Help!

[dawnkyung]

So, I have a deposit down on a Jardine's Parrot. He's a little climber and adventurer.

I also have a problem. I fell in love with a different bird!

Today when I went to visit "the little green guy", I walked by the cage of a Yellow-Crowned Amazon. He (they think "he" but don't know for certain) peeked his head up and said "Hi!" I was stopped in my tracks. We played peek-a-boo for awhile and he let me scratch him between the bars.

I know that Amazons can be loud and a lot to handle. The biggest bird I've been owned by thus far is a TAG. I've experienced screeching before (she grew out of it) as well as hormonal phases (although not with someone quite as large as my Amazon friend!).

Right now, we are renting a house - so no terribly close neighbors. We've fostered dogs that have barked well into the night with no complaints - but we ARE renting. It's not to say that we won't live in an apartment sometime in the future.

We only want one bird to live out the rest of it's (and our) lives with. Whoever it is will be an only fid, although he/she will have the company of our two dogs as well.

Our schedules are pretty "typical" - we both work 8-5 jobs with me coming home for an hour during lunch to let our dogs out. We spend a lot of time at home, playing video games and relaxing since we both work so much. We have a rolling playstand that is probably a little too small for a 'zon, so we'd need to upgrade that (and the cage! Right now the cage we've got is this one: 24x22 Dome Top Bird Cage - Dome Arch Top Bird Cages )

I guess my question to all you 'zon owners is...does this seem like a situation that would keep a Yellow Crowned Amazon happy? We have a good avian vet nearby and we are quite happy with us (the boyfriend and I), our two dogs and our future one bird. Can an Amazon be happy as an only fid? Financially, it's doable. My only concern is excessive noise should we move somewhere with closer neighbors and that he/she be happy with our lifestyle. I know it seems awful to consider switching up our choice this late in the game, but this is a big commitment and I want to make sure we choose what we REALLY want.

Any advice is more than welcome!

 

[paulhanlon]

My apologizes I never read the part about the zon and indeed you need to upgrade the cage to a larger one for a amazon

 

[dawnkyung]

No problem.

 

[paulhanlon]

That cage would be really nice for a jardine but as you are changing to a amazon the cage needs to be larger there are some really good sites in which you can get a cage large enough for a zon amazon.com is a really good site as I bought my new cage for my zon off there

 

[Parrotmamma]

Seems like it is in the right section ...she is asking about Amazons.

 

[cnyguy]

George, my YCA, was an "only parrot" for 40 years, and he liked that just fine. I doubt if he would have appreciated having another parrot around. For most of the time George was with me, we lived in a house, but the last six years of his life were spent in an apartment without any trouble or complaints.

 

[lizardsmells]

Amazons, I think, are really only as loud as their home is. I know that's true of Kazi and of the 'zons at the rescue.

I want a greenwing one day, but Kazi may decide that's not happening. I think he'd be THRILLED to be an only *animal* for the rest of his life. He does not like to compete for my attention.

 

[wenz2712]

A Yellow Crown is a great choice Yes they can be loud at times, and they normally bond with one person, but they are great Birds to have!

Yes you will need to buy a much bigger cage than what you have... Good luck with him if you decide to go ahead and keep us updated

 

[melissasparrots]

I think some amazons can be doable in somewhat more modern appartments. If your stuck in cheap old paper thin wall places, then you'd be pushing your luck with an amazon. The thing to keep in mind is this: as a cruel twist of fate, those people that can least afford to end up with a noisy bird, are the ones most likely to have a noisy bird. You can't get yourself in a situation where you have to go running to shut up the bird every time it makes a squawk over a certain decible level. That is exactly the situation that creates screaming birds and ends up with the person being evicted or being told to get rid of the pet. To have a quiet amazon, you need to do things like run the dishwasher and laudry machine at night when its dark. Run the vaccuum at times of day you know the neighbors won't mind noise. Keep the TV on low. Closed captioning so you can read the dialogue would be better because some amazons like to out squawk the TV. Listen to music with your I-pod or MP3 player rather than on the stereo so you don't get the amazon amped up with the volume. Some amazons are just inherently quieter birds. Others are not. Any bird in an appartment situation is a risk. Personally I'd recommend renting houses instead of appartments. That's what I did and never had problems with my neighbors. I deliberately stayed away from appartments. With a dog and a couple squawky cockatiels I had right out of college, an appartment was heartache waiting to happen.