Everybody gave you good advice so I will make only two points.   It's not good for strangers to be interacting with your bird.  For one thing, it's very stressing to them.   A stranger is an unknown element and could mean danger so they won't ever relax while strange people are around and stress is to be avoided at all times with birds.  And, for another: disease.  People carry A LOT of bacteria on their hands so birds should not be touched by just anybody.

As to pellets, except for TOP, they are all made of soy, sunflower seeds and peanuts.  I would not feed soy to any of my animals and, if you are going to give them peanuts and sunflowers why give them to him processed?  I say give him the seeds in their natural state only make sure he only eats them for dinner and a measured portion at that (a little less than 1/4 cup).   And allowing him to choose the pellets doesn't really work because they always go for them crappiest of them all, the ones with artificial colors and flavors and loaded with protein and sugar.  Amazons are excellent eaters and you should have no trouble feeding him a large variety of produce.

Bea & Birds

beatriz@newyorkbirds.net

I really appreciate all the helpful posts here, too many to mention individually but I read them all and have been thinking about and acting upon most of them. I've been pretty much iced in at home the past couple of days, and my baby boy has been enjoying the extra attention. :)

   I have had Ricky, my yellow nape for about 11 years and my father has had his DYH for about a year now. In all my years with Ricky she has only bitten me a couple of times and all cases it was when I was around someone else she wasn't fond of. My fathers DYH is the same way...he is a sweetheart when there is noone around but once people come over you get attacked for just walking by the cage.

  Amazons are known to be really jealous and overprotecive. I would not recommend taking him out around people especially because he is still a new addition. Getting him used to people is great but take baby steps. Maybe at first just let people talk to him while he is in his cage and slowly as he gets more comfortable start letting him out only if you see that he is not showing any signs of aggression. When he gets more comfortable with people and you feel that it's safe for them to hold him then just have your guests use some sanitizing cream before dealing with him especially if they have birds as well.

Another thing you mentioned was the diet you have him on. One thing that has been a challenge for me with my amazons is their diet. I finally got them on an all pellet diet and it seems to be working great. I usually give them a little Goldenfeast around 5 or 6:00. Goldenfeast seems to be the best "seed" mix I can give them. Just remember to remove it before he goes to sleep and then eventually as he gets used to eating only pellets throughout the day you can start mixing the seeds in and he should be able to balance his diet correctly. Keep giving him fruits, vegetables and any home food you think he will enjoy. Good luck!

You are doing great with him so keep up the good work. :-)

Mother of:

Yellow Nape Amazon (Ricky)

Great Billed Parrot (Dugan)

My Zon, LOVES to bathe! I usually try to bathe him at least twice a week. Granted he would prefer it every day, but we make do. ;) Also, something you may want to check into is a garden sprayer. My Zon loves long baths, so the mist bottle begins to get tiresome. I purchased a (unused) plant sprayer that you can pump to build pressure, then press a button and presto chango, mist!

Also, my Zon loves Roudy Bush. Granted, he's a zon, so he'll pig out on most anything I put in front of him. I reccomend getting a scale though. Unless you take regular trips to the vent (frequent enough to watch his weight). This will help keep an eye on his weight, as they can tend to get a little soggy around the midsection... lol.

Good luck, and congrats!

-- I did the research, and a completely different Fid picked me anyway! Say Hello to Pancho Buffett!

My baby did very good today. This morning after playing with him for a while, I misted him thoroughly with the spray bottle, and when I was done he promptly walked to his cage and finished bathing with his water. This afternoon my bf's son visited with a friend. The bird knows the son and they danced for a while - the bird stayed on the cage, bf's son won't pick him up because he's been bit a few times in the past. Then we watched a movie and I felt brave enough to ask the bird if he wanted up, and he did, so he sat on my arm for the whole movie while I pet his head. After the movie I put him on his play perch and bf's son and friend left. I was really glad the bird got to be around people and was calm the whole time.

Yellow Nape Amazon (Ricky)

Great Billed Parrot (Dugan)