Newbie, seeking help

[brockw82]

Hi all --- my name is Andrew and I'm from upstate NY. I've wanted a parrot for as long as I can remember and have had budgies in the past. This is a great site and I joined today after reading the pros and cons of parrot ownership posts.

I've recently found a DYH Amazon for sale from a reputable dealer, hatched on March 1.

Here is a little background on my situation:

I'm 31, a recent graduate of law school with a job lined up, own my own home, have 3 dogs that are all well cared for and a cat which is also well cared for.

I believe that I would have the time to own a bird and would look forward to spending time with it and having it be a true member of my family.

I also want kids and have no idea and would like anybody's opinion of having small children around birds.

Is it also true that you can't really take vacations if you own a parrot? I plan on taking a few small (weekend) trips a year or maybe a week-long trip annually or bi-annually -- is this impossible?

As for the dawn/dusk routine -- I am fine with that but I am wondering what people mean by "screaming" -- is it all day long?

Am I over-analyzing all of this?

 

[Birdlover11]

You have a lot of questions, I like that. I'll answer them in order . I think it depends on the breed of bird if it's comfortable. You can mix children and amazons but you have to be aware that amazons are prone to jealousy, so if you spend a lot of time with your amazon and then your wife has a baby you'll have to spend more time with the baby then the amazon. The amazon sees this as you are giving more love to another mate than him. Most amazons are rehomed of this reason. You should also get your amazon used to the loud noise of children and teach kids on how to proply handle and touch them. You could take your birds with you on road trips, I take my budgies with my family to hotels,planes and trains. You just have to plan. Amazons are known to be loud and I mean LOUD . They could scream and screech all day but it depends on the bird.ho many hours do you spend at home? Other than that I think your a perfect fit for a amazon. I might just worry because you have a cat. Is it a kitten or a adult? What about the dogs? Make sure that the dogs won't jump on the cage nor the cats.

 

[brockw82]

I'm usually up at 7, work from 9-5 and then home until I go to bed. On the weekends I'm usually busy most of the day, but I'm home for a few hours each day. I am also leaning towards an Amazon because I've read that they are more independent. If I'm being honest, I probably don't have 4-5 hours a day to give, but more like 1-2 hours a day.

 

[ann]

welcome! dont worry, your not over analyzing this. imo it doesn't seem like an amazon is a good fit. while amazons can be great with kids, they can be very feisty and hormonal. you would have to raise your kids to know how to handle the bird and respect its boundaries. amazons are very loud birds, and aren't suited for apartments. if you live in a house, they would be fine. typically parrots scream when you come home and at dawn and dusk with occasional happy to be alive screams. Amazons are not usually recommended for first time owners due to there feisty nature and there size. they can also become one person birds, and need allot of time and attention. for your first bird i would recommend a conure. i have a nanday conure. he is sweet as can be, playful, outgoing, loves everyone, cuddly, is learning to talk, very intelligent, and is potty trained. he rolls on his back and i play with his feet while he chews on my fingers (it doesn't hurt, hes playing). i can pick him up and hold him like a foot ball, flip him on his back and upside down, give him kisses, he takes baths in the sink and lets me wrap him up like a burrito. he is the best bird ever, hes is everything i ever wanted and more. he is incredibly affectionate and funny. however, he wasn't like this from the start. i bought him as a hand fed baby from a good bird store. i had to teach him not to chew on my fingers, how to step up, potty train him and handle him and socialize him often. even now he gives me sass and can be pretty bratty, not to mention loud but overall he is wonderful and i don't mind the noise. he is also wonderful with my little cousins. i think an amazon would be great later on when your kids are older. i hope this helped and good luck with your choice

 

[tab_xo]

hello and welcome
is there a reason you are interested in the amazon rather than another bird ?

 

[henpecked]

I agree with a lot with what Ann said. Myself and 3 siblings grew up with amazons and macaws, my parents had them before we came along. All family outtings included the family pets. My mother is someone special ,who could juggle everyone's needs. All of us kids still have scars and stories about different parrots . I've had a amazon pet all my life, and raised my kids with amazons and other parrots. ( they too have bite scars and stories) Amazons are very demanding and take a serious commitment for life, they are very much like a child who never grows up and leaves home. If you can do it ,there;s nothing like it, if you can't ,it's pure hell. I'd suggest you try a hen Cockatiel ,who's generally not as demanding as a zon. They do well with families and don't bite that hard. They can be very cuddly and sweet and do well with other birds if you decide to get another. Good luck and thanks for joining to learn more about being a parront. We'll love to help and hope you stick around to learn more about what ever parrot you decide on. PS a 8 month old amazon many not be a the sweet baby you might think, I;d find a bird who like me and don't plan on changing them or winning them over.

 

[Devann]

My alexandrine, Vino has always been around kids and has never seriously injured any of them (her previous owners had 2 babies and I have a 5 year old). I think you probably just need to not allow the kids to handle the bird until they are old enough to understand how - just like you would with dogs or cats! I also have a plexiglass barrier that goes around her cage to prevent toddlers from sticking their fingers into the cage...

you can totally go on vacation! either plan on taking the bird with you (travel cage, pet friendly hotels etc.) or find a good bird sitter.

as for the screaming... all birds make noise, mine screams a bit but we're trying to discourage it and its working! Probably depends on the individual bird but she's doing less screaming and more chirping and making other noises to get attention....

I admittedly don't know anything about amazons, I just have my Alexandrine but hope this helps a bit Welcome to the forum, its a wealth of valuable information!

 

[Birdlover11]

Even tho amazons can be independent they will need lots of attention, they aren't like cockatoos who would want to snuggle with you all day but amazons want to see you and make you play with them,pi agree with everybody else, is there a reason you want a amazon? You might want to get one when your kids are a little older.Right now I would reccomend a conure or maybe a hahns macaw? Only if you know A LOT on bird care.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to ParrotForums and THANK YOU for asking questions BEFORE committing to a bird, especially a DYH Amazon.

I believe most of your questions have been answered, I'd just like to add the following:
You said you were planning on having children in the future. I honestly do not believe that a DYH Amazon (or most other Amazons) would take kindly to babies, toddlers, very young children to the household. Most Amazons become one person birds, no matter how hard you try and avoid it, it just happens (most of the time).

Children cannot be supervised 24/7 - sorry, non of us are superhumans, and IF your (future) child gets bitten by an angry or jealous DYH, it WILL be not only quite painful, but possibly quite damaging.

I hate sounding paranoid, but I'm only trying to avoid disaster, especially because there are way too many unwanted Amazons out there.

A cockatiel sounds like a sure winner. Perhaps even a Caique? They are small bundles of playfulness and REALLY colorful.

 

[brockw82]

If I have to be completely honest -- its because of the coloring and their ability to talk. I also want a larger bird (I had it narrowed down to a male eclectus or a DYH).

 

[dawnkyung]

I'm 29 and live with my 31 year old boyfriend. We have a Yellow-crowned amazon who was born on March...17th or 19th, I can't remember off the top of my head.

So far, she has not exhibited endless, non-stop screaming. When she's loud, it's because she's happy. If we turn on loud music, she yells along. She doesn't scream for attention and is quite happy to spend time in her cage, even while we're home and in another room. She plays voraciously with any and every toy. We both handle her equally and there have not been any jealousy issues yet. We have two dogs (one pit/american bulldog mix and one whippet/lab mix) and neither has been an issue. They stay away from her and are happy to clean up the floor underneath her playstand when she's feeling charitable and drops food on the ground.

Both of us work 8-5 (at least) and I just started going back to school as well, and Banner has been happy with being out on her playstand in the same room with us when we get home. We were careful not to smother her with attention when we first brought her home so that it wouldn't be a shock when we went back to our regular schedules.

When she's loud, she sounds like a death-metal singer, but those times really are few and far between. We like to bring her out with us in a carrier and also take walks around the neighborhood with her.She sees us interacting with each other and with both dogs and is not off-put by either of us giving attention to something that isn't her.

With all this said, Banner is still a young bird and when she hits puberty I know that we may experience some of the things that you hear when people give the cons of owning an amazon. I hope that with our (hopefully) steady guidance and us teaching her to be independent as a young bird that she will transition into being an adult who enjoys our company but also can entertain herself.

I thought that getting an amazon might be too much as they are known to be a lot of parrot, but we haven't regretted it.

EDIT: I should add that I am the bird person in our home and that my boyfriend has a much lower tolerance for being bitten/loud noises. I worried a lot about this at first but instead it's turned out that he's the one who is teaching how to talk and sing.

 

[Birdlover11]

All birds, no matter how small,big or colorful they thrive on attention , if they dont get the adequate ''flock time'' they will turn into a helllish, mentally suffocated bird.Which is not a good companion, i would reccomend a cockatiel,caiqe,conure or hahns macaw. A eclectus would need all day attention, and they are very diet sensitive. A hahns macaw could talk, they loook like a miniature version of a green macaw. I know we all like the big birds because most of them can talk and look beautiful but most people dont know what kind of joy a small bird can bring.

 

[lene1949]

My alexandrine, Max, loves children, even though he only sees them every couple of months...