Meet Willow! We could use some help with behavior

[Tashia]

Hi my name is Tashia, I recently added an amazing little Amazon Parrot named Willow to my family. Willow has had a bit of a rough life. She was raised by a gentleman who was a hoarder, She did not get adequate attention or nutrition, the local humane society stepped in and took her to there shelter. Where again she did not receive much attention. She was caged most of the time for the next eight months. She then was adopted by a lady whom threw all of her good intentions did things that made Willow more fearful than she already was. She would reach into the cage and chase Willow around the cage until the bird either bit her or complied and allowed herself to be removed from the cage. When I took Willow in she had not been handled in 3 weeks b/c of the owners fear of being bitten by her again. When she came to my house we started slow with her. Letting her come out of the cage at her own pace and sit on the door or top of the cage, then when she would venture off the cage i would offer a wooden spoon as a perch and ask her to step up. Now 3 weeks in she will step up on my finger as long as she is not on her cage. She will however step up on the spoon from the cage. We are working on building trust and making sure that her life has a much happier ending than it did a beginning. I am doing everything That I know of to help her overcome her fears and learn to trust but I would love any help or advice that people wiser than myself are willing to give! Thank you for taking time to read this and thank you in advance for all of your help!

 

[wolf0994]

First, Thank you for taking that wonderful bird into your home and giving her a life she was meant for! Second, Welcome to the forums! Third, we like pictures =D Fourth, it already sounds like you are on the right path with your trust building and I have no doubt with your patience and persistence her life will be amazingly more wonderful.... as will yours.

 

[VictoriaVague]

Sounds like you're doing everything the right way and I'm sure you and Willow will have a great time together. It's brilliant to see rescue birds getting the patience and love they need

 

[henpecked]

Hey tashia , welcome to the forum. Thanks for giving unwanted amazon another chance at a happy life.As the others have said, sounds like your doing a fine job. Building trust is the key. That poor bird just wants to find his place in the "Flock" ,It takes time and patience, which you seem to have.If you need support or have special problem we'll be glad to help. Welcome once again and hope to see you around.

 

[paulhanlon]

Welcome to the forum tashia glad you took this bird in but I have never heard of a green cheek amazon as all zons have green on them lol may I ask what other colours your bird has on him/her under the wings on the shoulders of his/hers wings and on the head

 

[Tashia]

I was told she was a Green-Cheek by someone on another thread. Someone else said she was a Mexican redhead. There has been some debate on what she really is. The lady I got her from had no idea. I have tried to post a picture of her several times and i cant seem to make it work but i'll try again. I would love any feed back on what breed she is that you can give me.

 

[paulhanlon]

If you have a photo bucket account upload a picture there and click on img code after uploading a picture it will say copyed then paste it to your post and it will show the picture

 

[Tashia]

 

[paulhanlon]

Your bird looks abit like a black billed amazon but I can't be to sure she's no green cheek amazon as there is no such specie in the amazon family

 

[Tashia]

ok thank you for the help. I am taking her to the vet Wednesday so hopefully they will be able to give me a definitive answer. Until then I guess she is still the unknown Amazon. LOL

 

[MaraWentz]

Reading online (but the internet isn't always right) I have found that the green winged, red crowned and mexican red headed amazon are interchangeable names:

"The Mexican red-headed or green-cheeked Amazon (A. viridigenalis) has been a great favorite for many years. They have a large bright red patch on the top of their head with a bit of lilac-blue behind it. Their horn colored beak and bright green body coloration makes them very eye catching. It not only is usually the most animated of the four, it is also, on the average, the best talker of this group."

Green-cheeked aka Red-crowned Amazon, or Mexican Red Headed Parrot

Red-Crowned Parrot | birdinginformation.com

 

[MaraWentz]

I'd say I'm 99.9% it is a green cheeked/mexican red head/ red crowned amazon

 

[paulhanlon]

http://www.parrotforums.com/members/henpecked.html he will be able to tell you what species she is don't hold back he is a nice guy and is always willing to help people I hope you get the awnser you need

 

[MaraWentz]

Your bird looks abit like a black billed amazon but I can't be to sure she's no green cheek amazon as there is no such specie in the amazon family

There is It just has many other names for it . I assumed at first she meant to say conure lol

 

[paulhanlon]

Your bird looks abit like a black billed amazon but I can't be to sure she's no green cheek amazon as there is no such specie in the amazon family

There is It just has many other names for it . I assumed at first she meant to say conure lol

Well you know me I'm unsure when I hear green cheek I think of a conure not an amazon as most of there body is green lol

 

[MaraWentz]

That's what I thought too lol. There's a big difference between a Conure and Amazon. I once had a new owner with a "hand me down" parrot from a neighbor who moved tell me she needed a nail trim for her budgie she got from a friend. Long story short I ended up grooming the nails of a very lovely male Electus

 

[MaraWentz]

Oh and I cant figure why some one would call it a green cheeked amazon- that's quite obvious that all but one or two amazons have green cheeks

 

[paulhanlon]

Colours can always cause mistakes hell there's a pet shop in town not the one who has the cockatoo and the grey another one that has a green cheek I thought he was a green wing turns out he's a conure green cheek and he's over weight his food is just chucked in the cage not placed and the owner changes his water every 2 weeks I offered this guy 200 pound in hand to take him and he said no poor little guy

 

[MaraWentz]

That's a shame I hate when people do that. We have a pet shop with the owner's amazon in there and his cage is open all day so he can play on his cage, so he isn't locked away, he is fed well and everything, but they just leave him there over night. I couldn't do that. I understand pet stores selling birds doing that because they cant bring hundred of birds home with them and eventually they'll be put into a home and not have to worry about being locked in store over night, but this poor Amazon is stuck in the store forever, never leaves, and never will.

 

[paulhanlon]

The store I normally go in which has the 6 month old grey for sale and the umbrella too which belongs to the owners are well cared for the too is not for sale but the grey is blue the too likes staying in the shop over night as she likes to look after billy the grey she's like his mammy which is so cute but Charlie the over weight green cheek conure has no one they don't care for him in the right manner and it breaks my heart