Everyone must pet an amazon!

[Mare Miller]

Haha! amysaviary, you beat me to it! Never having touched an Amazon, I could not imagine any thing softer than a cockatoo! They have all that powdery, dusty, downy, softness about them. Roxy, are Amazons dusty like a 'too?

I have to agree, there is nothing like a bird falling asleep with you in a cuddle session

 

[roxynoodle]

'Toos are probably softer And they have even larger neck and head feathers.

Amazons are dusty but nowhere near as dusty as 'Toos. They aren't as dusty as Greys either. After I handle him I have sprinkles of dust on me. And feather sheath pieces. Zons have a musky odor though you can smell on them. The longer they go between baths the more you can smell it.

I guess I need to pet a 'Too. The last one I met jumped on my arm and made me take it all over Pet Supplies Plus while I shopped. I was afraid of getting bitten though because the last 'Too I handled bit me hard. Every time I tried to get it off me, it threatened to bite. So I was like, oh, ok, you can shop with me I had to have the employees get it off and back into it's cage so I could leave the store.

 

[ann]

lol i hate/love it when that happens, i get freaked out that its trying to bite, but get so happy that im holding it! too's are soft but there feathers are so big, i feel like i cant really do a full blown head scritch because my fingers keep slipping out of the crest lol, with other birds with more dense feathers it feels like you can really pet them, and its sooooo soft!

 

[fidsandfrats]

I think my Petey is very special. And here I was always so leery of amazons! And I almost didn't take him because I was told he didn't like women. But, he was in that tiny cage, eating that crappy food, and I decided I'd take him anyway, and if he really hated me, I'd eventually find him an owner he did like once he was healthy. But, he's worked out perfectly.

You are so right about those silky soft head and neck feathers. I just love when Chili Pepper lets me scratch his head or neck.

Petey sounds perfect! Hard to tell from your avitar is Petey a DYH, Yellow Crowned or a Panama Amazon? I have a male DYH who will soon be 2 years in May. He's considered on of the "hot 3's" I am not looking forward to the hormonal years which are just around the corner. Any advice?

Thanks.

 

[roxynoodle]

I think my Petey is very special. And here I was always so leery of amazons! And I almost didn't take him because I was told he didn't like women. But, he was in that tiny cage, eating that crappy food, and I decided I'd take him anyway, and if he really hated me, I'd eventually find him an owner he did like once he was healthy. But, he's worked out perfectly.

You are so right about those silky soft head and neck feathers. I just love when Chili Pepper lets me scratch his head or neck.

Petey sounds perfect! Hard to tell from your avitar is Petey a DYH, Yellow Crowned or a Panama Amazon? I have a male DYH who will soon be 2 years in May. He's considered on of the "hot 3's" I am not looking forward to the hormonal years which are just around the corner. Any advice?

Thanks.

I should put up a better avatar picture. I took that one a few days after Pete came here and was just trying to get a few quick pics for people who wanted to see what he looked like. I also unfortunately lost a bunch of photos of my conures when my computer died (the same day I bought a new external hard driver:54: Talk about bad luck!).

Pete is a Yellow Crowned.

Being 29 years old I suspect his hormones are probably not as bad as when he was younger. When he does try to court me or ha ha, hump my hand, I put him on his parrot tower until the mood has passed. It's not something I want to encourage. I don't get mean about it at all, as it's just nature and not something he can help, but I ignore the hormones and praise him a lot for all his good behaviors. If he starts regurgitating I just stay calm about it and wipe off his beak and try to catch the mess falling out before it gets in my keyboard or something lol! Sometimes he starts regurgitating it seems to me because he got excited about something. It doesn't always seem to be something he's doing specifically for me. He can get excited running around on the couch and start doing it. I also ignore his mating dances, but praise him for funny things like hanging upside down for me.

 

[fidsandfrats]

I think my Petey is very special. And here I was always so leery of amazons! And I almost didn't take him because I was told he didn't like women. But, he was in that tiny cage, eating that crappy food, and I decided I'd take him anyway, and if he really hated me, I'd eventually find him an owner he did like once he was healthy. But, he's worked out perfectly.

You are so right about those silky soft head and neck feathers. I just love when Chili Pepper lets me scratch his head or neck.

Petey sounds perfect! Hard to tell from your avitar is Petey a DYH, Yellow Crowned or a Panama Amazon? I have a male DYH who will soon be 2 years in May. He's considered on of the "hot 3's" I am not looking forward to the hormonal years which are just around the corner. Any advice?

Thanks.

I should put up a better avatar picture. I took that one a few days after Pete came here and was just trying to get a few quick pics for people who wanted to see what he looked like. I also unfortunately lost a bunch of photos of my conures when my computer died (the same day I bought a new external hard driver:54: Talk about bad luck!).

Pete is a Yellow Crowned.

Being 29 years old I suspect his hormones are probably not as bad as when he was younger. When he does try to court me or ha ha, hump my hand, I put him on his parrot tower until the mood has passed. It's not something I want to encourage. I don't get mean about it at all, as it's just nature and not something he can help, but I ignore the hormones and praise him a lot for all his good behaviors. If he starts regurgitating I just stay calm about it and wipe off his beak and try to catch the mess falling out before it gets in my keyboard or something lol! Sometimes he starts regurgitating it seems to me because he got excited about something. It doesn't always seem to be something he's doing specifically for me. He can get excited running around on the couch and start doing it. I also ignore his mating dances, but praise him for funny things like hanging upside down for me.

Thanks for you reply. Chili is much too young for hormones I think but he has made the pumping motion like he is going to regurg for me. I just tell him that I love him and say no thank you and set him on a perch. It is the aggressive behavior I am most worried about when he matures. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

 

[roxynoodle]

He thankfully has not gotten aggressive with me. When he goes for my hand he will grab one of my fingers in his beak, but it's only the lightest pressure. When he started pressing down harder on me, I said, "Owie!" and he let up, good thing for me! He can be hard to get off my hand when that mood hits, but so far I've been able to do it, and now that I know I have to watch for it, I stop it the second he makes a move for it.

I've had him for his entire breeding season now and there have not been any days that I could not handle him. He also makes plays for the 2 female birds, but they both said, don't even think about it, mister! And he gave up for the most part. He's now trying to court the mail lady, and she gets a kick out of him, lol!

 

[oled]

lol thats cute

 

[nikkiscriv]

Aww that's so sweet! Our Blue Front doesn't enjoy pets too much yet..and definitely not from me.

 

[KellyH]

I've had my 14 yr. old BFA since January. He has only in the last month started letting me give him head scritches. I only do it through his cage bars at night (when he's most cuddly and looking for attention) because he will suddenly try to bite. I think he still gets scared and is not sure about me yet. I don't think his last two owners ever touched him at all. His previous owner said she would never trust him on her hand. He does step up for me but only when he wants to (usually when I have food). I think it sometimes takes a long time to build their trust. Keep working at it.

 

[mtdoramike]

You also should touch an Eclectus on the head and neck area. Their fine feathers in this area looks and actually feels like Green velvet.

 

[roxynoodle]

I would love to, Mike. I don't know anyone with an Eclectus though :-(

I do love petting Pete though Now he is shoving his head into my hand like he wants to say, "Pet me everywhere all at once!"