My adopted cousin Alex :)

Hey there! First time owner of a BF Amazon. Long story short: my grandmother has had this bird for close to 20 years. She's wasn't the best bird owner. Just this past year my little sissy has been taking care of him and doing some rehab. But now she is pregnant and can't spend the crucial hours to help train him. So, now me, the long term exotic veterinarian technician gets to get my hands dirty with a dusty old amazon!


He's generally a good bird. A couple issues that I've learned about him over the past 48 hours are a couple of things:

1. He HATES men! He strikes out at my husband. Any tips or tricks that yall know of? I told my man to give him the special treats (i.e. corn pops, chex cereal etc.) through the bars for them to get to know each other.

2. Beak rubbing: he rubs his beak up and down the bars, I'm not sure if this is equivalent to finger tapping or fidgeting?

3. HE'S SO DUSTY! He feels really soft all over. He is molting around his head and has some pin feathers. Overall it looks like he has some new down feathers on his chest. How much are we to bathe him? Is every other day ok? I placed a large glass bowl at the bottom of his cage if he felt the need to bathe he has the chance.

4. He won't step up. He'll give me his left foot but won't give me the other. When I go to say 'step up' and move my finger towards his chest he beaks my thumb and won't budge.

Any tips or comments would be appreciated!

He's coming out of his shell and letting me scratch him all over. He's also barking at my dogs which is hilarious!

Love my man Alex

Alex is Gorgeous. Im not an expert like the others on here so I will leave them to give you advice but I am in the process of taming a White Fronted Amazon and I used a perch branch rather than my hand... mr Biggles (my WFA) and I havent graduated to stepping up onto hands yet. Your adopted cousin Alex is Beautiful and already trusting you enough to put one foot on your hand have fun getting to know him and his ways and training him

Will he step up on a stick?
As for the beak thing, my IRN has done that since forever so I'm desperately hoping no one says it's an issue - it's not compulsive by any means though. It looks like he's just wiping his beak after a feed, or having a wee nose itch

Alex is so handsome! He does look a little dusty in the picture.

Both my parrots do the beak-rubbing thing. Sometimes after eating to clean the beak, it seems like an aggravated or attention-seeking behavior. I would monitor him and see if you notice it at certain times and see if it goes away over time. Our amazon Greenleaf also rubs her beak against her perches and makes soft happy noises - this I interpret as a self-soothing kind of behavior and she's clearly enjoying the feeling.

I would see if he's opposed to spray baths and showers but if he's bothered by them I wouldn't force it. Providing a bowl for him to bathe in will help and eventually he will learn to use it. You could also add red palm oil (like Harrison's sunshine factor) or coconut oil over his food in small amounts to help his feather quality.

My amazon hated women when I first met her, and it took a lot of work for her to learn to trust me. I spent a lot of time around her cage, just talking to her and using calm body language. I ignored any aggression on her part and eventually she learned it didn't get a reaction. When I started working on handling she did bite so I got a pair of gloves and a dowel rod which kept my flesh intact and allowed me to ignore the biting. Now she is very affectionate and playful with me but it did take a lot of patience.

He is soooo cute! When you step him up, gently move your finger up when his left foot touches it. Slowly. It is hard to describe but you are showing him what you are trying to do. paco is left handed too, he steps up with the left and his right just sort of follows. Watch him eat and play, you will see his dominant hand. Once he initiates a grasp with it, as you say step up, just go slowly up and see if the right foot follows.
Paco gets dusty too, he won't bathe in a dish but loves the spray bottle to get a good soaking. Good luck!

Very handsome!

Alex is a very handsome Amazon! I'm happy for you and delighted for Alex, thank you for adopting him and offering him a brighter future. Best of luck!

Ok, so this was my first full day back to work. My husband works nights and sleeps days of course... so apparently he's been barking at the dog off and on. Also, does this loud screech/beep which I've ID'd as a 'hey where are you' call because he does it when we go down to the dog park (We live in a condo about 60-80 feet from the house) I can here him. Should I acknowledge it or just ignore it? The barking thing got dangerous today when he actually flew down to attack my dog and got him on the tongue. I quickly kenneled the dog and wrassled him up with a dowel and a towel. I think he's barking to get the dog over to him so he can torture him LOL... any advice besides keeping my dog away as much as possible??

itchyfeet said:

Will he step up on a stick?
As for the beak thing, my IRN has done that since forever so I'm desperately hoping no one says it's an issue - it's not compulsive by any means though. It looks like he's just wiping his beak after a feed, or having a wee nose itch

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No, won't step on a stick at all. He seems scared of it. I've been using it to get him back in his cage because he strikes when I go to get him in his cage.

Peppo said:

He is soooo cute! When you step him up, gently move your finger up when his left foot touches it. Slowly. It is hard to describe but you are showing him what you are trying to do. paco is left handed too, he steps up with the left and his right just sort of follows. Watch him eat and play, you will see his dominant hand. Once he initiates a grasp with it, as you say step up, just go slowly up and see if the right foot follows.
Paco gets dusty too, he won't bathe in a dish but loves the spray bottle to get a good soaking. Good luck!

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He seems to use his beak on my finger a lot, puts pressure on it but doesn't bite. I say 'no bite' and gently remove my finger. He'll keep his foot on my finger though but I move it up and he doesn't give me any...

Try offering more of your hand than just a finger and coming up from below when he puts his foot on your finger/hand try gently pushing inward towards him in an upward motion...a parrots usual response is to step up at this point. If he is like my White Fronted Amazon he may be cautious and test your hand first by lightly touching it as he flys over it before actually accepting it as a safe perch. My guy is not yet stepping up and perching on my hand but he is stepping up and perching on a perch (I used a bit of branch as a perch) he was scared of it at first ad his previous owner had also chased him with a stick so I just let it lie on the perch near him as I offred him his favourite treat. Each time I passed his cage I opened his cage door and placed the perch branch on the perch he was on and fed him a treat...as he became more comfortable with me placing the branch /perch in the cage lying it a little ways away from him on the perch he was perched on I would then bring it a little nearer to him ...not spooking him just little by little and when he is comfortable with it being in his cage and on his perch beside him you can then push it inward and upward gently just under him...he might fly over it and squawk...my boy did...dont move let him see its not chasing him and give him another treat and with yet another treat try luring him back towards the branch/perch. The first day you try this he may just lean his head over rather than move his feet...reward him and then withdraw until next time...dont rush the stages let him become comfortable with the perch....the first day you might only get as far as putting the branch or perch into the cage...you might not even get it anywhere near him...your just showing him its not a threat at this point and that may take some time but give him all the time he needs. Then you can move on to lying it on the perch some distance from him...that too can take time...dont be tempted to hurry the proceedure and chase round after him with it because it wont work. Take it slow with the perch until he loses his fear of it. Looking at the pic of his foot on your finger I think if you offer more than your finger and make your hand a more stable perch and gently push inwards and upwards against him just under his chest he might just step up onto your hand...the first time might be momentary but be ready to reward it while he is still on your hand. Then if hes happy try again . I am not experience and only speak here from my own limited knowledge of the few birds I have known but I would encourage you to keep trying ..small steps and slowly and if you move too fast for your bird just give the bird a rest for an hour or so and start again at a level the blrd is comfortable at. Also if you want him to step up onto a branch or stick you need to stop using it to chase him into his cage Hope this helps.

Bathing: My vet recommended every other day for my BFA, but the most often she seems to enjoy bathing is 2x a week. Even then, she's only somewhat into it. When I've done it once a week, she loved it, but I stick with 2x. Yours may like it more often.

Mallory said:

Alex is so handsome! He does look a little dusty in the picture.

Both my parrots do the beak-rubbing thing. Sometimes after eating to clean the beak, it seems like an aggravated or attention-seeking behavior. I would monitor him and see if you notice it at certain times and see if it goes away over time. Our amazon Greenleaf also rubs her beak against her perches and makes soft happy noises - this I interpret as a self-soothing kind of behavior and she's clearly enjoying the feeling.

I would see if he's opposed to spray baths and showers but if he's bothered by them I wouldn't force it. Providing a bowl for him to bathe in will help and eventually he will learn to use it. You could also add red palm oil (like Harrison's sunshine factor) or coconut oil over his food in small amounts to help his feather quality.

My amazon hated women when I first met her, and it took a lot of work for her to learn to trust me. I spent a lot of time around her cage, just talking to her and using calm body language. I ignored any aggression on her part and eventually she learned it didn't get a reaction. When I started working on handling she did bite so I got a pair of gloves and a dowel rod which kept my flesh intact and allowed me to ignore the biting. Now she is very affectionate and playful with me but it did take a lot of patience.

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Hi I know it is off topec but I had to ask about your Sterling I have never seen a pet starting lol we have lots of starlings here they are a favourite of mine such cheeky little chapels Jim C

lunging at your hubby with his beaky could be hormonal too. Amy is bonded tightly with me <I am a male> and she does that from time to time also,and I have had her for 27 years now,got her when she was 14 weeks old :11:

Rubbing of the beaky on the bars,she also does that. I think its just a "cleaning" thing..she seems to do this only after she eats something that is gooey/messy..my grey did that also.

By the picture of Alexs' lifting his foot up,it looks like he "wants" to step up,just isn't sure. Amy will do that and nervously shake it,but she will step up. Talk to him softly and gently bring your finger to his chest,telling him he is a good boy and ask him to "step up".

"zons can be dusty little birdies. Offer him a shower with a misting bottle. My Amy just loves it. Spreding her arms wide open,fluffing up and shaking her booty lol.

Jim

We put up a shower perch in our shower stall. The spray doesn't hit the perch directly, but Screech will jump on my back when I lean over and splash around. If she doesn't do that, I just get her to step up and run her under the spray 2 or 3 times....just takes a second. Then I throw a hand towel in the sink for her to rub dry on...then we go out on the porch and soak up some sun. Typical morning routine. Some early summer evenings she goes to town in her water bowl. Sometimes I have to refill it before she's done! She does the beak rubbing thing too sometimes, but not often. Mostly she rubs a dirty beak on her rope perches. Screech always uses her beak when she steps up just for balance.