Where to look for good information on Parrots

I am a Definite bird lover, from owning a dozen ring neck doves, huge flight pen, huge outdoor aviary, to vollenteering at a raptor rescue, having a huge well cared for batch of water fowl (Three duck ponds), and feeding any and all wild birds that enter my yard. This is precisely why I wound up with a 5 year old male Blue fronted Amazon somewhat dumped on me. (Not blaming his previous owner, bad situation I won't go into here, and more or less my doing that brought him to my home, I couldn't see a homeless parrot and there are no rescues for domestic birds in the area)

Do not get me wrong, I have no intention of making Peaties life anymore hellish by pawning this already upset parrot off on anyone else. I however am totally clueless, past my knowledge on how to feed him I have no clue on how or where to start. Some of the training information I find absolutely appalling and hope is not accurate (Denying food doesn't seem right) and others just don't give enough information on the spot to know if it sounds like something I could do. Please help. Peatie has some serious issues that I hope can be cured, I don't care if he talks, does tricks, etc, but I would like not to be bit feeding and watering him, and I would like to be able to take him out to play on his gym without being bit and put him back in his cage when needed without bloody fingers.

Ok, let's see what we can give you for information that can help you out here ... you have probably 2 issues that you are dealing with here ... and you aren't into breeding season yet ... which will make these situations a little worse ...

Issue #1 - You want to know what to feed Peaties - well, fresh fruits and veggies (DO NOT FEED AVACADO OR RAW ONION!) Leafy greens like Kale, Beet Root, Spinich are all great options. Carrots, Sweet pea pods, broccoli, cauliflower ... really any fresh veggies. Peaties diet should also include a good pellet based food - favorites around here include Zupreem and Harrison's.

One thing to take into consideration here is what is Peaties currently eating? Has he been on an all seed diet? Seeds are great treats, but really have no nutritional value. If Peaties is currently on seeds, you should slowly convert him to a better diet, we can offer suggestions on how to do that.

Issue #2 - you have a trust issue with this bird. This will take time to build trust, this will take a lot of patience, this will take a lot of love, and a lot of band-aids! A usual give away with an 'zon is that they tend to pin their eyes when they get excited (rapidly constrict and expand their pupils) I would say that if your amazon is pinning his eyes, then there is a greater chance that you will get 'tagged'. The other thing that I can suggest is to see if you can see what is causing you to get bit ... are there certain actions that lead to a bite more than others?

Welcome to the forum, hopefully we can help with Peaties transition ...

~ Tex

From what I get off the guy I got him from, when I can get any information, and what I got when I got Peatie, hes always been fed a mixture of cooked foods and raw Vegetables, Peatie came with Beak Appetit so that is what I have been feeding him along with different veggies daily.


There aren't really actions that get me bit more, basically he doesn't like my hands (He likes watching me, and cries when I leave) but I get my hands near his cage he lunges and bites or just threatens to, this includes when I am putting food in his dish or watering him, despite trying my best not to spook him (issue you get with shy doves) I talk to him, explain I'm not going to hurt him and I am just feeding and watering him, make no sudden moves yet I still wind up chomped on. (Half the time I feel like buying an extra set of welding gloves just for feeding him, had him for a week now and my hands are starting to look more like injuries then hands) And when I want to give him outside the cage time or need him to go back inside the cage.