New Amazon mom

[virgilsmom]

Hi! New amazon mom here from Florida. I owned a TAG about 9 years ago that I had to part with due to a divorce, and the want for a bird never left. Just today I purchased a sweet 8 year old Double yellow headed amazon. I am told he is a boy (not sure he was ever DNA tested). I have a few questions... I have read that eye pinning and tail fanning means aggression but he is talking to me saying hello and whistling when he shows these body languages. He will also say hello and crouch low on he perch and sort of lift his wings slightly, is he asking to be held? Thanks for any advice. He is my first amazon.

 

[SandyBee]

Eye pinning and tail flaring can also be excitement, but an excited amazon may also bite so you also need to be wary. Crouching low with wings lifted can mean he wants to go somewhere, with my boy it means he's ready to fly

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forums, Virgilsmom, and welcome to the wonderful world of Amazons.

Sandy has given you some GREAT advice there.

 

[Allee]

Hello and Welcome to the forum!

 

[virgilsmom]

Hi! Thank you for the welcome!

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new friend! Amazons are great birds. A tad on the ornery side, but also (with love and care) will be your goofy, loving, HIGHLY BONDED companion for life.

In time, you will learn the "difference" between "happy/excited" pinning/fanning and "angry/I'm looking for blood" pinning/fanning just by observing your bird carefully. It's hard to describe in words the difference, but there is a huge difference you'll be able to recognize. Amazons definitely let you know how they're feeling! And as Sandy said, zons can occasionally get so worked up (in a totally happy way) that they bite because they don't know what else to do with all that energy. An overstimulated zon (happy or mad) needs to be given a couple minutes to cool off before handling. I also always recommend stick training amazons (so they will step up to a stick in case you need to move them when they're overstimulated or angry).

 

[Puck]

Congrats and welcome!!!! I adore Amazons! Would love to see pics like the birdie voyeur I am!

 

[Terry57]

Hello and welcome! I would also love to see pictures of your new family member

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. Loads of great members with lots of good advice. Hope to see you around the amazon section.

 

[virgilsmom]

Here is my sweet boy! I just brought him home yesterday. I spent hours talking to him and offering yummies. Today I opened the cage to allow him out and he did great. He even came to me to step up. He did not even offer to bite!!!

 

[Kiwibird]

Virgil is STUNNING! So much yellow on his head:11:

 

[JerseyWendy]

GORGEOUS gorgeous DYH!!! Thanks so much for the photos. Love them all! And WOW - you're doing GREAT with him!!!

 

[Hawk]

Hi! New amazon mom here from Florida. I owned a TAG about 9 years ago that I had to part with due to a divorce, and the want for a bird never left. Just today I purchased a sweet 8 year old Double yellow headed amazon. I am told he is a boy (not sure he was ever DNA tested). I have a few questions... I have read that eye pinning and tail fanning means aggression but he is talking to me saying hello and whistling when he shows these body languages. He will also say hello and crouch low on he perch and sort of lift his wings slightly, is he asking to be held? Thanks for any advice. He is my first amazon.

Hi down in The warm region of earth.....

Your going to enjoy having an amazon. I have 2, and eye pinning ( least in my Amazons) usually is not aggression. It's rather excitement, but another member pointed out, excitement can also make them bite. They get over stimulated, no fault of theirs, just the way they are and it is controllable.

Eye pinning and spreading feathers is normal, as they do this when talking and singing. You'll get the hang of it with them. They're cuddle bunnies.
And kissers too. My Blue fronted amazon poppie is 8, the other BFA Vinney is 5. Amazons tend to crouch low, even when perched or on shoulder.

Amazons love music, preferably gentle music, like Celine dion...or similar.
Put that on and watch them sing. A few days without music and an amazon can get cranky...mine do anyway.

Just keep an eye on body language and what it says. At 8 years old, my BFA Poppie has a 1300+ word vocabulary, identifies objects, asks for what she wants, and points to direction she wants to go.

 

[torrap]

Welcome to the Zons world!
Wonderful pictures. He looks healthy and happy.
Give him some time to know you and for you to know him before you trust him 100%.
My DYH is lowering her body with slightly opened wings to let me know she wants to be picked up. She doesn't like to be touched, DYH's usually don't. She just loves to be near me or on my shoulder (something I would not recommend until you trust him). My both Zons love to give me kisses.
Zons are wonderful birds. Sing and dance with him. You'll be great friends soon.

 

[virgilsmom]

The trusting game will take a while. He bit me today and honestly I think he was just over stimulated. We had a house full all weekend and I was filling his food bowl this morning... He was in the way standing on it so I picked the food bowl up and he bit me OUCH! Hopefully he is better when the house is not so active! Thanks for the compliments I think he is very handsome!!!

 

[torrap]

Zons bites are something you want to avoid.
Sorry, it happened, but most of us have been bitten, so don't feel bad.
I hope it was not too bad, not the one when they open your skin on a triangle.
Some time will pass, and you will know what to expect from each other, don't worry, it will.

 

[4dugnlee]

Hi and welcome! Virgil is a beautiful zon! My BFA took two months before she would come to me so you are doing great! Virgil may be testing you too, since you just brought him home. As others have said, body language is key. Sorry you got bit and I hope it wasn't a bad bite. I wish I could tell you it won't happen again...but it probably will...lol. Can't wait to see updates!

 

[virgilsmom]

We are going to take things very slow. I let him out today and every time I walk by he charges me. He talks and whistles like he is happy to see me until I get close, and up until he bit me he was not charging at all. I'm not sure how I can let him out if I cant get close to put him back in . It was a pretty nasty bite, he almost took a chunk back with him. I will just slow down and let him let me know when he is ready to socialize. Thanks for all the encouragement. I have never owned a bird that I did not hand feed.

 

[Kiwibird]

Amazons are notorious for their "bad attitude" and slightly bi-polar nature. That is especially true for sexually mature males and especially "hot 3" males (which a DYH would be). Sounds like you got a little taste of that today. Given his age, gender and species, he is likely in his worst hormonal years too. Think of him as a teenage boy with a big beak and wings So long as you don't give up on him, zons mellow out after the first few years they experience hormones and you only have minor issues during the breeding season. We adopted our boy at his "worst" with the male hormones, and I'll tell you he isn't the same bird we brought home these days. So calm and nice and only occasionally argumentative

Virgil may KNOW how to step up and that humans aren't going to hurt him, but I would still suggest target training and revisiting "the basics" to build trust with him and establish a bond. Even a well-trained bird can use some refreshing on their training when they come into a new home and are looking to test their boundaries (or when they hit puberty). I also ALWAYS suggest training amazons to step up to a stick as well as a hand. My boy is a sweet and obedient bird most of the time, but every so often he is in a most foul mood and needs to be handled with the stick unless you want a chunk of flesh removed.

 

[virgilsmom]

Thank you so much, I could use all the advice I can get right now!!! His previous owner told me he NEVER bit her, he was not fond of her husband but never bit her. She had him a year.