New Orange-Winged Amazon Parront

[JosephN79]

My wife and I just got an Amazon from someone who was selling it on craigslist ($275). They said they were pretty sure it was a SHE. She is 14 years old, they say...

When we bought her, she was in a room by herself in a cage that didnt look like it was cleaned for a while, not disgusting, but it needed cleaned.

Her claws were VERY long. They were curled under so much that she would get stuck on the bars while on top of the cage. One of her claws is missing, we're thinking she fell or something while it was caught up and it was torn off.

She was really dusty, since Monday, when we got her, we've had her in the shower a few times. I hold her under the shower for a second (not her head) and its made a world of difference in her appearance. She still has a *musty* smell, but not nearly how it was.

She's very sweet. She mostly likes the kids. Shes especially comfortable with one of them. She bites, but not very hard at all. We have 5 other birds, so i feel shes just letting me know but doesnt want to hurt me, so i back off. I mean, shes only been here for a few days so i don't expect her to be totally comfortable with everyone. She will step up on my hand, she just let me pet her on the head yesterday, and today she sat between my wife and I on the couch and was on my knee and let me pet her comfortably. She shook her head while my wife was petting her, which scared my wife, and then made the bird nervous lol.

My concern is, she doesnt feel very strong with her grip when shes on my hand. She seems shaky also. WHen her nails were curled under it was almost like she was "knuckling" to stay on a perch, like if you curled your fingers in and tried to grab something... she also seems to favor one leg when on my hand/arm. However, she DOES grab food and eat with the leg she doesnt seem to favor. Of course, putting all her weight on her "dominant" leg. Im not sure if this is something i should be concerned about, or if this is making her unsteady. We're beginning to wonder how neglected she was, if it was more than we thought.

We also were wondering what diameters her perches need to be? Hers are about 1.5" and emory-like(?). Which is stupid to me that theyre rough perches since they never really bothered to even trim her nails.

Im just wondering if maybe the perches are too big for her.

The owner said she just fed her the Zupreen fruit bites (like pellets, only shaped like fruit), and mentioned nothing else as far as food goes. Since here, we've fed her apple, orange, different varieties of nuts and other foods. I'm sure this makes a difference too, we can already tell shes perked up in the few days shes been here.

I was mostly concerned with the leaning on one foot and her seeming weak overall, but any other suggestions is greatly welcomed and appreciated. We're very happy with her though, shes a very sweet bird, we plan on keeping her around and giving her a happy home

thanks
Joe

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking this sweet bird in!

Sounds like her feet may be a bit weak from working around the curled nails and possibly not getting much exercise the past few years. You have had the nails trimmed now right? Give her some time to adjust to the new length Otherwise, sounds like you have things under control. She's still new, so be sure you're extra cautious while building trust and go with her at her own pace. Also, have you booked her an appointment with the avian vet just to make sure she is in good health and nothing more serious needs to be addressed? You never know with older birds. Ours came home with a respiratory infection, which we were able to start treating immediately.

One more note- that "musty" smell is actually an inherent thing to amazons. Many owners love the scent (including myself). You will find that she will seemingly be able to "produce" the scent when she is happy!

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. were you able to get the nails trimmed yet? I 'd do a little at the time and try to give her a point on the end to help grip. 11/2" diameter perch is about right for OWA. She does need some natural perches that vary in dia/shape. Does she have red spots/sores on her pads(bottom of the feet)? Another thing i've noticed is VitA issues and liver issues go hand in hand and the symptoms often include leg /balance issues. Seed diets are often to blame. maybe have blood work done to determine if liver values are good. loads of good info in the forum, hope to see you around.

 

[JosephN79]

Thank you for the responses!

We had her claws trimmed the next day after we got her. They're still kind of long, but they said they cant go too far back because the vein needs to recede some before they cut any more.

If it helps/matters, she does walk pretty well on the floor, she just seems unsteady when perching. SHes usually on top of the cage, where we put a towel to help her feet, she puts herself to bed at night, so not sure how she is perching in her cage when shes sleeping...

Her feet look ok, theyre light gray with no visible blotches.

The vet we took her to was able to trim nails and wings, etc., but they said there is an avian specialist at another branch of theirs not too far away, so sometime within the next couple weeks we'll take her and get her examined.

We have 2 conures, one ringneck and 2 parakeets. I love all my birds, my conures are siblings and theyre my first that I got. So, Im super attached and protective of them. But, we love them all equally, theyre basically like having children and should be treated like family, not just a pet. Thats my opinion anyway

Ive posted about my other birds on this forum as well, theyre all less than 2 years old though, im still learning the body language of "Girlie." Shes 14 years old so im sure she knows how to let you know what she wants lol Ive hears amazons are the most forward as far as letting you know what theyre thinking. Ive already picked up on the pinning eyes and flaring of the tail sign I put her down and give her space after that happens.

Thanks again

 

[ShaunaR]

Hi Joseph and welcome! Your post caught my attention because our Caique has one nail and first knuckle missing as well. She had some sort of disease as a hatchling (more experienced people will know the name of it) and the nail and toe actually rots and either has to be surgically removed or falls off. As I understand it, if not caught right away it can spread. By the sounds of it your new bird wasn't cared for as you will care for her and I am so glad she is now with you. If they neglected trimming nails as they obviously have maybe she became hung up on something and tore the nail out...painful! She may have permanently injured that foot in the process so that may explain the weak grip. Our bird has a weak grip and often favors the foot she has full toes on. I plan on asking our Vet about that on Saturday as well. I suspect it's a combination of factors. She trusts us and when perched on our hands or fingers, chooses a light grip. Often when walking or otherwise moving I lightly place my thumb over one foot so she feels more stable, otherwise she flutters and flaps to maintain her balance instead of gripping tighter so that concerns me. We have outfitted her cage with some platform perches and she loves to hang onto anything made out of soft fleece. I made her a bed myself out of fleece so she doesn't have to perch to sleep and she actually prefers to lay on her side in there like a human with a tiny scrap of fleece as a blanket...spoiled you ask? YES! I am sure you will find the forum very informative on just about every topic one can think of regarding birds and more. I have often used the search function on the home page to look for past posts about any topic I am wondering about and admittedly have read for hours that way! Please keep us posted!
Shauna/Rick

 

[JosephN79]

Thank you for responding

Shell definitely be better off with is . I figure her foot is either damaged by having the nail ripped out, or it was in pain and she habitually nurses it even after its healed.

We will have blood work done when we get to the vet, as well as just a general check up.

She's very sweet, she looks for the kids when she's walking on the floor. She also puts herself to bed about 830 every night. Lol.

We plan on getting her a larger cage soon also. Its an 18" x18" x30"... I'm estimating. Not enough for to do much but sleep in. My conures and ringneck have a cage 4' tall. So we figure this bird needs a larger one.

Thanks again

 

[JosephN79]

Our amazon is doing better and warming up more every day

She takes showers with me, and usually doesn't want to leave the bathroom and sits on the shower rod for a few min after Im done. Either she likes the humidity or is traumatized by seeing me change clothes

She still favors the kids, but is good with us as well now, she lets me pet her usually.. sometimes shes not cool with it and fans her feathers. BUt shes doing very well... Im assuming shes getting comfortable because she gets really loud sometimes the past day or so (which is ok by us).

Still gotta get a vet appointment lined up, but she is looking much better and seems to be in a more "perky" mood

Just updating

Thanks again

 

[Kiwibird]

Our amazon is doing better and warming up more every day

She takes showers with me, and usually doesn't want to leave the bathroom and sits on the shower rod for a few min after Im done. Either she likes the humidity or is traumatized by seeing me change clothes

She still favors the kids, but is good with us as well now, she lets me pet her usually.. sometimes shes not cool with it and fans her feathers. BUt shes doing very well... Im assuming shes getting comfortable because she gets really loud sometimes the past day or so (which is ok by us).

Still gotta get a vet appointment lined up, but she is looking much better and seems to be in a more "perky" mood

Just updating

Thanks again

LOL! She's probably just enjoying the warmth and humidity. They don't care much about human nudity:54: (though they do occasionally take great offense to certain articles of clothing they find frightening). Actually, showering with her is a great way to build trust and bond. Amazons in particular have a love for water. I haven't took a shower "alone" in years Nor has my husband. Kiwi LOVES showers and will not permit a human to take one without him:09: He will actually go under the water with my hubby, he prefers just hanging out on the shower door or his perch in the bathroom with me.

I'm glad she seems to be feeling better and will be seen by a vet soon. Parrots bounce back pretty quickly once in a loving, healthy environment. Keep keeping us posted on her progress (and pics of the pretty girl!).

 

[JosephN79]

I'll take some pics tomorrow and post. . My conures lime showers too...they're due for the next time. Lol.

I put the amazon under the shower at first when the water is Luke warm...then I place her on the curtain rod and turn the heat up so she gets some of the steam... She seems to like it.

 

[JosephN79]

These are 2 pictures of her on the 2nd day we had her and took her to the vet . . .

 

[JosephN79]

These are from today, one week later...

 

[Kiwibird]

She looks rather healthy and pretty friendly! What a pretty OWA

 

[JosephN79]

Yeah..she looks so much better and seems settled in and very comfortable and happy after a week.

She gets to eat a variety of food now, gets a lot of head scratches and got to have all the pin feathers from the top of her head last night. Lol

She poses for pics now I think.

 

[akrrm]

Wow! You can see a big difference in the way she looks after only a week! She is very pretty, congrats on your new family member.