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Help - New to Amazons

Dawne

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Dawne
Hi All

I am a parrot mom to a number of FIDs. Currently we have three CAGs, a Caique and a Quaker. I am not a new parrot owner and have the scars to prove it lol.

We are considering adding another baby to the flock (the only babies I have raised are the Caique and the Quaker both are lovely, lovey and well behaved the others are re-homes or rescues each with its own unique bundle of baggage but totally loved all the same). I was initially in search of a CAG. A highly respected breeder that I contacted while searching had no Greys but offered up a baby Yellow Nape. This baby is the offspring of a 55 year old pair that was being readied for retirement when the produced this single little chick. It was very unexpected to the breeder to discover this egg so to me, it makes her that much more special.

I know of amazons but have never been owned by one or really interacted with one. I am intrigued.

The baby is still being gender tested and it is only mine if it is a female. The breeder said he would not sell me a male as they tend to be more aggressive. However, in my research I am finding that aggression does not seem to be a males only trait.

Can any of you please enlighten me about your lives with an Amazon; the good the bad and the ugly and give me tips as to how to bring out the great and minimize the bad.

Thanks so much!

Dawne
 

Clueless

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Each bird is an individual. Seriously.

Mine are both DNA Male, blue front, wild caught amazons. I was told Secret was tame and friendly, MC was vicious.

In my home, MC is a sweetheart, Secret is...... an individual with unique qualities. Not the tame, friendly bird I was expecting.

I love them both dearly.

The good? You always see what an amazon thinks.

The bad? They expect you to "get it" when their eyes pin and their tail feathers flare and humans can be slow mentally so...... we get bit.

The ugly? When there is blood from the bad.

How to bring out the great? Loving them.
 

Anita1250

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I have a 35 year old BFA whom I have had since he was 11 weeks old. He really is a sweetheart. Never bites hard, just a nibble to tell you to stop what you are doing. Wants to be with us all of the time. Sits on the couch and watches tv. Wants to be petted and cuddled whenever and wherever you want. Never screams, except once in a while when he gets scared. I think that the main thing here is how the bird is socialized. We have always handled him a lot, carried him around, spent a lot of time with him. I really think he believes he is one of us. Sometimes, I think he doesn't even know he is a bird! He has full wings, but never even tries to fly. We got through the teenage years pretty well, with no hormone issues. I guess the only way to find out is take the plunge. My life has been made so much better by having this little bird a part of it. I wouldn't trade him or any of the experiences for anything.
 

BirdManDan

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Apart from the occasional hormonal flare ups any bird can be trained to be a great companion bird male or female. It almost always is what you put into the relationship to create that bond that is the determining factor of what kind of bird comes out of it.
 

Dawne

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Thanks Guys!

Well as much as I am "pro" adopting, rescuing and re-homing I have to say that the two little ones that we have raised are far better behaved and better integrated that the ones we have acquired later in their life. Which leads me to feel more confident about taking on a baby YNA. We devote a tremendous amount of time to our flock. If we are home they are with us and we are really only away from home to go to work. This baby will be with us all of the time and will be harness trained right away. Our Caique is an absolute dream in her harness. Our Greys are balanced and independent enough that there should no issue with the addition.
 

Kiwibird08

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What might I ask does the breeder plan to do if the baby is a male? Do I even want to know? It's a pretty 'old school' notion to consider male amazons not fit to be pets. I can hardly believe I'm hearing of a breeder in this day and age who still tells potential buyers that long debunked crapola. If it were me, I'd tell him I wasn't interested in knowing either way (that or didn't care either way) because you want to get to know the baby better as an individual. Male or female, the best predictor of future behavior is on how the owner cares for and trains their bird, not the birds gender.

My male BFA is a good boy. He was pretty vicious when newly adopted, but that was due to his background not inherent to his personality/nature/gender. Once we earned his trust and trained him, he is a wonderful companion. Wouldn't trade him for the world and certainly don't wish he was a she for any reason. Sure, he has his 'spring thing' for a few weeks each year, but we simply give him a wide berth during that time as we know very well he's feeling less than friendly during that time. Not a big deal at all really. It's not exactly like they 'hide it' when they're angry! 10 1/2 months out of the year, he's just about the nicest bird you could ever meet. Quiet, calm, well behaved, playful, funny and the list goes on!
 

macawpower58

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IMO DYH'S have that reputation for a reason. Yes, some are sweet throughout their life.

Others..... Well, get your fighting gear on, because they can be a very hard bird to handle (especially if you're timid, or new to them).
Luckily those days are a ways off, if you get a baby.
Enjoy your sweet loving baby, and wait to see if she changes into a Tasmanian Devil or not. Years down the road though.
You'll have plenty of time to prepare 'emotionally' for changes that can occur.

The wonderful thing with Amazons is they say exactly what they're going to do. That body language is stunning, and impossible to miss.

I also think females can get quite testy, but the males for sure win the medal for overload.
 

Kiwibird08

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IMO DYH'S have that reputation for a reason.

The wonderful thing with Amazons is they say exactly what they're going to do. That body language is stunning, and impossible to miss.

I also think females can get quite testy, but the males for sure win the medal for overload.
My mom has a old wild caught DYH who weighs in around 600 grams (of pretty much solid muscle from so much flying) and SHE can/will send a grown man running for his life lol (she HATES men with a passion and is amongst the best flyers I've ever seen). Now, my mom trained her "good enough" that she steps up, flies to her when called etc... but never really worked with her to the extent people do with birds today so she still very much has the wild in her. Even my male amazon when he was having his major aggression issues never acted up or tried to mess with her when he would go over to visit. She would whoop his 420 gram butt and he knew it:p In a tossup between the 2, my male may be more flashy and can certainly inflict a painful bloody bite, but I would for sure rather be attacked by him than get on her bad side any day!
 

aooratrix

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camelotshadow

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I feel your passion...Sometimes we have to take a leap on faith...
 

melissasparrots

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I have yellow napes and have bred them in the past. Females are generally the easier sex. They can be pretty spicy, but usually not super difficult. Males are much more likely to launch themselves as you and attach to any body part they can reach with their beak, dig in, grab another chunk, dig and and repeat until you scrape them off you. Females are more likely to have a definable trigger. Often that trigger is some unliked thing approaching their favorite person, in which case they will bite their favorite person. My older female nape came from a family with a grey. The grey was there first and she made him nervous so they rehomed the nape. They can be aggressive toward other birds. In my experience, the females are at least as bad as the males if not more so toward other birds. Actually, my pet female nape just got her toe bit tonight when she flew to her sister's cage. Sister didn't think about it a second, lightening fast reaction to drive off the other bird and bite. Thankfully not a bad bite though, but had I not been there, she probably would have tried to remove the toe.

The key to amazons is watching body language. Ask before touching and be willing to accept no for an answer. Walk up to them and just chat with them for a bit while you assess body language before asking for a step up. You can avoid A LOT of bites that way. Learn your bird's triggers and they will become easy to avoid. My amazons are all triggered by dogs. I have to be careful when there is a dog around because if the bird takes exception to the dog while the bird is on me, I get bit. Sometimes they will take exception to their favorite person's spouse or kids in which case everyone needs to learn to back off while you hold the bird.

Another key to amazon success is don't try to hard to make them like you. It gives amazons the heebee jeebees. In other words, they will think you are a creeper and try to get rid of you. Stop for a moment when you walk past their cage a few times a day. Ask if they want a scratch, wait for them to say yes with body language, give out scritches for a minute or two and then go on with your day. Don't think they actually want to spend the next two hours attached to you because they probably don't. And trying to convince them to sit with you for more than a few minutes is a fast way to teach an amazon to bite. End all interactions on a good note before the bird decides she's had enough of you and bites to make you go away. If you ask the bird if she wants to step up or get scritches and she turns her back to you, growls or just seems uninterested, consider it a NO and go on your way. Don't take it upon yourself to pester her into changing her mind because they you will just be cramping her style, she will resent you for bugging her ALL THE TIME and start biting first just to make you go away. Think teenage girl behavior or cat behavior. A light touch and plenty of space gets you more than chasing them around trying to be their friend.

I really enjoy my amazons. I think my females are nearly perfect. But, I don't blame them when they make me bleed. I blame myself for not seeing the signs. And, I have other pets, so its not important to me that my amazon want to sit with me for hours on end.

Many weanling baby napes go through a very trying full pressure biting stage. I believe this is a big independence stage for them where in the wild they'd be flying like crazy to work off energy. Around the house, they have a human constantly pushing hands in their face and trying to sweet talk them into interacting and holding still and being petted. Some people have a difficult time with those full pressure bites. They rarely make you bleed by OMG do they make you hurt. Babies do eventually work out of that phase, but sometimes it can take anywhere from a few months to a year. Depending on if you try to train it out of them, mess it up and teach them to bite just to get rid of you so they can go play on their own which is what they really want to do. If you just leave them to be an independent baby, keep interactions short, and don't give them a chance to bite you, don't get your feelings hurt when its been days and the bird hasn't asked for a scratch, just give the bird space and chew toys, they will eventually grow out of it. Although it may seem at times like the bird lives there and you don't really have a relationship with it. Things will change when it grows up. Although even adults can go through independent stages where they like you, but they'd rather you not touch them. My female has been known to go through 6 weeks at a time in December where she really acts like she could care less what happens to me. Then after a few weeks I notice she's leaning forward and giving me body language like she wants a scratch and just like that we are back to being friends.

Personally I think they are a good species for people with other pets or semi busy lives that have some time for a pet, but don't have time for a soul mate type of pet. The amazon will certainly act like it likes/loves you at times, but they have other things to do that doesn't always include you. Sometimes sitting around and thinking about taking over the world is way better than dealing with an actual live human being. And you can see when they are thinking such thoughts. Their tail will twitch to a half flare and their eyes will flash for no particular reason. Usually that means if you try to hold them, you will get bit.
 
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Wasabisaurus

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What I wish I had known when we adopted Wasabi in 2006 was to let him progress at his own pace in terms of accepting friendship and interacting with him. Don't overwhelm the bird with attention. You may be anxious to be friends, but that cannot be rushed, in my limited experience. That would be the single best piece of advice I can offer. Oh, and patience. Have lots.

My DYA male, who is about 27, is the one people might warn you about. If I was a meek person, he'd walk all over me. He's got a temper. I can read his mood well enough to avoid a bite and I know the little glint in his eye when he lowers his head for a scratch, but is still watching me. It's a test! :roflmao: He is my first Amazon and we adopted him after some jerk abandoned him. The guy obviously did not care enough to raise Wasabi to be a pleasure to have. W may have gone thru many homes. It would not surprize me.

Anyway, he is a very good boy.....until he's not. Right now we are in a not spell, but it is the hormonal season, and he is screaming and downright bellowing these days. It's not fun. Very hard on my nerves, but we forge ahead.
 

MCraig

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I don't have a yellow nape, I have a DYH, but I hope some of my experiences can help.
Carlos loves me. LOVES ME. This was not my choice - he chose me and it was take him home or break both of our hearts. He is still moody with me, and I do get bit if I don't pay attention to his signs. He is very clear with his body language and cannot be "forced" to do anything. Everything Carlos does is his choice, at his time, at his pace. I have been working on socializing him in public and he is doing fantastic - he will go on anyone's arm for a photo op and then back to me. If he had the choice, he would probably live his entire life on my shoulder.
My husband loves Carlos, but Carlos does not love him, at all. They have a very hands off relationship. My husband tries hard to bond with Carlos - he is the one who feeds him daily, gives him treats, etc. But he has to use a stick to have him go in his cage - Carlos would take a chunk out of him if he didn't. Very different for me as Carlos will go to me almost at any time.
Another thing with him - he will take a chunk out of anyone (even me) who invades his cage space. When I clean the cage, add new toys, etc., I have to move him to a playstand prior to doing so otherwise there will be bleeding - indefinitely. I have a nice scar where he bit the back of my arm because I thought I could change a toy quickly while he was on the other side of the cage. Ouch.

When he is hormonal, watch out. He will come across my lap and bite me - hard enough to bruise deep to the bone. I don't react to these, and he is just removed from me for a while. He doesn't do it often, and I usually can tell (eye pinning etc) when he is going to do it.

He screams when I leave the room. He prefers to be in sight of me at all times. He adjusts to change easily - much easier than my CAG. He is super curious and beaks everything.
He is a little fatty. Will eat anything and I mean anything. I have to be very cautious about giving him high fat treats as Amazon's are prone to fatty liver disease.

I think amazon's are wonderful birds - their singing is amazing (my Carlos can sing the Queen's Aria opera) and they are fairly independent (as compared to say, a cockatoo). The only thing is that they seem to choose "their person" and unfortunately, it may not be you!
Good luck.
 

jmfleish

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We have seven Amazons, all of them came to us as adults, all but one are female. I have honestly never gotten bitten by any of them but the male BFA. Four of them are BFAs, one of the hot three. I honestly think the females of the hot three are much easier to deal with than the males but I have met some females who can be just as cranky as the males. It is very true that Amazons are definitely more independent than most other species and kind of like to do their own thing. It's not that they don't want you around but it's kind of like they kind of want you to acknowledge them and then they have other things to do!:) Of course this also varies from bird to bird too. One of our BFAs, Iris, can't decide if she loves her BFF, Amarillo DYHA more or my husband and every time my husband is around, she has to sit on him. Of course, she loathes to be pet so don't bother there!:) Amarillo is my angel and will sometimes climb the stairs to find me but her and Iris are generally more likely off causing some kind of chaos together. Abs our YCA is an absolute love and expects head pets but she too has lots of things to do on a daily basis. She is bonding with our LCA, Nibbles. And then there is our other female BFA, Cisco, who loves me and would love to spend time with me all the time...she's a bit more needy. Finally we have our BFA pair, Bobo and Harley. Harley is a sweetheart...Bobo not so much but he's funny.

I think getting an older Amazon is definitely the ticket, you know their personality and it isn't going to change. Young birds can change their minds about who they like and dislike and it can break hearts. We have a member here who has a male Yellow Nape who is amazing. He hasn't posted in a while but I'll send him a message and see if I can get him to chime in. Steve actually has two Yellow Nape males now. Danny and Felix. I follow him on FB. Steve is amazing with both of them and I consider him to be the YNA whisperer. Of course Danny and Felix are the true stars!:)
 

txdyna65

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My YNA Lucy will be 3 next month and we have had her since she was 3 months old. We have worked hard socializing her and she can be handled by all of our family members.
She loves when we get company, she likes to show off and sing and talk, and will let most visitors hold her except men. She loves me and Im the chosen one, but she doesnt like other men.
Like others have said, her intentions are there and if you dont heed them you pay the price. When her tail flairs and eyes pin, we just leave her be. She is an attention hog and wants to be with
one of us all the time, but she has her times when she wants to be left alone and do her thing. She is hormonal right now and the evening calls and screams get on your last nerve for sure.
Overall she has been a big learning experience for us but a pleasure to have. When I have questions I just ask here and as you can see there are alot of people here with good experience that are more than willing to help. We also just adopted/rescued a 15 year old OWA so I will have questions on her as well. So far she has been quiet but we have her in another part of the house and havent introduced her to Lucy yet.
 

Stevo

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I love my 2 male YNAs :) One is 11, the other is 3. They're both totally different birds personality wise. Danny is 11 and has been with me BM (before marriage, lol) - we have a very clear bond and understanding of each other. He's totally different behaviour wise to my wife, birdybea, and we understand and appreciate that I was married to him first.... lol... Felix, our younger boy, is a very nippy/bitey piece of work which seems to stem from a lack of confidence on his behalf - he's a work in progress and I hope to have him sorted out at some point in the next 70 or so years. If I live that long.. I know he should :) He has an apparent connection with me, but it is expressed as over-stimulation and biting, whereas his interaction with Belinda is totally different (which can be said for both Danny and Felix). I wouldn't keep female birds because of potential health issues and I find the boys are easy to read/understand. Birdybea may disagree, lol.
 

Begone

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I love my 2 male YNAs :) One is 11, the other is 3. They're both totally different birds personality wise. Danny is 11 and has been with me BM (before marriage, lol) - we have a very clear bond and understanding of each other. He's totally different behaviour wise to my wife, birdybea, and we understand and appreciate that I was married to him first.... lol... Felix, our younger boy, is a very nippy/bitey piece of work which seems to stem from a lack of confidence on his behalf - he's a work in progress and I hope to have him sorted out at some point in the next 70 or so years. If I live that long.. I know he should :) He has an apparent connection with me, but it is expressed as over-stimulation and biting, whereas his interaction with Belinda is totally different (which can be said for both Danny and Felix). I wouldn't keep female birds because of potential health issues and I find the boys are easy to read/understand. Birdybea may disagree, lol.
And where have you been?
Happy to see you back but please make a thread and update us. :)
 

jmfleish

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I love my 2 male YNAs :) One is 11, the other is 3. They're both totally different birds personality wise. Danny is 11 and has been with me BM (before marriage, lol) - we have a very clear bond and understanding of each other. He's totally different behaviour wise to my wife, birdybea, and we understand and appreciate that I was married to him first.... lol... Felix, our younger boy, is a very nippy/bitey piece of work which seems to stem from a lack of confidence on his behalf - he's a work in progress and I hope to have him sorted out at some point in the next 70 or so years. If I live that long.. I know he should :) He has an apparent connection with me, but it is expressed as over-stimulation and biting, whereas his interaction with Belinda is totally different (which can be said for both Danny and Felix). I wouldn't keep female birds because of potential health issues and I find the boys are easy to read/understand. Birdybea may disagree, lol.
I LOVE my females but the whole egg thing sucks! Iris and Ams just got back from the UW and are egg free! Yay!

And I’m just going to say that I saw the video today of Danny going after your poor dog!:)
 
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