[Alika]

Amazons, especially the DYH and the YNAs, need really strong people to work with them. By strong, I mean you need to impose limits with him and stick to your rules. If you let an amazon have the upper hand, they will end up ruling the roost.

They are supposed to be worse when they're younger, settling down after they hit sexual maturity. I wouldn't know; I've never worked with a younger zon. Like you, I adopted mine as an adult (16) and the ones I work with professionally are both older as well. You probably got of lucky in that way :)

I know how it is to adopt a bird through a bird club. Again, Sam was like that. I don't know anything about her previoius life exept that she was abandoned at a veterinary clinic. Some stuff you can guess at, though. We believe she was a on a bad diet because of the condition of her feathers (plucked and shabby) and her beak (long, cracked, and dull) when we got her. With a diet correction, these things improved 100%. We also believe she shared a home with a cat and a dog at some point, since she mimics these sounds.

The nice thing about amazons is that they give really obvious signs that they're going to bite. They raise the feathers on their necks, strobe their eyes, and fan their tails. This is an amazon display, and it means they are excited in some way; don't approach one when they are doing this. My amazon will also reach slowly, beak open, to bite. It's a very obvious warning, and the bite is easy to avoid if you pay attention to it.

I think you'll find rehabbing him to be very rewarding. Move slowly, make the whole thing positive, and good luck!