Considering Orange Winged Amazon

[crt95]

My husband and I are considering an orange winged amazon. She is 10 years old and very tame. Her previous owner had a serious heart condition and she could no longer take care of her. Sabrina has been at our wonderful bird store for 9 months and they spoke highly of her.
We did not go in looking for an amazon but my husband was attracted to her and kept going to her cage. So he held her and she sweetly cuddled up to him while he scratched her neck for a while. He would put her back on the play perch and then get her again and she would go right to him. I also held her and she cuddled up with me since she had been with a female they expected her to want to be around a female but she really did enjoy my husband also.
We only had one concern, the noise. Now after reading this forum I'm now also concerned about biting. They told me at the bird store that she does not bit.
After reading this forum, I'm very confused and would like some input from everyone on what we could really expect from a orange winged amazon since most of the stuff on this forum is about the 3 ones whatever they are called that tend to be more aggressive I guess.
As far as our bird history. My husband had a cockatiel for most of his childhood that was his bird and lived with him in his bedroom. Buddy died about 10 years ago and he has not had a bird since and I have never owned a bird. We are willing to put in the time but do not want to bight off more than we can chew.

 

[Abzeez]

I have a blue front amazon. All parrots bite. You have to expect that someday you will get bitten, but then again, maybe you never will, but you have to expect it. My amazon isn't a screamer. He is very vocal though, but sings more than anything... since thats what I do most of the day. I sing, LOUDLY, so, so does he.

Just keep doing your research. Do some thinking, and go from there. If you feel you have the time, and it is something you want, then I say go for it.

 

[Mythreeiggys]

I have an Orange Winged and have also raises them from babies. My absolute favorite bird is an Orange Winged. Like the previous post said, all parrots bite. You have to go into it with an attitude of knowing you are going to get bit. As hard as it is, show no fear of them. They can sense your feat and when they do, they take full advantage of it. Having said that, my OW is the sweetest most loving bird ever. She was my first bird and she and I love each other. She has NEVER bitten out of aggression. In fact, the only time she bites is when I am clipping her nails/wings. Now my husband on the other hand, she will bite him. We don't know her previous history so it could be that shes had a bad experience with men. He respects her and we all live happily together.

I've raised OW babies and I've never had anyone complain about aggression. I truly believe it's how they were raised. Sounds to me as though he/she was loved!

They are loud but honestly, no louder then any other bird. Birds are loud! My OW sounds off a few times a day (maybe 2-3 times) but other then that, she mainly quiet besides her talking and whistling.

I always recommend an OW to anyone interested in an Amazon. IMO they are sweet, loving and devoted. I say visit with him/her a few times and if you think it's a match, go for it!

Good Luck!!!

 

[Tammy]

I have an Orange Wing that was 10 when I got him & after the first 6 months I can say he doesn't bite me. He may pretend to or start to but I just tell him, "If you don't want me to .... just tell me NO; there's no reason to try to bite" And then he says "No" I tell him thank you that's. As long as I watch his body language & ask him kindly & treat him with respect he's been awesome. He's now my best friend & boy can he talk! It's nice to have someone whistle at you in the shower every day.

 

[henpecked]

I have OWAs ,4 of them,i pair of breeders and 2 pets, back in the day they where known as the poor man's amazon, because they were cheap and didn't talk as well as some of the other zons. That being said, they are sweeter than many others, don't talk as well(though many do),and tend to be less bitey, i think that they are more adaptable than many others and tend to be less one personess(also less clingy) they tend to play rough, and hard . Hormonal issues don't seem as bad .They do have a unique screech though, but my wild caught breeders have taught my pets their sreech,however when i visit people who have babies from my birds those birds seem to have lost that trait somewhat and their owners have never complained about the noise.YES amazons can be loud,but awful sweet and loving too.Birds kept in a calm/quiet surroundings tend to be that way and birds kept active /busy seems to be that way too.good luck with your Orange Wing go for it.

 

[ScottinVentura]

My Amazon bit me once, and it was completely my fault. It was the first day we met and I forced him into it by chasing him around my shoulders trying to get him to step onto my hand. Since then we've established trust and he's never bitten me - even the time a cat got into our house, and I literally grabbed him off the top of his cage and shoved him inside my jacket. He was confused, but he trusted me and he didn't bite. In the wild, they don't bite hard unless they're defending their mate or their nest, so biting isn't natural behavior for them.

He naturally grabs a finger or a thumb when he's stepping up, just to brace himself while he's doing it. He'll also grab a finger with his claw and nibble on it while we're playing. I make growling noises (imitating the noise he makes) and poke and nudge him with my fingers, and he twists his head all around, trying to get all of them at once. When he gets tired of that, he hooks his beak on a bar of the cage and presents his neck for me to scratch and groom him.

Just understand that no matter how tame, an Amazon is still a wild animal, put into an unnatural environment. The only thing he'll understand is that he's in a new flock. Fortunately Amazons will adapt to a new flock. I used the opportunity to teach him that this flock doesn't respond to screams, we only answer to whistles. I also spent a lot of time reading things written by, and talking to people who study Amazons in the wild. I try to do things in ways that a wild Amazon would understand, and it was very useful to know his limits. I was originally told he only likes women, he was a vicious biter, and he screams a lot. Since he adjusted to his new flock, he's a docile little sweetheart. He only talks when he's angry, and he hates raised voices or tense discussions, so a standard part of any argument in our house is taking time out when things get heated to soothe him and let him know all is still right in the world.

It's really tempting to assign human feelings and motivations to a parrot - they seem so much like us in so many ways. But they're really not, and if you work in ways that your new bird will be able to understand, and keep things reliable and regular, he'll settle in fine and be a wonderful addition.

 

[mtdoramike]

The worst bite I ever got was from a Cockatiel. Those tiny little beaks can really puncture a finger. I say GO FOR IT, if one of you has a little bird experience then give the sweet guy a home.

 

[Conurekidd]

I hope your doing TONS of research. As an amazon enthusiast you must know that this is not a typical parrot. Let me tell you why I strung such high intrest in the species ALL AMAZONS.


I love em because there moddy. They're outgoing. There dominate. There sweet and cuddlie. Hormonal savages lol. Does not really intrest in any other people than the one favored human. They love there food. Extreamlly intelligent. Very oviously and readable emotions. You know when there mad. And when they are. Back off. To teach a parrot not to bite you have to avoid it. Amazon specifically are the worse biting parrot. They don't pressure bite like most. They bite to kill. And there always chewing. My zon can run through a block of wood in a few hours! And again amazons spicificly. Once they learn the disapline bite. They use it to the fullest. It works don't it. You pulled you hand away.
Haha. To me there the most misunderstood parrot and there known for the typical "he used to be so sweet but now he's so mean" saying lol.

Just do your research hope for the best and expect the worse.
And respect there boundaries. With all that you can have IMO the best pet ever!!
Amazons are amazing lOl