Biting Blue Front Amazon

[mhenderson]

I recently got a blue front amazon he is a beautiful bird however he bites. He seems to like me better than my husband he lunges at him to bite. I have been bitten 3 times in the last week deep bites drawning blood. He was in a small cage with only a 2 little toys suitable for a budgie. I puchased him a new large corner cage yesterday and lots of new toys. The only way I can move him around is with a stick and a towl wrapped around my arm to avoid being bitten again. He seems to like my grandson he played on the table yesterday with him peek-a-boo. He is eating lots of fruits and veggies. Doesn't seem crazy about the shower I put him in each morning but so far has not gone into the water on his own. He will let me scratch his head sometimes and will step up usually on comand. Any advise? He is 8 years old and was in one home all that time.

 

[paulhanlon]

It may be that your a new family you need to give him time to bond with you all more sit next to his cage talk in a soft voice to him read him a story or whatever you are reading you say he has taken to your grandson this may be because your grandson is young and parrots act like kids all there lives so he has taking to him more give him time and im sure he will come round hope this helps

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

Thats great that you have taken on an older Bird

You just need to be very patient... talk to him, offer him treats etc.. If he will not step up onto you without biting, you are probably better getting him to step onto a stick for now.

Amazons do have a habit of bonding to one person!

Have you thought about clicker training? If you have a look on youtube it shows you how to do this properly. It does take time, but in the end the results can be quite amazing!

Hope this helps.

 

[Clueless]

Thanks for adopting the fellow!

I have two blue-front amazons that I rescued last year. One of them . . . . now.. . . . seldom bites. The other? Well, I'm still working with Secret. I use a "T" shaped stick and hold the stem to move them both around. MC I can place on my leg and he will now step up on my arm (no hands, he's scared of them still). Secret will, on occasion, step up on my hand but still will bite - with no warning. The eyes pin at the same time the beak drops. I read in a post (by Henpecked?) that you could have them step up, then step down quickly and they can't think to bite in that time period. Remember to reward them with a treat when they're good-always emphasize and praise the good times when no bites happen.

I can tell you that Secret has changed for the better since moving into our home. Part of the biting I think comes from my attitude of fear - I need to work more on my issues than I do on the parrots. They sense fear.

You just have to remember that patience is THE word of the day, week, month, year. Seriously! The parrot needs to build a large amount of trust - just think baby steps and each day is a new day.