I'm a new member here, but I'm very familiar with parrots, and Amazons are my favorite. Right now, I share my life with Sammy, my 20YO male DYHA (double yellow headed
amazon). He was 7 when we first met, wasn't friendly, was overweight, had a mild infection, was calcium deprived...the list went on. I found this out only after I got him, during his new-bird physical (which I recommend for EVERY new parrot, and PLEASE bring yours in if you haven't already to be sure there aren't any underlying infections or imbalances that can't be detected symptomatically). I knew the overweight part, but the rest was determined only after the vet's tests. He was eating "parrot seeds" which, with amazons, means "I'll pick out the sunflower seeds and peanuts, and tomorrow, when you change the food, you'll be throwing out all the other stuff in the mix that I didn't touch." Pellets make a better base, but shouldn't be the majority of the diet. Because of Sammy's condition when I got him, his diet was very important to me.
I know from the rules that we can't post links to other sites, so I'll just say that Sammy's breakfast each day is a mix of sprouted seeds and legumes which I buy in a dry mix. I have a mason jar with a screen lid which I bought from the same place, and I simply put a cup of dry grains/legumes in the jar, fill with water, and let soak for 8-12 hours at room temp. Then I drain, rinse several times, and spoon some out to feed. The company I buy this from offers a green supplement powder containing spirulina, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, mineral clay, and a bunch of other "good stuff" that gets added to the food at serving time. The rest of the soaked seeds in the jar will remain at room temp for a day, rinsing before serving and draining through the screen lid. After that second day at room temp (first day for soaking, second for sprouting), I keep the jar in the fridge, and continue to rinse before serving, until the jar is empty (lasts about a week). Then I wash the jar, and start over again. It's way easier than it sounds, and much cheaper than you think.
That's his base. He has another dish with Harrison's pellets which he snacks upon, but he always dives into his soaked seeds / sprouts mix first. He also gets various veggies, fruit, and some of whatever healthy food I'm eating. Sammy went from being a porky 670 grams at his new-bird physical to a healthy 480 grams within about six weeks. He also received oral antibiotics three times a day for three weeks (not fun with a new, adult male
amazon who hasn't warmed up to me, but I believe that he finally realized that I could not be intimidated by him, and after that he bonded to me really tightly), and when he went back for a check-up six weeks later, all his former problems were resolved.
Amazons, especially adults, can be difficult to get to warm up to new people. One thing that is an almost universal motivational force for amazons is food -- they LOVE to eat. If you find something that your bird LOVES to eat, don't feed it as a part of his regular diet. Offer it only as a reward for spending time with you. For example, Sammy loves almonds. I can't give them free-choice because they're somewhat fattening, but he gets them as treats. For a new
amazon that isn't friendly, spend time in the same room as his cage, and have the almonds on your lap or near you and in plain-sight of the bird. Reward approximations to friendly behavior, such as giving some when you see him approaching you but not coming all the way to you, then rewarding when he takes some from near you on his own, then when he takes some from your hand, etc.
As to longevity...the oldest
amazon I've heard of was named "Polly" and was a yellow naped
amazon who lived through many owners and homes in Alaska. When brought to the vet for a physical, cataracts were treated, and "Polly" got to see (at least somewhat) again for the first time in many years. "Polly" turned out to actually be a male, and lived with his new owners for a few more years before passing away at the age of 107. You can find the story out by googling -- it appeared in several parrot publications a few years back. I've also known of several amazons older than 50. What makes it rare is NOT that the birds "can't" live that long, it's that many don't receive optimal care, and thus the "average" lifespan is shorter than the "potential" lifespan. Before I returned to school, I came across someone looking to rehome a 45YO
amazon whose first owners had passed away, and the surviving children couldn't keep the bird. I had to decline because I was living with roommates at the time, and another
amazon wouldn't work out in that house.
This post is already REALLY long, but please feel free to pick my brain. I love amazons, and will be looking to get a few more adult "unruly" amazons when I graduate. There's just something about their personalities that click with me (Sammy was my second
amazon...my first, a blue-front, contracted a heart infection and passed away at only 5 years of age, when I was a teenager). People say they're unpredictable, which is somewhat true, but they're "predictably unpredictable." By that I mean that yes, their moods can change dramatically in short periods of time, but they give clear signs of their current state of mind. Being over-excited, aggressive, threatening, etc. is readily apparent by seeing their eyes flash, their tails fan, the feathers just past their beak raise, etc. Yeah, I love 'em, and can help you out. Ask me anything.
~Christopher
.
