About Barney

Barney at Veterans Park Milwaukee
Barney is a Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot.  Barney is captive bred, but the species is originally from Southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.  Barney is about 15 inches long from his beak to the tip of his tail feathers, his tail is squared off like other amazon parrots.  Barney like most amazon parrots is mostly green in color. Yellow-Naped Amazons are mostly a bright green color, with a blaze of yellow on the back of their neck (the Nape) and slashes of red in the feathers of their wings. They have gray beaks and feet.

Yellow-Naped Amazons are highly intelligent, comical birds that love to be the center of attention. They are excellent talkers, and they form extremely close bonds with their owners. Like many Amazons, however, Yellow-Naped Amazons may go through a hormonal bluffing stage as they reach sexual maturity. For this reason, they are recommended for experienced bird owners.  Barney is normally a very friendly bird, but he feels that I am his buddy and will sometimes get jealous.  Interestingly the only person he has bitten is me, (2 times).  That is normal parrot behavior as they think that their companion needs to be punished for paying attention to someone else.  I guess in hind site we can do that too.

Amazon Parrots are prone to getting fat just like I am, so it’s important that they are allowed room to exercise every day. He weighs about 600 grams (About 21 ounces).  He eats a pellet diet and fresh fruits and veggies.  We do give him some people food treats as well, but have to limit them.  He would eat a whole baked potato if we let him.  We will pick something from our meal and take a little out before it has salt, butter, or other seasonings added.   He would live on whole wheat toast if we would let him.

If you want a Yellow-Naped Amazon, you should be able to give it a minimum of 3 to 4 hours outside of its cage per day. This will allow the bird to burn excess calories and stretch its muscles, on top of providing essential mental stimulation.  When Barney is riding his bike with me he likes to alternate times of sitting and looking at the world going past with periods of chewing.  We buy 8 foot sections of pine 1 x 2 boards and cut them into 8 inch sections.  I drill 4 random 3/4 inch holes in the pieces and wire one to the side of the cage so it can be manipulated. (I got tired of stopping to pick them up).  Barney will chew about 1 cubic inch of board per 10 miles.  If you see wood chips on the trail, you are following Barney!

Yellow-Naped Amazon parrots are quick-witted creatures that make wonderful pets for active owners who really want to form a great bond with their bird. Their obvious intelligence and remarkable speech abilities have made put them among the most popular Amazon Parrot species.

Amazon parrots thrive on social interaction, and they need it to remain healthy and happy. Birds that are neglected often fall into destructive behavior patterns and depression which can manifest itself in various physical and emotional problems. It’s important for Yellow-Naped Amazon owners to set aside a period of time each day for one-on-one interaction with their bird, to establish and maintain a healthy bond.  Riding bike with Barney is good for him both socially and physically.  Fortunatly for me who is part owner of Lanex I can also bring Barney in to work with me on occasion.  We call those days “Barney Socialization Days” and he has fun with the people there.

Cornbread anyone?

 

Barney’s favorite places

Barney lives in New Berlin Wisconsin, so if you want to see him on his bike you will need to be in the area.  Most of his rides start and end on the New Berlin Rec trail.  This is a 7 mile rail to trail path that runs east to west from Greenfield Park in …

Barney FAQs

Many people who see Barney on his bicycle have questions, and we are sure that many folks do not get a chance to ask.  So, here are a list of the most common questions we here in the rough order of popularity. Does he talk? Barney likes to talk a lot, but he has a …