My Double Yellow Head hates me... sometimes?

[hartster]

Hi forum, sorta new but I have a DYH pair that I rescued that won't settle in. I was told they are 7 and 8 yrs old and they look to be younger birds. They have been vet checked bloodwork and are perfect birds.

My question is, should I clip their wings? Just his wings?

The male Pedro is missing a foot but he's otherwise healthy and fully flighted. He is very aggressive toward me, sporadically. He flogs me, has grabbed me by the wrist and would not let go. Still I want to help him. I understand cage aggression and that he is on guard always and its natural behavior for him to protect his mate.

His mate Lolita is fully flighted, she steps right up, talks sings dances and mimics me like crazy. She has a belly laugh, she laughs then I start to laugh and its really hysterical. But Pedro is usually screaming. She thumps on him real good and I don't get that either but...

Lolita wants to be closer to me and to Pedro. I see Pedro reject Lolita when they groom and when she wants him to mount her. I have an older pair of amazons and they do not behave this way. I do not want babies/no nest of any kind.

How do I get Pedro to accept me, at LEAST to tolerate me? Will clipping make it easier for me to train him to step up and not try to eat me every time I present?

 

[SailBoat]

You have a female and a male DYH Amazon and you are surprised that the male does not like you? And that when she places attention toward you, he gets even more upset? This should be of no surprise.

IF, these two are in fact mated and proven you're lucking you have fingers and eyes as he is doing little more than protecting his sweetheart from you.
It is my great hope that you received detailed documentation /paperwork from the prior owner of this set of DYH Amazons.
In reality, it sounds like someone stuck a male and female together and when they didn't clutch the last couple of years or so, they dumped them. Yup, likely too young to clutch anyway.
By the way, are these two Amazons in the same cage?

Is there a chance that the male may warm-up to you. YES, but you need to be reading his Body Language much better and you need to find something that he really likes in which you become its only source.

Handicapped Parrots:
IMHO, a Handicapped Parrot should never be clipped, especially one that only has a single foot! This Parrot needs its Wings to maintain balance and a method of getting around because he sure isn't going "Walk-About" anytime soon.

 

[hartster]

Thanks He's not that handicapped, trust me.

Like I said, "I understand cage aggression and that he is on guard always and its natural behavior for him to protect his mate."

I'm thinking I should not clip them as well, but this keeps them from other experiences like going outside. Many people clip their wings so they don't fly away, so they can move them around, outside on stands, etc. especially here in So Cal.

As long as he is flighted I can't touch him. Since I can't touch him, how do I create the best environment so they both thrive?

 

[SailBoat]

Our male DYH Amazon is fully flighted and is also free roaming within our home. We live in an area that is heavily populated with Red Tail Hawks and a few Eagles. Free flighting outside is certain death from above.
Free flight inside is a long road of training and can take years to develop, after one has a strong trust bond in place. Lots of ground work prior to being outside.
If he has only one foot, he is Handicapped. His ability to get around is not the foundation for the classification. It is the foundation of understanding what is available in provided support. There is a very wide World of support out there. Web Search: Handicap Bird(s) and/or Handicap Parrots for a few thousand examples.
Relationship starts with developing a trust in you. Starting a relationship is found in providing on-going reasons for the Amazons to trust you.

 

[PickleMeDickles]

Nice to meet you Harster and a big welcome! You have definitely come to the right place for top notch advice. Ditto EVERYTHING SailBoat pointed out! I think the fact that you have all your body parts is amazing given that you are dealing with a pair. But progress can always be made, so keep asking and reading and searching and study body language. I know that "body language" seems like an overused catch phrase when it comes to most animals, but with our Green Dinos there is just no way to overstate the importance of this. Probably 99% of valuable communication with our Amazon's is through body language. With practice you can have entire conversations without uttering a sound, and "body language" is by far the most accurate form of communication AND knowing with a glance your Amazon's mental state.

And please please please don't clip! Your Amazon is most definitely handicapped. My husband has 1 leg and he still "runs" circles around me, but make no mistake, his circles use up at lease 10x energy you and I would. This leaves him exhausted and sometimes grumpy. If I somehow "took away" the things he uses to compensate (I'm comparing arms to wings here) he would be falling constantly and no doubt become fearful of trying out his "advanced moves". Just think how much of a change in personality this could result in. Feeling safe and secure (having trust) is the most valuable gift you can give your birds and wing clipping a one footed bird in no way contributes to safety or security. That bird makes constant micro movements to compensate for his missing leg by keeping his mass (center of gravity) over the intact leg. And when he gets wild and rambunctious (he is an Amazon after all, lol), or startled, he "KNOWS" instinctively that he has backup (his wings). Take away his backup and at best you are going to have a fearful bird who isn't comfortable in his own body. And a bird like that isn't going to have the focus or confidence to establish new relationships. Or worse, your bird startles, loses balance, drops like a bowling ball and busts his other leg. Basically a death sentence. I also live in So Cal and last week I had the Sass in the bedroom with me up on a swing and we had a little earthquake. Totally unexpected and scared the hell out of her. Her fight/flight kicked in and she did a remarkably well controlled couple of rounds around the room until she calmed down enough to focus, but at least she feels independent enough to safely flee if need be.

I hope to see more of you and I do hope that you and Pedro can work things out and become friends!