A little about my boys

[AmandaB]

Hi everyone, I had posted this in ********** a little while ago, and plumb forgot to post it out here. So I'm copying and pasting it to save my fingers! Sorry, but it's kind of a big long ramble.

A little of my bird's past
I wanted to give you all an idea of Fred and Billy's past, so if anyone sees me mention them being cage mates you'll know what I'm talking about.
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Fred was originally bought for an older woman by her children. I don't know how old he was when he was bought, but I'm pretty sure he was wild caught. I don't think the woman ever handled him, he's not hand tame at all. When he was 17 yrs old, Billy was bought as a pal for him and they were caged together. I have no idea what kind of care and attention they were given, if any. It's frustrating not knowing the details of their background. The woman then either died or went to a nursing home and her kids took Fred and Billy to the vets to be put to sleep because they were aggressive. The vet didn't do it, not sure how long they were there but he sold them to the lady I got them from for $100.

This lady had them for 6 years, she loved them but had no idea how to care for them properly. She bought them a new cage, but not nearly big enough for the 2 of them. She handled Billy sometimes, but with Fred she used these upper arm length welding gloves. They were so thick you couldn't even feel what you were holding thru them. Fred was terrified of them, we threw them away when we got home. They had about 5 bells in their cage, only one of which worked, and only 2 had beads or shells on them. That was the extent of their toys for 6 years. They had 2 wood dowel swings, a dowel perch and 3 cement perches, none of which was longer than 8 inches. Besides food and water bowls, that was the extent of their 'furnishings'. She fed them Hartz brand parrot food, fruit loops, oyster crackers and apples everyday. Needless to say, Fred is overweight and has poor feather quality. She did say when they ate dinner at home she would give them a bite or two of what they were having. She did keep their cage very clean, and let them out at times. Her husband and son did not like Fred because he was aggressive, and he bit her husband. They eventually started throwing stuff at their cage and yelling at them and who knows what else. The woman was heartbroken to give them away but knew they would be happy somewhere else. I really think she did it just to get her husband off her back, but it was essentially a good decision.

We brought them home Dec 7, 2003. They are bonded and will attack anyone who comes between them. Seperated--and I mean so they can't hear or see each other--they are somewhat handle-able, but it's so stressful for them we don't do it very often. I once tried seperate cages for them but after a few days Fred started shredding his feathers. Fred will step up on both mine and my husband's arm--it has to be bare, I think it goes back to those gloves--but if you offer him your hand he will promptly shred it for you. He's given me a few nasty bites, including a pretty bad one on the nose.

We've come to the conclusion that they are perfectly happy together, and left alone. I think it would be selfish of us to make them adjust to us. We talk to them and socialize with them, they are in the livingroom with us. Fred at least seems to like my presence, he will yell when I leave the room or will yell if I spend too much time out of sight. They both listen intently when we talk to them. We keep them happy, and we enjoy living with them.

Now, if they were not bonded, I would make every effort to 'tame' them. They both can be sweet, and I think would have made great companions if placed with the right person from the beginning.

Yikes, is this rambling! Well if I left anything out you'd like to know just ask!
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I know letting them be as they are is going to be controversial with some. But it's a decision we are going to stick with. They can't be allowed to roam around the house all the time because of their aggression--they will go after feet, and we have children also--which is one reason they are allowed to climb all over their cage. They won't allow us to move them around, so they have their playgym and cage to go between, it is their territory and we allow them to do what they want with it. We're working on a tree for them, and eventually I want them to have their own space with several playgyms and trees along with their cage.

[AmandaB]

Here's a few pics.....

Eating their Christmas dinner....


Shredding the pinata....


Just hanging out....

[ah he]

hi, Amanda!

you own a orange winged amazon parrot right? how is ur orange winged amazon? how old he is? can he talk very well? cos i also have a orange winged amazon dunno how to talk and have not fully tame yet... can you tell me how to tame him... that day he bite me until got blood. i will add my amazon pic here too... tks.. :icon_eek:

[Willow]

Hi Amanda,
What a story about your boys. It sounds like thay are completely happy with you. I have a pair (both male) of Cuban Amazons that prefer one anothers company above all else. You can read their story on my website (in my profile). They are in separate cages, but cage free most of the time and hang out with one another at all times. I can step them up (Although that the moment Cypress is in the throws of "breeding season" so I'm using a perch for him to step up on. Mulberry, on the other hand, is terrified of the perch, but he is no problem to tep up on my hand at any time.

Anyway, I think you are doing great by your boys and I am sure they are thrilled to have such a good family.

[AmandaB]

Willow, I absolutely love the pic on your homepage, it's sooo adorable!! Willow's story and baby pics are amazing, I love seeing how Fred would have looked as a baby. I think your bird's names are great too. I wish I would have thought to change Fred and Billy's, it would have been a fresh start for them.

I have a webpage too, listed in my profile. Not a whole lot of info about them, mainly just photos. Someday I hope to add some more to it.


Ah he, my Fred does not talk well. The only word he says is hello, and he makes some other noises like um-hmm and huh. He imitates our one cockatiel's chatter, but other than that he just makes his typical amazon noises. Sorry I can't help you out with the taming part, if you want I could try to find some websites that may have some info for you.

[ah he]

tks to both of you... so wat is the wedsite that i need for hadn taming? cos my OWA is not fully tame...

[AmandaB]

Here is a link to a list of articles on Amazon parrots, if you don't find what you're looking for there, try doing a google search on 'Training Amazon Parrots'.

http://www.parrothouse.com/jdoss.html#Articles by Joanie Doss

You might want to buy a few good books on training and behavior. There is a thread started here about book recommendations, you'll find some good ones in there.

[Franciscus]

I think it's great how you have taken in these two and given them a great life. You mention that it may be controversial having them live the way they are but I think it's the best for both of them. Thety have each other as company, no human could ever replace that. Good for you!