"Rain" the Socal Red Crown Amazon Parrot

[EvilsParrots]

Hey Everyone

My names Jonathan Im 28 years old entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA Own a Siberian Husky and Now my newest Addition to my family a 3.5 Month Red Crown Amazon Parrot that I just purchased 5 days ago at a swap meet I had never been to before. I had an ad up on craigslist that I was looking for a Baby Amazon Parrot and I was contacted by the owner of a shop at a swap meet that carried them . We have owned 4 in my family History. 3 Belonged to my Grandma and now live with my aunt, They were never tamed but do talk a lot. One that my mom bought when I was 12 ... Tamed and talking a Yellow Crown... Due to some construction worker scaring it in his cage by saying boo... the bird got a heart attack and died... We had it for about 3 years... This time around Im older now 28 I wanted a parrot for my mother so I bought one for her. So I guess this time around Im in charge of the training and taming.

It was a handfed amazon parrot... first day I took it home it didnt eat till the next day... gave me a scare... as they had told me it was already eating on its own for 3 weeks... The Birds use to eating nothing but sunflower seeds and peanuts... a Parrot mix called Royalty Feed... I did some research before I bought the bird everybody recommends a Pellet diet so Ive mixed it in with the food its currently use too but im not seeing much progress it picks out the sunflower seeds before the pellets.. I bought RoudyBush Pellets. That's the first issue im having with it since I would like to train it but I dont know how to reward it if its already eating sunflower seeds. Second ... Ive chopped up a variety of fruits put it in a different bowl... and it just licks it but doesnt take it. Only thing so far it seems to kind of chew on is dried fruits from the sungrow treat bag, chews a little then drops it.

Teaching it to step up is even harder when he wont take the treats.... or is already use to sunflower seeds and peanuts... lol.. Today he bit me for the first time when I pulled him out of the cage to try and teach him... Im not doing something right but I've never quit on any pet I've owned so Im determined to get it right as I would not mind having a new companion.

btw when it bit me i didnt make any reactions , faces or anything I endured the pain lol... but that lock is wow... lol for 3.5 months.

 

[RavensGryf]

Welcome Jonathan, I love the pics!
I think he still needs to get used to you, the home, etc. He bit you because everything is so new, and he doesn't know you or trust you yet. Give it time Sit by him and talk to him, and see if he'll take food from your hand yet. Many times they won't until they feel they know you.
Search under the foods forum and you'll get some good ideas for tricks with picky eaters. Best of luck with your beautiful bird. Name?

Edit: I just realized the name is Rain . I was in a hurry when I wrote the post and I didn't 'get it' then haha.

 

[Ducatimom]

Welcome! Beautiful bird! Ducati had also been on an all seed diet when I got him. I mixed up a little bit of his seed (granted they were smaller seeds) so when he'd search for those he'd get some of his chop mix I made for him. As far as pellets I'm still slowly transitioning him to those. We are now on a dried fruit, nuts, semi pellet, fruit mix in the mornings. He seems to take to that just fine.

As far as stepping up. Does he take treats from your hand ok? If so then you can try getting him to step up on a dowel first and then inching your hand closer once he gets confident that your hand isn't a threat. Rinse and repeat until he steps up on your hand. If the sunflower seeds are his favorite then take those out of his regular diet and use them only for training. Ducati had no problem with this because he still gets plenty with training.

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like you lucked out with CL in finding him/her. What a beautiful bird Rain is (love the name too!) You will probably find as with most amazons, Rain will probably enjoy some "rain" out of the mister bottle (most zons LOVE baths).

Amazons have powerful beaks designed to crack nuts and rip open thick-skinned fruit starting as soon as they are weaned, which is not necessarily a good thing for delicate people fingers You absolutely did the right thing by not reacting. I know it's painful, but right now Rain has no idea whether or not biting is an acceptable form of communicating and reacting only ENCOURAGES it. I would strongly recommend you look into target training (numerous free videos on youtube on the subject), as it is probably the easiest and most effective way to build a good relationship with your bird. I wish we had known about it when we got our zon (who we trained the "hard" way, and got some nasty bites in the process).

As for diet, zons are junk food junkies if allowed and are prone to obesity and liver problems. I'd suggest looking at the recipe section on the forum and start sneaking fruits and veggies in baked goods, while keeping on trying him/her on new fresh stuff in different forms (dried, mashed, big chunks, tiny bits, shredded ext...). Our bird reacted as though we had put radioactive materials in his dish when we introduced him to fresh produce (he was petrified of it). It was a struggle to get him to try it. He still doesn't like it much, and probably wouldn't eat it if given the option. To make sure he eats enough fresh produce, I only leave a very small amount of food in his cage during the day so he doesn't fill up before his AM and PM meals. I feed a dish of fresh fruit or veg first when he's most hungry and once he's eaten a good amount, then he gets his other food. Some people don't like this method, but I find it encourages healthy eating and keeps him at a healthy weight since he can't gorge himself on food.

Anyways, best of luck and hope to see you around!

 

[ACE209]

I had one heck of a time switching foods. After he starts eating normal try completely switching out the sunflower/ peanuts for the roudybush. If you offer both foods at the same time he will obviously choose the sunflower seeds. It's going to take some time to switch him over just give it time he will come around. Be very careful with amazons and biting as they get older it gets worse. Your going to have to read his body language, he will let you know when he doesn't want to be bothered. Again just be patient with him give him a few weeks to get used to you and his new home, take it very slow don't overwhelm the little guy. Good luck and beautiful bird!

 

[EvilsParrots]

Thanks everyone, lol Yea rains a character came home and hung out with him a bit... He does take food from my hand without biting all the time... maybe I'm not reading his body language right , he was on my shoulder tonight, he's eating seeds as I write this lol smh... I'm glad to be on here appreciate everyone's advice I'll get on it tomorrow morning . MAYBE he's not a morning bird lol ? What does everyone think about me taking him to work with me in my office and buying him a different cage there and then come home to his big cage ? Or should I leave him at home since everything's still fresh...?

 

[RavensGryf]

I think bringing him to the office is a great idea but maybe give it a little more time to settle in first? Exposing a bird to new environments and experiences early in it's life is a good idea. Keeps them from freaking out in new situations. Also he'll learn to love it and look forward to it! Take him in a carrier... Get an "office cage" with some toys, maybe even a play stand if the cage doesn't have a play top. I'd love to see pics of that!

 

[Kiwibird]

I agree with Julie (ravensgryf) on letting him settle in and working on your bond with him first, but I think in the long-term, it would be GREAT to bring him with you. Parrots are flock creatures and love being right in the center of the action! However, you should not allow him to be glued to you 24/7. That is a recipe for MAJOR behavioral problems down the road. If he's at the office, be sure he's still being encouraged to play and entertain himself independently without human interaction. Toys, foraging and just generally time each day he is not being interacted with by humans. It sounds backwards, but domestic parrots MUST learn to be independent and entertain themselves along with how to act in social settings. You may not always have the opportunity to take him everywhere, so if that ever becomes the case, you want him to know how to have fun with or without you there all the time so he does not become depressed or distressed in that kind of circumstance Be sure to research the importance and concepts of self-rewarding activities and independent play so you can incorporate it into his daily routine from a young age.

Both my husband and I used to work full time jobs, and Kiwi was home alone all day. He learned how to entertain himself during that time. Now that I work from home, I STILL give him a few hours every single day to do his own thing. I actually would love to have him with me ALL the time, but I know it's important for him to retain those skills and a independent attitude in case I ever did have to go back to a job outside the home.

 

[ACE209]

Agreed let some time go by let him find his groove with his new life with you. How goes the pellets? Here's something I tried that worked great for my friends amazon. I soaked her pellets in fruit juice. I let the pellets absorb some of the juice then strained them out and put them in a small container that she could remove and rinse out. Don't leave it over night just remove it at bed time and try a new batch the next day.

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. I think rain is older than 3.5 months but whatever. I'd try different types and sizes of pellets. You may be able to get sample bags from some manufactures. Plenty of good threads here in the forum about converting to pellet diet.Thanks for joining to learn more about caring for your new buddy.

 

[EvilsParrots]

I had one heck of a time switching foods. After he starts eating normal try completely switching out the sunflower/ peanuts for the roudybush. If you offer both foods at the same time he will obviously choose the sunflower seeds. It's going to take some time to switch him over just give it time he will come around. Be very careful with amazons and biting as they get older it gets worse. Your going to have to read his body language, he will let you know when he doesn't want to be bothered. Again just be patient with him give him a few weeks to get used to you and his new home, take it very slow don't overwhelm the little guy. Good luck and beautiful bird!

I did the switch a couple days ago to RoudyBush and hes eating it fine ... woo... started the step up training with sunflower seeds lol... its working... but the biting is getting worst... My fault for not knowing how to go about it the right way. Been watching videos ...reading lots of articles seems to be working just fine.... boy is it some time lol being getting to work at midday everyday. He starts to try and repeat the worlds I tell Rain, very Good progress I can say... Im excited for all the training to come.

 

[ACE209]

There is nothing more rewarding than training parrots!