Many have seen beautiful green parrots performing funny tricks in photos. These are handsome men from the Amazon. What are Amazonian parrots and are they suitable for home maintenance? Is it possible to make friends with them and teach the bird to “speak”, not be afraid of guests and feel free in the house?
Choosing a winged pet, many stare at the noisy, bright amazons. These are quite large birds with a cheerful character, which do not let their owners get bored. They are unpretentious and love attention. What kind of bird is this - the Amazon parrot, the features of keeping and caring for such a pet, other interesting facts - all these nuances will be useful to study for future owners of the Amazon.
What does Amazon look like?
The Latin name Amazona was assigned to this genus of parrots in 1830. According to various sources, there are from 26 to 32 species of birds in the genus. All of them are dense and large. The smallest species has a body length of 25 cm, and the largest is approximately 45 cm. The main color of the plumage is green, but different species of birds differ in combinations of shades. In addition, Amazon species differ in color spots in different parts of the body. The spots on the head, chest, wings or tail are bright and clearly visible.
All Amazonian parrots have a strong beak of medium length, the upper part of which is rounded, and the beak forms a sharp rib with a base. The color of the beak can be black, brown or yellowish-gray.
A common feature of all varieties of amazons is a short, slightly rounded tail. The wingspan of these parrots is not impressive, the wing covers the middle of the tail.
How to determine the age and gender of Amazon
At home, Amazonian parrots can live up to 70 years, in the wild, birds live up to 40-50 years. But to understand the age of the pet when buying is quite difficult. Young individuals are determined by the grayish-brown iris of the eyes. But by the age of three, the color of the iris becomes red-brown and does not change anymore. After three years, determining the age of the bird is virtually impossible.
Amazons do not have pronounced sexual characteristics. By plumage, males and females do not differ. In stores and nurseries, gender is determined by mating behavior in the group. With solitary confinement, only a veterinarian can determine sex by making an endoscopy or DNA test.
Spread in nature
Amazon parrots (Amazons) live in Central and South America. Flocks of these birds inhabit forests in the Amazon and lowlands overgrown with cacti and shrubs. But some species are found on the Antilles, for example, the royal Amazon lives on the island of Saint Vincent, the yellow-shouldered Amazon is often found on the island of Bonaire.
Conditions of detention
This is not to say that the Amazon parrot requires the creation of some unique conditions. The main difficulty lies in providing a sufficiently large space for the cell. The bird should be able to spread its wings in the cage without catching on the lattice. In addition, you need to consider that these parrots are very mobile. In the house, it is necessary to install crossbars, rings and rockers. The distance between the objects should allow jumping from one to another. The main problem faced by Amazon parrots is keeping in small cells. For some reason, the owners of these birds are sure that since the parrot can fly freely around the apartment, he does not need a large cage. Although ideal conditions could be created by fencing off one of the corners of the room for the pet and setting up a comfortable aviary there.
In nature, Amazons settle mainly on trees. They rarely descend to earth. This means that the feeders and drinkers in the cage must have a pendant mount. It will be inconvenient for a feathered pet to peck food from a feeder placed on the floor.
If the owner does not plan to release the bird from the cage, then it is not worth getting an Amazon. This parrot needs a daily workout. The ideal option is equipment in one of the rooms of the walking patch. Snags, thick branches at different levels, poles and toys are randomly placed here. The bird flutters and jumps for pleasure, strengthening its wings and legs. Branches and driftwood can be gathered in any park or in the forest, you don’t need to remove bark from them, but you must wash them with a brush and scald with boiling water. By the way, about toys … They must be on the walking patch and in the cage. Otherwise, parrots begin to gnaw at furniture, tear curtains or spoil books. The bird just needs to use its irrepressible energy somewhere.
Amazon parrots are big lovers of water. They like to swim in the "pools" and in the shower. It is especially important to provide the pet with such an opportunity in the summer when the apartment is hot. In extreme cases, the bird can be sprayed from the spray gun, this will also be useful for the plumage of a pet.
Climatic mode
In nature, Amazonian parrots are accustomed to a warm climate. This means that in captivity they also need warmth. The temperature in the room should not fall below 22 ° C. Sudden changes in temperature and drafts will lead to a feathered friend’s disease.
Pay attention to air humidity. If possible, then a humidifier should be in the room, if there is no such device, then the same atomizer is used. If the air is very dry, then the parrot dandruff appears, the skin starts to itch, and the feathers become brittle.
sunlight
For health and active life, the Amazons need a large amount of ultraviolet radiation. Do you know that window glass partially traps ultraviolet rays? This means that a special lamp should be hanging above the cage, which burns all day, during the activity of the bird.
If the owner has a desire and opportunity, then he can take his Amazon out into the street in the summer. To do this, you need a large cage, which can be put in the garden or in the front garden.
The nature and behavior of the pet
Amazon parrots are suitable only for sociable people. If you like peace and quiet, then it is better to get fish. Amazons flap their noisy and scream loudly. Moreover, it is not necessary that the pet wants something. It can make loud noises while flying through rooms, while playing, or sitting on a branch. The peak of sound activity occurs in the morning and evening. The rest of the Amazon parrot behaves calmly. He is not afraid of strangers, loves attention and is happy to demonstrate his talents. If desired, the owner can learn some funny tricks with the bird, as these parrots lend themselves to training.
Imitation of human speech to different types of amazons is given in different ways. They can remember 50-60 words or phrases. But to imitate everyday sounds and mimic other animals, these birds learn very quickly. Many Amazons can imitate the sounds of musical instruments or memorize their favorite songs of the hosts.
If a person has offended your pet, it will not be easy to earn his forgiveness. Parrots of this species have an excellent memory.
What do the Amazons eat?
Before buying, people are interested in whether Amazon parrots are very picky about food? Maintenance, care, feeding, it is difficult or not to provide such a pet with sufficient comfort - these questions are of interest to potential owners in detail. A lot has been said about the maintenance and care of the bird, but it is worth talking about its nutrition in more detail.
Amazon owners often make the same mistake. They make cereal mixtures the basis of the diet. But in nature, these parrots do not have access to a large number of grain feed. Their diet consists of buds, flowers, and various fruits, and only a small percentage are seeds and grains.
Ideally, you need to plan the diet of Amazon so that about 60% of its feed is fruits and greens, and 40% will remain on the grain mixture. The feed should have a large number of small grains, so you should choose a mixture for medium-sized parrots, even though the pets themselves are closer to large birds. If the parrot refuses millet and the canary, then plant spikelets for it, which are sold in pet stores. Amazon parrots are happy to husk grain from spikelets.
Feathered pets love seeds and nuts, but you can’t give them a lot of such food. Obesity causes illness and shortens the life of a parrot. In the period of molting and breeding, germinated grains can be introduced into the diet. This diet is added 2-3 times a week. In spring, green branches with buds and young foliage can be planted in a cage.
Top dressing
Vitamins and mineral supplements are given to the Amazonians in accordance with the instructions, since each manufacturer may have a different dosage.
Special clay is brought for the Amazon parrots. You can buy such top dressing in veterinary pharmacies and pet stores. But in our conditions, Amazonian clay can be replaced with pure pharmaceutical white clay. The main thing is that it does not contain dyes. Small cakes are made from this raw material. First, a thick “dough” is mixed from clay with the addition of sand for the birds, and then the cake is dried in the air or in the oven.
Once a few weeks, a quail egg or shrimp can be added to the diet, but the Amazons do not need a lot of protein top dressing.
