Questions for you Amazon owners

[dawnkyung]

So, today I spent some more time with the potential new Yellow-Crowned Amazon.

He's a sweetie and accepts rubs on his head and under his chin. Steps up willingly if you're confident.

He is HUGE. The owner of the store told me that this boy in particular, as well as his sister (who has been purchased already) are very large for Yellow Crowns.

The people at the store know me pretty well by now as I bought my TAG there. I blasted them with questions today and just want to confirm what I'm hearing...(and these are, of course, generalizations - I know every bird will be different)

1. Amazons aren't attached to you like many 'Toos are. They enjoy being on their stands, entertaining you, or simply being involved in the same room as the action.

2. Yellow Crowns are not necessarily incessant screamers. If your house is quiet, they can adapt to the environment.

3. When they do bite, it's hard. They often give signals that make it easier to "read" when your bird is going to give you a snap.

4. They are more independent than some other large birds.

#4 I think is important as we both work full time. We don't have a problem keeping him/her busy with plenty of puzzle/chewing toys as well as leaving the TV on. Our dogs are also there during the day and I come home for lunch during the week. I don't want to take in an Amazon if he is going to be unhappy with the amount of interaction he will get.

My boyfriend is not necessarily a bird person, but he does enjoy them. With that said, his tolerance for constant screaming and/or vicious biting is lower than mine.

My TAG was handled terribly by me from the get-go - I spent every waking moment that I wasn't at work with her, and didn't expose her to other people. When my life changed, it was impossible for her to adjust. She was miserable and didn't want to share me. I don't want to do that to another bird - so if we do bring this guy home, we'll be sure to start out our schedule in a way that is sustainable for a long time - as well as make sure that he is WELL socialized with lots of people; not just us.

Sorry for all the posting about this, but it's a big commitment and I want to be sure that we are doing the right thing for both us and the bird. Any thoughts or advice are more than welcomed.

 

[wenz2712]

So, today I spent some more time with the potential new Yellow-Crowned Amazon.

He's a sweetie and accepts rubs on his head and under his chin. Steps up willingly if you're confident.

He is HUGE. The owner of the store told me that this boy in particular, as well as his sister (who has been purchased already) are very large for Yellow Crowns.

The people at the store know me pretty well by now as I bought my TAG there. I blasted them with questions today and just want to confirm what I'm hearing...(and these are, of course, generalizations - I know every bird will be different)

1. Amazons aren't attached to you like many 'Toos are. They enjoy being on their stands, entertaining you, or simply being involved in the same room as the action.

2. Yellow Crowns are not necessarily incessant screamers. If your house is quiet, they can adapt to the environment.

3. When they do bite, it's hard. They often give signals that make it easier to "read" when your bird is going to give you a snap.

4. They are more independent than some other large birds.

#4 I think is important as we both work full time. We don't have a problem keeping him/her busy with plenty of puzzle/chewing toys as well as leaving the TV on. Our dogs are also there during the day and I come home for lunch during the week. I don't want to take in an Amazon if he is going to be unhappy with the amount of interaction he will get.

My boyfriend is not necessarily a bird person, but he does enjoy them. With that said, his tolerance for constant screaming and/or vicious biting is lower than mine.

My TAG was handled terribly by me from the get-go - I spent every waking moment that I wasn't at work with her, and didn't expose her to other people. When my life changed, it was impossible for her to adjust. She was miserable and didn't want to share me. I don't want to do that to another bird - so if we do bring this guy home, we'll be sure to start out our schedule in a way that is sustainable for a long time - as well as make sure that he is WELL socialized with lots of people; not just us.

Sorry for all the posting about this, but it's a big commitment and I want to be sure that we are doing the right thing for both us and the bird. Any thoughts or advice are more than welcomed.

I have a YC Amazon

In answer to your questions..

1 ... My Zon is very attached to me and will not tolerate others.. She is quite happy to Play on her stand for hours and loves to play with all her toys!

2.. Codie does scream very loudly when I leave her sight, but the key to this is to just totally ignore and eventually they will realise that screaming gets them no attention whatsoever!

3.. Luckily I have never been bitten by her, but I am sure one day this will happen You need to learn their body language.. ie eyes pinned, flared tail, means beware lol

4.. You will need to provide lots of Toys for the Cage... Plenty of hanging Toys as well as furroging and also plenty of Foot toys.. This will keep her amused while you are out

It is a good idea to get her well socialized with other people, but this does not necessarily mean that she will like everyone as I have found out! I have had Codie since she was 11 Weeks old... She is almost 11 Months now.

Hope this helps.

 

[dawnkyung]

Thank you for responding!

Does Codie get a lot of time with other people, or did she when she was little?

The 'zon that we are thinking about was born in early March - so he is around 5 months old. At the store, several different employees were able to come up and give him head rubs with no hesitation - one of the employees was male and the other two were female. He also let me rub his head. They do get a lot of time out on playstands at the store.

I'm weary of him becoming attached to only one of us and being unhandleable by the other. Hopefully he will be able to put up with both of us if we bring him home!

 

[WharfRat]

Strictly observations of our 2 YNA's

1. Amazons aren't attached to you like many 'Toos are.

The Zon's could care less about me, but if my wife is home they WILL NOT leave her alone, they want to be on her constantly, they are also like putty in her hands, she can do virtually anything she wants with them and they don't care. I only handle the Zon's when she ain't here and I guarantee ya, I'm gonna get bit at LEAST once (bearable though).

2. Yellow Crowns are not necessarily incessant screamers

They really don't scream at all unless I'm cooking something in the kitchen, however, they WILL chatter back and forth to each other quite a bit during the day and early evening. They will also get quite loud in my office, still not sure why, they love going in there.

3. When they do bite, it's hard. They often give signals that make it easier to "read" when your bird is going to give you a snap.

The only time I get bit hard is when the wife is home :20: and I'm usually ready for it anyway. Yes they give "signals" but I've noticed they're a LOT more subtle than our other birds (as in harder to read).

4. They are more independent than some other large birds.

Only when the wife ain't home :20:

as stated, these are strictly my observations of our 2 YNA's, the %^*&* traitors, at least ONE was supposed to like me!!

 

[wenz2712]

Thank you for responding!

Does Codie get a lot of time with other people, or did she when she was little?

The 'zon that we are thinking about was born in early March - so he is around 5 months old. At the store, several different employees were able to come up and give him head rubs with no hesitation - one of the employees was male and the other two were female. He also let me rub his head. They do get a lot of time out on playstands at the store.

I'm weary of him becoming attached to only one of us and being unhandleable by the other. Hopefully he will be able to put up with both of us if we bring him home!

I would not say that Codie spends time with lots of people... There are 4 of us in the House and each one of us for the first few Months spent an equal amount of time with her, but it was me she bonded too and now she will not tolerate any of the others!

They try so hard to try and make her like them, but to no avail

 

[dawnkyung]

Thank you both for your replies! They really help.

I think now it will hinge on how my boyfriend gets along with the little (not-so-little) guy when he meets him tomorrow. The price difference isn't actually as huge as I thought it would be from our Jardine's to the Amazon.

The cage will only cost around 75$ to upgrade as long as I can sell the one that we currently have (which I'm hopeful that I can do via craigslist).

My fingers are crossed that Mr. Yellow-Crown and the boyfriend like each other when they meet (and that he's still available tomorrow when we go!).

Here are a couple iphone photos that I took when I was there today:





He really is HUGE. Like twice the size of the TAG I used to have!

 

[WharfRat]

He really is HUGE.

LOL!!! That ain't "huge"

Ours are 1/2 the size of our GW's

One thing I have noticed for their size though, they sure seem to weigh a LOT more for their size than you'd think, must have something to do with muscle amount/density I'm guessing.

 

[lizardsmells]

I have a YNA, but they're about the same size/temperment as YCAs.

Amazons are quite independent birds. Kazi loves cuddles and he would be pretty content to ride around on me most of the time, but he will also happily spend hours by himself, sometimes in another room. And there are times he really doesn't want me to bother him, so I don't.

Amazons are CRYSTAL CLEAR in their body language. I mean, you can't mistake an "I'm about to bite you if you stick your hand over here" for anything other than what it is. But you have to learn their body language. It only took me about 6 months to learn that just because Kazi calls me over to him and acts like he wants to step up, if his tail is flared at all, no matter how cute and submissive he's acting, I'm going to get a chomp.

Amazons are a bit larger than most Grays I've met, but one CAG that is easily the size of any full grown YNA. He's huge, and adorable. I'd love to bring him home.

That YC is adorable. How old is he?

Oh, something you should be aware of about Amazons if you're not already. YCAs are considered one of the 'hot three' - meaning they have a reputation for being not so nice, at least the males do. And that reputation isn't entirely unfounded. About twice a year (after they reach sexual maturity) they go into 'mating' mode and become very hormonal and difficult to handle. The first one we went through with Kazi was pure hell. I won't lie. But I was also an inexperienced parrot owner and hadn't learned to read his body language yet and he, and we, were still settling in to his living here. There were times I thought I'd made a mistake in taking him in, but we're in the second one now and it's going MUCH better. Thankfully these periods only last a few weeks and then they're over. For a little while, anyway

 

[dawnkyung]

Thank you all for your comments!

To me, he is HUGE! He's probably the biggest amazon in the store. I also noticed that he's got a "scent" to him. It's not unpleasant...I rather like it!

His hatchdate was in early March, so he's around 5 months old.

I did read this:

The Amazon classification covers a wide group of birds. They are basically all green with different colorations on their heads. The problem birds can be limited to a few species. They can be broken down further by sex. This group is made up of the males of the Double Yellow Heads, Yellow Napes and Blue Fronts. I have called this group the “Hot Three”. When sexual, these birds become extremely aggressive and one has to be careful when handling them. Species such as Lilac Crowns, Green Cheeks and Mealies are less excitable and remain much calmer than the “Hot Three” during the breeding season. There is a huge difference in the species of Amazons, their sex and their age. A five year old Lilac Crown female may bite but she will not go into a hormonal rage. A nine year old male Double Yellow can very easily do so if they are healthy and their environment is right.

So what I've read is wrong? Yellow Crowns are indeed part of the "hot three"?

I have dealt with hormonal birds before, but not hormonal ones with such a big beak...

 

[wenz2712]

YCs are part of the hot 3... Females, I have been told are not quite as aggressive when they reach maturity,... Its just a case of working through it! Yes they have big beaks and it would hurt alot if they bite hard, but as I said, Codie has never bitten me, but I am sure it will happen one day

Your Pic looks just like Codie

Here are some pics of her from the other day!

http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/21411-some-pics-codie-playing.html

 

[WharfRat]

Ok fine....if it will make y'all any happier I'll get pics the next time they decide to bite the poop out of me (bunch of sadists on here:09

LOL

 

[cnyguy]

George the YCA was friendly with most people, with a few exceptions. Sometimes, he'd take an instant dislike to a person, and would just pretend they didn't exist. He had a few favorite people, besides me, that he especially liked to be with. He could be noisy at times, and would have a squawking session once or twice a day for a few minutes, but it wasn't really intolerable. He wasn't a clingy parrot at all and didn't really like perching on me for any length of time-- but he had ways of showing his affection and letting me know he was happy to be with me. George could keep himself amused and didn't need constant attention, and he was fine when left alone for a few hours, with the radio for company. He was capable of biting hard; in 40 years, I probably got bit really hard a dozen times. Usually it was possible to tell if he was in a biting mood, but there were times I was taken by surprise. George was already a mature parrot when he came to live with me, and I never experienced any extreme hormonal behavior.

 

[melissasparrots]

#1 is sort of true. They do get attached to you. But they don't need you as much. Most of mine prefere short sessions of intense scratches, and otherwise being in the room with me is fine. In fact if I get overly pushy trying to get snuggles from them, they get pushy back and let me know they've had enough. They have phases where they want more, but generally someone that is envisioning long hours with a bird perched on their shoulder will be disapointed with some amazons. If your happy with a bird chatting in the same room with you and you check in with each other periodically on and off all day long, then an amazon will be very happy.

#2 Usually true. They don't scream for attention. But they can scream for the joy of making the most obnoxious noises possible. A single amazon may or may not be that bad. My first amazon came to me because a screaming issue got her ousted from her last home. Her one daughter is a pretty quiet bird, although when new people come over, or I'm cleaning or making noise around the house, then she can be super loud. She has a brother and sister in a different room that just randomly start up making a racket for a few hours once in the morning or evening. They go through phases where they just about make me crazy. Even my quiet bird was worse when she was a young adolescent.

#3 is absolutely true. Normally you don't get a nasty amazon bite unless your not paying attention. Here is the problem though that your boyfriend might object to, some amazons especially males have very short fuses. They will tell you before they bite you, but they might go through phases where they pretty much always want to bite someone. Yellow fronts/crowns aren't known for being so bad, but any of the yellow headed amazons can be like that. Yellow napes, double yellow heads and blue fronts are the stereotyped more aggressive species. Also, the classic pet amazon situation goes something like this. Bird sitting on your arm, all sweet and snuggly and then the dog or husband walks over and sticks their nose too close and wham, favorite person gets nailed big time. This is because the bird is really mad at the husband or dog, but its easier to take out their anger at the person they are sitting on. Also, some birds will bite the person they love in order to drive them away from some percieved threat or competition. Things to keep in mind. Those have the potential to be pretty nasty bites. You generally learn your birds' triggers, but it might be something like the presence of your husband. Which might necessitate the bird getting one on one time from you when your husband isn't around. Conversely, the bird could attach itself to your husband and then you become the trigger to getting your husband bit. Normally these situations are easy to work around, unless you have a very inflexible member of the family that resents having to alter in any small way their activities because of an aggressive bird. Some napes, double yellows and blue front males will object so strongly to the less favored person that they will fly accross the room to attack that person once they hit maturity and the hormones start raging. Not all male amazons do that, but its one of the more common behavior problems people come on message boards complaining of. Usually the easiest solution is to just keep the bird caged while the person they object to is around. Of course, you have to make sure your able to handle that emotionally. Some people get all sentimental and have massive feelings of guilt about having to keep the little dear caged, and then they start thinking they need to rehome the bird. Make sure you have your head straightened out about that before bringing home a male amazon. They can be absolutely awesome. And not all are aggressive like that. Usually to their favorite person they are outstanding. Maybe a little touchy at certain times of day, but devoted companions. To all others, watch out.

#4 is true. An amazon is not a bird you need to feel guilty about if your work schedule gets longer than normal for a while. Good toys, good food, a decent sized cage(24X30+) and a few scratches are the way to a happy amazon. Don't need to feel guilty if you decide to go to Europe for a couple weeks. The amazon will be okay so long as you don't do that sort of thing all the time. Male amzons can be territorial around their food bowls, so make sure you have outside access feeders so your petsitter doesn't get chomped.

Also, umm, and this could be a big one. That bird looks like it could actually be a yellow nape that is just too young to have gotten the yellow nape in. You might want to check with what Henpecked says. He's probably seen more baby yellow fronts than me. I have yellow napes, and I breed yellow napes. Some napes have a fair bit of yellow up front like that one. Something about that bird just says nape to me. The beak doesn't have the orange patches at the side, no pronounced white eye ring, body type and shade of green not quite right. I adore napes, they are my very favorite amazon species. But they can be one of the more aggressive or problematic species for people that easily have their feelings hurt or in families where one person seriously objects to aggression. The exciteability also means they can be one of the noisier species too. Some napes can be really good sized birds which might be why everyone is so surprised how big he is. The more I look at your picture, the more I'm thinkin you have yellow nape there, not a yellow crown.

 

[WharfRat]

The marking on that bird is a carbon copy of one of our Zon's, but the major difference is ours is MUCH stockier looking by far. That might just be an age thing. Both our Zon's have the same parents (different clutch) and our other one's yellow is really starting to come in now compared to the other. I'll try to get pics up later today that show the markings better than what I have now.

 

[dawnkyung]

Hi again, and thank you for the replies!

We went to visit him again today and I did ask about him being a Yellow-naped. i was told that he definitely is not. I know nothing about the different types of amazons, but I was shown the other amazons - the yellow napeds that they had were all green, no yellow at all yet - but about a month younger than he is. They do sell Yellow-Napeds at the store (the Golden Cockatoo in Deerfield Beach), but they are more expensive than the yellow crowns. So, I'm not positive, but the employees at the store (one who has a Mealy Amazon and a Yellow-Naped at home) assured me that he is indeed a yellow-crowned.

He weighs a whopping (to me, this is whopping) 510 grams. How does that compare to your amazons?

 

[wenz2712]

I would say he he definately a YC.. Have a look at my pics of Codie and you will see!

Codie weighs 510 grams.. she is 11 Months old

 

[melissasparrots]

Just for comparisson, here is Gremlin and Sprout. They are full siblings and yellow naped amazons. I have both of their parents and their parents both have a little bit of yellow above their nose and full yellow napes in the back. Sprout hatched out with a fair bit of yellow above her nose but is being very slow in getting the nape. She is 4 years old and other than a few yellow specks on her neck, she looks basically the same as she did at 4 months. Their beaks are a little orange stained from eating squash. Otherwise, they look pretty similar to your bird's.

If you really feel a strong attachment to this bird, I'd say go for it. But make sure your able to handle all that a male amazon can dish out.

 

[paulhanlon]

I would say he he definately a YC.. Have a look at my pics of Codie and you will see!

Codie weighs 510 grams.. she is 11 Months old

Sky is about 10 weeks old and she weighs 400 grams at the moment

 

[wenz2712]

I would say he he definately a YC.. Have a look at my pics of Codie and you will see!

Codie weighs 510 grams.. she is 11 Months old

Sky is about 10 weeks old and she weighs 400 grams at the moment

Thats a good weight I am told when they are fully grown, a good weight is between 480 and 550 grams

 

[paulhanlon]

[COLO

R=Blue]I would say he he definately a YC.. Have a look at my pics of Codie and you will see!

Codie weighs 510 grams.. she is 11 Months old
[/COLOR]

Sky is about 10 weeks old and she weighs 400 grams at the moment

Thats a good weight I am told when they are fully grown, a good weight is between 480 and 550 grams

Yeah its about 510 to 550 grams fully grown