My First DYH Amazon Journey Begins .....

[qamada]

Hello everyone,

I’ve finally decided to make a post here because I’m starting a new journey with a Double Yellow-Headed Amazon and wanted to learn from people who have real long-term experience with them

I’m not completely new to Amazons in general.
Over the years I’ve owned and raised Blue-fronted Amazon and Yellow-crowned Amazon before, in addition to being a long-time owner and breeder of African Grey Parrot parrots.

But this is my very first time owning a Double Yellow Head, and honestly they always had a different presence and personality to me compared to the other Amazons I’ve dealt with.

My wife and kids were the main reason I finally decided to go for one
They kept telling me:

“We’re tired of grey parrots… we want something colorful with character!”

So after a lot of searching, I ended up getting this 2-year-old Double Yellow Head Amazon (2024 hatch year according to the silver leg band).

He’s obviously not a baby anymore, and I know by this age Amazons already start forming their personality and preferences.
But at the same time, I still feel like 2 years old is very young for an Amazon, especially a DYH, and that there’s still a huge amount of bonding and development ahead.

The previous owner had him for around 4 months after buying him from someone else.
According to him, the bird bit him extremely hard on the first day — hard enough that he ended up going to the hospital
But over time the bird slowly started calming down, trusting him more, flying freely around the house, and even coming when called.
Interestingly, none of his previous owners ever gave him a proper name, so right now he still doesn’t actually have one
I’m trying to spend time understanding his personality first before deciding on a name that fits him.

Current situation with him:

• Flies freely around the house
• Comes when called sometimes
• Very observant and aware of everything around him
• Barely talks so far (the previous owner only heard a quick “Hello” once)
• Can be cautious and test boundaries
• Biting feels more defensive or uncertainty-based than true aggression

At the moment he’s still staying in a temporary travel cage because he just arrived recently (yesterday , so i'm going on a cage hunt mission today , I’m currently searching for a large permanent cage setup for him, any advise on how big should i go ?.

My goal is for him to spend most of his day outside the cage on a stand/perch, with the cage mainly being:

• A sleeping place
• Feeding area
• Safe space to relax

Basically I don’t want the cage to feel like a prison. I want him to willingly go in and out comfortably.

So for experienced DYH/Amazon owners:

• What’s the best way to condition him to this kind of setup?
• Should food only be offered inside the cage?
• How do you teach an Amazon that the cage is its safe place and not punishment?
• Any routines that help with smooth cage training and avoiding drama when it’s bedtime?

I’d also really appreciate opinions about:

• What I should realistically expect from a Double Yellow Head around this age?
• Whether they usually become more talkative after settling in?
• The best way to build trust with an adult Amazon!
• How you personally handle biting behavior?
• The difference between fear biting vs hormonal/dominance behavior?
• Things that Amazon owners commonly do wrong without realizing?
• how to cancel the hormon options in amazons ???

And of course, once I upload photos, I’d love feedback regarding:

• His coloration/genetics
• Future yellow development potential
• Feather quality
• Body condition
• Any visible stress signs
• Whether he looks healthy overall

Really excited about this bird and looking forward to learning more from experienced keepers here.
Any advice, stories, or suggestions are more than welcome

 

[wrench1363]

So read the I Love Amazons and the Amazon Body Language stickies on the AMazon subforum SEVERAL TIMES, and read aloud to your new DYH. They LOVE being read to.

All parrots are about trust. Everything you do must be measured by Does this build trust or does it break trust. Think before you act.

You can NEVER 100% eliminate hormonal behavior, just minimize it, to a certain extent.

Biting is best handled by the SHUNNING technique.

Biting, whether intentional or not, just over preening your skin or actually taking chunks of meat out - all are PAINFULL! In the wild that sort of behavior is not tolerated by the flock. They ostracize flock members who continue to act like that. We call it 'Shunning'. This WILL work, but needs to be done correctly to get the message across and it needs to be done IMMEDIATELY so the parrot can associate the bite with the shunning action. And it needs to happen every time and with anyone involved with the parrot.

When the bite or over preening occurs:

• Say in a forceful but not shouting voice "No Bite" or other endearments.
• Immediately place the parrot on a nearby, handy chairback. NOT the cage (that would only teach the parrot to bite when he wants to go back to his cage).
• Turn your back to him and ignore him for 1 minute. No peeking, no talking about or too him, NADA. NO eye contact. No less or the message is lost, no more or the bird will not associate the action with the bite.
• After a minute you can try to re-establish contact.

Rinse, repeat as needed. Most parrots get the message after a few times, some may need more. Also very important - make sure the bite is not your fault. Annoying your parrot, asking him to step up when he is otherwise preoccupied with eating or playing, bothering him during known moody times like mating season, or ignoring the warnings and body language of your parrot - these are bites that you deserve! Learn, and be a better parront !!

 

[qamada]

Thanks a lot for the advice, really appreciate it
I completely agree with the trust part honestly.
Coming from African Greys and other Amazons, I learned the hard way that forcing interaction usually creates long-term problems instead of bonding.
The “Does this build trust or break trust?” line honestly makes perfect sense with this bird already
He’s extremely observant and seems to analyze every reaction around him before deciding how to respond also thanks for explaining the shunning technique in detail.
I’ve seen people either punish Amazons too harshly or completely ignore biting behavior, and both seem to create worse habits over time.
Right now I’m mainly focusing on

• letting him settle in calmly
• respecting his body language
• building predictable routines
• and making the cage feel like a safe place instead of confinement

He actually surprised me already.
Even though he arrived only yesterday, he’s grinding his beak comfortably, standing on one foot, taking treats gently from my hand, and watching everything happening in the house very closely.
So I’m hoping that’s a good sign that stress levels are starting to go down.
And yes… I definitely need to study Amazon body language again before his hormones fully unlock and he downloads the Amazon DLC package
Really excited to learn this species properly.

Thank you

 

[qamada]

Hello everyone,

I thought I would come back with an update now that I've had a lot more time to get to know him.

I intentionally waited before posting again because I didn't want to judge his personality based on the first few days. I wanted to give him time to settle in and let his real personality show.

A lot has happened since then.

First of all, I had a DNA test done and confirmed that he is a male. I eventually named him Loki, and the name seems to fit him perfectly

He is now around 2.5 years old and has settled into family life surprisingly well.

He takes food from everyone in the house, including my wife, children, and visitors, and seems comfortable being around people. However, when it comes to trust and interaction, there is a very clear difference.

At the moment, I am the only person he willingly steps up for on his own. If I place him on someone else's hand, he will usually stay there calmly, but he will not voluntarily step up for them himself.

The same applies to physical contact. If someone tries to scratch his head, they will almost certainly get a warning or a bite. The only exception is me. Even then, he only allows head scratches when he feels like it. If he is not in the mood, he makes that very clear, and I respect it.

One thing that surprised me is how much he enjoys using his beak. He constantly wants to grab my fingers, hold them, gently chew on them, and play with them. It feels much more like play and exploration than aggression.

I have also seen what looked like a couple of regurgitation attempts directed toward my hand, which I found interesting.

Now for the part that has me most curious.

Loki still does not really talk.

What he does instead is something I have never experienced before.

When I talk to him, he often looks like he is trying very hard to say something. He moves his body, opens his beak, and acts as if words are about to come out, but almost nothing does. Sometimes it looks like he is whispering silently or pushing air without producing an actual sound.

He occasionally whistles when left alone, but overall he is much quieter than I expected from a Double Yellow-Headed Amazon.

Another interesting thing I have noticed is how strongly he reacts to videos of other Amazons, especially Double Yellow-Headed Amazons and Yellow-Naped Amazons.

If I play one of those videos on my phone, he will often fly over from across the room just to watch and listen. He becomes extremely focused on the screen, starts clicking, making little sounds, and looks like he is trying to interact with the birds in the video.

What makes it even more interesting is that he often appears to be trying to imitate them. He moves his body, opens his beak, and acts as if he is about to vocalize, but very little sound actually comes out.

It almost looks like he wants to join the conversation but hasn't quite figured out how yet.

So I'm curious if any experienced DYH owners have seen this before.

Have you ever had a Double Yellow-Headed Amazon that appeared to be trying to talk long before actual words or sounds started coming out?

Could this simply be a young bird practicing and experimenting with vocalizations before finding his voice?

But nothing really comes out!!!

And regarding the videos, have you seen Amazons become this interested in recordings of other Amazons, or is Loki simply being a very curious young bird?

Overall, though, I couldn't be happier with his progress. Every week I discover another layer of his personality, and he has become a wonderful addition to the family.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

 

[wrench1363]

All sounds very typical Amazon to me. He is still scoping things out. My 'zon gets very agitated watching videos of his species.

 

[texsize67]

My Amazon’s get very excited when watching or even hearing another amazon.
They especially like Charlie Murphy (think that’s his name) on YouTube.

My Yellow nape always made noise when learning a new word.
It would start as a sound kind of like a word, then it was a word but you might not be sure what word it is.
Then finally a polished word that is clearly understandable
He never did the silent beak movement.

 

[qamada]

That's actually what makes it so strange to me
He's not making "practice sounds" or incomplete words like I would normally expect from a young Amazon.
What he does is almost like someone pressed the mute button.
He moves his body, opens his beak, and goes through all the motions of vocalizing as if a sound is about to come out, but there is literally nothing there. No word, no whistle, no mumbling, not even much air that I can hear.
If someone watched him without hearing him, they would probably swear he was talking.
That's why I find it so fascinating. It genuinely looks like he is trying to participate in the conversation, especially when watching other DYHs or Yellow-Napes, but the actual sound never seems to happen.
I've owned other parrots before, including African Greys and other Amazons, and I've seen birds practice words badly before they become clear. This feels different. It's almost like he's rehearsing the physical act of talking rather than producing sounds.
Has anyone else ever seen an Amazon do something like this before?

 

[osklvste66]

Could it be he's mumbling softly? Practicing? My CAG did that when she was young. It was so soft you couldn't hear it unless very close. Then she started talking. She still mumbles sounds but it's audible now.

 

[kme33882]

Great advice above! I just wanted to chime in to say how beautiful your Amazon is. The noises that comes out of amazons is very astonishing to me. As he gets settled you’ll notice more and more sounds amazons make. I met one who likes to mimic water dropping sounds. One made gum smacking sounds consistently, and randomly. Out of everything they can pick up on!!! Why a gum smacking sound?

 

[qamada]

Could it be he's mumbling softly? Practicing? My CAG did that when she was young. It was so soft you couldn't hear it unless very close. Then she started talking. She still mumbles sounds but it's audible now.

That's definitely possible, and honestly I've started wondering the same thing.
Most of the time I'm sitting right next to him when he does it, and I still can't hear anything, which is why it seems so unusual to me.
Maybe he's producing sounds that are just incredibly soft and I'm simply missing them.
It would actually make me feel better if that's what is happening because it would mean he's practicing rather than just acting out the motions.
Hopefully one day he'll decide to turn the volume up and let us know what he's been trying to say all this time.

 

[qamada]

Great advice above! I just wanted to chime in to say how beautiful your Amazon is. The noises that comes out of amazons is very astonishing to me. As he gets settled you’ll notice more and more sounds amazons make. I met one who likes to mimic water dropping sounds. One made gum smacking sounds consistently, and randomly. Out of everything they can pick up on!!! Why a gum smacking sound?

Thank you! I really appreciate that.
One of the reasons I wanted a DYH is because Amazons always seem to have such huge personalities and such a strange variety of sounds.
The funny thing is that Loki seems determined to be different so far. While other Amazons are busy making every sound imaginable, mine appears to be specializing in silent conversations
I'm really looking forward to seeing what develops as he becomes more comfortable. If he eventually starts talking, I have a feeling there may be months of hidden practice behind it that I've never actually been able to hear.
And honestly, after hearing some of the random sounds Amazons choose to imitate, I wouldn't be surprised if his first clear sound ends up being something completely unexpected!

 

[osklvste66]

I'm chuckling because a breeder of CAGs, and Macs told me this. Beware of the mumbling babies. When they decide to open their beaks you'll wish for that mumbling baby back. She was right with my first CAG. #2 must of came out of the shell blabbing.

 

[saxguy6467]

I always wonder what sounds they're going to decide they want to make. My YNA can be very vocal. Not a ton of speech, but the sounds... Took me a while to figure out a strange noise when she's with me in the morning. Then it hit me. The sips/slurping sound when the fresh coffee is hot. Yup, that sound. She also sits quietly and listens to everything. If she thinks something I say is funny, she's the first one to laugh. Now, she's a rescue, and previous owners obviously kept her in the bedroom. And they were, ummmm, active. And vocal about it. So, my darling Baxter will periodically break out in the screams of passion, which can be slightly embarrassing, but absolutely hysterical. Thank goodness no words from that, just the "Ohhhhh, ohhhhh, OHHHHHHHHHHH!" kind of screams.

 

[osklvste66]

Right about that. I had to wear those horrible support hose after my PE. I didn't realize how I sounded until Nameliss gave her impression. Sounds out of context are so strange. It's so much fun to figure them out.