When you first got your zon...

[Mamaof3]

were they mean?! Im part of a group on facebook, and everyone that has just recently acquired a zon always says how it took months before they can handle them. Some of them are rescues and some of them are not. I can understand a rescue being very bitey and not welcoming bonding or not being nice. But a new baby ?!

How was your zon when you first got him/her?

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'll start with my Sam.

He was just a little over 6 weeks when we picked him up from the airport. Got him home, and it took us a good while to try and open his carrier, his breeder had done one heck of a job securing him in there.

While hubby was working on the carrier, I was getting his formula ready. He had to have been starving, since he hadn't eaten since early that morning.

We finally got the carrier open and saw Sam. This little green bundle of GROWL. Yup, he was growling all right. Hubby reached into the carrier and Sam promptly latched on. So we took it apart completely. Sam continued to growl, hiss and lunge. When I attempted to feed him, he literally threw himself onto his back. :52: Quite the feisty guy! I got the food in him and placed him in his cage so he could rest.

It took him a few days to overcome his initial fear, and we've been BFFs since then.

My hen YN I frequently visited while she was still at her breeder's place. She was the one who taught me how to hand feed. Hunter has NEVER bitten any of us. THE sweetest bird in the world! She honestly adjusted instantly when I brought her home, probably because she already knew us.

 

[Taw5106]

I got my Buddy as a rehome from my cousins. My cousin Rita and her husband passed two years ago, the local police were called in since her husband died at home. We went to the city police dept to pick him up and amazingly, he wanted me to scratch his head and he let me. Since then we have been buddies!

My situation is different, I think Buddy was desperate for love and that helped us bond better. His original MaMa had extreme health issues and passed from them, Buddy is a rockstar though, he and I have a great relationship.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Zilla was 28 when she came to live with me. Super ill and had to have meds for the first 4 months or so of being here, but she has never hurt me. She was stepping up the first night and eating from my hand. She has been a very sweet bird from day 1.

 

[wrench13]

Salty needed some bite pressure training when we brought him home at 5 months. I think all babies need some training because they do not know how soft people meat is. Never have rehomed an older bird so I cannot comment. some very great advice is available on here and other websites about bite training.

 

[texsize]

My first amazon was my first bird period . He was a wild caught orange wing amazon. Was not friendly and nearly died within the first week.
After the vet pulled him through it took some time and training (with gloves) to get him to step up on my hand. never trained him further that that.

My 2nd amazon was a YNA one year old. bought him from an add in the penny saver and he was very friendly from day one. After puberty he took an intense dislike of my wife. To this day I am the only one that can handle him.

My 3rd amazon is a Red lored amazon bought him at a pet shop as a re-homed bird. Was love at first sight. I picked him up and she took to me right away. My son can handle her some but again my wife will get bitten if she attempts to handle her.
texsize

 

[Bundiibird]

When we brought home Millie, she was about 5 months old. We had only visited once fire due to distance. On the day that we picked her up, we had to travel 12 hours home, she spent most of the day asleep in the travel cage but did accept foods. The next few weeks she was very quiet and I guess adjusting to her surroundings. She had come from a very busy breeder with lots of other babies as her friends to just her and Bundii our Alex.

From there though she has been a ball of energy. She is always playing, rough and tumble is her game, and is always growling but never in a mean or harmful way. It is one way she loves to communicate. She is still learning just how powerful her bites can be but we are working on it.

I would say they are quite vocal - growling and talking but not mad. They are definitely enthusiastic players. I just love my Millie. Such an attitude and beautiful personality.

 

[kozykitty]

We adopted 30 - year old Gloria (BFA) on Jan. 9 this year. Neither my husband nor I have been able to hold her yet. She's friendly and seems to be a gentle bird. She nipped me 3 times the first week--all happened when I was either retrieving or replacing her food dish in the cage. The third time she nipped me, I said "no. hurt" and withdrew the dish and put it down outside the cage for a few minutes. She wasn't happy but she has not even tried to nip since. She used to growl when I'd put my hand or arm near her. Now she takes a step toward my arm as if she's considering stepping up. I figured it may take a few more months. She was owned by an elderly couple then the son took her but couldn't care for her so she was rehomed through a pet store. We are getting the Amazon happy dance now when we get home so we're making progress!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Amy was 16 weeks old when I got her. I did a once a day <night time> feeding with her for two weeks. < The breeder suggested that to help her "bond" with me>
She never was aggressive with me..the very first time I saw and handled her,she got on my lap and laid her pretty green head down for skritches lol



Jim

 

[Mamaof3]

Awww...I love hearing stories...Im waiting patiently for my YS to come in or basically hatch...lol.

 

[Doublete]

My girl was 5 I think when I got her a year ago. She's been nothing but wonderful! Never aggressive, loves scratches. I'm her 3rd home (parrot paradise, to a gentleman who returned her, back to the store, and then a Mexican family that I got her from).

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

We've had Monty for over 3 months now, and like others, have found him to be a little "enthusiastic" when it comes to interacting with others. At first, he was fairly skritch adverse, but has come around. Mind you, there are some times he wants to play, some times he wants skritches, and some times when his "Do Not Disturb" sign is up.

Generally, I can handle him the most, Daughter #1 is second, and wife or Daughter #2 it is a 50/50 proposition. We did get him a bit older than normal baby birds (5 1/2 months old) so he came with a few habits we've worked on (including bite pressure training), but he's been a blast.

Although we weren't originally looking for an Amazon, he's been a real treat, is learning lots of words, and provides us endless entertainment with his antics and abuse of us.

 

[Scott]

Gonzo, a BFA and my first parrot, came home about 31 years ago as a very young adult. He was instantly cuddly, lovable, and full of personality. I shudder to think of how intensely he could be handled and was trusted to soft flesh - because it all changed about 1 year or so later. Gonzo became a fire breathing terror, biting the hand that offered food, flying to the shoulder to gnaw on a jugular, (!) etc. Most likely it was the onset of maturity, and there were far fewer resources to best work the problems. I chose to keep him, and 3 decades later he is a healthy and happy boy with a great vocabulary. Just can't handle him often, but I have lots of cockatoos who crave closeness!

 

[Birdman666]

Most of mine were rescues... some of them were not handleable at all...

It took six to eight weeks to handle Sally safely.

There were several Fosters that were out of control when I got them, that were good birds after awhile. (I've had 8 foster zons, in addition to my four permanent additions.)

Zons frequently have to get to know you first. But if you give them that time, they open up to you, and then you get that whole zon crush thing...

Pecker was an instant love thing.

Bob was an instant love thing.

Kiwi was an instant love thing, and a half... she rode home from the airport with her head tucked under my chin...

All the rest of them took time.

It's normal.

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

Mr Biggles arrived a few short weeks ago (8 weeks as I type) and he is a White Fronted Amazon (one of the smaller Amazons) and I am a first time Amazon owner still learning all the body language and special looks that speak volumes all by themselves. Mr Biggles was, before arriving here, a wild Aviary bird whose mate had died according to the little information I received, and who was semi tame as the previous owner put it...in actual fact poor Mr Biggles was extremely ill and needed several weeks of medication amd Veterinary treatment to get him back to health. Mr Biggles initially only ate from my hand and had pretty much lost interest. He is in good health now and is very patient with his new first time Amazon owner and though he is frightened of each new thing we try at first, he has never bitten me and only uses his beak to push me away if he has had enough, especially pushing my hand away when I offer him fruit and veg which he is not crazy about no mater how its offered to him. His body language is real easy to read even for a first time Amazon owner like myself and never once has he been nasty or shown any tendancy to be aggressive with me. However he doesnt like other people and shows his dislike of them but doesnt fly at them or hasnt so far. I usually intervene when I see him get aggitated or growl and either move him or move the person...as I live alone there is not the oppertunity for a whole lot of socialisation but in reading up on these White Fromted Amazons I see they are very much a one person Bird. Mr Biggles for some reason likes me to wear green and is lately also accepting me in shades of brown or beige but he does not like me in red or white and wont accept a treat from my hand or come near me when I wear those colours. He just flaps his wings and moves away or turns his back to me. Mr Biggles didnt like leaving his cage at all at first now he leaves it for very short spells of a few minutes at a time to perch on my hand or on top of his cage but as yet he has not ventured out the door of his cage on his own though its left open for him to do so every morning for a few hours. We have not got to scritches yet but we will I think in time. Mr Biggles summons me and dismisses me at his pleasure and I love being summoned and I smile and am brought to laughter by the dismissals. I have fallen completely in love with this sweet tempered boy and could not ask for a better companion. Nasty he is deffinitely not, stubborn and single minded yes, but these traits make me love him all the more and I wouldnt part with my Mr Biggles for anything.