TheTameParrot.com - Say “BYE” To Your Parrot Problems

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

In all the years we have raised birds, and after all the birds we have bred and owned, the Amazon is one of the most difficult birds to understand and raise. You will either grow to deeply love these birds, or totally hate them!

They are noisy, aggressive, demanding, destructive, and totally annoying! But they are also sweet, and loving (as long as it’s not breeding season.) They are great talkers, rated one of the top three talking birds.

If you plan to purchase an Amazon, you must do some careful research. All Amazons are not alike, and the wrong choice will most likely become a major disappointment to you. Amazons are one of the most common birds to be abandoned and given to rescue groups. The reason is that the owners just couldn’t control their temperament, and didn’t understand them. For this reason, we do not recommend Amazons to any novice bird owner.

Amazon Parrot Care And Feeding

You are going to quickly discover that Amazons are a smelly bird. Not that smelly, but they do have a odor. They will require weekly showers (if they will tolerate it). Frequent misting will encourage grooming and the bird will do its own personal hygiene.

Amazons will require a fairly large cage. We recommend at least 24×30x30. A play gym can be helpful to allow them to get more exercise, as they are an active bird.

Amazons love fruit. Use this to your advantage to supplement the birds diet with vitamins. Amazons have a major problem getting enough Vitamin A into their diet, and you will notice a problem quickly if the feathers begin to show a darkening of the tips. Be sure to offer your bird orange and yellow vegi’s and those with high Vitamin A. Those include such vegetables as carrots and zucchini. You can lightly dust their favorite fruit with a powdered vitamin mix to supplement their diet.

We never recommend and all seed diet to birds, and this is especially true for Amazons. Find a good pellet diet. Your bird should be eating at least half of his diet this way. Our Amazons also liked human foods, and we would usually give them leftovers from our meals. If you want a quite pizza night, and don’t want your Amazon to scream, be sure to leave him some!

Be sure to supply your bird with lots of wood chew toys. Amazons are very aggressive chewers, and if left unattended they will destroy your furniture and woodwork in your home.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BIRD

As I mentioned, there are a number of different species of Amazons. Each has their own unique traits. One bad thing is that Amazons are very moody. One minute they are sweet, the next they are very aggressive. The worst bites we have ever taken were from Amazons. You need to watch for the warning signs of an Amazon that may be agitated. This includes a fanned out tail, puffed up feathers, and if their pupils narrow to a point. When they show these signs…back away and let the bird calm down.

Here are some of the most common types of Amazons, and our comments on each:

Double Yellow-Headed Amazons

Very popular for it’s talking ability. Has a bit more color in it, accented by its brightly yellow face. The Magna Double Yellow headed is a subspecies, and has even more coloring to it, butt are usually more expensive. They are very intelligent, imaginative and easy to tame. They will quickly bond to their owners.

Yellow-Naped Amazons

Closely related to the double yellow headed Amazon, and carries many of the same traits. They are intelligent and rated one of the top three talking birds.. They are a bit noisier then other Amazons. They have a reputation for being very determined, territorial and demanding. For this reason they do not train well, and can become nippy and temperamental. They can change their attitude on a moment’s notice, one second being very sweet, and the next attacking you for no apparent reason. This is most evident in the males, and especially during breeding season. Not recommended for novice bird owners. Average price is around $1000-$1500 due to their popularity as a great talker.

Yellow-Fronted Amazons

Like the Yellow Naped Amazon, they are good talkers but are known to be moody and temperamental. Not recommended for novice bird owners. If hand-fed and raised as babies, they tend not to be as aggressive. They do not tend to bond to one owner the way other Amazons do. They are noisy, especially in the evenings. Not as expensive as other Amazons.

Blue-Fronted Amazons

There are three types of Blue Fronts, including the Yellow-Wing and Bolivian. The Blue Front is a very strong-willed bird, aggressive and is not recommended for novice bird owners. Yellow Wings are a lot tamer, and Bolivian’s are the best choice if you are looking for playful Amazon. All are good talkers and quite noisy. They do develop strong personalities.

Orange-Winged Amazons

Often confused with the Blue Front Amazon due to the blue patch on its face. They are easy to identify because they are the only Amazon with orange feathers on their wings. They can be temperamental, but can be tamed to become friendly, especially if raised as a hand fed baby. They are one of the smallest of the Amazons. They are not considered to be good talkers, but are good mimickers. They have a very loud, high-pitched scream. They are reasonably priced at $500-$800.

Green-Cheeked Amazons

Also called the Mexican Red-head, this bird is similar to the yellow-cheeked. They are very popular in the US. They have a unique call, and you will hear it in the mornings and evenings as they are quite vocal. Not the best talkers but they are great mimickers. They make much better pets as they are not as moody and temperamental as other Amazons. They are medium priced bird due to their popularity, and sells for $800-$1200.

Lilac Crowned Amazons

These birds also also referred to as Finsch’s. These birds make a good pet as they are not as temperamental or moody as other amazons. They can talk but are not known to be the better of the talking amazons. Are are quite vocal and will mimic, especially in the mornings and evenings. They are one of the smaller amazons, but also one of the most active and comical. They do best if supplied with lots of toys, and a play gym will keep them busy for hours. They are known to quickly bond to their owners. Also one of the more quieter of the Amazons, but do have a loud yell. They sell for $600-$800, making them a good buy for someone moving up to larger parrots.

I’m sure many of you have lost your pet, or certainly know someone who has. The sad fact is that most lost pets are never recovered.

About ten years ago, technology was developed that allowed you to implant a special microchip under the skin of your pet. This chip would enable any vet, rescue agency or shelter to identify the pet by “scanning” the chip with a hand held reader. By searching through a database, they can identify the pet owner and reunite the pet with its owners.

It sounds so simple! But unfortunately we humans have an incredible knack of messing up a good thing.

In order to explain it, I need to revisit the past…and look at another technological breakthrough…the home computer.

COMPUTER WARS

Back in the 80’s, computers were rapidly becoming a popular (but expensive) item for consumers. At that time, the main choice was IBM and Apple, with a hand full of other manufactures like Commodore and Atari. The other computers could not gain a foothold in the market because their operating systems were not compatible with the IBM’s or Apple, and this was important. IBM was mainly used in the business world, while Apple was entrenched into the classroom.

Apple accomplished a firm foothold by offering free computers to schools. The theory…teach students how to run Apples, and when they get older they will continue to use Apple computers. However, this didn’t quite work out, because the business world simply would not give up their dependency on IBM’s. So we ended up with students coming out of school who knew nothing about IBM’s, making all that computer training worthless. If you didn’t understand IBM systems, you didn’t have a job.

OK, still with me?

FREQUENCY WARS

While microchips have been around since the mid 1980’s, thet did not become popular for pet implants until 1995, when AVID Identification Systems began to offer them. Shortly afterward, other companies began to offer their own models, and AVID and HomeAgain (manufactured by Schering Plough) became the two main sources in the US. Both of these chips transmitted at the 125MHz frequency.

AVID then began to offer their hand scanners for free to shelters and veterinarians, but they would only read the AVID chip. If you bought the HomeAgain or some other competing model, your vet would be unable to scan it. Eventually they developed a “universal” scanner that could read any manufactured chip in the 125MHz range. Both of these models are widely available throughout the US and most of the world.

Now the fun begins. A new chip was designed by Banfield, who began distributing it around the world. They were entrenched into the PetSmart chain of stores, ensuring that they had a good distribution network and customer base. The problem? It transmitted at 134MHz, making it unreadable by the current scanners being used. Unless the shelter purchased a Banfield hand scanner, there was no other way to scan the chip.

This system is now widely used throughout the world…except the US. It gets even worse….the International Standards Organization, which attempts to set electric standards throughout the world, decreed that the 134MHz frequency should be the standard for pet microchips. And the battle begins!

It’s the Apple/IBM wars all over again. Or the BETA/VHS. This is why TV’s used in the US are not usable in Europe. When two manufactures develop competing standards, they wait for the consumer to decide, and the winner takes all! We have different manufacturers fighting over a standard, and the loser goes out of business. And the consumer always loses.

CURRENT STATUS

In October, 2005, Congress passed HR255.109, which was the appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture. Tucked inside was a demand to APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) to develop a standard and implementation for microchips. I have not been able to find anything else regarding this bill…it seems to have fallen into a government crack.

The only solution to this problem is for someone to develop a universal scanner that can read both the 125MHz and the 134MHz chips. To complicate things even more, some manufactures use different frequencies, and even use encrypted chips. It’s unlikely anyone will combine all of these standards into one scanner.

CONCLUSION

The cost to microchip your pet is between $30-$80. The chip itself is not that expensive, but should be implanted by a vet or animal technician. In birds, it is usually implanted into the muscle, and usually into the breast. The chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice. It is a relatively painless procedure, much like getting a vaccination shot.

The other problem you will have is the lack of a central, universal data system. Each manufacturer keeps their own database. In some places, the government or local organization has established local databases.

In all cases, the chip is generally registered to the vet or shelter who sells the chip. In the event your pet is found, the rescue shelter will determine which chip was implanted and contact that manufacturer. The name of the vet is given, and from there the owner is tracked.

For a small fee, the owner can have their name entered into the database. But there has been a lot of instances where this information is lost or corrupted. It is suggested that owners contact the database holder on an annual basis and update their information.

The lack of a central data base will greatly complicate the recovery of your pet. But with competing manufacturers unwilling or unable to rectify their disputes over standards, I don’t see any quick solution to this. Trying to force standards appears to be bogged down, as evidenced by the APHIS bill that seems to be going nowhere.

Microchips are safe and inexpensive. Regardless of the lack of standards, it is recommended that you make the investment. The vast majority of lost pets are never returned, so this may be your only hope.

The other alternatives to microchips are unreliable. Tags and collars can fall off and become lost. Tattoos are permanent, but the shelter needs to know where to look and then figure out what database to search. At lease with microchips, you have some established databases, the microchip is secure and can’t be lost, and hopefully the shelter that scans it has the appropriate hand scanner to identify the chip.

Doves can make an excellent pet. But many people have not discovered this breed of bird yet. Why? Doves are supposed to fly around outside and poop on cars. Why would you want to keep them as pets? Well, lots of reasons.

Size – They are medium sized bird from 4-8 inches long. Smaller doves can easily be kept in cages in the home. Larger doves are commonly kept in flight cages, or many times in outside aviaries. Don’t confuse these with pigeons! That is a totally different class of birds!

Maintenance – Not much different then larger birds. Their diet is a good finch seed/pellet mix, supplemented with dark greens and chopped up fruit and vegetables. The doves we raised didn’t seem to care for those, forcing us to supplement their diet with vitamins. Doves are on of the few birds that require grit in their diet. Look for some high calcium forms of grit that are made of digestible ingredients like cuttlebone, oyster shell. Our birds were fed a special dove seed mix that was largely millet and chip peas. We supplement it with greens and vitamins.

Our “special” white doves were fed a special diet because when we took them to “events” we didn’t want them pooping all over the place! More on that later.

Noisy? Not at all. Doves have a wonderful “cooing” sound that adds a great atmosphere to the home, opposed to the loud screeching sound of parrots.

Cost? Most common doves are very inexpensive. There are some special breeds of “show” doves that can be very pricy. But the average ringneck or white dove sells for around $20. They are very easy to breed, and very hardy.

Doves love human contact. They are easy to finger train, and they do not bite. This makes them a great starter bird for small kids. After handling these birds, they will easily move on to larger birds, and have a good understand on how to care for them.

The most common doves are Ringneck and Diamond Doves. Ringneck Doves come in over 40 color variations.

Diamond doves have become a very popular pet. They are one of the smallest of the dove species, have a gray body with off-white chest and stomach. Many have a few blue and chestnut colored wing feathers. They are hardy, and rarely get sick unless they are poorly cared for. They can be caged with other birds, such as finches. Many people keep a pair of these birds, as they mate for life. They are known to live for at least 15 year in captivity.

We raised a lot of white doves. We had a side business with our aviary. We rented our doves and decorated cages to be used at weddings, funerals, and other special events. It was quite an experience to see a church full of wedding guests listening to the cooing of a dozen doves while the wedding ceremonies were in progress. At funerals, the cooing helped to sooth the sadness, and the doves significance in religious ceremonies is an important factors to many groups.

The problem is that many people want to perform “dove releases”. Unfortunately, the birds used in those ceremonies are not doves, but white racing pigeons. If you release a normal dove, it does not fly back to its coup the way pigeons do, as they do not have the homing instincts. By releasing white doves you are only sending them off to their death, unless they can manage to adjust to living in the wild, and can avoid predators.

If I have you interested in keeping a few doves, just keep in mind that they will require a cage big enough to flap their wings and exercise. Doves must be able to fly, so you normally do not clip their wings. Doves can not climb the way other birds and parrots do, and can not get away from danger unless they fly away. Losing that ability can have some psychological effects on the bird.

They do produce a fair amount of dander. You can mist them off, but some people will just take them into the sink and spray them there. I’ve talked to a few dove owners that would literally bathe their birds in a mild dish soap. This was the only decent way to completely clean a White Dove.

Do not leave doves in a drafty area. While they can tolerate cool weather, they can’t handle the drafts. They are also very sensitive to smoke and odors, so it’s best to keep them away from kitchen areas.

In our many years of breeding birds, we get a lot of people asking to purchase very young baby birds. The younger the better…..even a couple weeks old.

Sounds like a reasonable request. After all, we have constantly stated that getting a young bird is much easier to train than an older one…why not a baby?

Baby birds are also a lot cheaper to purchase! Just recently our daughter told us that a vendor at a flee market in Florida had just-weaned Blue/Gold Macaw babies for $400. Up here in the north these birds would cost at least $900 as babies, and $2500 once weaned and about 6 months old! So naturally the new pet-owner would love to save some huge cash!

The reason they are cheaper is because the bird breeder has not invested their time into raising it. Look at the work required…..you have to feed the birds every 2-3 hours all day long. And all night long! If you have a lot of babies you can’t possibly do it yourself, so you have to hire someone to help feed. Now we have employee costs. This is their business! Investing their time is how they earn their money.

Food can be expensive! With our aviary, the birds are fed a prepared hand feeding formula that looks like brown flour. It’s actually a formulated mixture of grain, vitamins and minerals that are scientifically designed to fit the needs of a baby bird. Unless you purchase it wholesale the price is expensive. After a few weeks we begin to introduce other foods. We gradually work them through the stages of Gerber baby foods and other types of human foods. Those are not cheap either! Ask any mother who just had a baby! The cost of feeding a parrot from birth to weaning at 3-4 months is easily $200-300. The time invested in those feeding is factored in, and you end up with a very expensive pet!

But buying them as babies eliminates all of the cost involved in weaning them, making them a bargain. We have lost our share of baby birds. Sometimes it was from bad food. Other times it was from our experimenting with something new. It was an expensive lesson. But we learn from our mistakes, and pass on these lessons to others.

But the average pet owner does not really have a clue how to properly feed babies. When I first started getting involved with birds, I would have given anything to find a breeder to help me out, teach me the proper technique, and mentor me. Such things as why you need a brooder, what is the correct temperature of the food. I lost a lot of babies, and every one of them devastated me! I didn’t have the vast knowledge of the Internet. All I had was a library with old books that didn’t tell me much.

In most cases, we refuse the sell unweaned baby birds. And in ALL cases we will not sell them unless the purchaser can demonstrate that they know how to hand feed them, and can show they understand the dangers and responsibilities of hand raising birds. A very good sign of a bad bird breeder is someone who would sell a baby so someone with no hand feeding experience. You are usually condemning your bird to death!

I remember attending a bird show. My husband was watching the booth while I got to “shop” and socialize with the other vendors. I was shocked to see a vendor trying to teach a prospective buyer how to hand feed a baby macaw using a turkey baster… one of those plastic tubes with a bulb on it! And the food was as thick as peanut butter!

Hand feeding birds is not easy. The younger the baby, the more often you have to feed it. Are you prepared to feed the bird every 2-3 hours….all day long? And all night long?

Therefore, if you are contemplating purchasing an unweaned bird, you must educate yourself on the procedures. Start by visiting a bird breeder and see if they will teach you. You will need to learn how to properly mix the food, test the temperature, and learn how to feed the bird. If you can find one, see if your local avian vet can assist you in training.

Larger birds are obviously much easier to feed. In most cases you can simply use a baby spoon and spoon feed the baby. But this does take more time. With experience and training you could learn how to use a syringe. But note that if not done properly, you will force the food down the esophagus and choke the baby.

Small birds should never be hand-fed by beginners. Even the most experienced breeders will not feed finches or parakeets, as those tiny bodies are next to impossible to work with. I did manage to feed parakeets, but only because the parents had abandoned the birds and I was left with no choice. It’s not something I look forward to.

WHERE TO GET MORE INFO

If you are dead set on trying to hand feed babies, start by gathering some education information. Most of the companies that produce hand feeding formula offer literature and videos on hand feeding. They include Kaytee, Lafeber, Zupreem, and Prettybird. You can go to their home page on the Internet and order this information.

Don’t get me wrong…hand feeding is a very rewarding experience. Watching your baby grow up to be a very tame and playful pet is worth all the effort. Just do it right!

If you are like us (I’m sure you are because you are reading our blogs), you have a special love for birds. How would you like to share your love of birds with others? Give a bird presentation about your bird(s) and share your knowledge and experience with others

I first started giving bird presentations when my son was in Kindergarten. It was mostly letting the little kids hold my young Parrot and a few easy questions like “What do birds eat”? Or “Can the bird talk”?

You really need to be prepared for some questions that only a kid would ask because an adult would be too embarrassed to ask such questions. “Where do baby birds come from”? Or “Why do birds have feathers instead of fur like a dog”?

Very young kids may only want to hold the bird so a presentation should be tailored to meet the age group of children. When presenting birds to older kids, the topic should include proper cage size and care and cleaning. Bird diets, health care, and safe toys for the pet birds can be accompanied with samples of food and toys. We were amazed at how many kids already had a pet bird, but knew very little about the proper care or training.

In some school classes that I gave presentations in, some kids were scared of the birds. To help overcome the fear I would have a child that wasn’t afraid of the bird allow me to tickle them on the hand with a feather. The kids that were scared of birds would see their class mate laughing and having fun with the bird and the feather that they would want to be tickled too. I had hoped that I was able to help kids get over the fear of the birds.

Some of our “presentations” were nothing more than taking a parrot to a public place, like a park or festival. Our area has a lot of “ethnic” festivals that are held outside, and we would walk around with our parrot on the shoulder having a fun time. We would be surrounded by kids asking questions or wanting to hold the bird. We would answer their questions. and then move on to another area. People would look forward to us coming to these events.

Once the word got out that I was giving education bird presentations I was asked to go to Nursing Homes, Special Needs Adults and Children’s Groups. And the best part about doing these presentations is when you come across someone special.

We were asked to do a presentation for the county school for severely handicapped, and mentally challenged children. We took along several birds, including a little black masked lovebird named Morticia. We did a small group of children and there was one little girl staring off into space. I walked up to her and one of the workers said “She doesn’t respond to anyone”. She was severely handicapped and didn’t have control of her arms or legs.

I placed Morticia on her shoulder, and Morticia began to rub her beak against the side of her face. The child very slowly turned her head toward Morticia. For a second she didn’t show a response, but then a big smile showed across her face. The workers were just shocked because the child never showed a response to anything…this was the first time! They had other animals there and she wouldn’t respond to them, but she responded to this little black masked lovebird! We left the bird on her shoulder for a while before moving on.

By doing bird presentations you establish yourself with people of the Community, and have a lot of fun at the same time!