Questions from an OWA-owner-to-be

[greagre]

Hi, I am about to have an orange winged amazon in a couple of weeks. Before I get him (or her, not DNA tested yet), I have a few questions. I appreciate if someone can clarify my confusions.

1) The current owner said this OWA is super sweet. I do not what "sweet" means specifically for a parrot. Means he is cute? Tamed? Quiet? Being able to understand humans?

2) I live in an apartment. Is OWA very noisy? I am worried that the neighbors would complain if he screams too much. Any chance to refrain him from screaming?

3) I did a little research and I know OWA is not the best talker among amazons. But is it still be able to learn, say, 20 words? Sing a song?

4) Do you guys have any suggestion for the cage size? We are looking at some cages around 24L*22W*40H or 28L*20W*40H. Is this small? Where can I buy good cage with decent price? Thanks!

Anything I must know before I get him home? Any comments are appreciated!

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for joining to learn more about having an amazon. OWAs are one of my favorite amazons and i have many , some for many years. Known as the "poor man's amazon" because they are cheaper. Yes they don't talk as well but are VERY playful and great birds. They get along with other birds and take well to a large family.OWAs have a very unique call and can be vocal. To break mine of loud "flock calling/screeching" i used whistling and bird calls. Now my flock of OWAs sound more like Turkeys, LOL. I,m sure i can help you with any problems you run into with your OWA but the best advice i can give is to socialize,socialize,socialize. They are very outgoing fun loving amazons.They just need a good flock and a good leader.

 

[greagre]

Thank you henpecked. Yes, I indeed bought OWA because of my low budget. LOL. Also this is my first time to raise a large-size parrot and I heard OWA has nice personality. So I think OWA would be a nice choice. I will wait to see if mine has a crazy flock calling. If so, I will definitely seek for your advice.

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new amazon! A lot of amazon owners/fans on here so you're in the right place

1. Well, that's an awfully broad word. Sweet could mean any of those things, but I would assume it just means a gentle and calm bird.

2. ALL amazons have the *potential* to be LOUD and it's natural for them to vocalize. As henpecked said, you can re-train them to be much quieter than nature made them. Our amazon was very noisy when we got him, but through careful reinforcement training, he now makes pleasant noises and vocalizations at a apartment-friendly volume It is difficult, but not impossible

3. Any amazon had the ability and potential to talk. However, whether or not each individual bird does is another story. Some will never speak, some only mimic non-speech sounds, some have a 100+ word vocabulary. That all depends on the individual. We have a BFA, a species known to be good talkers. Kiwi does not talk or mimic. Theres just no telling until you get your bird

One last thing- remember with any creature, especially intelligent ones like parrots, you get BACK what you PUT IN Best of luck with your new zon!

 

[greagre]

Thank you Kiwibird! Thanks for your detailed answers. It looks that, even if mine screams a lot, I still can somehow train him to lower the voice. Now I am more confident about raising him in my apartment. Thank you!

 

[TessieB]

I really liked my Orange Wing. Purchased back in 1980, Oscar was very tolerant of my cockatiels dive bombing him, always willing to share his food, and would say a few words once you left the room. His scream could be heard a mile down the road. Although I taught him other calls, his piercing scream was the noise of choice when he saw me riding a horse. He was a good traveler and moved about with me and always settled in with no problem. He came to me very afraid of bare hands. Oddly, he liked gloved hands.

Amazons require work. They can be manipulative and bossy at times. But if they are in a good mood they are fun to be around.

 

[greagre]

LOL, you scared me by saying "His scream could be heard a mile down the road."

 

[henpecked]

I would say a "mile down the road " is not out of character.

 

[Kiwibird]

I know our amazon's scream could honestly be heard at least 2 blocks away, BUT, you'd have to *know* what you were listening for to pick out his call from the background noise of a neighborhood setting. Especially since they're making noise during the day when lots of other noise is happening (no bird is up vocalizing at 2am). However, as mentioned, he was totally ignored when he made those calls. He was given attention or treats or whatever it is he wanted ONLY when he made noises we liked and wanted him to keep making (which WEREN'T the loud ones lol:52. It didn't happen overnight, but gradually the LOUD calls decreased in volume and switched over to the nice noises we love and find super adorable because he was vocalizing for rewards or reactions and didn't get what he wanted by being loud

P.S. Most of neighbors had NO CLUE we had a parrot until they saw him outside bathing in the summer The noises he made were loud, but brief (2-5 minute intervals at their worst) and I don't know if anyone ever identified WHERE those noises came from while he was being trained.

 

[henpecked]

To be honest,i know what amazons sound like and can pick up their call from miles away. OWAs can be loud ,but that's because they are such happy birds. You just need to "redirect" their zest for life into what your "flock" finds acceptable I did that by using a turkey call. They love the sound of my turkey call and would mimic it exactly. I'm a great turkey caller now and so are my OWAs. I tried the duck call but my wife veto'd that, LOL.

 

[Kiwibird]

To be honest,i know what amazons sound like and can pick up their call from miles away. OWAs can be loud ,but that's because they are such happy birds. You just need to "redirect" their zest for life into what your "flock" finds acceptable I did that by using a turkey call. They love the sound of my turkey call and would mimic it exactly. I'm a great turkey caller now and so are my OWAs. I tried the duck call but my wife veto'd that, LOL.

That is exactly what we did! We worked with noises that Kiwi made already since he doesn't mimic, but either way works He makes very cute goose-like noises, squeals and grunts, so we encouraged him when he made those noises and ignored him when he made loud ones. He now makes a absolutely adorable "vocabulary" of vocalizations that we just love hearing

 

[greagre]

Thank you all for sharing your experience. Do you guys have any suggestion for the cage size? We are looking at some cages around 24L*22W*40H or 28L*20W*40H. Is this small? Where can I buy good cage with decent price? Thanks!

 

[ImmunoGoblin]

My suggestion for cages: if you're choosing between two, width is better than height. Lots of birds tend to stay in the top half of their cage almost all of the time if they have a taller cage. My DYH has a tall cage and hardly uses half the volume of it. My OWA has a rectangular, lower, wider cage (almost like a really big dog crate on a stand) and it's actually a better use of the space for him. Has a bigger "footprint" on the floor but overall he can use more of his cage.
Re: the scream. My OWA can definitely make an ear-piercing shriek. Basically, we just don't reinforce it at all. We don't go to him when he does it; we try to ignore him or leave the room. When he asks for attention by normal-volume talking or making other noises or being quiet, we interact with him. I think his original family responded to the screaming by yelling at him, which encouraged him. Now he almost never does it.

 

[Phlox]

24 and 28 seem a bit on the small side for an Amazon to me. My BFA has a cage that is 36x24x60 and she gets plenty of out of cage time too. Granted, I don't know OWAs though. Maybe they're special.

 

[Birdman666]

They don't sit there and scream all day long. That would not be normal.

The scream heard a mile down the road is an attention scream, or a "flock alarm..." when something is perceived as a danger.

Amazons are generally not like toos that scream for hours on end.

But if you like things pin drop quiet, no parrot will do.

If it makes you feel any better, I lived in an apartment with six birds, including two amazons, and a macaw, and three conures (two of whom were screamers when I got them.)

No one complained, and I didn't get evicted because of them.

So, I wouldn't worry so much about that.

Handle the bird, socialize him properly, he won't attention scream.

 

[henpecked]

Thank you all for sharing your experience. Do you guys have any suggestion for the cage size? We are looking at some cages around 24L*22W*40H or 28L*20W*40H. Is this small? Where can I buy good cage with decent price? Thanks!

I'd say those are on the smaller size for OWA. I find with amazons that the width, depth are more important than the height. I'd get as big as easily fits though your doors in the house and to outside. A good play top or playstand (activity area) helps lessen the need for a larger cage. My zons spend 99% of the time on/in their cage with the door open. A bigger cage if he has to stay in it so that it can hold enough toys(and still give him room). A smaller cage if it doesn't need a lot of toys because he has "outside" time with toys. A smaller second cage (travel cage) is a great investment in your zons happiness, if you use it. Where to find cages ?? where do you live? Bird shows/fairs are a good place. Visit pet shops and find a model/brand you like. They are more costly at pet shops but find one you like and look on line.

 

[Birdman666]

Thank you all for sharing your experience. Do you guys have any suggestion for the cage size? We are looking at some cages around 24L*22W*40H or 28L*20W*40H. Is this small? Where can I buy good cage with decent price? Thanks!

I'd say those are on the smaller size for OWA. I find with amazons that the width, depth are more important than the height. I'd get as big as easily fits though your doors in the house and to outside. A good play top or playstand (activity area) helps lessen the need for a larger cage. My zons spend 99% of the time on/in their cage with the door open. A bigger cage if he has to stay in it so that it can hold enough toys(and still give him room). A smaller cage if it doesn't need a lot of toys because he has "outside" time with toys. A smaller second cage (travel cage) is a great investment in your zons happiness, if you use it. Where to find cages ?? where do you live? Bird shows/fairs are a good place. Visit pet shops and find a model/brand you like. They are more costly at pet shops but find one you like and look on line.

I agree with this as well.

Mine are in macaw sized playtops. (And the door is open.) Similar to this:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/playtop..._id=27405368&gclid=CLmOjvyok8ACFbRzMgodPFoAFA

Keep an amazon in too small a cage, they become perch potatoes. With a larger cage and toys, they tend to be more active and clownish...

 

[RavensGryf]

Also, keep in mind that once you fill the inside of the cage with enough toys, perches, and accessories, that takes up A LOT of interior space.

 

[Phlox]

Thank you all for sharing your experience. Do you guys have any suggestion for the cage size? We are looking at some cages around 24L*22W*40H or 28L*20W*40H. Is this small? Where can I buy good cage with decent price? Thanks!

I'd say those are on the smaller size for OWA. I find with amazons that the width, depth are more important than the height. I'd get as big as easily fits though your doors in the house and to outside. A good play top or playstand (activity area) helps lessen the need for a larger cage. My zons spend 99% of the time on/in their cage with the door open. A bigger cage if he has to stay in it so that it can hold enough toys(and still give him room). A smaller cage if it doesn't need a lot of toys because he has "outside" time with toys. A smaller second cage (travel cage) is a great investment in your zons happiness, if you use it. Where to find cages ?? where do you live? Bird shows/fairs are a good place. Visit pet shops and find a model/brand you like. They are more costly at pet shops but find one you like and look on line.

I agree with this as well.

Mine are in macaw sized playtops. (And the door is open.) Similar to this:

Playtop Bird Cage - 36 in. x 28 in. x 66 in. - White

Keep an amazon in too small a cage, they become perch potatoes. With a larger cage and toys, they tend to be more active and clownish...

That's Iris's EXACT cage, except hers is white.

 

[Birdman666]

I've got three of those sized cages, different brands, for my two amazons and one 40x30 playtop for my red fronted macaw, and then a double european macaw dome top for my greenwing that is around 6 ft by 3 ft.?