Bonding With Rescue Amazons - Help?

[SkyDancer]

Hi guys, I am in need of advice. I recently acquired 3 rescue Amazons. The previous owners said all 3 were males. They never laid eggs. I don't believe it's ever been confirmed with a DNA test, however. There are 2 BF Amazons (one is around 8-10, other is in late teens). There is also a DYH Amazon. He is supposed to be older, probably in his 30's.

These guys were pets at one point but due to owner illness, have not been handled in a long time and have more or less been together in an aviary-style situation outside.

I have owned and worked with Amazons before but never 3 at once. I went ahead and clipped wings on all 3. I have young kids in my house (16 months and a newborn). They do not handle my birds at all, but it gives me major peace of mind having wings clipped. I am in the process of ordering them a much larger indoor cage.

I plan on putting them in my living room so they can see everything that's going on. My question is, did I bite off more than I can chew with these guys? They are not handleable currently. They will not step up. They lunge and attempt to bite most days. The cage I am looking at has a play top so was planning on them spending most of the day out of the cage.

I was leaning towards a hand-reared baby (seeing as I have kids) but couldn't help but get these guys out of the situation they were in (the owner was a client of my husband's). Would I have more luck placing them in an experienced home and finding a baby or do you think it's possible to tame and have 3 friendly pet Amazons who live together, even though they haven't been handled in years?

Not sure where to start! They are beautiful little guys.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Hi! Welcome!
I don't have Amazon's but im.sure members who do will help!

But I do have rescues and watching them transform is uplifting! And even if you decide you are only the transition home im.glad you are helping them.

It takes time to build trust and see personalities open up. They've certainly experienced a great deal of change in a short time. If they've been flying in an aviary for year's . You will need to be a little careful of them crashing to the ground as they will still think they can fly at first . I put out a circle of cushion and blankets in the crash zone if any if mine are unfortunate to come to me clipped.

A play top alone may not be enrichment enough. Many of us go all out with hanging and climbing and out of cage perches with foraging.

It will be very interesting to hear all about them and thier personalities! And follow your journey!

 

[April]

Let me tag a few members who could help. @Clueless @Wasabisaurus @melissasparrots

 

[melissasparrots]

Well, the good news is that amazons are fairly independent and I suppose they don't necessarily need to be tame in order to live a happy life. You might need them to be tame for you to be happy with them, but the reverse is not true. I'd work with them when you can. Some of them might show signs of being interested in people and others not. As far as I'm concerned, you got them out of a poor situation. Give them food, water, toys, vet care and give them the chance to show you what they want. Amazons that aren't very interested in people are sometimes better off being given a companion of their own kind and allowed to be a bird. BTW, not laying an egg is not indicative of being male. I have 3 female amazons here over the age of 10 and none of them have laid an egg for me unless given a nest box with a mate and encouraged to breed.
You do need to be careful about the small children. Many hormonal male amazons will leap off the cage (even when clipped and chase someone across the floor in order to bite). Some females will do that too, but males are known for it. You may very well be able to get even the untame ones out of the cage to hang out on the cage top. Each bird is different. Just let them show you what they need. BTW, just because they don't need you, doesn't mean they will do better with someone else. A lot of older amazons that have bonded with other amazons don't see much use for humans period. No matter who you are. You can probably work your way up to a relationship of sorts, but sometimes, they just know they are a bird and you are not. Getting them to take a treat from your hand may be the best you can do. It's entirely possible that one or more of them will eventually allow scritches though. If housed with other amazons, they may not be very interested in stepping up and being taken away from their companions in order to be force socialized with not bird/humans. It really is dependent on the individual. Might I suggest you just offer them kindness and unconditional acceptance with no expectation of receiving it in return.

 

[Clueless]

I rescued 2 that were once tame. One was very hands off (Secret) and the other was interested in watching (MC). I took everything slow and MC wound up being my buddy (he passed from cancer).

Secret will accept skritches but is prone to flip and bite.

I have grandsons. The kids are told NOT to get close to the cage and they learn. Mine are never out of the cage unless I am there with them. Why take a chance?

The oldest adored MC and would slowly scoot his walker into the cage. MC just went high and held on. MC saw him coming and tilted his head in small increments to watch him.

I'm not sure about putting yours in the same cage. That's scary to me because they can't get away from each other. @melissasparrots thoughts? Parrots don't have much blood.....

I'm a worry wart. One of our members has confirmed that (@JLcribber)

Amazons rule and adapt. I fell in love within a few hours.

 

[MommyBird]

I took in a BFA from a bad situation a long time ago. These poor guys. And since you have such young kids....I'm glad you have worked with Amazons before. Can you say you are really great with Amazon body language?
I love Amazons. Chico (male BFA) has passed, he became my heart-bird and just shattered my heart to pieces when he died. I now have another BFA female and a female OWA, both rescues. I would get another male in a heartbeat though; I loved the personality, spice and challenge.

I would not keep all 3 in the same cage, I don't know how you would find a big enough cage to keep them all safely. Their aviary outdoors was large enough to give them space to get away from each other. You would need something on the line of an indoor aviary from Expandable Habitats or similar. A single traditional macaw cage is NOT large enough. The cages you have asked about in other posts are NOT enough for all 3. Even if you plan for them to be out all day. There may be times when hormones flare and you need to keep them caged, and 3 hormonal Amazons in one too-small cage - yikes!. Just get 3 cages.

You should also have several, separate playstands. But I guess if you get 3 play-top cages you can hold off a bit on that. Since you clipped wings they would need a way to get to playstands. They are going to climb down to the floor. How are you going to handle that? Do they stepup to a perch?

At least Amazons are very food motivated and easy to clicker train. Have you ever done clicker training? Do you know what someone means by the ABCs (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequences)? If you are wishing to have 3 Amazons you can work with you should start reading Susan Freidman and become an expert parrot psychologist. It'll be relevant with your human kids too. They may very well all have beautiful temperaments but they are in a rough spot now. Written Works: Learning and Behavior - BehaviorWorks.com

I would definitely have them DNA tested to see what sex they are, especially since you have kids. With Amazons it is really important to know this as males can be potentially dangerous in hormone season. The DYH may be tempering a little bit but only a bit, but the BFAs are in their prime ages for being excitable. Otherwise I'm sure you will figure it out by behavior within a year, but that could be a scary thing.

We really don't know enough about you from one posting to determine if you should keep them or get your baby zon. I would think since you have written you are trying to be up to the challenge and we here sure will give you all the help we can!

Roz, @Fuzzy , also has a flock of parrots, you should check her posts here on AA and other ideas at ThinkParrot | The Parrot Lovers' Site

 

[Cockatoo-Dust]

I've never had amazons but i have worked with fearful and extremely aggressive birds. my experience at a rescue was irreplaceable, i worked with a goffins too that nailed me in the face from fear and later became my best buddy! (he got adopted by a family and he is doing amazingly now!) he loved scratches once he realized i wasn't scary.

give them some time once they get into the bigger cage, to adjust and get used to the household. talk to them frequently, multiple times a day. stop by the cage often with treats and make their noises back at them to gain their interest in you. sounds super basic but after a week or two you may be having little noise conversations. don't try to touch them unless they offer their head first to be pet, you'd want them to trust you completely first and let them take the first steps towards touch and handling.

Amazons can be hard and 3 all at once can be a handful too, but i think any person who really wants to can do it with the right support, resources, and understanding of bird psychology. if the three of them are bonded, once you befriend one, the other two will see that and also become gradually more used to you. good luck and feel free to ask any questions!

 

[Clueless]

I just want to add that my husband and I had ZERO bird experience when we rescued two WILD CAUGHT DNA MALE blue front amazons...... and it worked for us.

 

[Fuzzy]

That's lovely of you to take these guys in ZonMom. How are they housed right now? If they were in a large aviary before, and have been put in a smaller space together, like a cage, keep an eye out for any bickering/aggression between them as they won't have the same space to get away from each other if necessary and could do some serious damage to each other. It may not apply to your situation, but something to be aware of. I think that if they are all friendly with each other, there is not nearly as much work as when birds don't get on. Plus when you are training new behaviours, they can learn from each other.

As for beginning to train, just concentrate on trying to keep their body language as relaxed as possible when you approach them... you don't want to be pairing your presence with, and evoking behaviour like, biting/lunging etc. if you can help it. Instead try to pair your presence with relaxed behaviour (it might mean changing the way you approach them) and/or reinforcing consequences, like treats. I'd choose the least aggressive and see if he would take a favourite treat through the bars of the cage (safety for both you and him). Then move on to the others. Make the treat something big initially so you don't get bitten. It takes a lot of courage to step up onto a person, so maybe later with some sensitive training. Some may be happier to step up on a hand held perch instead, again with training using something like food/treats as a reinforcer.

Would love to see a pic of them and their set up. I have three rescue and rehomed Amazons too, and a Pionus.