Zon questions

[DavidH]

Well, I am so happy with my CAG Shanti that I am thinking of purchasing an Amazon (or 2).

 

There are 3 beautiful Blue-Fronted a few months old, gender unknown, available in my area of Southern California.

 

Shanti lives in the house and is flighted. My idea is to build an aviary or buy a large cage outside on our patio for the new addition(s). The human family and Shanti would be able to see them through glass doors and, of course, interact by going outside with them.

 

Here are my two main questions:

 

1) How hardy are BF Amazons for the So. Cal. climate? (We almost never have freezing temperatures, although in the winter we go into the 40s at night). I have heard that plastic covering for the cage or aviary will protect them from wind, which is supposedly more threatening than cold.

 

2) Would it be a bad or good idea to get 2 birds rather than 1? Can they live happily ever after in one big cage/aviary? My wife doesn't like the idea of a solitary bird outside, even though it would have plenty of human interaction time. What about another species of parrot? Other species options are readily available in our area.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Feel free to add anything outside of the above issues that you think I need to learn.

[Jayd]

Hi, welcome to the forums and the Amazon Room...My personal feelings are that a Zon needs to much human companionship to be kept outside, they need to be where "The Action Is". Here's some links where you can see who might acclimate In South Cal... A Zon is similar to a Grey in their human attention needs. Two Zon's get along a lot better than Two Grey's.......Thanks Jayd

http://www.avianweb.com/amazons.htm

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190343-Amazon-of-the-Week-Index

[GoDiego]

I agree with Jayd, I also think that Amazons need to feel included with their human flock members. Diego always makes sure that if something is going on in the house, that he is there giving his 2 cents worth! It really depends on what kind of relationship you want with your birds, I do think that if you have 2 Amazons together always kept outside then they will see you as an outsider and they will adopt a more wild behaviour.

 

2) Would it be a bad or good idea to get 2 birds rather than 1? Can they live happily ever after in one big cage/aviary? My wife doesn't like the idea of a solitary bird outside, even though it would have plenty of human interaction time. What about another species of parrot? Other species options are readily available in our area.

 

If you have 1 bird always kept outside they will feel like they are not part of the flock as they do like to always see what is going on. Diego hates it when we all sit outside without him, so he has to come along too. Just like when we are all in a different room of the house, Diego has to be there too so that he can see what is happening.

 

If you want lots of interaction with an Amazon, I would steer clear of caging 2 of them together as this can make them push you out and only want interaction from each other.

 

Also if they are never to go into the house, then an Aviary would be much better then in a cage as they are extremely active parrots who need plenty of exercise. Diego is normally out of his cage for most of the day and at the most is caged during the day for 1-2 hours. If for any reason he has had to stay there longer, he is a real live wire when he comes out and will not let us interact with him until he has released some of his energy.