More Chatboards | Print | Share | Report Post

Re: Breeding
Posted by karen on 1/10/09

On 1/09/09, Letha wrote:
>
> I would never give Rex up, just want to make sure of the proper
> way to get us thru his trying times. That means that I have at
> least 3 years to re-read all the books I bought about Amazons.
>
> The day I retired is the day that I pickup Rex, we are happly
> retiring together. He is very good at his job of keeping me on
> my toes.


Good for you!
A few things to do now, teach your Amazon to step up on to a
stick. Pine nuts helped me bait him into learning that trick.
That will help later when he is being cage aggressive. At times
when his mind is totally gone I just wrap my hand with a bath
towel and let him attack that when I want to move him.
Another must in my experience is to NEVER let a male Amazon on
your shoulder, Never.
The command that has been the most useful for us is the “stop”
palm flat fingers together with the word stop! He will normally
stop mid lunge. Take care not to let him get you between your
fingers!
When the high hormone time hits you will know! Pinning, spinning
and biting! During those times I have braided strips of towel
into 5' lengths with a knot on each end. This is his climbing
rope. When the aggression is high I dangle the "rope" in front of
him; he lunges at it, grabs it with beak and feet and climbs to
try to kill my hand. When he is getting close to my hand I gently
take the bottom of the rope to the top and make him climb up again.
He will do this for 10-15 min at a fast pace. This lets him take
out a great deal of aggression and he gets his exercise. Best of
all no blood letting unless I am too slow. I do not let him play
with this rope any other time. When he sees it he knows what it
is for. He will only play this game when he is in "the mood"
So it is also a great way for me to tell if I have to take extra
care. If he is not in season he will ignore the rope. My OWA is
now about 15-20? years old, he is a great guy, but a few weeks
each spring still takes some caution. Your guy may not be this
extreme, but if He is it can be worked around
Best of Luck

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Breeding, 1/08/09, by Letha.
• Re: Breeding, 1/08/09, by Alison.
• Re: Breeding, 1/09/09, by karen.
• Re: Breeding, 1/09/09, by Letha.
• Re: Breeding, 1/10/09, by karen.
• Re: Breeding, 6/23/11, by MITCHELL.