Just Adopted an OW!- Help with biting/taming?

[natsunny]

I recently adopted a rescue orange wing. He is male and his name is Roscoe! He is 27 years old; his past includes 20 year of being in circus(I was told) and 7 years in a rescue. The rescue recently closed down and thats where Roscoe comes in! He came with his cage and stand. One toy we call "Binky" because its his baby and follow you if youre holding it or wherever it is. He has a biting problem and not very tame. He speaks a little; Roscoe, I love you, Yup, Youre welcome and some other noises. You can only scratch his head if he is holding "binky" sometimes, very little, he'll let you without it. His favorite treat is almonds and goldfish! I really want to work with him and hold him. I want to bond with him because I dont know his past. He will climb on your if youre sitting and holding his binky. He will bite if you try step up and boy do they hurt! If you have any advice please tell me!

ps he is molting
Im bad with uploading photos! I dont know if they went up

 

[natsunny]

Here is my sweet baby.

 

[Dopey]

Welcome - he is a cute guy.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

He sure is cute, but I might be a bit biased since I have a 28 year old female OWA!

Unfortunately I can't help with the biting issue since Zilla came to me bite pressure trained.

There are some good links if you use the search feature.

Also some more experienced people on here will chime in when they have time.

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to the forum. Rosco is a cutie and I would bet my bottom dollar he is well trained if he was in a circus, he's just not letting you in on that fact:54: Typical zon though, withholding information while they check you out and deem your worthiness (they're smart, albeit a tad snobby birds!).

Obviously, he is very new and doesn't totally trust you yet. Given he is already letting you pet him (indicating he obviously realizes you aren't going to hurt him), I would suggest jumping right in with target training. Get a chopstick, a clicker and watch some videos on youtube on how to do it. That's the method most professionals train birds (and likely how he would have been if he was a show bird). He will also likely remember quickly how to step up without biting:20: and maybe even show off some tricks once he's more settled in. Best of luck with him. Zons are GREAT birds, and you're going to have a lot of fun with this guy!

 

[Flboy]

Here is everything.
http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/52238-faq-hot-topics.html

 

[gracebowen]

Haha I read you're title and wondered what you adopted. I thought the OW was because the biting hurt.

 

[Taw5106]

Welcome! Last year Buddy, my 25 yo Green Cheek Amazon came to live with us. Head scratches is how it started and being patient I let Buddy tell me when he was ready. Definitely stick train and be patient. It took me four months to get Buddy to take a shower. Recently he has started flying to me so I'll leave his cage open and go across the livingroom. I'll say come on and he'll come to me and land on my arm if offered, shoulder if no arm offered. Patience is important, give him time to build his trust with you. And I love the binkie. He's a beautiful bird and since he's molting those head scratched will be demanded.

 

[4dugnlee]

Aww...he's beautiful! Give him time. He'll come around. It took Sassy 2 months before she would come to me. He's probably just holding out, like Kiwibird said, to deem your worthiness.