New Amazon Owner ☺️

[anetka901]

Hello Everyone!

I got my Amazon parrot a month ago - everything seems going well so far but we have a huge attachment issues.

He was kind of a rescue - his owner died and his partner hated birds so he was kept in the outdoor aviary in Ireland (which is pretty cold in winter) I encountered him while hiking and felt so sorry for the green ball of feathers shivering in the rain. I ended up buying him off her with no preparation.

We are managing pretty well but I am concerned about the attachment issues… he refuses to sit in the cage or on the perch and wants to be on my shoulder all the time: it is not a big deal as I work from home so I’m home a lot.

I’m just concerned whether too much attention can have negative impact on him - he is clipped so if I leave him somewhere he follows me on foot like an awkward duck and he climbs back on my shoulder the second he catches up with me.

He also insist on beak scratches (his beak and currently peeling) and neck/belly scratches all the time and keeps doing the thing he does on the photo below.

Can someone with more experience let me know if excessive clinginess it OK? I’m just not sure how they should behave!

 

[texsize]

Thank you for rescuing this beautiful amazon.

As far the clingy ness.
Perhaps when he grows in flight feathers and is able to get around by himself he will grow more independent.

Take things slowly, it sounds like you are off to a good start.

 

[Thechoplady]

He is a real beauty!! You guys are off to a great start. Maybe try offering him some new and interesting foraging toys to encourage some independent play. Hes lucky to have you!

 

[wrench13]

Aww! In the second pic, he is asking for a scratchie! ONLY scratch on head and neck - other areas are hormonal trigger spots and you do NOT want a hormonal Amazon.

Please go to our Amazon sub-forum and read the stickies at the top of the page "Amazon Body Language" and the "I Love AMazons" ones - priceless info is contained therein. Read them several times, out loud to your 'zon, they love being read to.

 

[anetka901]

Aww! In the second pic, he is asking for a scratchie! ONLY scratch on head and neck - other areas are hormonal trigger spots and you do NOT want a hormonal Amazon.

Please go to our Amazon sub-forum and read the stickies at the top of the page "Amazon Body Language" and the "I Love AMazons" ones - priceless info is contained therein. Read them several times, out loud to your 'zon, they love being read to.

That would explain a lot…. He loves between the wings scratches… and gets a bit bold afterwards…

I already went through these posts so helpful… this forum helped me answer a lot of questions!

 

[wrench13]

You are about to go into Amazon mating season, so here are some tips on reducing the effects (one can never eliminate them totally)

On Hormones (or Horror-mones)

Parrots go thru puberty, just like humans do, because their internal metabolism tells the body –“Hey time to start thinking of babies”. When that happens, their little bodies get flooded for the first time with hormones. The when is only estimated, puberty can occur from 6 months or so for small parrots like budgies, cockatiels and parrotlets, with the larger parrots taking longer, progressively. Macaws and cockatoos, it could be a year or more before it starts. Puberty (and successive mating seasons) is not a precisely timed event. Depending on the individual parrot, it might occur earlier or later then the norm for that species, and other factors come into play on when it starts.

Like human children (and our parrots are so close in temperament to children), puberty can bring on all sorts of behavioral changes, which the parrot has absolutely no control over. One minute they are their normal selves and all of a sudden, BAM, they bite you, and the next second they are back to their normal selves. Mood swings like this are so common that for inexperienced parrot owners, this is the time when parrots are most often given up or surrendered. They can do a 180 degree turn and formerly the person who was THE person is now like yesterday’s news and the parrot might fixate on another member of the family (and it might not be one who actually likes parrots!). This does not happen every time, but it does happen, and the former favorite person needs to wheedle and scheme to get back into the parrots inner circle.

Some other behavior you might encounter:

• Trying to mate with objects like toys or food bowls, even your hand. Butt rubbing is what this looks like.
• Regurgitation and trying to feed inanimate objects (or you ! )
• Shredding paper, bedding, or any material that can be made into nest like stuff
• Seeking dark hidey places
• Being abnormally loud and making new clucking noises or others

Puberty can last anywhere from a few months to a year or so in larger parrots, again depending on species and the individual parrot. The 2 things to take away on this is that it will come to an end eventually and the other is to try and not let unwanted behavior become normal or habitual.

And now we come to mating season. Most parrots go through an annual mating season. Species like Eclectus parrots and a few other rare ones can have mating season at any time the environment produces mating triggers. For the rest, its once a year. Mating season is triggered by some things we can control and others that we cannot. The behavioral result of mating season is very similar to the ones displayed in puberty, with the exception of switching allegiances to a new person, which is rare. Uncontrollable rapid mood swings are pretty common and can vary with the intensity of the hormone release. Some years mating season can be pretty mild, and some are just killer for the poor parrot, as the drive to mate is frustrated (unless you are a breeder). The diurnal cycle of daylight to night time is one of the stronger triggers. Some folks keep their parrots on a day/night cycle that mirrors this, while others keep a 12hr day/night cycle. Either one has its pros and cons and we won’t get into that here.

Some things you can do to reduce (but never 100% eliminate) the effects of mating season are:

• Remove any shreddy type materials and limit access to them when the parrot is out of the cage
• Prevent access to dark hidey holes
• No touching the parrot anywhere except for the head and neck. This is a biggie as this can be interpreted as mating behavior by the parrot.
• Limit or remove sugar bearing foods, like fruits and high fructose foods like corn, any pasta, etc
• Lots of exercise – a tired parrot is less likely to indulge in mating behavior

Always keep in mind that the parrot has no control of itself during these periods! A bite received during them is 100% different than a bite you might get because the bird is angry with you. You should not use “shunning” or other methods to modify the behavior, because they have no more idea of why they bit you then you do. But, same as a normal bite, you should try to avoid being in a situation where the bite COULD occur. Cuddling with your parrot, giving/getting kisses or letting them near the face during mating season is likely not a good idea! Along these lines, during mating season, try to not let behavior like biting, humping or other outward signs become habitual.

Finally – always, always remember – “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”. Your loving friend is still in there and will be back!

 

[anetka901]

You are about to go into Amazon mating season, so here are some tips on reducing the effects (one can never eliminate them totally)

On Hormones (or Horror-mones)

Parrots go thru puberty, just like humans do, because their internal metabolism tells the body –“Hey time to start thinking of babies”. When that happens, their little bodies get flooded for the first time with hormones. The when is only estimated, puberty can occur from 6 months or so for small parrots like budgies, cockatiels and parrotlets, with the larger parrots taking longer, progressively. Macaws and cockatoos, it could be a year or more before it starts. Puberty (and successive mating seasons) is not a precisely timed event. Depending on the individual parrot, it might occur earlier or later then the norm for that species, and other factors come into play on when it starts.

Like human children (and our parrots are so close in temperament to children), puberty can bring on all sorts of behavioral changes, which the parrot has absolutely no control over. One minute they are their normal selves and all of a sudden, BAM, they bite you, and the next second they are back to their normal selves. Mood swings like this are so common that for inexperienced parrot owners, this is the time when parrots are most often given up or surrendered. They can do a 180 degree turn and formerly the person who was THE person is now like yesterday’s news and the parrot might fixate on another member of the family (and it might not be one who actually likes parrots!). This does not happen every time, but it does happen, and the former favorite person needs to wheedle and scheme to get back into the parrots inner circle.

Some other behavior you might encounter:

• Trying to mate with objects like toys or food bowls, even your hand. Butt rubbing is what this looks like.
• Regurgitation and trying to feed inanimate objects (or you ! )
• Shredding paper, bedding, or any material that can be made into nest like stuff
• Seeking dark hidey places
• Being abnormally loud and making new clucking noises or others

Puberty can last anywhere from a few months to a year or so in larger parrots, again depending on species and the individual parrot. The 2 things to take away on this is that it will come to an end eventually and the other is to try and not let unwanted behavior become normal or habitual.

And now we come to mating season. Most parrots go through an annual mating season. Species like Eclectus parrots and a few other rare ones can have mating season at any time the environment produces mating triggers. For the rest, its once a year. Mating season is triggered by some things we can control and others that we cannot. The behavioral result of mating season is very similar to the ones displayed in puberty, with the exception of switching allegiances to a new person, which is rare. Uncontrollable rapid mood swings are pretty common and can vary with the intensity of the hormone release. Some years mating season can be pretty mild, and some are just killer for the poor parrot, as the drive to mate is frustrated (unless you are a breeder). The diurnal cycle of daylight to night time is one of the stronger triggers. Some folks keep their parrots on a day/night cycle that mirrors this, while others keep a 12hr day/night cycle. Either one has its pros and cons and we won’t get into that here.

Some things you can do to reduce (but never 100% eliminate) the effects of mating season are:

• Remove any shreddy type materials and limit access to them when the parrot is out of the cage
• Prevent access to dark hidey holes
• No touching the parrot anywhere except for the head and neck. This is a biggie as this can be interpreted as mating behavior by the parrot.
• Limit or remove sugar bearing foods, like fruits and high fructose foods like corn, any pasta, etc
• Lots of exercise – a tired parrot is less likely to indulge in mating behavior

Always keep in mind that the parrot has no control of itself during these periods! A bite received during them is 100% different than a bite you might get because the bird is angry with you. You should not use “shunning” or other methods to modify the behavior, because they have no more idea of why they bit you then you do. But, same as a normal bite, you should try to avoid being in a situation where the bite COULD occur. Cuddling with your parrot, giving/getting kisses or letting them near the face during mating season is likely not a good idea! Along these lines, during mating season, try to not let behavior like biting, humping or other outward signs become habitual.

Finally – always, always remember – “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”. Your loving friend is still in there and will be back!

Thank you so much!

I have to say you got me scared… he started shredding toilet paper and I think this explains why he got interested in it!

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

oh you got lucky with an immediate bond.
That birdy knows a good thing when he sees it.

Good luck and blessing to you for rescuing.

 

[Cbwils24]

Thank you for rescuing that sweet baby! I, too found myself a new Amazon owner with very little preparation after my Grandparents passed away in April. He’s 36 years old!! I’ve never had a bird. He wasn’t given much attention and was never handled at all, so our adjustment period was the complete opposite! He wouldn’t come near anyone and any type of hand movements were a huge trigger. I’d grown up knowing him and it was always drilled into our heads that he was “mean”. His whole life was a small cage, a single bell hanging from the roof as a toy. We’ve only now been able to get rid of the gross perch he’s had for who knows how long because he would not even go near or acknowledge any other perch for at least a week or 2 after I’d put it in there.
I’ll never forget the first time he asked for scritches: leaned his head towards me and fluffed up his feathers
We went through a little period after that where he would just scream if I walked out of the room and obsessively followed my every movement. I didn’t know about the hormonal things and thought he was sick when he was trying to regurgitate food on me. Then, once he got comfortable he would just slowly go and play with one of his toys (he loves cardboard ones and toilet paper roll tubes and I noticed he would have “soft eyes” and just relax. I learned that this species in particular are less likely to be affectionate or handle-able if not taught it from an early age. So, there is a big plus you have there! Soon he’ll realize you’re not going anywhere
I’m still blown away by the complexity of these guys’ emotions and their intelligence. Please keep us updated I’d love to keep following your journey!
Photos of “Baby”: 1- first day picking him up for our 400 mile road trip to his new life! 2-first time not biting my offered finger 3-doing his own thing!