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A Friend for my Amazon

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A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Chai » Thu Feb 20, 2020 3:15 pm

Hi everyone,

I adopted a white-fronted Amazon last summer, an 11 year old male named Addison. He had been at the rescue for around a year, relinquished with about 45 other birds when his owner died. I don't know anything else about his life before that. I had learned a lot on this forum already and started him on a solar schedule and good diet right away (produce and gloop in the morning, small amount of seeds and nuts in the afternoon/evening). He showed some aggression and screamed pretty much non-stop when I first brought him home, but he is slowly improving his behavior.

I am wondering if he is lonely and if I should consider getting him a female white-front to live with. To me he still seems like an anxious little bird, and still a bit prone to screaming. He chose my husband as his person and doesn't like me very much, which would be fine except my husband is the one who is gone all the time. The only time he seems to be content is when he is riding around on my husband's shoulder, which doesn't happen very much. I also have a pair of CAGs that live in the same room as him but Addison doesn't pay any attention to them and certainly doesn't want to interact with them.

It may take me some time to find a female white-front, as I don't want to buy from a breeder and would prefer to adopt from the same rescue when one becomes available. I am wondering how I would go about introducing a female to him? Is there a chance they wouldn't get along or do these kinds of things usually go smoothly if I do it the right way? I wouldn't want either of them being hurt in the process. I adopted my greys as a pair, so I've never had to introduce birds before.

I recently saw another member's post about how she always tries to find mates for her birds, and I'm ashamed to say that until I read that, it didn't even dawn on me that he could be stressed from being alone :cry:
Chai
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 37
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: White-fronted Amazon, 2 African Greys
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Pajarita » Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:20 am

Hi, Chai. The member who always strives to find mates/companions for her birds is me and I think you are doing the best thing anybody can do for a parrot! Nature made them monogamous for life and highly social so, as far as they are concerned, living with other parrots and having a 'special' one of their own is a requisite for their wellbeing (and I say 'wellbeing' because happiness is a BIG part of health as it reduces the inevitable stress of captivity). Now, as far as my experience goes, there is no such thing as an amazon who doesn't get along with another amazon UNLESS they are both healthy, strong males and there is only one female. Yes, introduction is good but that is taken care of with quarantine because they will hear each other for a few weeks and, by the time you can put them together in the same room (NOT the same cage, mind you!), they will be super curious and eager to meet.

Now, the female does not have to be of the same species. In my personal experience, they don't really care about that - not amazons, anyway. They ALL like one another. The ONLY thing you need to look for is that the female is a sexually mature adult, not a baby, a juvenile or a 'teenager'. And, if you find an older one, better still because they do 'calm down' a lot as they get older. My old ladies are no trouble whatsoever! Well, right now (we are going into the breeding season super fast), they are a bit of trouble because if I don't give them a nice, big, thick, new cardboard box to chew, they will come down their cage and start roaming around looking for something to chew into a nest (they already chewed a corner of the baseboard in the dining room and a chunk of the side of my bookshelf in the living room :( but not much because my husband watches them like a hawk and caught them before they could do a whole lot of damage ).

Two things though, you will have to be very vigilant during breeding season and make sure the eggs, if she lays, are rendered infertile AND you will need to be VERY careful around their nest because the male will protect it!

Last but not least, THANK YOU so much for thinking of his happiness!
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Chai » Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:46 pm

Thank you so much for your response! I do want him to be happy, and it's sad to think he hasn't been for this long. Glad to hear I'm on the right track. I know the rescue has so many amazons of other species that I could certainly find a different kind of amazon companion for him. I thought maybe the size difference could be a problem because he is so much smaller than some of the other species, but good to know they are accepting!

May I ask, what do you give your birds to nest in? And how do you handle when they lay eggs?
Chai
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 37
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: White-fronted Amazon, 2 African Greys
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Pajarita » Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:43 am

I don't give them a real nest because it's not as if I want to encourage them to lay eggs. I give them big, thick cardboard boxes. I already started giving them one every other day because they already started chewing in earnest. They quickly destroy the boxes but, as the season progresses, what I do is put one box inside another one and replace the outer box as it becomes confetti (the inside one only needs to be replaced every now and then and only because they chew the bottom of it -sometimes, I just lay the three-sided box on a large piece of cardboard). I use large diaper boxes (I also rescue dogs and need A LOT of diapers for the males that never learned to go outside -and, as I have four of them on diapers and they need to be changed 3 or 4 times a day, I use a lot of them), Amazon delivery ones, etc. As to the eggs, as the years have gone by, I have come to realize that Precie Zon does not lay fertile eggs (because Zeus Zon does not feed her in her beak so she figures he is not a 'good provider'). I do candle them, just in case, but every one has been 'clear' so I don't bother to replace them with fake ones but doing this is the easiest and surest way of preventing babies. They sell fake eggs in Amazon and other places.

Size doesn't seem to matter much to them -I have a White Belly Caique that loves a little GCC which is half his size and had a quaker that loved a lovebird- so I would not worry too much about that.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Chai » Mon Feb 24, 2020 12:41 pm

Thank you so much for the information Pajarita. I have started my search for a friend for Addison!
Chai
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 37
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: White-fronted Amazon, 2 African Greys
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Pajarita » Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:40 am

Great news! I don't know about anybody else here but you have made my week with this news! :danicing:
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Chai » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:17 pm

Hello! Still searching for a friend for my Amazon. I have inquired at the rescue I got him from and they said they didn't have a single female Amazon available right now but that I could bring him in and see if he might get alone with anyone when they do have someone available. I have been watching Craigslist and noticed that an adult cockatiel is being rehomed on there, and I was wondering if my little Amazon could be friends with a cockatiel? They are about the same size I think, Addison would just be a little bigger. Do you think that would make Addison happier or should I hold out for another Amazon?
Chai
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 37
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: White-fronted Amazon, 2 African Greys
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Pajarita » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:26 am

Hmmm, a tiel and an amazon... well, stranger things have happened -I had a quaker that had bonded with a lovebird and other weird 'pairings'- but I would not get a cockatiel as a friend for an amazon because the chances of them bonding together are very slim and, as it would most likely not happen, it would be a terribly disfavor to the cockatiel. You see, cockatiels are intensely flock-oriented and they just LUV other tiels - amazons are the same, they just LUV other amazons. My recommendation to you is to hold on for another amazon - I also would not bring my bird to a rescue to 'see if he might get along' - that will not work out at all because when you take a bird out of its familiar environment, it kind of freezes and goes on to 'high alert'. People who have no experience with birds and take theirs outdoors say things like: 'He was looking around with a lot of interest' or 'She looked like a small kid in front of a toy store window' but it is not 'interest' or 'awe' that makes them look so 'attentively' at things, it's fear of the unknown and they are looking around with complete focus because they are looking for the danger or the predator. This fear of the unknown is not what one would call conducive to their bonding or even liking another bird so the whole thing would be a waste of time and just stressful to your bird. In my personal opinion and experience, you and your bird would be much better off waiting until an amazon shows up for adoption or rehoming somewhere - look also in petfinder.com, rescueme.com and Kijiji.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Chai » Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:18 am

I was wondering about that, taking him back to the rescue sounded like it might be stressful but I figured they must know more than me so wasn't sure. I will not be taking him for a visit then, thank you for confirming that. Ok, I will keep waiting for another amazon to come along. I thought if it didn't work with the cockatiel, I'd have to find another cockatiel for that one to be friends with, while still looking for an amazon, and before you know it my little house would be full of birds! :lol:
Chai
Lovebird
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 37
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: White-fronted Amazon, 2 African Greys
Flight: Yes

Re: A Friend for my Amazon

Postby Pajarita » Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:29 pm

Ah, yes, what you are talking about is MBS, a very common conditions among birdkeepers... (it stands for Multiple Bird Syndrome and I am a chronic sufferer :lol: )
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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