Whats it like to own an amazon?

Just curious as to what is it like to own an amazon, like their personality, noisiness, destructive behaviour, cuddliness,



thanks

They are great birds, loud, destructive, expensive, chill, not so cuddly but like scratches, and they get aggressive around sexual maturity.

Speaking from my experience with my Double Yellow-headed Amazon.

Having been "owned" by a Blue Front for nearly thirty years..it is an adventure There are moments of complete and utter chaos and moments of sure joy. Unconditional love,hormonal uphevial,biting,some screaming,kisses..it is a never ending adventure and I would not trade it for anything.




Jim

You can expect almost anything. from cuddly to attacking buzz saw.
They are the bounce back king and don't seem to hold a grudge.
Most use body language to let you know exactly what to expect but not all of them do this.
My RLA would switch moods in a heart beat with no warning at all.
Some can learn a large vocabulary but some don't talk at all.
Amazons are better singing than other parrots I have seen.

The largest error a new comer to The Wonderful World of Amazona makes is the belief that one 'owns' them. As stated above, it is the other way around. You adjust to them.

They are very intelligent and will use that to influence your interaction with them. Error /fail to learn their Body Language in which the vast majority of them use and expand upon, and you will place yourself in harms way. When you succeed in getting on the wrong side of an Amazon or place yourself in the danger zone, they are more than able to hurt you seriously.

With the exception of those of us who open their hearts to those Amazons deemed unsuitable. Those who will give-up the choosing /owning and simply allow an Amazon to choose them will find themselves a very long way down the road of being owned by an Amazon.

Amazons can and will be in-your-face, ear splitting loud or silent beyond belief (scary). An Amazon will fill your home with joy and a comfort that they are keeping an eye on everything and will clearly tell you if something has changed whether inside, but also outside. Our DYH Amazon will keep me informed as to the goings-on around the home or out the windows of our home while I am busy here.

Amazons can turn a beloved item into trash in a blink of an eye. The more you covet an item, especially one that can be seen as coming between you and spending time with them, you have just defined that item as a target. That said, most are not needy, really more independent. But when they want to be close, they are truly heart comforting in their expression of Loving You.

Amazons are not for everyone! Fools are well rewarded with pain when they cross an Amazon. Those who get this formula correct and your heart will be long too an Amazon.

See the Amazon Forum and that Sticky Thread: I Love Amazons - ... That huge Thread contains over 30 segments regarding the Loving and Living with Amazons. Buried deep with in the Thread are several segments that gets to your questions and runs as a thread though-out the entire Thread.

NOTE: Amazons Rule!

SailBoat "Amazons can turn a beloved item into trash in a blink of an eye. The more you covet an item, especially one that can be seen as coming between you and spending time with them, you have just defined that item as a target."

this is so true. When I spend my time in the morning with Bingo the cell phone and iPad must be put away. even when he is sitting on my knee not paying any attention to me, if I pick up one of these items he will come right over and try to take it from me (or destroy it).
wes

Amazons can make loud noises on par with other parrots of their size. My amazon is actually pretty quiet though and so were/are my moms amazons. Not all amazons are super quiet, but there seems to be a fair amount of amazons who keep their vocalizations to a lower volume than other birds. They generally don't just scream for the hell of it. It would not be below an amazon to scream during your meals though if they feel they are not being shared with. They can be very annoying and persistent about food they shouldn't have. Kiwi makes a range of cute noises all day long, but it rare for him to make noises louder than I would if I were talking, which I don't mind at all. In fact, most of his noises are cute and amusing, so we like him to make them. He is also not very destructive. Good training and continual behavioral feedback, and he really seems to have some form of understanding theres a difference between the couch and a toy. As such, he is free roaming all day. Both my moms amazons were free roaming too. In fact, I'd say unofficially if you did a poll of people who don't have to cage their birds because they are that trustworthy, the majority would be amazons. They're really good birds once trained.

General personality, they are big goofballs for the most part but do have a less than desirable 'must kill all humans' side you must accept. They do require an owner who can't be bossed around by the bird and isn't afraid to use a firm tone of voice with them when necessary. If an amazon smells your fear and weakness, they will take charge and assume the position of winged tyrant over the whole house. Some people claim parrots don't have 'dominance' issues, well I'm here to tell you amazons do and need to be kept in check. Amazon bites do hurt and can they cause serious damage if they want. I have not ever known any amazon to be 'cuddly'. Some will accept petting on their terms, but they are not big cuddle birds like macaws or cockatoos. While there are some amazons who lean more towards 'cuddly' than others, it isn't really a trait associated with the species. Great companions, just not lap pets.

depends on the species, the bird and most importantly -you.

species- most people get one of the "hot 3" YNA DYHA BFA and they are not called that for nothing.
Jim's Amy and Boat's Julio are both members ofthat club and everything they have siad is 100%
accurate. Oher Amazon species are smaller and shall I say -more composed (mostly). My own
obsevation is the smaller the Amazon, the more composed. Youwill have to look hard to find these
as most pey shops and breeders tend to go for the hot 3. It took me a long time to find a breeder
who raised yellow shouder amazons like Salty. He is less than 1/2 the size of the Hotties.
If you want to know how life is with him read his 91 page life story , link below.

THe Bird - every parrot is an individual. We can make generalizations but as you may know some talk
some dont, some sing some dont, some are in yiur face clowns some are laid back
observers of life. Some want to be your best buddy all day, some only deign to have contact
with you and prefer thier alone time. But I think Amazons exhibit all these more than any other
type of parrot.

You - So much of any parrot's disposition and personality is molded by the people and family around
them. Amazons need to be in the hubub of family life, an Amazon locked in a play room away from
their people is not a happy camper. They like to see whenbreakfast is bein made,, when everyone
is rushing around toleave, when everyone comes home, when DINNER is a cooking, when everyone
is flaked out watching TV. In all of this you must find the time for 1 on 1 with them, because they
thrive on spending that time with their persons or person. A wellsocialized Amazon will have one
"person", but will have several 'people' who they will hang out with. The more 1 on 1 they allow you
to have, the better, and you will be well rewarded in taking that time.

I could write a book about life with an Amazon ( and Salty's 91+ page lifestory thread will become the backbone of that book) and still not cover all that any one Amazon is like to live with. As you might surmise we are in love with our Amazon, and I think that that's the key here. Amazons need to be loved and they in return will give their love back in spades.

I was going to say the same thing that Wrench basically did, this question really needs to be specific to the species of Amazon, as they are all very different in their nature, personality, behavior, etc. Just like different species of Conures, Macaws, Cockatoos, Poicephalus, etc. all act completely differently even though they belong to the same family of parrots. So you're better-off to focus on one particular species of Amazon or any parrot to get specific information on.

And keep in-mind that all parrots have their quirks, and each individual bird has their own quirks, just like human beings do...I was reading Jim's description of his Amazon, Amy, and it sounded exactly like my Senegal parrot, lol.

I have always thought Amazon's are beautiful creatures

Kelly is both cuddly angel and crazy demon As mentioned I allowed my amazon to choose me. It took Kelly about 4 months to convince me I wanted to take him home. He literally sing songed ‘Byyyeeee’ to the shelter owners as we were leaving that night. The first time any of us had heard him say it too. The next morning this was Kelly. I took him home on a trial basis but we knew right away he wasn’t going anywhere haha


I didn’t really have to work on the trust. Once Kelly decided he wanted to go home with me that was it. I get displacement bites from him still and he will grab me when he is worked up. The displacement bites aren’t nearly as bad as I know he can give and the grabs don’t even leave a pressure mark usually. On the other hand Kelly’s ripped into people through jackets before drawing blood and tearing skin. He’ll grab and twist to give maximum damage through the barriers. He’s flown after one person before to bite and another time had to be banged into a chair to get him off because he just wouldn’t let go and kept grinding in deeper into her finger. He runs in what is slow motion pretty much since he really doesn’t move that fast most of the time to chase people. He isn’t a fan of other amazons but tolerates their presence as long as I don’t like the other amazon. He doesn’t care if I hold another amazon but if I like that one he always seems to know and try’s to beat it up. He’ll attack another amazon that is trying to bite me, so I have to be careful with him around other amazons when I’m around them too. I was trying to groom one amazon and he was giving me problems and Kelly comes flying/climbing over my shoulder to teach him a lesson (he was originally on the back of my chair).

He is pretty quiet and only really says random word stuff instead of noise but I’ve met some loud amazons too that love to make random jungle noises at the top of their lungs. He isn’t that destructive really. Cardboard will sometimes be destroyed or he bites the carpet occasionally.


So yeah amazons are fun and they definitely own you but there is also a lot of crazy mixed in!

Hope this helps you. Im having a great time finding our about mine. Hes been with me 3 or4 months i have to look that up. But we are becoming pals. He sets the tone. I can leave him on top of his cage and he is happy to play run around up there and swing on perch. Observing the dogs and birds outside. Spoiled i guess. As long as he doesnt chew the windowsills or the computer wires. He can. Have freedom. Cant fly but the feathrrs are falling out and growing back so i plan on a trip ti the parrot farm to get his wings clipped. I hear other s let their birds fly which sounds great for the bird.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

I just keep thinking of that Meredith Brooks song...LOL
Does this sum it up?---YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY KNOW THE LYRICS TO GET IT


[ame="https://youtu.be/_ivt_N2Zcts"]Meredith Brooks - ***** - YouTube[/ame]


Actually..what the heck, this sums up parrots! How did I not notice this before?! lol

In my experience, 'Zons exhibit the very worst & very best behavior of parrots - often, in the same day! It can be needy & cuddly (not quite as much as a 'Too, but close!) one minute, and a large, flying, rabid attack dog the next. With precious little warning of the approaching storm...

I should point out that they have EXTREMELY long memories, too! Piss your 'Zon off, just once, and they may not forgive you...for YEARS (go ahead - ask me how I know!). They have ways of punishing you for perceived misdeeds that you can't even imagine.

One thing is for certain, though - living with a 'Zon is NEVER boring!!

mh434 said:

In my experience, 'Zons exhibit the very worst & very best behavior of parrots - often, in the same day! It can be needy & cuddly (not quite as much as a 'Too, but close!) one minute, and a large, flying, rabid attack dog the next. With precious little warning of the approaching storm...

I should point out that they have EXTREMELY long memories, too! Piss your 'Zon off, just once, and they may not forgive you...for YEARS (go ahead - ask me how I know!). They have ways of punishing you for perceived misdeeds that you can't even imagine.

One thing is for certain, though - living with a 'Zon is NEVER boring!!

Click to expand...

And, if any of us Amazon Snobs should know, it is you my friend! Thank-you for staying with your Zon!

Goldenconure1 said:

I have always thought Amazon's are beautiful creatures

Click to expand...

I agree! But I pet sit one that is very clear and scary as to the dislike if me. But I have long blonde hair that Jellybean (YNA) loves, she wants to steal some for herself! With her owners she is a delight, shows off, sings, but only let's them sometimes scratch her head. For me she would gladly eat some of my skin. I have to ask her nicely to move to her play stand, ask not touch not pick up she moved there on her own. Then I can clean and feed. This was many years ago. But she was personality plus! Me as a sitter, she ignored completely, unless she was trying to steal some of my hair!!! The family all had dark hair. I swear when I came to visit when the whole family was there she would grin, and plot for me to be distracted, so she could grab a few strands, very sneaky girl

I have a mini Amazon myself...Finley...he seems to be more Amazon than conure and exibits most the Amazon like symptoms described above.

I think I have the most mellow BFA in the world. He is 35 and I have had him since he was 11 weeks old. During puberty he had some issues, but now that he has gotten older, he is the best, sweetest bird. He will cuddle with us, doesn't bite except when we come home from vacation, and even that is not hard. He almost never screams, just talks a lot and rings his bells. Loves to chew clothspins ( old fashioned kind with no metal), runs around his playtop ringing bells and whistling. I have absolutely no complaints about him. I can pet him any time I want, and he never bites. Never attacks anyone either. He eats just about everything we give him. Living with him is an absolute joy! He is funny, clever and a great companion. Hope he lives forever!

I Love Amazons!

Over the years, I have enjoyed the company of the full cross-section of large parrots, nearly all well loved by their owners. I am often asked; which is my favorite and without hesitation, I state that my favorite is that raucous group of parrots know as Amazons. The common second question is: WHY Amazons? They are so difficult!

Difficult? What is so difficult about Amazons! At this point, the questioner commonly tells any number of stories of the much-fabled Flaming Hot Three, The Hormonal Maniacs, The Screaming Monsters, The Flesh Devouring Vampires, The Territorial Hoarders, and The Cruel Divider of Families. Stories, Stories and more Stories of that fabled New World Green Killer!

Then I begin asking questions — commonly the bird or birds in question had been purchased on the quick and far more commonly, the cheap. The new owner was provided little or no information, let alone what constitutes a healthy meal or proper living quarters, then surprise, surprise the little green bundle turns into a Mass Murderer! It would be truly humorous, if not for the part where they dump the bird!

It must be a new fault in the Human personality or a recent failure in our rearing of Humans, which has resulted in the growing number of Humans that believe that life requires nothing more then simply wanting something for it to magically be that way. Possibly, it’s the affect of the wonders of modern technology - that fresh from the box - instance gratification of extremely complicated technology that by simply adding batteries, plugging it in, or connection to the net and ‘It Works’! Gratifying our momentary want, before we whisk onto our next want. Whatever happened to actually having to work for something? Reality Check: Living Things do not function that way. Surprise, you have to work at having a ‘Successful Relationship’ with Living Things!

Amazons Are Simple! All you have to do is pay attention and they will clearly tell you what is working and what is not. Amazon’s tell you like it is, no rouse, no guessing, no game playing, just to the point, the way it is! All we Humans have to do is to use only a small percentage of our enormous brains and simply be observant. How hard is that? You would think that we are asking a Human to cut-off their arms and legs!

That same Amazon, now having lived though the passing from one dead-end relationship after another, with stops between in those wonderful places called “House of Horrors” or more commonly referred to as Pet Stores, can by luck or divine intervention find its way into a true home. You know, one of those seemly rare places in which individuals value each other and contribute to their abilities. There, that Green Mass Murderer, by great transformation, becomes the love of that family’s life. How can this be? A Vampire to a Lover, what Storybook can this be from?

There is no storybook - it is simply why I love Amazons. Through all the past miss-treatment with a little bit of love, understanding and observation they are the “Come Back Kid’s” of the Avian World. It can even occur in the same home that had defined that Amazon as the New World Green Killer. Is this possible? And, in the same home? Yes, a simple change on the part of the Humans and its time for the Lover to come forth!

Anyone that has known me for even a short period of time, know that I have a Love for Amazons. I Love the Feather, Flesh, that Amazon Scent, that heartwarming Blood of the Living Amazon, which does not require batteries and is not simply de-activated by pulling the plug or pushing the OFF button. I Love In Your Face Amazons! A Warm Blooded, Living, Reality Check, Everyday!

Put that latest greatest electrical gratification toys away, engage a living creature. You may just find that there is far more to life than that momentary gratification techno toy. Without engaging that living creature, such a statement would never be possible.

Amazons are not toys! And Fools are justly rewarded for their self-centered stupidity. Let the Fools write their stores, with hope it will keep other Fools from thinking that their next toy should be an Amazon!

Amazons’ Have More Fun! And, the brighter, more open, Loving Humans quickly find that to be true! Individuals who are successfully Owned by an Amazon are the kind of People that I have always found to be a True Joy being around!

There is no question in my mind that: Amazon’s Rule!


Copied from the: I Love Amazons, ... Sticky Thread in the Amazon Section

SailBoat said:

I Love Amazons!

Over the years, I have enjoyed the company of the full cross-section of large parrots, nearly all well loved by their owners. I am often asked; which is my favorite and without hesitation, I state that my favorite is that raucous group of parrots know as Amazons. The common second question is: WHY Amazons? They are so difficult!

Difficult? What is so difficult about Amazons! At this point, the questioner commonly tells any number of stories of the much-fabled Flaming Hot Three, The Hormonal Maniacs, The Screaming Monsters, The Flesh Devouring Vampires, The Territorial Hoarders, and The Cruel Divider of Families. Stories, Stories and more Stories of that fabled New World Green Killer!

Then I begin asking questions — commonly the bird or birds in question had been purchased on the quick and far more commonly, the cheap. The new owner was provided little or no information, let alone what constitutes a healthy meal or proper living quarters, then surprise, surprise the little green bundle turns into a Mass Murderer! It would be truly humorous, if not for the part where they dump the bird!

It must be a new fault in the Human personality or a recent failure in our rearing of Humans, which has resulted in the growing number of Humans that believe that life requires nothing more then simply wanting something for it to magically be that way. Possibly, it’s the affect of the wonders of modern technology - that fresh from the box - instance gratification of extremely complicated technology that by simply adding batteries, plugging it in, or connection to the net and ‘It Works’! Gratifying our momentary want, before we whisk onto our next want. Whatever happened to actually having to work for something? Reality Check: Living Things do not function that way. Surprise, you have to work at having a ‘Successful Relationship’ with Living Things!

Amazons Are Simple! All you have to do is pay attention and they will clearly tell you what is working and what is not. Amazon’s tell you like it is, no rouse, no guessing, no game playing, just to the point, the way it is! All we Humans have to do is to use only a small percentage of our enormous brains and simply be observant. How hard is that? You would think that we are asking a Human to cut-off their arms and legs!

That same Amazon, now having lived though the passing from one dead-end relationship after another, with stops between in those wonderful places called “House of Horrors” or more commonly referred to as Pet Stores, can by luck or divine intervention find its way into a true home. You know, one of those seemly rare places in which individuals value each other and contribute to their abilities. There, that Green Mass Murderer, by great transformation, becomes the love of that family’s life. How can this be? A Vampire to a Lover, what Storybook can this be from?

There is no storybook - it is simply why I love Amazons. Through all the past miss-treatment with a little bit of love, understanding and observation they are the “Come Back Kid’s” of the Avian World. It can even occur in the same home that had defined that Amazon as the New World Green Killer. Is this possible? And, in the same home? Yes, a simple change on the part of the Humans and its time for the Lover to come forth!

Anyone that has known me for even a short period of time, know that I have a Love for Amazons. I Love the Feather, Flesh, that Amazon Scent, that heartwarming Blood of the Living Amazon, which does not require batteries and is not simply de-activated by pulling the plug or pushing the OFF button. I Love In Your Face Amazons! A Warm Blooded, Living, Reality Check, Everyday!

Put that latest greatest electrical gratification toys away, engage a living creature. You may just find that there is far more to life than that momentary gratification techno toy. Without engaging that living creature, such a statement would never be possible.

Amazons are not toys! And Fools are justly rewarded for their self-centered stupidity. Let the Fools write their stores, with hope it will keep other Fools from thinking that their next toy should be an Amazon!

Amazons’ Have More Fun! And, the brighter, more open, Loving Humans quickly find that to be true! Individuals who are successfully Owned by an Amazon are the kind of People that I have always found to be a True Joy being around!

There is no question in my mind that: Amazon’s Rule!


Copied from the: I Love Amazons, ... Sticky Thread in the Amazon Section

Click to expand...

If I could have one I would just because of this forum and writings like yours. If the opportunity ever arises I’ll be dual owned by a CAG and Amazon!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk