Talon

I use natural cleaners instead of harmful chemicals. It's not good for our birds or us. And yes I have 2 male teenagers whose bathroom needs a good cleaning weekly as well!

My son went thru the axe spray faze...trust me it doesn't last....... I kept his door closed and opened the windows downstairs where my birds are. Everyone was fine, but I wouldn't allow them upstairs until the coast was clear.....

Inara....all I can say, is WOW! What a beautiful story and quick synopsis of such a beautiful bond you had. Bless your heart for understanding this precious soul and giving it the best life possible. You never gave up,and I am in awe...

Yes, prayers and thank you for thinking of others who need our prayers.

Okay, I LOVE that you had the courage Ray to start this thread. I feel it is a very important one. And yes there are many misconceptions when it comes to amazons, much like there is when it comes to greys. People think that greys are the smartest parrot out there, they expect it to talk and to perform tricks, and then sit there pretty on their perch when expected to. As us experienced grey owners know, that's not even close to how a grey behaves. Back to amazons...Luvparrots, I u understand your post, but you must know that you are still in the very early stages with your newest amazon. It can take a couple of years before they show their true colors in my opinion. You also have a very calm demeanor as a person, a quiet household, and your birds feed off of that. They feel your calm energy and it keeps them calm. I wholeheartedly believer thats why your 4 parrots are so calm. I on the other hand, have a calm laid back demeanor, am very patient, but my household has a lot of activity in it, sometimes pure chaois, I work full time , have 2 hyper small dogs who get very excited over any activity, 3 indoor cats, and 2-3 teenagers and friends and family who appear whenever. I have a busy lifestyle even tho I devote most of my free time to letting my parrots out as soon as I am home. I know that Nilah feeds off of all of that activity, cause she let's me know vocally. She loves to show off, she will become possessive of me if anyone comes to the house to the point of biting and of attacking a new person she sees as a threat to me. She spends most of her free time attached to me more times than not. She is sweet, gentle, loving and loves to rub against my cheek as she coos and hums to me. I adore her sweet gentle side, something she only shows to me. But she does have a difficult side to her. I can read it in her expressive eyes, so I handle her accordingly. I think what Ray talks about is mostly the norm. Luvparrots, you are the exception, and I think as you read the Craigslist adds, the rescues, the pet for sale adds, you see many amazons as people think they are so pretty, they love to show off, sing and it is proven, the smartest parrot out there as far as mimicking you and teaching tricks quickly. but they do have a dark side, but if you go into understanding that, learn to read them, and allow them to be a true amazon as much as we can in keeping them contained in our homes, then they will be the sweetest, most devoted, loving parrot you could ever want. But YOU have to do your homework and not have expectations of them. As we say many times, there is nothing else in this world like the love and bond an amazon can give you, and until you've experienced it, you can't imagine it. As trying, and you all know how Nilah can be a handful , as she is, I can't imagine my life without her in it. P.S. as I type this with one finger on my ipad, because Nilah is crawling from hand to hand nibbling on my fingers...

Wow very nice. Yes, shock is how my greys were...of course, Nilah is scared of nothing. But they are ,uh better, talon goes out there, and rikki now perches on the window I pull down so they can come and go as they please.

How tragic. My heart dropped to the floor reading this. I am so sorry this happened .

That reminds me, if Nilah, my amazon is getting into something she shouldn't, she starts humming, that's how we know to go check on her.

LOL! THat is so cute! But what truth in that. When I am watching tv in the early evening, with my 3 if I hear quiet...then I get my butt up off the couch and take a head count...cause most likely the are chewing something or into something that's a no no...

Luvparrots, it is a rare occasion in my house if there is not a parrot on my shoulder. I have to tie my hair up when I come home from work, ash their talons get tangled in it and the left side of my hair (they always want the left one) is damaged. Nilah mostly lives there..but if I am cooking, its Rikki's place...Talon gets it when I vacume!!

She's a grey..you can't train them not to chew holes, buttons, zippers off.. You can not train them as you would a dog. They are not Pets, they are wild beautiful creatures that will always have that wild instinct. They desire to be with you at all times, you are their flock and will never stay put as you desire, it has to be their choice. Make sure you have lots of playstands, perches around, toys for their entertainment, things to keep them busy. They will still desire to fly to wherever and whatever you are doing and "help".

Aww.. love them in the sunshine! Birdhouse, what part of NE are you in? I am in western ma

Toby...Rikki here.....my bird used to do that with Nilah and me both. We are really good fliers now cause when Bird first did it to us in the beginning, she would allow us to crash land into this soft cushy thing Bird calls 'couch'

Acappella, Just do as Nilah does...(shes such a clutz) just crash land into "bird"!! it makes her get aggravated and say..."Nilah!! Really???" It's funny for me & rikki to watch cause we are as graceful as they come...of course it took Rikki along time to land properly..Bird says its because her wings were clipped (whatever that means, but it sounds HORRIBLE!) for her first 2 years before she came to MY home!!

I second exactly what Ray said. The pic isn't a good enough one to tell. Regardless of age or anything, if this bird needs a forever home..age wouldn't matter to me..

This is worthy of your time to read, (although many of us here already know all of this info) and really gives you food for thought. https://www.thedodo.com/community/suzannesteinert/parrots-are-not-pets-8-things--656454753.html

Oh, sooo exciting! I know how long you have wanted one of theses. Can't wait to see how it ends up!!

Nice pics!!! Thanks for teaching us yet another great fact about amazons!

I have 3 females. And 3 kids. Right now I am the only one arou d, so they have no choice. Out of the 3, Nilah my amazon is very bonded to me , but I can see she really likes my daughters boyfriends thru ur the years. Talon says in the background due to her place in the flock, she is third on the perch. When y daughter is home, rikki prefers her. Talon does love men, she just doesn't have any in her life at this time. She isn't interested in my sons...prefers my ex husband.....why???? Ill never understand!

Wow! I had no idea....pics?

Well can't even start it as question one only let's you pick one species, I have both, and I think there is no canned difference between the two, it all boils down to personally of the bird and how the personality and ways in which it is raised by its parront family interacts with them.

I have one, my birds all hate it, so it's in the unused toy box collecting dust

Oh thank god! My eyes are filled with happy tears for you. I know you've been thru a difficult year, and this is the last thing you needed..another loss. I am thrilled!! Now NO MORE SCREENS!

Omg...prayers for a happy ending..I'm so sorry...