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Help with my aggressive Blue Front Amazon?

Nightstar

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I'm sorry for your loss, I will definitely tell my parents to cut off peanuts after learning about this.
And again, thanks a lot. You've been super helpful! Given Loro is our first parrot ever(we started off in the hardest difficulty, huh?) all your advice really put my mind at ease, as I'm constantly anxious about doing something wrong. It's crazy how much people tend to undermine the difficulty of keeping parrots as pets, specially considering they have such long lifespans.
 

JLcribber

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Nightstar

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@JLcribber
Oh I actually have read that article before. I've seen these issues pointed out in many vet shows whenever a client showed up with their parrot. Sexual frustration was the most common factor in all of them, and as someone really interested in biology I looked it up further.

I've already informed my father about that and whenever he handles Loro, he always avoids touching him in ways that stimulate reproductive behavior. My mother makes sure to warn him if she catches him slipping. Also, in the times we let him wander out of the cage, I never noticed any patrolling behavior around objects or the cage itself. He is mainly focused on either wandering or slyly rounding my mother and I, looking for a window to charge at our feet. We joke that he is a feathered shark.

I don't think I've ever seen him displaying reproductive behavior in general while inside his cage either, nor touching himself. Sometimes he does get territorial, though... specifically whenever I'm around the cage(even if my father isn't present). He basically will fluff up and do a ''war dance'' to me when I'm near, as if trying to show himself off and intimidate me. Some days he does it only when I have my back turned to him, which my mother jokes is him ''mocking me'', because as soon as I turn around he will stop and pretend nothing happened.
 

Clueless

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@JLcribber
Some days he does it only when I have my back turned to him, which my mother jokes is him ''mocking me'', because as soon as I turn around he will stop and pretend nothing happened.
Oh my gosh, MC used to do that to my husband! Seriously! Down to the "Who me?" innocent look when I tried to catch MC doing the scare flap.

I miss that bird so much.
 

peggopanic

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@Clueless
Here's a video if you're curious XD.
Congrats on Loro! I also just arrived as a new member. Are you able to get Loro a larger cage? I actually ended up keeping my YNA in a small cage (smaller than yours, in fact, as it was meant to be temporary) but ONLY because I don’t lock the cage for probably 18 out of 24 hours in a day so she can go in and out as she pleases. I know you said he can go through toys immediately, have you thought about any metal or plastic toys? He might be happier in a cage filled with a few delights like a bell to ring as the cage looks a little bare.
 

Nightstar

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@peggopanic
Not right now, but as I mentioned I’m discussing with my parents about building him an aviary. It would be much more spacious with plenty of dynamic decor to enrich his activities. When it comes to metal toys, Though, I’ve only seen bells. Is there any you’d recommend?
 

Clueless

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@Clueless
Here's a video if you're curious XD.
He is quite beautiful.

I watched but didn't see any scare tactics by your Amazon. You should have seen MC do the attack flutter. He was so dramatic with it.

The perches you have look like our dowel rods. It's recommended that birds have perches of different sizes (has to do with their feet) so I have the natural branch perches and flat pieces of wood for Secret.

I'm a bit concerned about the close proximity of the cat. They're a predator and birds know that. Also there is an issue with cat saliva. I know there are other members here that have birds with cats and/or dogs and are able to coexist. You might want to do a search in our forums to see if there are any recommendations about that.

Best of luck with your Amazon. They're such sweethearts and amazing characters.
 

peggopanic

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I wish I could, apologies, I actually get all my toys from the local bird store (let them do all the safety legwork). The metal toys I’ve gotten have usually been simple, like bells and spoons, loud toys lol. I’m sure you can make your own from stainless steel items (as macawpower said) or even sourcing wood, if that’s available there and it’s definitely more economical (Safe & Toxic Plant Lists - Parrots). For awhile, my parents had mulberry and guava trees so I actually used to stick my YNA into the trees and let her go to town. Saved a lot of money for awhile!
My concern about the cage is because you mentioned he doesn’t get out much. They need lots of exercise, esp Amazons as they tend to be lazy. Hopefully the aviary comes around fast, would LOVE to offer mine such a luxury lol. Good luck with him!
 

Shezbug

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@peggopanic
Not right now, but as I mentioned I’m discussing with my parents about building him an aviary. It would be much more spacious with plenty of dynamic decor to enrich his activities. When it comes to metal toys, Though, I’ve only seen bells. Is there any you’d recommend?
Blu's Bird Toys - Stimulate Your Bird's Senses! Safe metal toys! All SS and well made by someone who knows and understands birds likes and needs :)
 

Nightstar

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@Clueless
My cat was curious in the video because he hadn't seen Loro dancing before then. None of my cats really show any interest whatsoever on him, though, and vice versa. Most of the time their access to Loro's cage is closed, too, so it's not a big concern for me.

Loro does use scare tactics, but I haven't been able to record them because it's always very sudden. First he catches me off guard with a slam on the cage(Loro kinda enjoys jumpscaring me), then fluffs up and ''huffs and puffs'' really loudly. After that he just starts dancing like in the video. It's good to know the war dance itself isn't something aggressive, though, since there are days when he dances to me without any of the scares. I find it so goofy.

Thanks for the tip about the perches! They came with the cage, so it's what we've been using since. I've looked into using rope perches too and ordered some a few times, but with the whole covid chaos the orders were cancelled ¬¬'. As you can see in the video, Loro is missing his primaries and can't fly, so giving him more varied climbing options has been in my mind for a good while.

@peggopanic
A lot of the fruits and vegetables we give Loro are grown in our yard, it definitely saves a lot of money. It helps that this is his native land too because all his diet is locally accessible(we even have wild parrots visit our yard regularly). If he wasn't this aggressive, I'd love to let him out there and watch him go rampant on our trees, haha.

@Shezbug
Ooh thanks, those look great!
(by the way I love your macaw XD)
 

Manny2000

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My amazons were old guys. MC turned out to be a sweetheart after a few years and we lost him to cancer in April.

Secret still has bad moments but take a look at this picture. See the eyes? No pinning so all is ok. You have to give them some space. Maybe the cage is too close to everyone? Is there a wall behind the cage so the bird feels safe? Can the bird hide behind toys so they aren't visible? Is there plenty of toys so the bird can destroy them? View attachment 354302
Do you have more pictures of Secret he is beautiful!!! :)
 

jmfleish

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A lot of great information has been given on this thread. You have one of the hot three Amazons and they can be very hard to work with. I have a bonded pair and the male is quite obnoxious. If you can, I would highly suggest trying to get him in to see an avian vet or any vet who knows a lot about parrots. Part of his crabby behavior might be related to health issues that you don't know about and if you can find out what they are and work on them, that can make all the difference in the world. Giving him things to do like foraging with toys (hiding his food around his cage in wrapped up paper or toys will keep him busy and occupied. There are all sorts of FB groups that show you how to do this and we probably have a forum here on how to make toys that you can search. It is pretty simple and the ideas can go on forever. Lots and lots of bird safe natural tree branches are also great for keeping him occupied if you have access to them. You just have to make sure that they aren't sprayed with pesticides or near roads where pollution from cars can leave their mark. Diet is the other big thing that can make a huge difference. I wouldn't feed any animal proteins now that he's gotten his strength back. A wide variety of mostly vegetables but some of the exotic fruit that you have access to is also wonderful, mangoes, papaya, kiwi, etc are all wonderful. Berries of any kind are full of great stuff. A little bit of fruits with pectin in their skin such as grapes, apples, and pears are fantastic but you do want to watch the natural sugars. Ditch the sugar cane completely. I think you are on the right track, just keep working with him and if you make the changes that people brought up here, I think you will see some differences. As for the aviary, it's a great idea but you probably don't want to leave him in it at night. There's a great forum on FB called Home Aviary Design that you might want to join to know more about how to build an outdoor aviary for him.
 

redindiaink

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As for the store, here in Brazil we don't really have chain pet stores, so that's probably why. Each store is usually independent or affiliated with supermarkets. I'll look into pellets, regardless. Is there any particular brand you'd recommend? Maybe they sell here too.
I would try asking a local rescue like Renascer Acn they may have some suggestions.
 

Clueless

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I joined the parrot forum after lurking for awhile. Looks like 2012?

I have a picture of Secret in the prior home dated 1978.

No idea on true age. Vets say because of bands they had on that they were both wild caught amazons.

We're thought Secret was a girl because she was smaller than MC. In my head, I think of Secret as a her. Secret turned out to be a him when we did the DNA test.

It's good to do DNA because females might get egg bound and it's good for the vets to know.
 
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