Breeding Orange Winged Amazons

Question
Hello,
     Recently I have bought an Orange Winged Amazon and have decided to breed with his/her.

Firstly, could you tell me the requirement i need to breed (any special conditions, positioning of breeding cages e.t.c)

Secondly, If I decide to hand rear the chick
a) Do I take the eggs from the Mother
b) If so, when
c) once the chicks are hatched, how often do i feed them and what type id diet do they have at that young age

d) how do you sex a chick or an adult Orange Winged Amazon?

Thirdly, Are they a "Seasonal Mating" Bird, if so What season do they mate in
And Finally, What age do they become sexually mature and at what age do they stop mating?

Sorry for all the Question but I really can't find anything on the internet regarding this subject.

Hope to Hear from you soon.

Graham

Answer
Hi, Graham.  Thanks for posting.

To be honest, you don't know enough yet to be breeding amazon parrots, based on your questions.  You need to learn everything you can about amazons, orange wings, and caring for babies BEFORE setting up a pair up for breeding.  I'll answer your questions and give you a link to my website for more information.

1.  You have to have a cage setup big enough for 2 amazons and a large nestbox if you pull the babies for handfeeding.  Nestbox should be accessible from outside the cage, i.e., the lid needs to be outside the cage where you can access the eggs/babies from outside.  Positioning of breeding cage, etc., has little to do with anything except you don't want the nestbox to be where the sun would shine on it.

2.  The birds must be pair-bonded before they will even consider breeding.  This means you have to have a true pair of birds of breeding age who are compatible and pair-bonded.  This can take years depending on the birds/pair you purchase.  Domestic orange wings (birds born in captivity) should be 5-6 years minimum before they are of breeding age (some older).  They are sexually mature at a younger age, but not too interested in mating/breeding until 5-6 years of age, if they have a compatible mate.  If birds are imports (taken from nest in the wild), it takes them about 2-3 years longer (or more) to mate in captivity.  I would recommend buying a proven breeding pair or buy youngsters and raise them together.  Pair-bonding is when the male feeds his female mate and they preen each other/are affectionate to one another.  It can take years for a pair of parrots together to reach this point...depends on the individual birds and whether they like each other or not well enough to pair bond.  Some parrots just aren't compatible together, some are.  This is a risk you take when dealing with parrots, i.e., just because you put 2 birds together, doesn't mean they will even be friends, much less ever mate.  

3.  Orange winged amazons must be DNA sexed in order to determine sex.  You can have an avian vet perform the DNA sexing test or do it yourself (see link on my webiste for information about how to do this and where to obtain the sexing kits).

4.  If you plan on handfeeding any babies, you take the babies (not the eggs) from the parents when they are about 1 month old and handfeed them yourself 4 times per day with a handfeeding syringe and baby parrot handfeeding formula (see my website for information on this).

5.  Most amazons breed in April/May/June.  There's a short period of time in these months that they mate and lay eggs.  Usually outside these months, they are not much interested in breeding.  This depends on the individual pair of birds involved and if they are comfortable in their setting.  Some breed earlier, some later.  One of my pairs only mates in June, sometimes in July, and no other part of the year.  

6.  You can do internet searches using the search string "breeding amazons" or "parrot breeding" or "breeding orange winged amazons" or "breeding parrots."

My website is:  http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys