Hello everyone

[gremikbroof2amazons]

My name is Greg and i have 2 Orange winged amazons , one is almost 8 and his name is boris ,the other is poncho and i think he is younger but not sure but was told he was about 5 , i have had boris for about 7 months so was new to owning a bird . boris was in need of someone to help him , he was living with a family that was scared of him and never got out of his cage . due to he bit the woman taking care of him pretty bad and from then on she only feed him and that was it .. boris was overweight from no exercize and wanted nothing to do with people at all .. although i have made great leaps with him as now he doesnt jump at me to bite and has started to trust me by taking food from my hand and he now steps up on a stick to be moved from one room the the other ,, plus he loves being out of his cage ..in fact i never close the door ,he goes in an out as he likes and goes in at night to sleep . my biggest problem so far is getting him to trust my hands , he really doesnt like hands but its a work in progress ..now poncho is the new member to the flock i have only have poncho for a few days and he seams to be doing great and boris and him are getting along like they have known each other forever ,, poncho is friendly he will let me touch him, he has even stepped up on my the hand and walked up my arm ..his talons needed clipped bad , and he even let me do that with out getting mad ..but thats just alittle bit about my two amazons .I am glad to be the owner of amazon orange winged birds they have bought great joy to my family .. like waking up and there sitting on top of the cage waiting for a piece of apple singing ....but i am sure most of you know about that right,,.

 

[Allee]

Hello Greg! Welcome to the forums, enjoy your stay! Boris and Poncho are gorgeous!

 

[thekarens]

Welcome! Beautiful zons!

 

[Timothy]

BEAUTIFUL amazons. I'm glad you adopted older birds in need of homes! Its a real epidemic these days. I'm sure they will trust you soon. Keep working with them. There is a lot of literature here on the forum on how to reduce fear of hands. I'll let the zon owners give you some more info. Good Luck!!

 

[Kiwibird]

What an adorable pair! Are you sure they aren't twins lol? Glad Boris and Poncho have found their way into your home. Sounds like you're making positive steps forward with both of them! Just be patient with Boris. Amazons aren't the most touchy-feely birds to begin with, and some who have been prior mistreated take a long time to come around. If you keep at it (and bribe them with [healthy] food), he will eventually come around. Our adopted BFA took a few years before he really trusted us and stepped up consistently. It was worth being patient, as he is a wonderful bird now!

Curious- are they sharing a cage? If so, it may be a good idea to have both DNA tested to be sure they are both in fact males, as there is no visual way to tell in amazons Wouldn't want any "unexpected" surprises next spring if one was in fact a female:54:

 

[gremikbroof2amazons]

i do have them in the same cage right now ,, but i am curious as to if they are both males as the way they act towards each other , the only time i have seen so far that they have fought was when i put a piece of apple in the food bowl and they both wanted it and a fight started , other than that they are chatting an cleaning, which i think is weird but i am new to owning birds ,

 

[TessieB]

Beautiful pair. Welcome to the flock!

 

[gremikbroof2amazons]

if one of them is a female what are some of the things i will see them do (meanning the female to give me a clear indication as i have a female not 2 males), when i got poncho i got him due to i was told he was a male ,,i didnt want to put a female with boris as i have read a mating pair can be a real hand full ,,

 

[Kiwibird]

The ONLY way to tell is a DNA gender test (unless one lays an egg, which female amazons are not prone to unless they are fertilized). The way domestic parrots interact is not the way they would in nature and there is no clear cut rules of interaction outside of a natural flock structure. 2 males can bond just as easily as a male and female. Heck, there are lots of birds of different species who bond. They could just be happy to see another bird! DNA tests are pretty cheap, and only require you (or the vet) to pluck a couple feathers and send them off. It's not a big deal to have done so you know the best route of housing, interactions and training your feathered friends!

 

[gremikbroof2amazons]

i am indeed going to check the area for a bird vet as i just moved to a new area and the vet i had is a long drive , also so i can have poncho checked out to see if there is any problems that need attended to ,boris has been to the vet and has come back with a clean bill of health . but never thought i was going to get a second amazon so the sex of him didnt matter, but with two i think i will play it safe and find out , as with male and female in the same cage mating i have read that they will start to be aggressive to everyone else and dont want to see boris regress to what he was like . i do thank you for your advise kiwibird as i bet i have just started to learn to be a bird owner and i do want them to be happy and safe .

 

[Kiwibird]

Breeder birds do in fact become rather unfriendly in most cases. Not to mention, you want 2 companion birds who get along with people and each other, not a breeding operation in your home. If they are a male and female, you would need separate cages, but they could still interact, just supervised (especially in spring when they are hormonal). As long as they are the same gender, they can share a cage if they get along well, but you may eventually want to look for a larger cage if they'll spend much time in there (from what I gather, they are allowed out of their cage all day?). If you plan to house them together, I would get a spare set of food dishes so each bird has his own food/water and theres no fighting at mealtime.

As for socializing, having 2 may be of benefit, especially if one is friendlier than the other. If Boris sees Poncho getting praises and rewards for being friendly, he's going to A. see you aren't a threat and B. want to get rewards/praise too Amazons are intelligent and love to learn. I'd suggest starting with target training. Lots of videos on youtube from different trainers, I'd watch a few, find a trainer that appeals to you, and try their techniques.