Progress?

[IamJolyn]

So progress has been slow with Davy. Today I though I had a break through, when he came down from his cage, to his cage door toward me, without a treat even, and leaned into my chest, touching my shirt with his beak. He is making little noises and fluffed up, eyes dilated (not pinpoints). He did it a few times and I was very happy thinking he was getting used to me and the hard work is paying off.

However when i brought him a zucchini piece he reached for it as normal and moved along until he reached my finger and bit. Not hard, and he let go as soon as he realized it wasn't food, but now he seems agitated and is making a lot of noise (for him). I walked away after he bit, and came back when he seemed calm, and he came back down to the cage door when i called him, but ran away quickly.

thoughts?

 

[henpecked]

need a little more history.

 

[IamJolyn]

What do you need to know? I had him about a month or so, he was locked in a small cage in a dark room for most of his life. He is 5, afraid of hands . . .

 

[henpecked]

IMO he wasn't biting you, just saying "NO". After only one month i think you're making good progress. He's showing some interest in interacting with you. have you tried using a handheld perch and getting him to step up,step quickly down again? maybe with out taking him away from the cage. Have you found his favorite treat yet? that he only gets from your hand? He needs some time to learn to trust you. The reason i ask for more history is too give better advice. There's so many birds on the forum that it's hard for an old fella like me to keep track. That and so many folks ask questions and don't look for answers in the older threads before they ask. loads of good info in the older threads, of course ask questions if you have them, that's why we're here.

 

[654timtams]

Well just keep doing what youre doing and give him time.
I was teaching my bird to turn when i tell him to. He did it once so i thought i had taught him but i hadnt because he didnt do it again that day. But the next day i tried again and after a few tries he did it properly and and started turning. The next day he turned after a few tries. Now he does it everytime. If he wants to hah.


what im saying is that you have made progress it is not a step back. Its just a process.

Try putting food in the palm of your hand (something like seeds so he cant grab and run) when he you see him eating and no other food option in the cage so remove what he was eating and lutit i your hands). Keep your hand there. Eventually he will have to go to your hands and might put a foot on your hands to eat easier.

Hope i helped

 

[Flboy]

From that history, you are making great progress!

 

[Notdumasilook]

Not sure if this would be of help but its an idea. My bluefront took a bit of taming. He was wild caught when I got him and it took more than a lil effort to bring him around. Keep in mind this was 30 years ago and I had very little knowledge of how to get it in to his lil amazon brain that I was not going to hurt him. Since your bird was preowned and seemingly handled very little it might be an option.
I emptied as small store room and put one chair in it for me to sit in. Took Cookie in there (with gloves on). Being I was the hightest point in the room I coaxed him on to my shoulder and he stayed. Then I turned off the lights. Then the fun began. I took the gloves off and gently talking to him I started touching and petting him. First his feet, then his wings and back. I did this for about 30- 45 minuts a day for about 3 days....and with patience and a quart of my blood he settled down nicely. A few years later I ended up with a pre-owned cockatoo that had been caged and ignored similar to your bird. I did my same "taming" procedure and it worked...I got bloodier that time because the cockatoos bite much harder than amazons but on the bright side..getting bit does not hurt forever. As for your amazon fluffing his feathers and eyes dialating..(and i bet he spread his tail feathers too) he was in attack/territorial mode. Cookie will still do that at times when Im cleaning his cage or something else that he might not approve of at the moment... simply recognizing this behavior is hard wired in to him I do not take it personal. 99.9 % of the time he is a gentle playful..and even affectionate bird. He will even tell you what a good bird he is )~ He has been my buddy now for 30 years. Another lil note on amazons. They seem to "pick" their people as well as try to establish a pecking order in a home with several occupants. I have known people that had a pet amazon that just all of the sudden one day..decided they didnt like a particular person in the house or could only be handled by one person. I am the only person that can handle Cookie now..and my guess its because I am the one that tamed him. He will take treats from my wife but she cant pet him out of his cage. Best of luck to you working with your bird. Pre-owned birds can be tuff to tame but if you manage it you can have a life long "buddy".

 

[IamJolyn]

@ henpecked - I understand, I just didn't know what you are asking for (sorry if I seemed abrupt, I was typing on my cell phone). And you know, that may be right, he is kinda stubborn as far as his veggies! haha. His favorite is peanut butter and nutiberries. As for a perch, yes we have one that we try for him to step up, but he freaks him out, and he usually flies around the room rather than try to step up, or if he does step up he will get off quickly. I have taken him away from his cage, but he will not act calm in another room. He will sit on my shoulder when away from his cage, but I don't trust him quite yet, even though he seems to be a very sweet guy. in view of his cage he flies toward it every time. I have looked through the forums, and that is helped a lot also.
@654timtams - he loves eating peanut butter from my finger, and will take just about any food from me, but if I move a hand that doesn't have food he runs (or flies) away. He comes to the cage door (from the top of his cage) and comes close to me when I call, and I think that is good progress. I just have to get it in his head that he doesn't have to fear my hands.
@Flboy - thanks! I sure hope so
@Notdumasilook - yes I have tried taking him into another room, he just seems like it makes him fearful, so I have stopped that for now. His cage is the only place he is calm so I am working around his calm space. No, his eyes are normal, not pinpointed and his tail feathers are normal. I know the behavior you are talking about, and when he does that I leave him alone. This is more like he wants to play or cuddle (and after he will cuddle up to his cage cover or rope perch, and preen his head with his foot). He makes a noise when he does this,( I tell him he sounds like a softly clucking chicken) and I believe it is a happy content noise, so making it when he is close to me I think is a good thing. I know full well how cockatoos bite! I still have scars from Popcorn, a umbrella I loved for about 5 years while his family adjusted to a new baby and the wife passing.
Davy seems to respond to me very well, my voice will calm him if he is agitated and the fact that he willing comes near me with or without a treat I hope is a good sign. I also hope that he and I will bond and he will be my bird.
A little more history about me, I have loved cockatiels, Indian ring neck, umbrella, blue and gold and a Muluccan. All my birds where hand raised and *mostly* tame, and I have helped hand feed babies. Davy is my first 'Zon and my first not so tame bird. My blue and gold and first umbrella was killed by my condo HOA sprayed for termites without telling me or getting my permission. My Muluccan I adopted when she was young, and when she hit about a year and a half suddenly couldn't stand me (as in knocking her head on the cage when I even came close). It seemed to happen overnight. I thought it might have been my pregnancy? I spent 9 months trying to re-tame her to me, but she never would willingly come to me and I ended up having to find her another home. To this day she hates women and will only let men hold her. So I am trying not to push Davy to hard, but I so want to have that human birdy connection again.

 

[Bandespresso]

Ahhh does he do the Amazon purr?? My favorite 'zon does that as well it is my favorite sound! It sounds like you are doing great and making some solid, steady progress. Try working on stick training as much as you can for sure. IMO, stick training is a super important thing to teach an Amazon and it will save you lots of battle scars. Try taking it nice and slow with the stick, talk a lot, and feed him treats whenever he is acting calm around it. Eventually have him step up on it and reward, reward, reward but don't do that unless you can have it near him without him panicking.