There are breeders and then there are breeders!

I am excited about the possibility of having a new batch of babies,but I also know what a huge job is ahead of me!!


Connie and I were talking today about some of the large parrot breeding operations. I don't know how they can possibly do it! Having one batch of babies, even just a single baby, is like bringing a newborn child into our home. Feedings every hour at first, constant vigilance over the temperature of the incubator, making sure they get enough attention every step of the way! Washing and santizing dishes and feeding utensils. heating the water to the exact temperature! Arranging for a baby sitter when I have to be gone! I figure there is no way I could be reimbursed for all of the time that goes into a baby parrot! Even if I charged only $1 an hour, no one could afford to buy a baby from me!





My mom was telling me about the circumstances in which they got Coco, the Yellow Nape. She came from a large aviary on the West Coast. My mom had orderedand paid for a baby parrot and waited for some time, when she was called and told to go to the airport to pick up her baby. She was assured that the baby was eating well and had been handfed. Instead, she found Coco to be in pin feathers and with obviously no idea of ever having been handfed. Coco refused to eat and it was obviously she had not been handfed. The vet felt they had probably been feeding her via a tube directly into her crop. That was the only way they could get her to eat. They were afraid they would lose her. Then one day, Coco, swallowed tube and all. The vet assured them it would pass, which it did, but Coco was far to young to have been sent across the country. The breeder refused to answer any of my mother's calls. Now there are too many shipping restrictions, that a baby that young could never be flown across the country!





But I remember Coco as a baby, and she was so sweet, so loving, and I knew then that someday, I wanted to own an Amazon parrot! Little did I think that one day, 17 years later, Coco and her mate, Charlie, would come to live with us!





If you have a parrot, make sure you have someone who will be willing to take it if you die or are unable to keep them, as they will probably outlive you! Fortunately, we were able to adopt Coco when my mom's health prevented her from keeping parrots any longer. She and Charlie have been members of the family for 20 years now!

So far no eggs

I am not sure what is going on with Coco and Charlie! Charlie keeps ringing the bell, but so far no eggs! I don't really know how long it takes for them to lay eggs once they decide that is what they are going to do! Coco is spending less time in the nest box the past few days than she was. She never seems to get aggressive durnig breeding season and still comes over to gently take nuts from my fingers. Charlie, on the other hand, becomes far more protective of Coco and tries to prevent her from getting too close to us. I have been trying not to upset him and give them as much privacy as they want right now.

Breeding Season has officially started

Charlie started ringing the bell today! That is his way of not so discreetly notifying everyone in the household that breeding season has officially started! Nice of him to let us know! Charlie and Coco have a fairly large bell in their cage, and all year long it remains silent...silent, that is, until Charlie and Coco decide it is time to start laying a new batch of babies! Then Charlie announces his joy by 'ringing the bell!" It has become somewhat of a joke in the household because when Charlie rings the bell, we all know what he's up to!! He obviously never heard the old adage that a gentlemen does not kiss and tell!

The picture is of Jolly, Coco and Charlie's first offspring. Jolly lives with Todd, my brother and is now nine years old.

Coco and Charlie

Coco is a beautiful Yellow Nape Amazon. The yellow nape is said to be the "cadillac" of the Amazon parrots. Known for their incredible vocal qualities, the Yellow Nape is able to most closely achieve human vocal qualities. They are also known for their intelligence and ability to understand and use language appropriately. Coco has been a member of our family since she was a tiny baby in pin feathers! Her ability to talk is amazing and she has a gorgeous singing voice, too. Coco is twenty years old now. Coco continues to be a sweet, gentle soul, always polite and a little serious. She is an adult parrot now! Fully of age! She will probably be able to continue breeding until she is in her 40's. With good care, Coco could well live to be 65-80 years of age, and maybe longer.

Coco is a romantic at heart, and she has a love in her life! Her love is Charlie, a 20 year old male Blue Front Amazon. Charlie came to my parent's house when he was also a young bird. He is a beautiful bird, and a very intelligent guy who is also an excellent talker. He is a clown and an attention hog. Even though Coco is probably the more talented of the two, he manages to steal the show every time through his big ego!! He came to be a pet, but he and Coco had other ideas. It was almost love at first sight and they have been together since they were around 8 years of age. The first few years that they had eggs, the eggs were broken, we think Charlie did it in his efforts to protect the eggs from danger. My parents finally took the eggs out of the nest box and hatched two babies in an incubator.

On June 20, 1999 Jolly was hatched in the incubator! Jolly was a big baby from the very beginning. She found a special place in my brother, Todd's heart, and she lives with him as a best friend and confidant!

In 2000, Kermit was hatched! Kermit now lives with a woman named Maxine, where he is much loved. Maxine had an Amazon that she had known since she was a little girl, when its owner died, she adopted the parrot and had him the rest of his life. When he died at around 65 years of age, she was just lost without him. She was so happy to find Kermit and fill the empty place her lifetime friend had left behind.

In 2003, Coco and Charlie came to live with us in Denison, Iowa when my mother's health prevented her from keeping her birds. Coco and Charlie are members of the family!!

In 2004, they hatched out two eggs without any difficulty! Java and Kiwi were handfed from the first day when Coco was unable to figure out how to feed them. I had always wanted a baby Amazon that I could raise from hatching and teach to talk! I have to admit that I totally fell in love with these two babies and I knew that I could never part with them! So Java and Kiwi are my pets, and a real blessing to me. But I know that I cannot keep any more babies, no matter how tempting that would be. These birds deserve and need more attention than I could give more. Especially since Coco and Charlie have been having a new batch of babies every year.

In 2005, she hatched one egg, Lola. Lola now belongs to Jenna out east in Virginia.

And last year, in 2006, she hatched and raised, Sunny. Coco definitely figured out how to feed her babies now, and did an excellent job with Sunny! I've got lots of pictures and will be sharing them as I am able to locate pictures!! Sunny lives with Connie in Arizona and thinks that she died and went to bird heaven!

And that is all of our happy family so far!!

Coco and Charlie Summer 2007 Video clips 2

Coco and Charlie were talking up a storm, and for some reason the sound was off and did not get recorded. I'll try that again.

Coco and Charlie Summer 2007 Video clips

These two video clips are of Coco and Charlie. Charlie is the one who is looking down from the nest box in one clip, and the one on the left in the other clip. Coco is the beautiful yellow nape, who is showing off. They were talking up a storm, and Coco sang "Mary had a Little Lamb" but for some reason the sound was turned off. Charlie was playing "Peek A Boo." I was so happy with all the great, clear speech I was getting and then for some reason the sound did not come through. Someone asked me about Charlie's feathers being all fluffed up in the clip. He was just showing off and a little excited. Amazons are very expressive with their display of their feathers. You will notice Coco displaying her tail feathers as she slowly twirls around on the perch. We were watching her do that one day and Charlie said, "Coco is a pretty, pretty, pretty bird!" Spoken like a guy who truly thinks his mate is beautiful!!