Untrusting

[pacoparrot]

I adopted Paco, my Double Yellow headed amazon, when he was approximately 8 years old. He was vocal and would chatter back and forth with us and even step up to your hand without much of a struggle. He didn't talk and was super paranoid that we were going to try to touch him. Now it has been roughly 3 years later and he still isn't too trusting of us. He protests if we even look like we might touch his feathers. He also doesn't talk at all. He is a great bird but compared to my other parrots is the "problem child". I feel like if he interacted with one of my other birds he their outgoing personality might rub off on him. Echo, my 2 year old female SI Eclectus, is in love with him. How can I introduce them to get along better? They squabble but don't fight.

 

[MrsWharfrat]

Hello, you do have some beautiful birds!

For socializing, try something small like moving there cages closer togehter, not touching, but a few inches apart

 

[melissasparrots]

I adopted Paco, my Double Yellow headed amazon, when he was approximately 8 years old. He was vocal and would chatter back and forth with us and even step up to your hand without much of a struggle. He didn't talk and was super paranoid that we were going to try to touch him. Now it has been roughly 3 years later and he still isn't too trusting of us. He protests if we even look like we might touch his feathers. He also doesn't talk at all. He is a great bird but compared to my other parrots is the "problem child". I feel like if he interacted with one of my other birds he their outgoing personality might rub off on him. Echo, my 2 year old female SI Eclectus, is in love with him. How can I introduce them to get along better? They squabble but don't fight.

Amazons are not super touchy feely birds to start with. They can be if raised that way from babies, but even then its a little hit and miss. Many amazons do not like their regular body feathers touched. My favorite bird is a touch the head and neck only sort of girl. If I try petting her down the wings she either enjoys it a little too much(sexual) or she growls, lunges and generally gives me a hate look for daring to attempt to touch her in a don't touch zone. With rehomed birds, there is nothing wrong with trying to work with them to allow touching, but with an amazon that doesn't want petting, I wouldn't necessarily feel sorry for him. It might just be the way he is.
I think your playing with fire if you try to introduce him to your other birds. With adult male amazons it tends to be they HATE the other bird and want to kill them. Or the LOVE the other bird and want to kill you. If it looks like they are voluntarily getting into a buddy relationship, I'd tread carefully but otherwise wouldn't encourage it necessarily.

 

[Chaz12]

I had my parrot for 6 years name Sassy. She did not trust me all that much at the start, neither.. It takes working with them to build trust. At the start, for about 2 years, she would react like your parrot, but slowly I would move my finger up and down by her head. She caught on that I wanted to scratch her head and neck. After she got use to it, she liked it. Started letting me pet her wings. Right now, I am trying to pet her under her wing- she lets me some but nudges me away too. A nudge is different from a bite. It leaves no marks but you know she will if you continue. Sassy is 6 years old today. She isn't our only parrot, BC the Blue Crown Conure, Cody a Cinnamin Green Cheek Conure, had a Blue Fronted Amazon but had to get rid of it to go through college, at 13 helped grandparents raise parakeets and sold them to Hartz. I love parrots..

 

[WharfRat]

I wish I could help, although I get the almost the same thing from our Zons, it is completely different with the wife (night & day) she can do absolutely anything with the Zons with no protest at all!! They will literally tumble down from her shoulder into her lap at any given moment, she can hug them, pet them anywhere or anything else she wants. About all I can do is get them in & out of their cage & once in a while Halo will let me pet him, Shiloh never. At least I got my GWs

 

[Kiwibird]

My husband and I found ourselves in a similar situation after adopting our blue front amazon. From what we understand, he was kept in a tiny dog crate for the first 10 years of his life, with no perch, little human interaction, and most likely poor nutrition/mental stimulation. Boy was he ever the challenge of a lifetime! You must first understand that every parrot is an individual, and some will simply NEVER enjoy being petted. Parrots are highly intelligent, and do deserve respect if they are not the petting type. Affection and interaction with humans and their own can be achieved in other ways (besides stepping up and towel training, these are musts for parrots to learn and tolerate).

Since you have other parrots, you should be familiar with "cues" they give to show interest in something, and use that to your advantage to gain trust. Food is always an excellent trust builder with birds, especially when teaching an mature parrot with trust issues that your not there to hurt him. Small treats of a favorite food can be used to help the bird take the first step onto your hand as well as to desire to, say, sit on your leg or simply not be terrified when you walk by. Also look for other cues your bird is interested in something you have. Our boy took an immediate interest in us brushing our teeth and taking our morning vitamins. We took that as an opportunity to make him feel welcome in our "flock". We cut off the bristle part of an old toothbrush and sterilized it, then gave it to him. You could see much of the fear melt away handing him an old toothbrush handle! He always has one, and their one of his all time favorite toys (no clue why). We also started giving him a pistachio when we were taking our vitamins. Within a few weeks, we had introduced him to the concept of a "routine" and he expects his pistachio every morning. After seeing positive results "including" him in our morning routines, we began bringing him on a t-perch to the table for breakfast and dinner (we eat very healthy, and the only things he can't have we eat are the things toxic to him). Including a parrot with trust issues at meal time makes them feel very accepted within their flock, and you begin to notice more positive changes over time in the way they interact with you. Sadly, our boy doesn't like petting (we have has him 5 years now, and he just doesn't want to be touched), but he's still quite affectionate and interactive from "across the room". Put on some pop music, and he dances like crazy. The more you egg him on, the more he spins and hops. If you talk in a baby voice, he will make gurgling noises in reply. He LOVES stalking up and down the shower curtain rod when your showering and grunting at you. Put him on the couch, and he will come play with your hair. In all, while he may not want to be petted, he is friendly and interacts in other ways, which is a very good sign he is now acclimated to a loving home. Just be patient with your bird, encourage his streghths, and stop focusing so much on what he doesn't like. The more ways you find to interact without touching if he doesn't like that, the happier and more willing he will be to interact with you.

 

[henpecked]

thanks Kiwibird, well put.