Hello from Maryland/Adopting 30 yr old BFA

[kozykitty]

My name is Vicki and I'm gathering info as I'm hoping to adopt a blue fronted Amazon named Gloria. Gloria was with an elderly lady for 30 years and her person had to go into a nursing home. I met Gloria in a shop that raises birds and helps rehome them and something just clicked. I haven't owned a parrot but I did live with and care for a yellow headed Amazon for a number of years so I'm familiar with the good and the bad. I've been reading the Parrots for Dummies book and welcome any suggestions for other sources.

My main concern is how to introduce Gloria to our household and how to manage my 3 house cats with her. My two big male cats are lugs who sleep all day but my young female is quite fearless. We had cats in our house growing up and we kept the Amazon mentioned above for long stretches (as long as 2 years at a pop) and never had any problems.

I figured I'd start slow and just let Gloria get used to us--keeping her in her cage at first and spending a lot of time talking and singing to her. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you and Gloria!
Some great stuff here.
http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/54250-amazon-body-language.html

 

[Allee]

Hello Vicki! Welcome to the forums! Enjoy your new adventure with Gloria.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

 

[Dopey]

Hi - welcome to the forum.
I am not an Amazon person but I am from Maryland.

 

[Hawk]

Welcome to the site.

You'll love your BFA, I have one. 9 yrs old( Young) and quite the talker.

Take it slow and position her where she can see you and activity that goes on in house hold on daily basis. She'll then become accustom to the daily routines around the house and won't become startled when something out of the ordinary occurs.

BFA's can be vocal when something out of the ordinary shows up out of the norm. Mine is never caged, she has total freedom, and goes in her cage when she's ready.
She sleep above her cage at night on her ring or perch, which ever she decides.
Has her secondary cage on all season porch, and perches around the house.

I have 3 dogs which she'll walk over and push them out of her way. She's fearless.
The dogs run, they know a parrot can give a nasty bite....my Grey bit one on the hind end and then bobbed his head laughing about it. LOL.

 

[sonja]

Hi! There are a number of us from MD on the forums.
What shop are you getting Gloria from?

 

[chris-md]

Hello from inside the beltway!

 

[henpecked]

Thanks for giving an older bird a good home, and joining the forum.

 

[kozykitty]

Hi! There are a number of us from MD on the forums.
What shop are you getting Gloria from?

Today's Pet in the Columbia area. They work with Rehome my Pet. They have 3 Amazons to rehome. 2 of them are only a year or two old--one being very sweet. He loves to get head scratches when I visit. There was just something about Gloria that touched me. To lose her human after 30 years must be very traumatic for her. I'm a 40 year veteran vocal music teacher who hopes to retire at the end of this school year and I've toyed with the idea of getting a bird upon retiring. When I met her, I thought that it might be an easier transition for her to go to another older lady.

 

[Peppo]

She will love you if you can sing! Mine DYHA loves my singing and I sing awful! She will be so lucky to have a vocal teacher as they are such talented opera singers. I am lucky my neighbors are not to close...

 

[Ginnybird]

Welcome and congrats on your new friend

I also have a female BFA and 3 cats! (No other pets.) I brought my BFA home in October and the transition has gone pretty well. I kept her completely separate from the cats for her first week, but let them smell a couple of her things to get used to her scent (they showed little interest).

When I first introduced them, and for the first few times they were around each other, I gave them all treats. Looking at each other while they eat treats can help them form good associations with each other. My cats are all young, 2 years old, and were *extremely* curious about the bird and her stuff. They really need to investigate things a bit before they calm down about them. I watched the four closely, kept them a distance from her and kept their first meetings fairly short.

Ginny, my BFA, decided for herself that the cats weren't a serious threat in about 8 seconds, and has mostly ignored them since. The cats have taken more time. They wanted to touch her with their paws and satisfy their curiosity, and luckily it was easy to see their intent and discourage them when they were even thinking about pressing too close (I want them physically apart at all times). Usually they ignore her now, though, or watch her like she's a TV.

Ginny and the cats are only in the same room when supervised. During the day when I'm at work, Ginny is out in my office, in her play area, with the door closed. During the night she sleeps in her cage in the guest room. The cats get the rest of the house. When I'm home, I often bring Ginny downstairs to her playgym and they co-exist peacefully (at different elevations ).

The other key was making sure the cats get the loving they need. Mine are very friendly (2 Maine Coons and a Siberian) and they needed to know that not much will change for them. I made sure to give them regular time after the bird went to bed, and random pettings whenever I could.

Hope that helps!

 

[kozykitty]

Thanks for letting me know about how to introduce them. Gloria will live in our family room which happens to be where the cats hang out much of the time. I'm a teacher and I wonder about leaving them all there while I'm at school since she will be new to the household. I can put another cage in our guest room if I need to. My thinking is that she should be where we spend most of our time to get used to our routine. I'll keep a radio on for her when I'm at work. We used to take care of a yellow headed Amazon who loved the classical station (they had an opera hour in the middle of the day) and that kept him from squawking when he was bored. Fortunately I'll be retiring in June so I'll be home more then. A friend has offered me a floor cage which I figured I'd put in my sewing room when I get it cleaned out. I spend hours in there sometimes and I figured she could hang with me when I'm there for long stretches. My two boy cats are couch potatoes and I don't think they'd be a threat though one of them is a mama's boy. He might be jealous for a while. He is still my lap kitty. My younger female is a hunter. She's the one I'll need to watch. Not sure of the best way to keep Gloria safe while I'm at work. My thinking is that she will have a playground in the family room and since we spend the bulk of our time there, she can be out and supervised with the cats. I figured it will take a little time before she comes out of the cage as this is such a major transition for her after 30 years with one person.

 

[KBEquine]

Hello:

First, older amazons are the best. Last summer I got one off the Baltimore craigslist who, per the former human, bites, swears, screams & flies to attack. [He actually doesn't do most of that].

A few suggestions:
1. As best you can, separate the cats & bird when you are not home. The cat's saliva - even without a bad bite - can harm a parrot.
2. Teflon - and many other things that smell, like aromatherapy, plug-ins, etc. - can kill a parrot. Don't use them.
3. When you ARE home, cats can instinctively attack breathtakingly quickly. Be very alert if all are in the same room at the same time.

The older Blue Front Amazon from craigslist is currently living in the very middle of our house. He is quite the party animal and enjoys the commotion. I am hoping he soon remembers how to 'step to perch' so he can go into the 'bird bedroom' with the rest of the flock. But all things take time.

And if you only remember ONE thing I say, please remember that parrot relationships take time. Enjoy the process.

 

[Doublete]

Hi! There are a number of us from MD on the forums.
What shop are you getting Gloria from?

Today's Pet in the Columbia area. They work with Rehome my Pet. They have 3 Amazons to rehome. 2 of them are only a year or two old--one being very sweet. He loves to get head scratches when I visit. There was just something about Gloria that touched me. To lose her human after 30 years must be very traumatic for her. I'm a 40 year veteran vocal music teacher who hopes to retire at the end of this school year and I've toyed with the idea of getting a bird upon retiring. When I met her, I thought that it might be an easier transition for her to go to another older lady.

I work at a restaurant at the mall.
Do you play piano or instrument and/or sing at home? Amazons LOVE music.

 

[kozykitty]

I sing and play the piano. All my animals have songs and they hear them all day long! We used to care for a relative's BFA when I was growing up and I was required to practice the piano 2 hours a day. Lauro was in ecstasy when I did that however he had a preference for certain types of music--Mozart being his favorite! He used to sing along! My husband plays guitar so Gloria will hear plenty of music!