Happy to be here

[MsWiz]

Hi i’m very happy I found this for him and I am sure it will be a great help to me. Let me introduce my friend sunshine. I was told he was two years old a year ago by a vet so I’m assuming that makes him three. He came to me under not great circumstances his previous owner was arrested and he went through a shootout a trip in a cop car visit to the jail and eventually landed with me because I was a board member on a no kill animal shelter and they knew I had a birdcage that was my introduction to sunshine. We have been bumbling along for the past year and I think I’ve done a decent job taking care of him, but he is not quite as friendly as I would like so I will be reading everything and hoping to learn what I probably should’ve been working on a year ago.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. The great thing about Amazons is they are the come back kids of the parrot world. Read all the stickies at the top of the Amazon sub forum, priceless info resides there! Read them 2x, once for you and once out loud for your bird. They love that. Parrots love reliability, repeatability and a schedule - remember that. Always keep your expectations subject to their ability. He is just now really settling in and opening up, so go slow.

 

[rheashard2]

Glad to have you here. #1 tip is you can never have to much patience. What ever amount you think you have at least quadruple it. As above. Talk to him. Give verbal praise often. It doesn't matter what. Everytime you pass say something. Read out loud anything you want. I have a CAG. She loves too listen to old time radio and audio books. She's kinda addicted to TV too. If I don't like the verbal content, volume off and audio book is on. I'm not sure if it is an Amazon thing. But more of them seem like music. Give that a thought. Be careful. My CAG is a talker. I ban a variety of things. So if she doesn't hear it, she can't learn it and she can't embarrass me in public! Birds learn and once learned it's rarely forgotten. Enjoy. Please post pictures.

 

[MsWiz]

Here he is

 

[MsWiz]

Here he id

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I have no Amazon experience, but I did want to say welcome to the forum anyways!

 

[SailBoat]

A hardly welcome to the Wonderful World of Amazons!

Please read the two sticky threads at the top of the Amazon Forum as they truly are the foundations of loving and living with Amazons!

Amazons are a social bunch and want to be part of the family even if it is just the two of you.
Amazons love vocal interaction, so as you move about your place, keep talking, singing and other interactions as he will love it.

You say 'he,' has that been DNA proven, by your Vet?

It is very likely that your Amazon came to you without papers! All, Amazons should have a solid Vet file combined with a document that defines where your Amazon came from, which is sadly missing with most Amazons!

So, it is time that you begin obtaining as much history as you can find on your guy, while pulling together a solid medical history. A yearly medical check-up is a great tool to have as it keeps an on-going record of his overall health.

Flight: A fully flighted Amazon will easily out live a non-flighted Amazon by decades.

Much to learn and much love to enjoy!

Again, Welcome to this wonderful world of Amazons!

 

[rheashard2]

I know nothing about Amazons. But why do fully flighted Amazons out live non flighted? I have read with numerous sources; that fully flighted CAG with regular out of cage time have a decrease in feather plucking and self destructive behavior. CAG's seem to be the more neurotic of the parrot world. I'm curious.

 

[nkrbkr]

I believe it’s because they can tend to be perch potatoes, and are prone to obesity. Amazons love to eat. If they’re not flighted, generally they get less exercise. So, heart disease, etc. from being overweight.

 

[rheashard2]

I was wondering. I spend a lot of mental energy keeping Nameliss from getting into or out of things. It never occurred to me that there are breeds who tend to be sedentary. When I decided on a parrot I was deciding between Amazons and Greys. I chose CAG because of this frequent description. Amazons are very vocal mornings and evenings. Their voices are high pitched and can be irritating especially in apartments. Quote; There's been many a Grey who was ruined by mimicking an Amazon. I realized after a few years that particular author may not have liked Amazons. That sentence should have said; many a Grey was ruined by mimicking smoke detectors, car alarms, sirens, howling dogs to name just a few!

 

[texsize]

My Grey Bella was ruined by our cockatiels.
I was worried she would imitate the amazon screaming but so far (going on ten years) hasn’t.
She imitates the Cockatiel calls at 3x the volume.

My Amazons have tended towards perch potatoes.
Merlin was very playful when I first got him in 2018 but has calmed down some.
Now it’s Cheddar who is the hyperactive bird.

BTW I can’t see the OP’s posted pictures.
Safari and chrome are just blank as far as pictures go.

 

[SailBoat]

Amazons do love to eat and companion Parrots tend to be feed foods that are high in protein and fats, and unless they are flighted they do not burn-off that extra energy, which becomes fat. Fatty liver and underdeveloped heart and air sacks lead to congestive heart failure. As a result, companion Amazons that are not allowed to fly tend to die very young compared to flighted Amazons.

It was common for Amazons to live well into their seventies when flighted, but sadly if not, they barely make their twenties.