Georgette's Corner

Here I am on my night cage!

Here I am again!

Mom puts Hoppy on my cage for photos only!

Georgette and Emily are best of friends.:-)

I am sweet and cuddly. I am an excellent talker and I play dead for my Mom. Not to say that I don't have my moments. I am after all an Amazon.

That means I have an attitude as Mom puts it. I always warn her with my body language. She is usually alert to my moods so it isn't often that I have to bite her.

Emily and I share quality time with Mom. Yoda knows I will bite him, so he sits by Emily. She likes to peck his nose lightly and says it's cold.

Chillie doesn't pay attention. She knows to be a good dog when Mom has us with her, but she sits so close to me I want to bite her. Mom always spoils it though. She puts me up higher & warns Chillie. I keep trying though.

We get between ten and twelve hours sleep every night. Mom says it keeps our hormones down so we don't get sexually frustrated. I can't figure outwhat that means. Doesn't sound fun anyway.

I love all my vegetables and fruits. I hardly ever throw any to the dogs like my brothers and sisters.

12-16-1999 Mom tried to keep me from coming into breeding condition by giving me 10 to 12 hours sleep. But the cycle starts at 12 hours so it can happen anyway. I now know Mom what you meant. And for me because I am so small and had a huge egg that I couldn't pass it was no fun. Mom please don't cry. I know you expected me to live longer but the Lord called me home. I am happy here and I will be waiting for you. Remember the good times. Play my tape so you can still hear me. Till we meet again.

Don't forget to tell everyone you know about the dangers of TeflonŽ (PTFE) to their pet birds.

Georgette's Tribute!

Thank You for the flowers and heart with Georgette's photo April.:-))

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I sure wish I could be typing my two cents on Georgette's Corner as she lived. Her tribute and anniversary pages tell our story though.:)

Georgette's Corner seems quite short compared to the others. She was all encompassing and had no story of abuse or being handicapped. But surviving 30 days in quarantine as a month old chick was a feat in itself.

While I love and live for all my animals, Georgette is one of those loved ones that is so a part of you that there is no severing the connection even in death.

Emily still misses her. She and Emily were best friends.:) Georgette was a very special little girl and the light of my life. She will never be forgotten. I am so fortunate to have some videos and 15 tapes of her talking.:)

Amazon's really do not like having you out of their sight. Georgette would always call for me if I was out of her sight for more than a few minutes. Yelling what's the matter, where are you, etc.. Her vocabulary was huge and she never really spoke amazon except when she saw a bug. lol

She would give that arrgh scared scream if one came too close. Other wise she would cock her head, hunker down low and look at the bug and give the eheheh trembly sound.

The minute I came home it was none stop talking and singing.:) She was such a sweetheart. She being an amazon, I did have to watch her body language and rarely got bit by doing so.

She loved her veggies and fruits, never leaving any. She never ate much seed or pellets while I was at work. Always ate those veggies though.:) Amy is the same so maybe that's an amazon thing.

They are so very comical and most always have you in stitches (laughing that is). I used to love when she would come up with whole new phrases and mix songs.:)

I made sure Georgette especially was covered at night for at least 10-12 hours. It does keep them from getting cranky and too hormonal. South American birds breeding season is governed by the lengthening of the day. So it is especially important they get their proper undisturbed rest in total darkness.

Georgette always wanted to go to bed on time. Amy is a different story, but then she had a different start in life and I don't think she really had a schedule.

I do the same with Amy but she has already at the age of four begun to spasm, trilling and going into the breeding trance. Whether or not it's because of my difficulty three days a week to give her more than 9 hours sleep because of the 12 hour days I can't say for sure. As she is only my third amazon but I don't think it helps.

I know many amazons that have been doing the trilling, going into spasms and paper shredding for upwards to 30 years and have never laid an egg.

Georgette on the other hand never did this. I believe because she always got her proper undisturbed sleep. Maybe this was her downfall.:(

On Monday September 27, 1999 I wound up in the hospital until Friday October 1. That was four nights away and my cousin kept forgetting to turn the lights off so my birds had four and a half days of light with no night. Anytime I am away the birds remain in their day cages with no covers. Of course they always have darkness at night.

The greys mainly need the proper rest to keep them from getting moody and I suppose it helps some with hormones but their trigger is the rainy season. As Africa has long days anyway.

What I am getting at is I believe those four and a half days of light triggered Georgette's hormones and caused her to go into breeding condition.

My returned most likely reaffirmed our bond and the cycle was started and no matter what I did to try to stop it, it was too late. I did try to get back home from the hospital the same day because of the birds and dogs but Dr. Altus said I would most likely die if I did. So reluctantly I stayed and I really might have because I crashed in the hospital again that night.:(

Looking back and I know this is not rational; I would have rather died in Georgette's place. I guess it's good we don't know what's ahead. I sure would not have wanted to leave the others. They are the reason for my existence and I love them dearly. I just wish Georgette wasn't called home so soon.:( But I really was blessed to have had her in my life and I am thankful for that.:)

Georgette became very agressive her last two months. This was definitely hormonal agression. I notice also that Harry the Panama Amazon we board also gets agressive when she comes into breeding condition. As the time to lay eggs nears she becomes her sweet self again and she wants to cuddle and be scritched. Never having the experience of leaving the eggs with the hen, I can't say how agressive they are then, but I am pretty sure most would become pretty protective of them.

I feel too many amazons become agressively hormonal because of improper rest. I would love to keep my Amy up later to enjoy her and would have loved to with Georgette also. But the hormonal surges would have made life with Georgette and make life with Amy more difficult and confusing for them as pets.

Becoming sexually mature and nesting behavior is normal and life can be good with few problems. This is not really breeding condition. Breeding condition is when the hen's hormones surge and her body is truly readying for egg laying. It usually begins with agressive behavior which mellows as egg laying nears.

Sexually mature amazons showing breeding behavior and paper shredding are just practicing. Amazon pairs show breeding behavior and copulate for years without actually raising a family. This is to affirm their bond.

Males of course will show hormonal agression a lot faster than the females if they don't get their proper rest as their hormonal surges ready their bodies to prepare for fertilising the eggs. So they are in breeding condition pretty much right away and of course will be much more agressive as pets without proper rest.

Too many are labeled as mean and vicious. I have never met a mean, vicious amazon. Agressive and or hormonal yes, but never should they be labeled vicious even if they do mangle you. hehehe

Amazons are the most honest of all birds in my opinion.:) They signal their intentions with their body language, If you don't pay attention or ignore that language you will be bitten. That's not the birds fault, it's yours.

All the sweet amazons I've met have one thing in common. Their owners make sure they get their proper rest and they have structure in their lives. I have seen the most agressive amazons that were that way for 20 years or more become quite docile when they were given 15 hours sleep the first three months, then gradually getting 12.

My best impression was one of our customers had an eight year old DNAed male Blue Front Amazon that would go to anyone and his young children all handled him. He let me trim his nails and wings free hand like a puppy.

In fact I can do almost any amazon free hand, even though the owner tells me how mean and vicious they are. lol I watch their body language and have no problem communicating with or handling them.:)

I asked the owner why he was such a good amazon. This man came from South America and he told me about how he had many parrots and that the one thing he knew was they need to have shortened days to keep them sweet. He said his amazon was covered in a quiet room for 15 hours every night! I was stunned as he was the first person I came across that actually did this with their male amazons from the start.

I trimmed this bird regularly for the next 8 years and he remained as sweet as always. I no longer work at that shop but I often think of that sweet amazon.:)

Never having a male amazon I can not speak of them personally as pets. My experience has only been with Georgette and Amy. I also had an Orange Winged Amazon I adopted as a 5 year old, that was missing a leg named Tara. She was sent to Letty the same breeder my Ringnecks went to. She has successfully raised chicks with her mate.

Georgette was typical of the species. I did have to read her body language as she would on occasion bite. I am sure if I hadn't had experience handling amazons (basically wild caught at that time) I would have had some pretty big issues with Georgette.

I was quite prepared for life with an amazon with Georgette and we had 12 years of bliss with only a few bites. Amazons also get into a wonderful mood where you will have so much fun.:) But they tend to get over exuberant and will bite at these times. hehehe So you really have to watch that body language.

Although many people have allowed their amazons on their shoulders for years without incident it's not recommended as if they do feel territorial towards someone or threatened they will inflict quite a nasty bite and continue to until the intruder or threat has been removed. I never allow them on my shoulder. I also do not let them close to my face until I can access their mood.

So far Amy has never bitten. She can be displaying with head feathers up, tail flared and eyes flashing and I can go right up to her and ask her to kiss her footsie. She loves to hold hands and have her feet kissed and rubbed. She will stop and stick her foot right in my face for a kiss. lol Even now with her reaching sexual maturity she is the sweetest amazon I have ever met. But she is so much more of a brat than Georgette was. hehehe

In reality Georgette got at least 10 hours sleep a every night. Amy gets 10-12 on my normal days. She only gets 8 &1/2 to 9 hours on my 12 hour days so I make sure she gets 12 hours on the fourth day. She is unusually gentle for an amazon and so far this schedule has worked. Time will tell how well she continues to do.

I really don't think there's so much need for a 12 hour sleep for the females as the males. I believe all birds need at least 10 hours. Amazons and all South American species to keep their hormone levels down. All the others to keep them from being moody and well rested. Even we can become grouches with improper rest.

Birds are like children in their exuberance for life and it's said on the level of a 3-5 year old. So you have to keep them entertained the whole time they are up. Children need their sleep and even naps. Many birds have a quiet time and even nap during the day but it's not the same as a good nights sleep. So in my opinion proper rest is one of the most important issues to attend.

Coming back to hormones, none of my birds except Georgette has become agressively hormonal. Yes, Thumper and Sammy love and live to bite. But this has nothing to do with sexual frustration.:)

When Hoppy started biting I knew his frustration was lack of quality time. Many people may have believed he was reaching sexual maturity and becoming hormonal. Too many times this is the case and it's simply not true.

Believe me once you have experienced hormonal rage, you will know the difference. I can only say that if it is hormonal the bird will not settle down one day and enrage the next. A hormonal bird will continue to bite day after day with no relenting until the season is over or they get their proper rest which once in hormonal drive would be 15 hours for a couple months.

When I returned from the hospital Georgette was quite agressive. She never was like that when I returned from a stay away. But this stay was not planned so I was thinking being I didn't prepare the birds and tell them I was going away, I was getting this reaction.

But after a few days Georgette went into a rage that continued almost two months. She bit me five times in the same area that morning and it was like she wanted to kill me. The biting was intense and she meant to do as much damage as possible. Yes you could say this was a vicious attack, but I can not say Georgette was being vicious. This attack was sexual frustration. I was her chosen partner. I being human could not take on that roll and no way could I satisfy her need.

Imagine her instincts and hormones telling her it was time to raise a family. Here she is her whole life bonded to me and I can not fulfill that roll.:( So now she is angry and just acting out her agressions. I had to use a big perch to transport Georgette to her night and day cages up until her last two weeks. I tried everything to get her out of the breeding mode. But this wasn't just nesting behavior. This was full blown surging hormones and Georgette was seriously wanting to lay eggs. There was no stopping it.:( Had I known the end result with Georgette I would not have put her down her last two weeks. If I could have had her spayed I would have. But I am pretty sure she would not have survived that either. The Vet said she was too small to risk any surgery. Plus we don't know the long term affects on birds yet.

I tried hard to let Amy only know me as a friend being careful not to touch her body in any way to elicit sexual behavior because of my experience with Georgette. Besides Amy is not the cuddler Georgette was. But low and behold, at four years old she already spasms, trills and goes into the breeding trance for me. So obviously my thinking was off track. "sigh"

Now as for male amazons, even though I have not had one as a pet, I have worked with them and handled them extensively. I have no problem handling agressive amazons. But there's no way I can trim an amazon in full hormonal rage (male or female) free hand. Just to take a raging amazon down to the boarding room on my hand was a race for time. lol Knowing them so well I was able to avoid many bites but then there were the times that I didn't make it to the boarding cage in time and "ouch!' that was bad. hehehe

I believe males especially need their 10 hours in total darkness of undisturbed sleep. If they become grouchy and start to bite I would suggest going right to 12 hours. In full blown hormonal rage you will need to give them 15 hours for at least two months but I recommend three. I have had much feedback on the success of this and it works every time.

Of course if there are other issues such as your mood, insecurity, fear, prior abuse or improper training, then these issues will have to be dealt with also. As I state throughout our site, we are here to tell our stories. There are many groups, lists and chat boards where you can go for help. You can also enlist the aid of a avian behaviorist.

Not that I wouldn't help anyone with questions or problems. I am always willing to help anyone with these if I can or refer them to others that will be able to help. Just click on my email link and send me a message.:)

We can only try to keep our birds well adjusted, safe, happy and healthy to the best of our abilities. Enjoy them while they are here and hopefully that will be for their full life span. Amazons are another species particularly prone to mourn their losses so please try to work out your issues. They deserve your life time commitment.

We also have to plan for their well being in the event they outlive us. My only wish in life is to see my animals through their lives. So they don't have to go through the mourning of my passage. So love your birds for who they are and treasure your friendship.:)

9/15/2003 I just learned today that Oxytosin given to an egg bound hen that is truely unable to lay her egg will cause undue stress and rupture. No way should this have been used when the Vet himself doubted she could pass it on her own, but wanted to give her every chance to do. How stupid of me not to realise how wrong this thinking was. No way did Georgette survive more than 15 minutes if that. No way did this Vet do anything he said he did while she was alive. The only saving grace for him is that he did not know Georgette. I don't think he realised how small Georgette really was inside until he actually worked on trying to remove the egg, dead or alive.

Still I do believe he tried to make it seem so to spare me more anguish. At least I hope so. Also rotating that special tool around Georgette's egg could only have done damage. I should have asked this Vet how many egg bound hens he treated successfully. I am now convinced not many as Georgette's treatment was done all by the books with no consideration to the emergency at hand.

Please; if you have a female bird; research the reproductive process and complications in egg laying before something happens. Know what to look for and what to do in an emergency. Find the best Vet for these procedures and two back ups that are just as good. My third choice was recommended and he is a good compassionate Vet. But I should have asked how many egg binding cases he treated successfully. I would have been better off taking up the dog/cat Veterinarian's offer at my Vets office to try. I am sure he would at least have removed Georgette's egg immediately. I would have had better odds doing it myself in this case.