I want to introduce our newest addition, Max. Max is a 21-year-old Orange-winged Amazon parrot that we rescued from a terrible situation about a year ago. He was very cautious of us and scared, and he showed signs of aggression such as biting. We really couldn’t blame him as he did not live in a pleasant environment. At one point he had been attacked by a large dog and lost all the feathers on his head. He was only fed finch seed so his colours were not as vibrant as they should have been and he was very underweight. Now, he gets all of the fruit and veggies he needs and the best of food. As you can see from the photo above, he has come a long way in the past year with proper love and care.
The Orange-winged Amazons are the most popular pets because of their charming and beautiful nature. They were born for a social life and love interacting with people. In the wild, you would find them in flocks foraging for food and protecting one another. They are more gentle and milder parrots although you can get some moody ones in the mix. These parrots are normally around 13 inches long once they reach maturity with a healthy weight of 11 to 12 ounces. They can live up to 60-70 years old in a healthy environment with the proper diet. Some have been known to reach 80 years. They do best on a high-quality pelleted diet with daily servings of fresh fruit and veggies. They can also be prone to excess weight gain so taking the steps to make sure they have the room to exercise every day is ideal. Having a large cage with lots of toys, ladders or perches is perfect for this. Also, giving them 3-4 hours outside of the cage is excellent for burning calories and stretching their muscles. Orange-wings are very quick learners and have excellent speech abilities. They can develop a great vocabulary.
These Amazons thrive on social interaction and actually need it to remain healthy and happy. If they are neglected they can become destructive and depressed. They can also develop physical and emotional problems, including feather plucking. Owners should set a period of time a day for one-on-one interaction. This is going to create a healthy bond and keep their parrot healthy as well. They are also curious explorers and anything in your home can be used as a chew toy, so make sure they have plenty of toys that can be destroyed.
Written by: Holly Murphy, Client Care Specialist
