Soon to own Red Headed Amazon (Green Cheek)

[lisahill]

Hello, I have a bird goal, and I never thought an Amazon would be on the list. I've started with a Quaker. I've had two, my first one died, it was TRAGIC! My first Quaker was named Forrest and he was an introvert at heart, and he was my little buddy. His vocabulary at 1.5 years was, well, at zero. I could of swore he was started to say 'Momma', though. He'd groom us very, very gently and he'd sit on my lap and let me crimp his molting feathers one at a time. I was heartbroken when he died.

So, a year went by and it hit me one day, I want another Quaker...now...real bad. I had gotten Forrest at 9 weeks and he was the quiet, sweet one. So, I went to the same "Bird Lady" and asked about another Quaker and I picked one out at 2 weeks old. I picked exactly the opposite kind of Quaker this time. I picked the extroverted, demanding "terd of the herd" and now his name is Twerp. I brought him home at 4 weeks and hand fed him (figured I'd give it a go) Twerp is 5 months now and he has a vocabulary of 5 solid words
Peek-a-boo
Momma
Aaron (my hubby)
Daniel (one of my kids)
What

and one "sentence"
Where's Aaron

and lots of kid sounds ( I have 5 ) and lots of funny sounds

When I move his cage and he's in it, he'll go "WAAAAA-WHOOOOO!!!"

He's still a little butt and has responded super fast to the "no bite!" and being grounded if he doesn't stop. Big improvement and very wise of him, I might add.

I'm going to be bringing home a 3.5 month old Red Headed Amazon (Green Cheeked Amazon) in 2 weeks. This time I had a choice of one extrovert and one introvert. I chose the extrovert, as I did with the 2nd Quaker. I never planned on getting an Amazon, but what got me was the independance of them in general and the size of the Red Heads. They seem like a great "next step up" bird. It's really hard to find info on this kind of Amazon. That gives me a bit of hope that they're not demon enough to warrant pages and pages of information, but it's tuff not being able to feed my mind and I hope I give this bird a good start. I know I will, I just don't want to start too blindly. Now, mainly I'm looking for anyone who can tell me the GOOD, the BAD and a little about the UGLY of the Red Heads.

Thanks for the help!

Birdy Goal List

Male Eclectus ( for me, I'm crazy about them)
Female Eclectus ( for my hubby, it was love at first sight)

[Lisa B]

well, i dont have a Mexican Red head, but my sister did. this is from the real macaw bird club here in NJ.


The Mexican Red-Headed Amazon



The Mexican Red-headed or Green-cheeked Amazon (Amazona Viridigenalis) as it's common names imply is from Mexico has bright green cheeks and a red head. Other than that its' markings are typical of other Amazons, blue and red feathers under the wings, with occasional red and yellow markings on the tail, and a green body. At 13 to 15 inches long it falls in the middle of the Amazon size chart.

These birds hail from the east coast area of Mexico, from just south of Texas to the northern Yucatan. In this region you have habitats ranging from semi-tropical lowlands to pine forests on the mountains and the Redhead lives in them all. Having this varied a habitat they have a great many food sources. They do make good use of what's there but they have also become something of a pest around the farm.

Mexican Redheads are not the best of talkers. The do pick up some words but show a preference for whistling. They also tend to show great affection for the people they like. It's these people that tend to be the target of the parrots vocalizations.

Most of you have heard about the extreme mood swings hormones cause in Amazons. Some of you may have even stayed away from them because of these stories. The Redhead seems to be the exception. While they do go through hormonal mood swings once they are sexually mature (4-5 years old) they tend to be less pronounced and don't last as long as in their cousins. Sort of like the difference in having a slight headache and a migraine. How do you know your bird is having a hormonal attack? As with its' cousins the Red head will display with pining eyes, flaring its' tail, extending the wings, and making some god awful noises. Mine has chosen a car alarm. You know the kind, the one that sounds like a ******* braying. Otherwise they have an easy going temperament, which is most of the year. The hormonal stuff generally happens in the early spring.

There are some visual clues in determining the sex of your Redhead. The males will have much larger area of their heads covered with red feathers and the area of blue will be much more pronounced. They also have larger heads and beaks. The only way to be positive though is to have it sexed. The best method is DNA testing. It's quick, non invasive, highly accurate, and can be done on young birds. All thats done to the bird is clip a nail short enough to draw some blood. Put it in a vile then send it off to the lab. In a couple of weeks you'll have an answer.

Amazons are not the most active of parrots. Obesity is a problem with these guys and if left alone can be the cause of many more problems. So you should be very careful with their diet. They should not be on a diet with seeds as the staple as they are very high in fat. The diet should have in it some of the following: vegtables such as carrots and sweet potatoes (high in beta carotene), fruits such as cantalope, various berries, banana etc., par-cooked beans (for protein), small amounts of cheese and every once and a while give them some meat. Adding this selection to a good pellet based mix will go a long way in keeping your bird from looking like a minature oven stuffer.

Caging requirements are simple. There must be enough space in the cage that when the bird stands in the middle of it, and spreads it's wings fully they do not touch the sides. Just add in some good sturdy toys and you'll have one happy camper.

Mexican Redheads can be had for as little as $450 if you buy them direct from a breeder or in the $800+ range if you purchase one from a shop. These birds are long lived (40-60 years) if properly cared for. So get ready for a long fun filled relationship.


Red-crowned Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

here is a cute article by Layne David Dicker. He adores Amazons, and pretty much tells it like it is in this article.
Reference - Amazons

[lisahill]

Any help is great and I've devoured all the info on the net I could find. I'm thinking I'd head to the libaray. I was hoping someone who's lived with one could tell me how the day-to-day living goes.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to whip out my National Geografic skills and "observe" the bird and get to know them. She/He is just so young, I'm wondering how long Babyhood & Teenagerville is going to last and what it's going to be like. I've been thinking to myself, "Just watch, Lisa, you're going to think this bird is the neatest thing and you're going to go out and get a DYH Amie, I know you are!"

We'll see and thanks for the info!

Bye!

[lisahill]

I read the article you had a link set up for and it was fantastic. It made me feel like I was one smart cookie, afterall. And if I'm a smart cookie for reading it, what does that make you, who sent it too me??? Brilliant.

[Lisa B]

Originally Posted by lisahill

I read the article you had a link set up for and it was fantastic. It made me feel like I was one smart cookie, afterall. And if I'm a smart cookie for reading it, what does that make you, who sent it too me??? Brilliant.

lol... I met Layne several times and watched his lecture. His love of zons is obvious. I thought you would enjoy it! not many behavorists have his sence of humor.

[lisahill]

If he ever comes to Dallas or Fort Worth, TX let me know. He sounds like he's worth the gas...Thanks again!

[lisahill]

Well, I got my Zonnie Baby today. She's almost 4 months and started eating about 5 minutes after I got her home. She's been vocalizing, and seems to be soaking it all in. My husband asked how our Quaker, "Twerp" took it.
I told him just fine, but he broke his own record for how many times he's said 'momma'. He's said it a bunch!!! And he doesn't say 'Where's Aaron' but maybe 2x a week, and he's said it 3x just today and he's said 'Aaron' more than a dozen times, which is unusual. I told me hubby, I think Twerp is tattle-telling.
So, I'd like to name my Red Headed Am. (Grn. Ch. Am.) Delphine, but I don't think anyone will like it. I have that special knack of picking names that everyone hates and I think are nice.
Signing off, I'll post a pic later. Bye!

[lisahill]

Ok, I can kinda see how to post pictures, but if I can't figure it out soon, I'm going to cry for help!
So, I have named my Zonnie Baby 'Delphine' for sure, my hubby likes it. I'm going to be doing the vet thing this week, and all else seems to be good. She's staring at me now and started flashing her eyes earlier. My fault, I was sweeping and the broom fell over and hit her cage. "Welcome Home!!!" Geez!

Anyways, I talked to her a bit and she wanted to take a nap. Now she's kinda hanging on the door......So, hope the pic loads and hope it's not King Kong size. I'll put up a better one in a few days, just didn't want to blind the new addition so I took a quick pic. Oh, I took a couple of my Quaker and he was soooo cute, but they're fuzzy...oh well. When I took their pics, I made sure to show them on the digital screen how good they looked....well, it amused me, at least. Bye!

[sergiomedina2004]

well the 1st thing you´d want to do is to confirm its a Mexican RedHead. They look very similar to Red Lenores, but the difference is that Mexican RedHeads has red on the whole top of their heads and noticeable blue feathers behind the red while the Red Lenore only have red on only half of the top. I´ve been having my Mexican RedHead for more than 20years. They are very intelligent and multi-talented, but very loud. However, every flaw of a parrot can be trained and corrected... just remember that no matter how domestic they are, they still have their animal instincts so just because it's trained to not squawk doesn't mean that it will never squawk. Other than that, my parrot has been more than just a pet. He's family. He'll know that you love him if you show effort that you'll take care of him. My parrot leans his head on the side of the cage so I can scratch his head. To this day, he will still follow me around and want to play. He is extremely goofy and through the horrible moments of my childhood he has always been my companion... an annoying companion, but still a companion. I know him like the back of my hand and I´m sure he knows me the same.

[sadiemom]

My first rescue was a GC Amazon named Simon and he was a wonderful character. Unfortunately, as is sometimes the case with rescues, the terrible nutrition of his early days caught up with him and he went over the Rainbow Bridge in 2005 even with the best of vet care and caring. Now I have Shona and she is a failed breeder that I took in because few people want a parrot that is not pet quality. However, even if she is only marginally hand-tame she is an amusing girlie. She likes to threaten me with all those "I'm gonna gitcha" behaviors that Amazons do so well, but she is easy to fake out with a piece of walnut placed strategically to divert her attention. Lol