A woman in a town near here has advertised a DYH Amazon with cage for $350.00. I called her today, and this is what I was able to find out so far: He is a male, 15 to 20 years old, named Chico, and he is Spanish speaking (?). She doesn't know how many owners he's had, but she got him two years ago from some people who kept him in the basement with the Rottweilers (!). As a result, he barks and growls just like a Rottweiler. She suspects that these owners abused (kicked) him, and says he is not good with men as a result. She describes his cage a 4 foot by 6 foot bolt together affair. She doesn't understand Spanish, but says he has learned to say "Hey come here", which he yells at her quite a bit. She also says that he is very big, and beautiful, and tame for her but hates her husband.

Any thoughts on this poor guy? Would I only be letting myself in for major disappointment trying to get him to like me? This is an all male household.

WOW Nate....very tempting. You could be in for a disappointment. You could be in for a major challenge but he could turn around. I guess you never really know until its home with you and you give it all the love you can. DYH zons are a favorite of mine so I know I would be pretty tempted!! Sounds like you have some thinking to do!

Gosh, I don't know Nate. If this bird was abused by males, and is terrified/hates them now- you would definitely have your work cut out for you. I'm sure that eventually he could be won over- it would just take a lot of patience! Are you able to meet the bird before you have to decide to purchase him or not?

You would be a great home for this guy!

I say to go meet him and take it one step at a time.

I agree with Joanie. If you have the determination and patience, it could work. But, you can't set your expectations too high, in case he does decide he still hates males!

nothing to add to previous posts, nate... i'd go check him out and see how he reacts to you... if it's (somewhat) positive and not a complete no-no-no, then i guess you have a chance of winning him over... but it'll probably take a long time

nevertheless - i believe you're one of the BEST people for a task like this

Deffo can't hurt to try. I know some birds that are said to 'hate' one gender over the other, but mainly its cause of the triggers that gender sends out- Higgins definatly has a female preference, but he is OK with some males. Some males tho, he will go ballistic on. And all the people he goes ballistic on have the same traits, be it hair, glasses, etc.

i have a 15yr DYH foster bird..male, came from an abusive past, and he hates my husband and loves me. we have fostered him since the beginning of the year and so far, Zeba has gotten a little more used to my husband.

for example, he used jump and attack my husband just at the sight of him. now, my husband and zeba can sit calmly in the same room together. as long as my husband stays c-a-l-m, zeba stays calm. once my husband shows any excitement or high level energy, zeba tries to attack him. but we are working on it. years of abuse won't go away in a couple of months. but zeba has gotten better!

like Joanie, and a few others, have said, if you are really interested, go visit the bird. maybe ask the owner what treats this bird likes and take some over and have a little "conversation" with him.

nate, keep in mind that its SPRING...and being that this bird is male, hormones are in a rage - not constantly, but it can and WILL flare up. that just means you will have to go more slowly with him during this time. ambient attention does wonders for amazons. the blinking game does too.

go see chico and see what happens. :-)

I told her I'd probably be over tomorrow to meet Chico and see if there is any glimmer of connection whatsoever. I need more information anyways, such as exactly why she's getting rid of him now after only two years, etc. We shall see.

yeah, it should be interesting to know why...seeing the influx of birds (lots of amazons and macaws) coming in to our rescue organization, i have a feeling that its hormonal aggression problems.