Looking for a Southern Mealy

[Mockinbirdiva]

Yellow Nape has also been highly recommend to me based on my needs, but with the express caveat that I get an older one. Would you agree with this?

The bird mentioned in the OP, "Sadie", had been wild caught as a fledgling. At the time she was caught, this was still just how things were done in the parrot trade. Despite her tragic story, she was an absolutely wonderful bird. Even as a wild hyper kid, I could hold and pet her. Her owner now has a blue front, and a blue macaw. He's definitely a great bird keeper.

I've always been an animal enthusiast, and even as a young child I understood what captivity does to a wild animal, because I'm adopted. That analogy makes perfect sense to me. Seeing how "well behaved" Sadie was led me to believe that Amazons were just naturally like she was.

I'm sure it's no secret why I'm so drawn to birds in general. That intelligence that drives them to seek such deep companionship. The very thing I love so much about Amazons is, even though they can mimic human speech, they don't need it to convey how they really feel. They do so with much more than sounds. I'm sure other birds are much the same, but for reasons I don't fully understand, I just see and feel it more from an Amazon that any other breed.

Yellow napes are on that "Hot Three" list. I'm not sure what your needs are. They are not huggy birds, nor terribly affectionate, you would never catch me with a larger bird on my shoulder... period. I think certainly you might find an older yellow nape that has lived with kind people and may not come with a lot of baggage. It takes many birds months to adjust to new environments and people so patience is quite a plus. You might find a gem.. I believe they are out there. I will say.. you can have a bird for 30 years and have it very well behaved and suddenly turn nasty. @aooratrix experienced this with his lovely female Morgan. Maybe he can explain the circumstance and how she is today for you.

 

[macawpower58]

I agree with Andrea, they are one of the 'hot 3'. Can be very, very difficult to handle during hormonal episodes.
Very very aggressive behavior is one of the biggest concerns when you get one of these 3 amazons.
They are the Double Yellow Head, Blue Front, and Yellow Nape.
Awesome birds for the right person, a nightmare if you're not it.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I agree with Andrea, they are one of the 'hot 3'. Can be very, very difficult to handle during hormonal episodes.
Very very aggressive is one of the biggest concerns when you get one of these 3 amazons.
They are the Double Yellow Head, Blue Front, and Yellow Nape.
Awesome birds for the right person, a nightmare if your not it.

Oh boy... you have nooooo idea.... it's not fun at all and gives me super sticky armpits.....

 

[anyalyssa]

I agree with Andrea, they are one of the 'hot 3'. Can be very, very difficult to handle during hormonal episodes.
Very very aggressive behavior is one of the biggest concerns when you get one of these 3 amazons.
They are the Double Yellow Head, Blue Front, and Yellow Nape.
Awesome birds for the right person, a nightmare if you're not it.

NGL, I'm definitely intimidated by this, and don't think I can handle it. Already well convinced that I'm looking for an older bird from a rescue.

 

[macawpower58]

This is why I sought out a Mealy. They have a reputation of a more stable and calm amazon.
I also wasn't sure I could handle that degree of hormonal aggression.
Not to say Mealy's can't get a bit spicy, but I've found their reputation of a gentle giant to be well deserved.
Mealy's are also one of, if not the largest Amazon to be found.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

You might also look into the Orange wing Amazons. I've heard nice things about them too but I am not sure this is true for all... assuming it may not be. Some can mimic fairly well, some can be perch potatoes but this one... is quite the character!! Hope you don't mind some chatter ( or screaming). For that matter, I thought I'd be in Amazon hell for having two as far as the scream department. Mine are both fairly quiet. Turn a vacuum on and it's a whole nother story. They'll say everything they know how to say with some screams added in.. I don't find it offensive at all. Oh... and try walking past Lola while you're on the phone.... guaranteed to get some screams where you can't hear the other person talking on the phone. Geez.... I can't sneak a phone call past her.

 

[Love My Zons]

Yellow Nape has also been highly recommend to me based on my needs, but with the express caveat that I get an older one. Would you agree with this?

The bird mentioned in the OP, "Sadie", had been wild caught as a fledgling. At the time she was caught, this was still just how things were done in the parrot trade. Despite her tragic story, she was an absolutely wonderful bird. Even as a wild hyper kid, I could hold and pet her. Her owner now has a blue front, and a blue macaw. He's definitely a great bird keeper.

I've always been an animal enthusiast, and even as a young child I understood what captivity does to a wild animal, because I'm adopted. That analogy makes perfect sense to me. Seeing how "well behaved" Sadie was led me to believe that Amazons were just naturally like she was.

I'm sure it's no secret why I'm so drawn to birds in general. That intelligence that drives them to seek such deep companionship. The very thing I love so much about Amazons is, even though they can mimic human speech, they don't need it to convey how they really feel. They do so with much more than sounds. I'm sure other birds are much the same, but for reasons I don't fully understand, I just see and feel it more from an Amazon that any other breed.

Once you have Amazons as I do, and a Cockatoo ends up in the mix life changes!

There is no close bond to any bird in my opinion of a child like dependent bird like a Cockatoo. I love my Zons, they are both so so good.

Total hands on, and very bonded to me, each other which is great. Not so great should the day come where they have to go live worh another Family when I am old and gone. 2 package deal they are.

But a Cockatoo I never ever thought I would have. We took in a Family bird that passed after 4 years with us. She was 27 and lived on and off with smokers in FL. Her life cut short at 27.

I could not be without a Cockatoo, no way, we lost our little Girl. We soon adopted our now 22 year old Sophie. A connection that no other bird has with me.

Owning a Mealy from a baby, awesome he loves me. Owning an older Cockatoo in her late teens, just as awesome.

Once smitten by a sweet and gentle Too, will forever have to have one.

 

[melissasparrots]

I have 6 yellow napes. All related. Parents and then 4 babies that never left. The male yellow napes can be down right dangerous at maturity. You will have scars, even if you do everything right. Females are plenty spicy. The classic bite scenario for a female goes something like the bird is sitting on me calmly with no problems, then my dog gets too close, or another bird across the room flares its tail and she nails me. Female bites bleed but I haven't had a really nasty one. Males can send you to the ER. Hormone season is no joke with male napes. All amazons have certain triggers that set them off. Usually you learn what these triggers are because you bleed when they happen. Hormones just seem to happen out of nowhere for the males though. You have limited ability to train your way through it. Mostly, you just don't touch your bird for a few months or you are careful to watch body language and handle minimally at certain times of day.

Most of my napes like head scratches, but not all of them are trustworthy to be shoulder birds. My favorite amazon was the first one I raised from a chick. She was a cuddly baby. But as she's matured she has become more hands off. She definitely likes neck and chin scritches. Definitely likes to be picked up, but for brief periods of time. And she does bite when the dog gets too close. Unlike her male counterparts, hormones make her sweeter. Her younger sister bit the snot out of me when she was less than two years old. Right into the thumb webbing. That is brat baby behavior. Last night, I picked her up and she just wanted to be held close and snuggle. However, she also wanted to eat my cat that was sitting on the back of the chair, so I had to be careful not to let her "accidentally" snuggle her way over to biting range of the cat's tail.

Yellow napes are awesome, but they are not for a lot of people. There are excellent birds out there. Mostly female. But that doesn't mean that all or most are like that most of the time. For people wanting just a nice pet, I always suggest lilac crowned amazons. I've heard very few bad things about them. Orange wings also have a reputation for being very nice, but their scream can be grating. After that would be the green cheek/mexican red heads and red lored amazons. I occasionally read about some attitude from those two, so while they are often very nice, getting a female might be some added insurance that they stay nice. Yellow shouldered amazons would also be near the top the list of species most likely to stay nice through maturity and not attack your significant other for existing in their breathing space as even some female napes will do. With possible emphasis on a female.
There is a reason the hot 3 are called that. I've heard very few bad things about mealys if you can find one. Young amazons can be brats. I'd say 4 months through 1.5-2 years you can get some bites and attitude because they just don't want to do what you want them to do. They need space to work out the young bird energy, kill toys and contemplate taking over the world. After about 2-5 years old, amazons are notorious for being perch potatoes. Somewhere between 4 and 9 years old, you'll start seeing hormones. For yellow nape males it seems around 8 years old give or take it starts getting rough. You go to pick up your bird one day and where it might have previously growled at you a little and beaked you if it didn't want to step up, now suddenly it bites hard, grinds in, releases and goes for another bite. You bleed and odds are its the kind of bite that its a judgement call if you need medical attention for it. And you'll have a nice scar. And that continues for a few months or a year plus.

 

[macawpower58]

Green Cheeks (Mexican Red Headed) are sweet birds. I'm glad you mentioned them. Smaller, and IMO very sweet. I had an older rescue for several years.
I've also know some very nice Lilac Crowns.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

The male yellow napes can be down right dangerous at maturity. You will have scars, even if you do everything right. Females are plenty spicy. The classic bite scenario for a female goes something like the bird is sitting on me calmly with no problems, then my dog gets too close, or another bird across the room flares its tail and she nails me. Female bites bleed but I haven't had a really nasty one. Males can send you to the ER. Hormone season is no joke with male napes. All amazons have certain triggers that set them off. Usually you learn what these triggers are because you bleed when they happen. Hormones just seem to happen out of nowhere for the males though. You have limited ability to train your way through it. Mostly, you just don't touch your bird for a few months or you are careful to watch body language and handle minimally at certain times of day.

Oh yes... I know it all well. I've gone through months where Henry is "down right" dangerous. And determined.. you don't pick your battles with him... you just leave and hope when you come back it's not as bad. I can't look in his direction without him flaring up. Just entering his space is a trigger. My best description is a pissed-off vise grip coming at you...there's gonna be a hole and it will bleed. They can't control it, you have to go into it accepting it. Though quite honestly, I didn't have a clue what would happen when he matured. With him, there have been times when a split second is all the warning I get. Last year he was calm, hanging out near me while I was wiping his top tray down and I saw a brussel sprout he had dropped on the floor so I bent down to pick it up. I didn't even hear him move over ( I'm always listening) closer to where I was for those brief seconds I bent down and suddenly he was a foot from my face. To distract him I offered the brussel sprout with a sweet "Here ya go" and his eyes pinned. I immediately bent back down to put distance from being face to face and in 2 seconds I had an amazon on top of my head.. full weight. It was quite shocking, terrifying, and I discovered I could be a heavy metal head banger with the best of them but it couldn't shake him off. He didn't have time to land a bite before I reached up and managed to grab a leg and pull him off. These type of events are super unfortunate. Thankfully, we've moved past that, it took time but now he much prefers to climb down to the floor to attack. My handy plexiglass floor block keeps him in his space and even that makes him angry that he can't get to me. I keep a 2 x4 there for him to tear up and take his fits out on. Amazing what those beaks can do! I don't say anything... nothing he can associate word wise for any type of reminder. I will say... the last several months it's been glorious with his requested head scratches. He can be very cooperative. He was too anxious this evening for his dinner to be nasty (it was later than usual) ... pacing back and forth on his top perch. Once I put his bowl in place he was a happy boy. Thank Gawd!!!

 

[melissasparrots]

Oh yes... I know it all well. I've gone through months where Henry is "down right" dangerous. And determined.. you don't pick your battles with him... you just leave and hope when you come back it's not as bad. I can't look in his direction without him flaring up. Just entering his space is a trigger. My best description is a pissed-off vise grip coming at you...there's gonna be a hole and it will bleed.

I deliberately kept Gremlin because I wanted to know what pet males were like when not paired up. His dad (Oscar) is truly a nasty bird. No doubt I'd need an ER trip if he got me good. I don't know what happened in his former life, but he's never been able to fly. I've high stepped it onto an old chest in the bird room many times. That is when my backup of a stick and sheet from my bed failed and he got around them.
Gremlin is much more typical of what you read about pet males. He was a fairly sweet bird up until 8 years old. No major bites. A little snippy about his food bowl, but nothing I couldn't easily avoid. About February of his 8th year I reached in to move him while changing papers and he just got me good. So much so that a week later one of my students saw the scab and said I should get that checked out. He was tricky to deal with for most of his 8th year. After that, its been more sporadic and seasonal. Triggers seem to be anything that involves me touching his stuff. Swapping toys, changing papers, changing bowls. I have to have the special "scary stick" with me. He's much more respectful of the scary stick than Oscar is. Oscar takes chunks out of the scary stick. Gremlin respects it. If Gremlin is allowed to make visual contact with Sprout (his sister), he will immediately become completely over stimulated. Being allowed out is based on what I've got going on at the time. If everything is extremely chill in the house and I have absolutely nowhere to go for the rest of the day, he can come out and be pleasant. The instant there is excitement in any form, you gotta watch him. He may do a flying poltergeist amazon attack. If I ask him to step up to go back in his cage and he gives me the flashy eyes, I just wait a few hours and come back later when he's too tired to care.
I have never once had to deal with any of that with my females. Females can be crabby and even get over stimulated. But they snap out of it faster and I've never had one get territorial about their cage. My worst female may try to chase the dog around so I assume if there was another human living here, she might try it with them. But with my girls its usually an easily identified trigger that I can avoid. Or if I don't avoid it, its a quick bite, I put them down, remove the trigger and its done. A male may continue to be dangerous for a few hours at the height of hormone season. And the bite would be worse.

 

[Love My Zons]

I give you Ladies props with your YNA's during their hormonal times! Do you think other birds have anything to do with this crazy behavior?

 

[anyalyssa]

You might also look into the Orange wing Amazons. I've heard nice things about them too but I am not sure this is true for all... assuming it may not be. Some can mimic fairly well, some can be perch potatoes but this one... is quite the character!! Hope you don't mind some chatter ( or screaming). For that matter, I thought I'd be in Amazon hell for having two as far as the scream department. Mine are both fairly quiet. Turn a vacuum on and it's a whole nother story. They'll say everything they know how to say with some screams added in.. I don't find it offensive at all. Oh... and try walking past Lola while you're on the phone.... guaranteed to get some screams where you can't hear the other person talking on the phone. Geez.... I can't sneak a phone call past her.

They randomly scream all day as part of their normal vocalizations. I work nights. I'm asleep for at least 4 hours I'm the middle of the day while my birds are out and active. An occasional loud sound wouldn't be a problem, but the orange wing wouldn't just do it occasionally. They were the first Amazons I looked into after several quizzes matched me.

 

[anyalyssa]

Once you have Amazons as I do, and a Cockatoo ends up in the mix life changes!

There is no close bond to any bird in my opinion of a child like dependent bird like a Cockatoo. I love my Zons, they are both so so good.

Total hands on, and very bonded to me, each other which is great. Not so great should the day come where they have to go live worh another Family when I am old and gone. 2 package deal they are.

But a Cockatoo I never ever thought I would have. We took in a Family bird that passed after 4 years with us. She was 27 and lived on and off with smokers in FL. Her life cut short at 27.

I could not be without a Cockatoo, no way, we lost our little Girl. We soon adopted our now 22 year old Sophie. A connection that no other bird has with me.

Owning a Mealy from a baby, awesome he loves me. Owning an older Cockatoo in her late teens, just as awesome.

Once smitten by a sweet and gentle Too, will forever have to have one.

I have 6 yellow napes. All related. Parents and then 4 babies that never left. The male yellow napes can be down right dangerous at maturity. You will have scars, even if you do everything right. Females are plenty spicy. The classic bite scenario for a female goes something like the bird is sitting on me calmly with no problems, then my dog gets too close, or another bird across the room flares its tail and she nails me. Female bites bleed but I haven't had a really nasty one. Males can send you to the ER. Hormone season is no joke with male napes. All amazons have certain triggers that set them off. Usually you learn what these triggers are because you bleed when they happen. Hormones just seem to happen out of nowhere for the males though. You have limited ability to train your way through it. Mostly, you just don't touch your bird for a few months or you are careful to watch body language and handle minimally at certain times of day.

Most of my napes like head scratches, but not all of them are trustworthy to be shoulder birds. My favorite amazon was the first one I raised from a chick. She was a cuddly baby. But as she's matured she has become more hands off. She definitely likes neck and chin scritches. Definitely likes to be picked up, but for brief periods of time. And she does bite when the dog gets too close. Unlike her male counterparts, hormones make her sweeter. Her younger sister bit the snot out of me when she was less than two years old. Right into the thumb webbing. That is brat baby behavior. Last night, I picked her up and she just wanted to be held close and snuggle. However, she also wanted to eat my cat that was sitting on the back of the chair, so I had to be careful not to let her "accidentally" snuggle her way over to biting range of the cat's tail.

Yellow napes are awesome, but they are not for a lot of people. There are excellent birds out there. Mostly female. But that doesn't mean that all or most are like that most of the time. For people wanting just a nice pet, I always suggest lilac crowned amazons. I've heard very few bad things about them. Orange wings also have a reputation for being very nice, but their scream can be grating. After that would be the green cheek/mexican red heads and red lored amazons. I occasionally read about some attitude from those two, so while they are often very nice, getting a female might be some added insurance that they stay nice. Yellow shouldered amazons would also be near the top the list of species most likely to stay nice through maturity and not attack your significant other for existing in their breathing space as even some female napes will do. With possible emphasis on a female.
There is a reason the hot 3 are called that. I've heard very few bad things about mealys if you can find one. Young amazons can be brats. I'd say 4 months through 1.5-2 years you can get some bites and attitude because they just don't want to do what you want them to do. They need space to work out the young bird energy, kill toys and contemplate taking over the world. After about 2-5 years old, amazons are notorious for being perch potatoes. Somewhere between 4 and 9 years old, you'll start seeing hormones. For yellow nape males it seems around 8 years old give or take it starts getting rough. You go to pick up your bird one day and where it might have previously growled at you a little and beaked you if it didn't want to step up, now suddenly it bites hard, grinds in, releases and goes for another bite. You bleed and odds are its the kind of bite that its a judgement call if you need medical attention for it. And you'll have a nice scar. And that continues for a few months or a year plus.

The first time I need stitches, is the last time I get close enough for it to happen. The bird would need to be re-homed that same day, unless I find one of those cages with the food cups built in on that revolving door.
Sadie, the yelled-front from my OP, HATED her owner's wife, and would bait the woman with a fake nice act just to get close enough to bite her. She sent that woman to the hospital 3 times with serious gushing wounds that needed stitches, and indeed left horrific scars. Her mouth is permanently disfigured. But I don't cheat on my husband, so maybe I'm safe?

 

[anyalyssa]

Once you have Amazons as I do, and a Cockatoo ends up in the mix life changes!

There is no close bond to any bird in my opinion of a child like dependent bird like a Cockatoo. I love my Zons, they are both so so good.

Total hands on, and very bonded to me, each other which is great. Not so great should the day come where they have to go live worh another Family when I am old and gone. 2 package deal they are.

But a Cockatoo I never ever thought I would have. We took in a Family bird that passed after 4 years with us. She was 27 and lived on and off with smokers in FL. Her life cut short at 27.

I could not be without a Cockatoo, no way, we lost our little Girl. We soon adopted our now 22 year old Sophie. A connection that no other bird has with me.

Owning a Mealy from a baby, awesome he loves me. Owning an older Cockatoo in her late teens, just as awesome.

Once smitten by a sweet and gentle Too, will forever have to have one.

IDK why your post was quoted in with my last reply, but I'm on mobile

 

[anyalyssa]

Green Cheeks (Mexican Red Headed) are sweet birds. I'm glad you mentioned them. Smaller, and IMO very sweet. I had an older rescue for several years.
I've also know some very nice Lilac Crowns.

I have green cheek conures

 

[anyalyssa]

I deliberately kept Gremlin because I wanted to know what pet males were like when not paired up. His dad (Oscar) is truly a nasty bird. No doubt I'd need an ER trip if he got me good. I don't know what happened in his former life, but he's never been able to fly. I've high stepped it onto an old chest in the bird room many times. That is when my backup of a stick and sheet from my bed failed and he got around them.
Gremlin is much more typical of what you read about pet males. He was a fairly sweet bird up until 8 years old. No major bites. A little snippy about his food bowl, but nothing I couldn't easily avoid. About February of his 8th year I reached in to move him while changing papers and he just got me good. So much so that a week later one of my students saw the scab and said I should get that checked out. He was tricky to deal with for most of his 8th year. After that, its been more sporadic and seasonal. Triggers seem to be anything that involves me touching his stuff. Swapping toys, changing papers, changing bowls. I have to have the special "scary stick" with me. He's much more respectful of the scary stick than Oscar is. Oscar takes chunks out of the scary stick. Gremlin respects it. If Gremlin is allowed to make visual contact with Sprout (his sister), he will immediately become completely over stimulated. Being allowed out is based on what I've got going on at the time. If everything is extremely chill in the house and I have absolutely nowhere to go for the rest of the day, he can come out and be pleasant. The instant there is excitement in any form, you gotta watch him. He may do a flying poltergeist amazon attack. If I ask him to step up to go back in his cage and he gives me the flashy eyes, I just wait a few hours and come back later when he's too tired to care.
I have never once had to deal with any of that with my females. Females can be crabby and even get over stimulated. But they snap out of it faster and I've never had one get territorial about their cage. My worst female may try to chase the dog around so I assume if there was another human living here, she might try it with them. But with my girls its usually an easily identified trigger that I can avoid. Or if I don't avoid it, its a quick bite, I put them down, remove the trigger and its done. A male may continue to be dangerous for a few hours at the height of hormone season. And the bite would be worse.

My take from this is that females are the better option during hormonal periods? I've been recommended a male bird for exactly this reason, that females have more frequent hormonal periods and harder to maintain because of it.

 

[sunnysmom]

Green Cheeks (Mexican Red Headed) are sweet birds. I'm glad you mentioned them. Smaller, and IMO very sweet. I had an older rescue for several years.
I've also know some very nice Lilac Crowns.

My Amazon experience is limited but I completely fell in love with the one Lilac Crown I met. I don't see them very often but if I didn't already have a 'too, that would be a bird I would consider.

 

[Zara]

The first time I need stitches, is the last time I get close enough for it to happen. The bird would need to be re-homed that same day

 

[sunnysmom]

The first time I need stitches, is the last time I get close enough for it to happen. The bird would need to be re-homed that same day, unless I find one of those cages with the food cups built in on that revolving door.
Sadie, the yelled-front from my OP, HATED her owner's wife, and would bait the woman with a fake nice act just to get close enough to bite her. She sent that woman to the hospital 3 times with serious gushing wounds that needed stitches, and indeed left horrific scars. Her mouth is permanently disfigured. But I don't cheat on my husband, so maybe I'm safe?

I don't know if you really meant this or not, but if so, you should maybe rethink getting a larger bird then. My guess is almost all of us here with bigger birds have received bites bad enough that we could have gotten stitches. I'm currently sporting two nice puncture wounds from my 'too that probably could have been stitched up if it wasn't for COVID. (I wasn't going to go to the ER for a few stitches.) And he wasn't being aggressive- just overly excited. Bites often come with having parrots. Just something to think about before you decide to get an Amazon or not.