Behavior Changed

[jan788]

I have a yellow-naped amazon for over one year now.* I was told he was 1.5 years old when I bought him. He was around many other parrots at that time and would be very talkative around them. We brought him home and was very nice to my husband and I. Then he eventually only seemed to like me and hates my husband. He is very social and loving.

My uncle has a yellow-naped amazon thats roughly 6 years old that was no longer able to keep since his parrot does not like anyone in their household and would tear up boxes when she had the chance to. I offered to bring her home since my parrot used to be around other parrots in the past and was hoping it would be a good new home for his parrot.

We brought her home last week and they both have their own cages. My original parrot now has been very angry. He still lets me touch his head but will now bite me if I try moving him from his cage to his perch or to his other cage.* He seems to get very angry with me easily, which was never the case before. He is now screaming very loud randomly. Now I have to use his t-shaped perch to move him from place to place to avoid a nasty bite. He rarely lets me hold him without him biting me now ever since the new parrot arrived.*

They are now in seperate rooms. The new parrot sings and whistles but is only somewhat nice to my husband. Everytime she talks, my original parrot starts to get excited or starts to scream very loud. She still needs to get to know us better, I assume, to get comfortable.*

My questions are, why is my original parrot acting so aggressively now? Will they always need to be in seperate perches or cages?* What do I need to do differently to calm my original parrot? Will they ever get along with eachother? Should I find the new parrot a new home?* (My original parrot is not plucking his feathers,* but is screaming, and biting aggressively majority of the time)

 

[Birdman666]

Easy answer. They're pair bond birds. His/her favorite person is paying attention to another amazon. It's very much jealousy driven. There is an intruder in what this bird feels is his/her territory, with his/her person, messing with his/her happy home.

Whether or not your bird learns to adjust to the new situation I cannot say. Depends on the bird.

 

[jan788]

I'm just worried that I won't be able to carry him around like I would always do without being afraid of being bit every time because of his jealousy then. I'm trying to give my parrot more attention as possible to let him know he is still my first parrot.

 

[Birdman666]

I've had my red lored for 12+ years. I've had somewhere around 8-ish foster amazons. She got along with all of them. In fact, there was a time when the zons were the "three amigos." My nape, my BFA, and my Red Lored. She got along with all of them.

About five years ago, I took in a lilac crowned. My red lored took an instant dislike to her, and has shunned her ever since. They are not allowed on the same playstand together. When I handle them both at the same times, my red lored is prone to pinching...

The lilac crowned amazon does not return the hostility. She's very sweet, bonded to my CAG. Anyone can handle her. EXCEPT when the red lored is around, because the red lored pinches you...

IT MAKES LITTLE OR NO SENSE, BUT IT EXISTS.

They get along slightly better now, since the birds themselves have drawn their own territories and boundaries. BUT my red lored still pinches when you pay attention to that "other" zon.

Never happened with any other amazon. ONLY that one.

 

[jan788]

Did it take awhile for your red lored to become friends with the fostered amazons or was it almost immediate? I'm wondering if my parrots just need to get used to eachother in separate rooms first and introduce them very slowly. Or just maybe, my parrot has shunned her away already as well.

 

[Birdman666]

Did it take awhile for your red lored to become friends with the fostered amazons or was it almost immediate? I'm wondering if my parrots just need to get used to eachother in separate rooms first and introduce them very slowly. Or just maybe, my parrot has shunned her away already as well.

With EVERY OTHER ZON, and even a few we didn't Foster, just friends birds... It was love at first sight. Came running over, did the mother hen preening number.

Lila made the mistake of immediately going into Sally's favorite spot "uninvited" within the first two minutes of arrival at our place... It apparently triggered a "territorial" reaction that never fully went away.

It's slowly improving... I have held them both at the same time. But I pretty much count on Sally not being happy about it, and I expect a pinch, or miffed zon reaction.

I generally handle them separately. (I get tired of the bruises on my shoulder.)

 

[JerseyWendy]

I've got a "little" Amazon story that I think fits in here.

After I suddenly, and unexpectedly lost my beloved DYH, well meaning friends GAVE me an older, HUGE, male Amazon.

I already had my Hunter, she is a YN Zon as well. She was 10 when I lost Quincy, and they were NOT bonded, nor did they share a cage.

So, this new, BIG bird arrived. My friends warned me he was mean. Mind you, I kept him in quarantine for 6 weeks, and he was putty in my hands. What a sweet boy!

After quarantine was over, and he was found to be in good health, I moved him downstairs. He took one look at my Hunter, and that was that. I named him RAMBO for a reason. :54: I had never been afraid of a bird in my life until Rambo decided everyone needed to be eliminated, except Hunter. He was a very skilled Kamekaze fighter, going after ALL of us with a vengeance. I clipped Rambo's wings, only to be then chased through the house by a mad, HUGE Amazon. Now when I say HUGE, Hunter weighs a hefty 630g, but Rambo weighed 720g, was larger than Hunter, AND more agile.

Hunter was terrified of Rambo. Rambo didn't stay here. He went back RIGHT where he came from.

Nowadays I share my home still with Hunter AND a male DYH Amazon, (and 2 big macs) and the two of them get along GREAT (most of the time) No jealousy issues with either one of them.

So....each bird is an individual, and they all react/act differently.

 

[randy]

I had a yellow crown raised from a baby, went ever where with me. About 3 years old for no apparent reason he pierced my ear & would not let go without force. Vet says since you are both males he wants to be the dominate one. I found him a proven female and had about 3 clutches a year. I couldn't hold him again but at least he's happy.

 

[henpecked]

I have a different out look on the situation. Your male, grew up w/ parrots, and now mature has decided he likes the new hen you brought home. I always advise folks who bring home a second bird that they are taking a risk that their older pet will bond with the new bird. I too have many rehome,pet and breeder amazons. I have noticed that if they ever like or dislike another zon ,that situation rarely will change. It also only takes a few minutes for them to form an opinion. PS just because your older bird wants to be with the younger/new bird doesn't mean the new bird wants the same thing and they could be VERY aggressive to each other. At this point in time (assuming quarantine is over) i'd put their cages within eyesight of each other and see how they react. Becareful to intro them in a neutral location if you ever try to put them together. (if you decide to go that route). It's quite possible this situation has cost you your pet companion unless you removed the new bird and hope the old bird goes back to being your friend.

I'm not trying to be negative , just trying to make you aware of other possible scenarios.

 

[Birdman666]

I have a different out look on the situation. Your male, grew up w/ parrots, and now mature has decided he likes the new hen you brought home. I always advise folks who bring home a second bird that they are taking a risk that their older pet will bond with the new bird. I too have many rehome,pet and breeder amazons. I have noticed that if they ever like or dislike another zon ,that situation rarely will change. It also only takes a few minutes for them to form an opinion. PS just because your older bird wants to be with the younger/new bird doesn't mean the new bird wants the same thing and they could be VERY aggressive to each other. At this point in time (assuming quarantine is over) i'd put their cages within eyesight of each other and see how they react. Becareful to intro them in a neutral location if you ever try to put them together. (if you decide to go that route). It's quite possible this situation has cost you your pet companion unless you removed the new bird and hope the old bird goes back to being your friend.

I'm not trying to be negative , just trying to make you aware of other possible scenarios.

YEP! THAT AMAZON CRUSH THING IS VERY REAL... INSTANT LOVE. INSTANT DISLIKE.

One little detail I left out of my Sally story. Even when she was super aggressive towards people, there were two people she allowed to approach the cage without going into attack mode.

I was one of those two people... AMAZON CRUSH.

Having just re-read Joanie Doss' article on amazon behavior, and being that this is breeding season, some of this could also be hormonal. Drive the other bird out of the nest type behaviors...

http://www.parrothouse.com/wrongwithamazons.html

 

[labell]

To be "chosen" by an older amazon is a special thing, that's for certain. My male yellow nape had a rough life before spending his last years with me. If anyone saw him interact with me it was hard for them to believe how aggressive he was with everyone else. It was terrifying when he was on the attack! Thank goodness he couldn't fly but he would run at the person full tilt and if you valued your body you'd best get out of his way.

With me....well I could do anything with him, hold him upside down in my arms like a baby, touch him anywhere and he gave me and me alone the sweetest loud kisses! For whatever reason the instant he saw me he loved me and I him, he even tried to feed me the first day he met me. I often wondered if I reminded him of someone who was good to him in his past, there were plenty that weren't if his very extensive vocabulary was an indicator.

You may have to split your time between them, your first bird is young right? You were told under 2 yrs? He maybe just in a testing stage and it is still that time of year so I would give it some time. The older new bird that you just got may need more time to settle in as well.

 

[jan788]

To be "chosen" by an older amazon is a special thing, that's for certain. My male yellow nape had a rough life before spending his last years with me. If anyone saw him interact with me it was hard for them to believe how aggressive he was with everyone else. It was terrifying when he was on the attack! Thank goodness he couldn't fly but he would run at the person full tilt and if you valued your body you'd best get out of his way.

With me....well I could do anything with him, hold him upside down in my arms like a baby, touch him anywhere and he gave me and me alone the sweetest loud kisses! For whatever reason the instant he saw me he loved me and I him, he even tried to feed me the first day he met me. I often wondered if I reminded him of someone who was good to him in his past, there were plenty that weren't if his very extensive vocabulary was an indicator.

You may have to split your time between them, your first bird is young right? You were told under 2 yrs? He maybe just in a testing stage and it is still that time of year so I would give it some time. The older new bird that you just got may need more time to settle in as well.

Yes he should be about 3 years old now. He would let me do the same thing like tickling his belly laying on his back, giving me kisses, letting me do anything to him, but he would snap at anyone else that would try doing the same. He only seems to love me. But as soon as he saw the new amazon, he got all feathered and his pupils got all small like he was ready to attack. Then I tried to carry him while he looked calm but he bit my hand very hard like he was taking all his anger out on me.

Once I put them in separate rooms, my amazon seems to let me spoil him again but I just feel cautious that he will bite me without notice. As soon as he hears the older amazon whistling from the other room, he gets angry with me all over again. And I have to try to give him a lot of attention to calm him down again and let him know that I still love him and not replacing him.

I wasn't sure if it was a jealousy issue, hormonal issue, or what it is that changed his behavior. He is still affectionate with me, but it's changed ever since the older amazon arrived to our home. I just miss how I was able to carry him like a baby but now im just afraid to try carrying him again without getting bit. I have so many bites on my hands now.

 

[labell]

To be "chosen" by an older amazon is a special thing, that's for certain. My male yellow nape had a rough life before spending his last years with me. If anyone saw him interact with me it was hard for them to believe how aggressive he was with everyone else. It was terrifying when he was on the attack! Thank goodness he couldn't fly but he would run at the person full tilt and if you valued your body you'd best get out of his way.

With me....well I could do anything with him, hold him upside down in my arms like a baby, touch him anywhere and he gave me and me alone the sweetest loud kisses! For whatever reason the instant he saw me he loved me and I him, he even tried to feed me the first day he met me. I often wondered if I reminded him of someone who was good to him in his past, there were plenty that weren't if his very extensive vocabulary was an indicator.

You may have to split your time between them, your first bird is young right? You were told under 2 yrs? He maybe just in a testing stage and it is still that time of year so I would give it some time. The older new bird that you just got may need more time to settle in as well.

Yes he should be about 3 years old now. He would let me do the same thing like tickling his belly laying on his back, giving me kisses, letting me do anything to him, but he would snap at anyone else that would try doing the same. He only seems to love me. But as soon as he saw the new amazon, he got all feathered and his pupils got all small like he was ready to attack. Then I tried to carry him while he looked calm but he bit my hand very hard like he was taking all his anger out on me.

Once I put them in separate rooms, my amazon seems to let me spoil him again but I just feel cautious that he will bite me without notice. As soon as he hears the older amazon whistling from the other room, he gets angry with me all over again. And I have to try to give him a lot of attention to calm him down again and let him know that I still love him and not replacing him.

I wasn't sure if it was a jealousy issue, hormonal issue, or what it is that changed his behavior. He is still affectionate with me, but it's changed ever since the older amazon arrived to our home. I just miss how I was able to carry him like a baby but now im just afraid to try carrying him again without getting bit. I have so many bites on my hands now.

Take this as humor please but I always tell people no one ever died from a parrot bite. At least amazon's are one of the parrots that give you plenty of fair warning before nailing you! If you are paying attention, most times it can be avoided however owning parrots you have to resign yourself to the inevitability of being bit. It is breeding season for amazon's right now and you might be dealing with some of that on top of the jealousy he feels from having a new bird in the house. Give it some time, try to not show your afraid, they do sense that. Sometimes with amazon's you have to just let them be during this time of the year. Talk to him, give him treats and new toys, scritches when he is open to them, read his body language and wait it out, most times it will resolve itself.

 

[henpecked]

To be "chosen" by an older amazon is a special thing, that's for certain. My male yellow nape had a rough life before spending his last years with me. If anyone saw him interact with me it was hard for them to believe how aggressive he was with everyone else. It was terrifying when he was on the attack! Thank goodness he couldn't fly but he would run at the person full tilt and if you valued your body you'd best get out of his way.

With me....well I could do anything with him, hold him upside down in my arms like a baby, touch him anywhere and he gave me and me alone the sweetest loud kisses! For whatever reason the instant he saw me he loved me and I him, he even tried to feed me the first day he met me. I often wondered if I reminded him of someone who was good to him in his past, there were plenty that weren't if his very extensive vocabulary was an indicator.

You may have to split your time between them, your first bird is young right? You were told under 2 yrs? He maybe just in a testing stage and it is still that time of year so I would give it some time. The older new bird that you just got may need more time to settle in as well.

Yes he should be about 3 years old now. He would let me do the same thing like tickling his belly laying on his back, giving me kisses, letting me do anything to him, but he would snap at anyone else that would try doing the same. He only seems to love me. But as soon as he saw the new amazon, he got all feathered and his pupils got all small like he was ready to attack. Then I tried to carry him while he looked calm but he bit my hand very hard like he was taking all his anger out on me.

Once I put them in separate rooms, my amazon seems to let me spoil him again but I just feel cautious that he will bite me without notice. As soon as he hears the older amazon whistling from the other room, he gets angry with me all over again. And I have to try to give him a lot of attention to calm him down again and let him know that I still love him and not replacing him.

I wasn't sure if it was a jealousy issue, hormonal issue, or what it is that changed his behavior. He is still affectionate with me, but it's changed ever since the older amazon arrived to our home. I just miss how I was able to carry him like a baby but now im just afraid to try carrying him again without getting bit. I have so many bites on my hands now.

It;s a jealously issue. Yes ,hormones will make it worse. But if it's hormones ,it should pass. I can assure you ,you will get bit again if your pet is reacting in this manner. jealous zons NEVER forget and can NEVER be trusted. They will try and kill each other. Almost every time i think i can walk my pet hen past a certain birds cage, she'll remind me that she wants to kill that bird by biting the crap out of me. Be very careful about where you allow that bird while the new bird is still around. And don't think the old bird won't leave her space to go "track down" the new bird. They can be very sneaky.

 

[jan788]

To be "chosen" by an older amazon is a special thing, that's for certain. My male yellow nape had a rough life before spending his last years with me. If anyone saw him interact with me it was hard for them to believe how aggressive he was with everyone else. It was terrifying when he was on the attack! Thank goodness he couldn't fly but he would run at the person full tilt and if you valued your body you'd best get out of his way.

With me....well I could do anything with him, hold him upside down in my arms like a baby, touch him anywhere and he gave me and me alone the sweetest loud kisses! For whatever reason the instant he saw me he loved me and I him, he even tried to feed me the first day he met me. I often wondered if I reminded him of someone who was good to him in his past, there were plenty that weren't if his very extensive vocabulary was an indicator.

You may have to split your time between them, your first bird is young right? You were told under 2 yrs? He maybe just in a testing stage and it is still that time of year so I would give it some time. The older new bird that you just got may need more time to settle in as well.

Yes he should be about 3 years old now. He would let me do the same thing like tickling his belly laying on his back, giving me kisses, letting me do anything to him, but he would snap at anyone else that would try doing the same. He only seems to love me. But as soon as he saw the new amazon, he got all feathered and his pupils got all small like he was ready to attack. Then I tried to carry him while he looked calm but he bit my hand very hard like he was taking all his anger out on me.

Once I put them in separate rooms, my amazon seems to let me spoil him again but I just feel cautious that he will bite me without notice. As soon as he hears the older amazon whistling from the other room, he gets angry with me all over again. And I have to try to give him a lot of attention to calm him down again and let him know that I still love him and not replacing him.

I wasn't sure if it was a jealousy issue, hormonal issue, or what it is that changed his behavior. He is still affectionate with me, but it's changed ever since the older amazon arrived to our home. I just miss how I was able to carry him like a baby but now im just afraid to try carrying him again without getting bit. I have so many bites on my hands now.

It;s a jealously issue. Yes ,hormones will make it worse. But if it's hormones ,it should pass. I can assure you ,you will get bit again if your pet is reacting in this manner. jealous zons NEVER forget and can NEVER be trusted. They will try and kill each other. Almost every time i think i can walk my pet hen past a certain birds cage, she'll remind me that she wants to kill that bird by biting the crap out of me. Be very careful about where you allow that bird while the new bird is still around. And don't think the old bird won't leave her space to go "track down" the new bird. They can be very sneaky.

Yikes. That sounds like my parrot. As soon as I got him near her the other day, he bit me soooooo hard. Now I carry him on a perch if I need to move him around. I rather use a perch than have him bite me that hard again. I have seperated them in different rooms, the problem I have now is that he is excessively screaming. I don't know how to quiet him down. He will svream from the top of his lungs. I have avoided a bite so far but already know I'll get bitten sooner or later. How can i get him to stop screaming? I know they can be loud but this is a very loud scream. Even if I'm in the same room with him, or he is alone, he will start screaming for some reason.

 

[henpecked]

Is there someone he doesn't like? Send in the "bad guy" when he screams. All they have to do is stand by his cage until he calms. it may take a day or two but if you can be consistent it usually works pretty quickly.you want him to realize that screaming only brings the attention of folks he doesn't like. You should only "visit" when he's being "good".

 

[jan788]

So this is my update. I should of read your response sooner about them being sneaky because I left the house for just a little bit and the new parrot climbed down her cage (she has never done that since she moved in) and walked to the other room were my parrot is at. I took a picture of them both on the perch. My parrot was screaming and talking and blabbering on since the new Zon was on his perch. But they didnt attack eachother, thank goodness, and finally my parrot stopped talking and the new parrot started caressing my parrot head. I supervised them the remainder of the time. Not until I was going to put them back in their cages, the new parrot saw me getting near my parrot and she nipped a couple feathers off his head since she seemed to get jealous that I was near him. He is fine, she didnt do any damage or hurt him besides 3 tiny little feathers on his head but I seperated them right away using another T-perch so they wouldnt bite me or hurt eachother.

Now my question is, should I let them be together on the perch again today or have them seperated and supervise them to make sure they dont go to eachothers cages/perches again? Do you think they will be fine with eachother since they didnt attack eachother?

(My parrot hates my husband. My husband would always stand next to my parrot when he screams and he would quiet down until my husband leaves and then he will start screaming again. It didnt work unfortunately. Not sure what else to do to calm his screaming behavior)

 

[Birdman666]

So this tends to establish that the object of jealousy is the other bird, not you.

 

[henpecked]

On the screaming thing, it will work. You have to be consistent, everytime for a couple of days. The bad guy needs to be available 24/7 for a couple of days (like over the weekend). Of course if he knows the other bird is near by and he wants to be near it,you might be fighting a loosing battle. As far as them getting along,,,preening is a good sign. I still would only intro them in a neutral area, not on one or the others perch/stand. I would also keep something like a stiff broom handy to separate them if things should go bad. It would probably be better if the hubby did that and you watch from far away or in another room. You don't want jealousy over you to be an issue. BTW, what is your goal with these 2 birds? Pet breeders? I doubt your gaining a companion bird and wonder about what you expect.

 

[jan788]

On the screaming thing, it will work. You have to be consistent, everytime for a couple of days. The bad guy needs to be available 24/7 for a couple of days (like over the weekend). Of course if he knows the other bird is near by and he wants to be near it,you might be fighting a loosing battle. As far as them getting along,,,preening is a good sign. I still would only intro them in a neutral area, not on one or the others perch/stand. I would also keep something like a stiff broom handy to separate them if things should go bad. It would probably be better if the hubby did that and you watch from far away or in another room. You don't want jealousy over you to be an issue. BTW, what is your goal with these 2 birds? Pet breeders? I doubt your gaining a companion bird and wonder about what you expect.

That's probably why it hasn't worked since he hasn't been around 24/7 to discourage him from screaming. I like your advice. I'll let my husband do it when he comes home from work.

Originally it was just my parrot as a companion, but then my uncle has been having problems with his parrot since the parrot would go running after his wife, chew up boxes they had, and they were worried since they have 3 kids who always want to be near her, they didn't want any of the kids to be bit. So they isolated her from everyone and she seemed to not socialize with anyone anymore. I told him my parrot got along with other parrots in the past and we can see if they get along so she wouldnt be alone isolated from everyone. But I should of done my research first. I just didnt want their parrot to go to a bad home or be stuck alone isolated.