parrots either when they become aggressive or loud.

If having the bird fly across the room to attack the child is a deal breaker for you, I'd either advise you to find the bird a new home now, or commit to a lifestyle and training methods such that it isn't allowed to happen. That might require a change in perspective for you. Owning non-domesticated animals is just like that. You have to be the higher intelligence and learn to work with it. You can't count on 3,000 years of selective breeding and neutering to rid the animal of all its mature and more aggressive behaviors.

Give it a nice large cage right from the start, that way if it has a few tumultuous crazy hormone years, you don't feel compelled to get rid of it because it needs to be in a cage more often and you feel guilty.

It can be done. I will say, kids that are raised with large parrots learn a tremendous amount about interacting with animals that kids raised with dogs don't get. They learn respect. To check body language first before touching. And a lot of them seem to learn a certain intuition about animals and their needs and behavior that you don't get from having a dog or cat that has had its wild nature selectively bred out of it. It can be a really neat experience for the kids and adults and lifetime lessons learned. If you plan on being one of those parents that says, "if that animal bites my child, it can't live here" then probably you will need to stick to furry pets. All large parrots and a lot of small ones have the potential to do this. So trading your amazon in for a cockatoo won't be any better and might be much worse. Such is life with intelligent pets who have a mind of their own and grow up eventually. Cockatiels IMO are the best birds to have with kids. Most others will require some adjustments.

 

[BiggBaddWolf]

For most Zons the period is typically 2-6 yrs or so, but each bird can be different, and like you I didn't know about the "HOT THREE" until shortly before I got my Zon, which is a Red Lored, and supposedly one that doesnt get so aggressive during breeding season..but just use common sense, learn to "READ" your bird, and you will be fine

 

[macawpower58]

I'm sorry, but if you're already fearing any hormonal aggression, you'll probably be unhappy at sometime with your Amazon.

IMO Amazons are feisty birds, the hot three (Blue Front is one) especially so. So yes, the chances of you seeing something are high.

Even non-hormonal birds though can have aggressive periods. As for your small bird, I'd never expect a larger bird to remain neutral and calm towards it. Babies of course are all sweet, but they do grow up.

I agree with rehoming while young, especially if you know aggressive behavior later in life will cause you to rehome.

Hopefully though you'll decide to come to terms with whatever behavior rears it's head, and just deal with things as they come up.

 

[Cupcake]

OP - think about this - a parrot is a lifetime commitment - just like kids. Would you be willing to give up your kid if it displayed hormonal behavior? (sometimes I'd like to disown my stepkid but that won't happen )

What I'm saying is you adapt to it. You are now aware of the POTENTIAL and now you have plenty of time to reinforce the behaviors you will need to have in place when the kids join your family. Step up, step down, cage, go night night - whatever commands you need to teach her, start now. Get her confident with you and trusting OF you - and when the hormonal crazies hit - you can cage her up so she won't be a threat to anyone - including herself.

I have an African Grey baby - she's just 8 months and while she isn't near hormonal crazies, I am working on commands with her. I have also invested in a long "T" perch so that anyone can get her if she decides to be a brat and not listen.


Rigby tolerates my 8 year old. She has bitten him but every single bite was well deserved. He pushed her beyond her comfort level and she gave him a zinger. He yelled and backed off. I don't punish the bird for that - and the kid got his punishment via beak!

Don't give up on Luna because of what you read - as long as you learn her and her signals, you will be able to survive a house hold with kids and parrots.

 

[dolldid]

Mango is a yellow shoulder amazon he was 4 yrs old last April and hormones notyet . As its been said we dont know what to expect in yrs to come but one thing i have found out they show how they feel and if you pay attention things will be easy , i also beleave in cage and parrots area are out of bounds . meaning if your wanting them ASK THEN DO YOU WANT TO COME i do not beleave taking them or making them come give a choice but when on your things its COME ON LETS GO .
they learn whats yours and theres i call it respect and builds up a great understanding .

Mango is never caged frome time he gets up till bed time and even when i go out hes free i do not have a bird room
my apt is his and mine ..... set your way of life but remember if you want respect from your bird you have to show it
a bird isnt like any other pet they are like a child . Remember this bird will out live you you decided to bring her in to your home and life it wasnt her decision .

My advice is think are you prepared to spend the rest od your life sharing with a parrot if not take her back but also remember you cant do that with a child once its here it yours for life .

I CANT SEE ANYONE JUDGEING YOU IF YOU DECIDE TO TALE HER BACK , YOUR ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
but what is the right decision , thats your call

Tell me something do you know whats been writen for you in 5 10 35 yrs I dont think so if you turn out say disabled cant work id your partner going to toss you out. see a nother question to ask or if your child has a defect do you disown it. so I have given you questions to find answers to , all I can say now is decision is yours whats written say for 5 yrs time for your bird you dont have answers ,and no one can give you to this

Think clear and act on it its your choice . AMAZONS are easy to read i just wish humans were to..lol

good luck choice you make you will live with



hugssssssssssssssssssss DOLL

 

[Kelli711]

I say that if they become too aggressive because they do tend to have mood swings especially around spring just keep the children away.Our friend brings by his son who is 8 now and we told him right off the bat he can say hello to the bird and talk to her but not to get too close.Just limit close interaction between the two.

 

[BirdyGirl]

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security in thinking that just because your cockatiel and amazon are not out of their cages at the same time, the cockatiel will be safe. My cockatiel was inside her cage with the door shut and my Meyer's flew over and grabbed her through her cage bars and broke her beak. I take all the blame for this, because I stepped out of the room for a minute and mistakenly thought my 'tiel would be safe because she was in her cage and my Meyer's was across the room on top of his cage.
As others have said, you do have one of the "hot three" amazons, but with some patience and caution and lots of education, people are able to weather the hormonal storm!

 

[gazzington]

Thanks everyone. We want to make it work with Luna, and are willing to put the time and effort in to make that happen. Can I ask for some training advice. Currently she prefers coming out of the cage by just me leaving the door open for her. She sometimes allows me to pick her up but will clamp her beak on to my fingers quite hard to the extent it does hurt. I don't pull my hand away or show her fear and I do say NO sternly. I can also get her to stop on to a long wooden perch. I have ordered a clicker so I can start using that soon. Please, any advice will be greatly received. I want to make sure she is well brought up.

 

[Love My Zons]

Amazons are very smart birds and with this being said, they are also very good birds at being left alone too. An Amazon can love attention as well, but some will let you know when they want it. I have two from different realms. One is stubborn (Kazoo) and one can be the sweetest snuggly bird you would think he was a cat (Hoosier) Both Friendly and socialized with other People who come to our house. The fact remains that birds can bite and at sometime you may get one. I know my Red Lored so well that I know exactly when I can expect a nip. I will not say bad bite, but a good nip

If you live with them long enough you can know them almost to a T. Allow your Amazon to be himself allowing him his own time, foraging toys with treats, things that will keep him busy. As for multiple birds my Amazons play with each other alot of times right on my Parrotlets cage, they seem to love the little guy and he loves the attention of the big guys hanging out with him. None of them have ever gone after that little booger. We are talking a huge size difference between them Kazoo being in the 600 gram range and JP my Parrotlet around 30 grams.

Just common sense when both birds are out. Hormonal behavior in some can be mild as with mine so far, but when that time comes just let them be, and if more cage time is in order just give him or her stuff to be very busy toy wise, wood, shredders, foot toys and that time will pass easily for both of you.

 

[marian]

You've gotten alot of good advice above.One thing I can tell you is, amazons are pretty easy birds to read.I've had hiram over 20 years. I still would never leave him out of the cage when my granddaughter is visiting.There are ways to make this work, it will take time and patience.Also a very busy amazon, with lots to do is usually happy bird.So if you can build some kind of playstand and have lots of things for her to do...will make a world of difference.Lots of wood and toys to play with are very important.Be very careful though with the smaller/large bird.One of other thing that comes to mind,is start teaching her to step up.If you need anymore help just keep asking.