DYH Advice & Recommends

[AmandaCarol]

Hi everyone! I’m brand new to this forum and tried searching but wasn’t having much luck on getting the answers I was searching for so I decided to create my first post! I could really use some advice, recommendations, tips & tricks, and all things fellow DYH Amazon owners are willing to share!

My grandparents have owned their DYH Amazon, Rocky, since I was young. I know they got him before I turned 10 (I just turned 35 in January). So, I’ve been around him my whole life. Within the last year and a half to two years, my grandmother had been diagnosed with Dementia. She was Rocky’s primary caregiver & she taught him all the words, phrases, whistles and songs he knows. Unfortunately, with this new diagnosis, she has not really been able to care for him like she used to (because she forgot). She does change his water and food through muscle memory but she doesn’t talk or sing with him anymore. And my grandfather has to work in order to pay the bills still. With that all being said, Rocky just hasn’t been taken care of or given the love and attention he needs. **He does get fresh food and fresh water daily!!**

Good news, we are having an addition put on at our house and at first, my grandfather was talking about rehoming Rocky, but we as a family decided to keep him with us because Rocky is family too. I told my grandfather I’ll take care of Rocky while he can focus on my grandmothers care. First thing first is getting him to the vet for a beak and nail trim and to get a check up for his overall health. I noticed his feet looked really dry and almost like his skin was peeling, and according to google, he may have a vitamin A deficiency but getting him to the vet ASAP is #1 on my list. My second thing is a new cage. I think the cage he’s in is too small and not only that it’s also got a broken lock because he’s a very talented escape artist. It’s pretty much on its last leg. This leads me to my first question … and then some.

1) I have attached two cages within my budget that I think would work for him but I do need help deciding on which would be the safer option for him. Please let me know your thoughts!

2) FOOD - What is the best food to feed him on a semi tight budget? He’s currently only eating seeds and I know he needs more. What brands would you recommend and how should I do the transition?

3) Bath time - would it be better to get a misting spray bottle or a bath large enough to fit on his cage that I can put a little bit of water in and he can go in and bath himself? (I do know that with the bath “box” I need to make sure the water isn’t deep and to watch him so he doesn’t slip and fall).

4) Outside of Cage Time - I can tell you honestly, he never gets time out if the cage, at least not since my grandmothers diagnosis. How do I go about letting him out and ensuring he’s safe in his new home? We will be having his wings clipped, but I don’t know how to really handle a free bird.

5) We will have two cats (both 2 years old) and a 15 year old yorkie. One cat is there’s and he pretty much leaves Rocky alone and my dog doesn’t really mind him either as she has had visits with her great grandparents. It’s our cat that we don’t know how he’ll react. What’s a safe way to introduce them and ensure both animals safety?

Those are the big ones for now. It hasn’t been an easy transition on any of us with this diagnosis, and I know that Rocky needs some major TLC which I’m prepared to give. I know that it’s going to take a lot of time and patience to truly bond with him and get him to trust me. I’m letting him call all the shots and will only give what he will allow. Any advice or tips on how to do this properly is welcome! Please understand that my grandparents truly love Rocky and want him to be well taken care of. The fact that they get to see him kept in the family makes them truly happy. It also makes me happy to do this form them.

*Black cage is from Petco and made by Pervue. Blue cage is from Wayfair and the seller is Tucker Murphy Pet. And there is Rocky in his current cage.*

Thank you all in advance! - Amanda

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The black cage with the seed apron looks great. The seed apron will save you a lot of vacuuming.

Its important to get him off an all seed diet. You should try to convert him to a pelleted diet. The best pellets are the ones he will eat and it may be tough to convert him. You need to do it slowly since he may not recognize pellets as food. An avian vet (not a dog and cat only vet) will advise you how to convert him. A lot of us feed our birds "chop" which is a mixture of chopped fresh vegetables, cooked legumes, corn kernals, grains, rice, qinoa, pasta, fruits and some seeds and nuts. There are chop recipes in the pull down menus of forums in The upper left corner of this site. People have differing opinions on what to include in chop. Some say no grains or pasta only fresh veggies but it may be hard to get him off all starchy foods right way. I use Bird Street Bistro cooked food as a base for my chop. It's a bag of many dried veggies, grains, and legumes that you cook and divide into portions and freeze, taking out a bag every couple days. I add a lot of chopped fresh vegetables to the base. I feed my 19 budgies chop in the morning and seed in the afternoon and they're very healthy. For an Amazon it would he ideal to feed fresh chop in the morning and pellets in the afternoon. Neither chop nor pellets are very expensive for one bird.

Bathing us important for good skin and feather condition. Some birds like misting and some don't. A large shallow bowl on top of his cage so he can take a bath would be good if he likes it. Two inches of water in a pyrex pie sized pan would be safe.

I hope you give him out of cage time but I'm concerned about the cats and dog especially if you clip his wings which I don't recommend for a large bird like Rocky. If he's never flown, or at least not for years, I doubt he would try to fly much but he should be able to get away if the cats or dog get near him. You must keep the other pets out of the room when Rocky is out of his cage. If a cat catches him any injury however slight would probably kill him because cat saliva contains bacteria deadly to birds. A dog is very dangerous to any Bird, too. I really worry about the combination of two cats, a dog and Rocky. There really isn't any safe way to introduce Rocky to them other than to keep them away!

Do you know if Rocky will step up on an arm or a perch? Learning how to handle a large parrot like Rocky will be a challenge if he's not been handed. Dont expect to be able to pet him- most birds dont like that unless they are really binded to you. He should be taught to step up on a hand held stick perch 12 to 18 inches long so you can move him from place to place without getting bitten. There are ors of members with much more experience with Amazon parrots than I do and they will offer you advice.
I wish you and Rocky the best and thank you for taking him into your home rather than rehoming him.

 

[AmandaCarol]

The black cage with the seed apron looks great. The seed apron will save you a lot of vacuuming.

Its important to get him off an all seed diet. You should try to convert him to a pelleted diet. The best pellets are the ones he will eat and it may be tough to convert him. You need to do it slowly since he may not recognize pellets as food. An avian vet (not a dog and cat only vet) will advise you how to convert him. A lot of us feed our birds "chop" which is a mixture of chopped fresh vegetables, cooked legumes, corn kernals, grains, rice, qinoa, pasta, fruits and some seeds and nuts. There are chop recipes in the pull down menus of forums in The upper left corner of this site. People have differing opinions on what to include in chop. Some say no grains or pasta only fresh veggies but it may be hard to get him off all starchy foods right way. I use Bird Street Bistro cooked food as a base for my chop. It's a bag of many dried veggies, grains, and legumes that you cook and divide into portions and freeze, taking out a bag every couple days. I add a lot of chopped fresh vegetables to the base. I feed my 19 budgies chop in the morning and seed in the afternoon and they're very healthy. For an Amazon it would he ideal to feed fresh chop in the morning and pellets in the afternoon. Neither chop nor pellets are very expensive for one bird.

Bathing us important for good skin and feather condition. Some birds like misting and some don't. A large shallow bowl on top of his cage so he can take a bath would be good if he likes it. Two inches of water in a pyrex pie sized pan would be safe.

I hope you give him out of cage time but I'm concerned about the cats and dog especially if you clip his wings which I don't recommend for a large bird like Rocky. If he's never flown, or at least not for years, I doubt he would try to fly much but he should be able to get away if the cats or dog get near him. You must keep the other pets out of the room when Rocky is out of his cage. If a cat catches him any injury however slight would probably kill him because cat saliva contains bacteria deadly to birds. A dog is very dangerous to any Bird, too. I really worry about the combination of two cats, a dog and Rocky. There really isn't any safe way to introduce Rocky to them other than to keep them away!

Do you know if Rocky will step up on an arm or a perch? Learning how to handle a large parrot like Rocky will be a challenge if he's not been handed. Dont expect to be able to pet him- most birds dont like that unless they are really binded to you. He should be taught to step up on a hand held stick perch 12 to 18 inches long so you can move him from place to place without getting bitten. There are ors of members with much more experience with Amazon parrots than I do and they will offer you advice.
I wish you and Rocky the best and thank you for taking him into your home rather than rehoming him.

Thank you so much for your feedback! I think the black cage is the perfect one as well!

The vet that I will be taking him to is specialized in avian as well as reptiles (and even furry friends!) An old friend of mine works there & I do trust her judgement on them since she has also owned birds. I will definitely make a list of questions and asking their recommendations on how to best introduce new foods to him. And I will most definitely check out some chop recipes on the forum!

I’m going to try both misting and a bath to see what he likes and dislikes. My mom said he loved getting misted, but I remember one time it felt like he didn’t like it, but I was young and probably thought that as I didn’t quite understand bird behavior. Should we get a tiny heater for when he’s preening? I definitely don’t want him to catch a cold or anything.

My grandparents currently have a cat and the cat (also a boy named Bobby) pretty much leaves him alone. Rocky did escape recently and the cat wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with him lol. Bobby was watching my grandmother try to catch Rocky - which since she has dementia she doesn’t remember how to correctly approach Rocky and she got bitten and scratched. My grandfather was able to get home and get Rocky safely back in the cage. Raven (my yorkie) is 15 and couldn’t care less about other animals lol. Shes a human lover through and through. When we go for walks in the park, other dogs try and say Hi to her but she ignores them and goes straight to their humans for pets and kisses LOL. She’s also a scaredy cat who pretends to be tough but only when someone is holding her. She’s been about Rocky before and she doesn’t really care and is super disinterested. Doodlebug (our cat, which is also Bobby’s brother) loves birds (from the window) but basically becomes a statue when I take him outside for fresh air. He would be the only one I’d be worried about initially but he’s really really good about listening when we tell him “No.” With all that being said, I’m definitely still going to separate all of them to give Rocky some out of the cage time - maybe possibly SLOWLY bringing one pet in a time to see how they coexist. But I do understand the dangers and will ensure all animals remain safe.

I believe he does know “step up,” but it’s been so long that I might have to start slow with him. I’ll invest in a long perch and work on that and our bond. He’s let me and Poppop (my grandfather) pet him before but only on his head. I don’t expect to be able to pet him, but I’ll gladly give him some scritches should he ask. My #1 priority is to move at his pace and to do things he is comfortable with. I’m really excited about this new adventure and I’m also really happy to keep him as part of our family. Thank you truly for all your advice and everything!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

It sounds like you have a good understanding of what this entails. As for rhe cage heater, some people use them but a member recently had her bird get burned by the heater so I wouldn't use one. Wild parrots bathe and preen without the need to additional heat. If the room is too cold then don't offer a bath, but parrots are more tolerant of cool temperatures than people think.