Biting/Attacking Problem- OW Amazon

I have posted on here before about the same issue, but that was when I first had Roscoe. Roscoe is a 28 year old Orange Wing Amazon. I adopted him from a family who had too many parrots, in my opinion they didn't want him because he wasn't tamed. My goal was to make him tame. I've had him for over a year and nothings really improved. He has a toy that he is ENTIRELY bonded with. He will follow you no matter where you are if you're holding that toy. You cannot hold Roscoe without that toy and let alone a towel because he will bite your arm/hand whenever he wants. Lately, he has developed a new behavior. If Roscoe is just sitting on his stand and I am across the room doing something, he will fly over to me and like attack my head. Also, when he is standing on his perch, he will buck at me. He'll flap his wings up and open his mouth like he is trying to intimidate me. I have read nearly 50+ articles on taming older birds, and especially older parrots. It's harder to tame him with a powerful beak. I will admit he has bitten me several times and I did begin to get scared of him, but I still love him. I cannot even try the perch training like step up because if I hold anything up to him (the perch for example) he does not care about it and wants to go straight to my hand to bite it. I just want my Roscoe to be friendly with me and my family.

Another thing; would clipping his wings make him easier to train and prevent the random flying attacks? I know his wings will grow back at least so I thought it was something to try. I know this is very controversial.

You have a tuff problem. Ordinarily Id never clip wings but your bird is a hard case. Ever seen a T perch?? They have to step on the top of the T part, and USuALLY they wont climb down to attack your hand.. that might help with that. When he bucks up at you on the cage he is probably "defending the nest".... My docile Amazon will do the same display when on his cage sometimes. He is going to have to learn who is boss. PM me and ill make some suggestions.

I'm at a really loss! If you are in fact really working within basics of Amazon interaction, i.e. you have read the First Thread in the Amazon Forum; Aloud while setting next to your Amazon, multiple times. You should know, and have an understanding of Amazon Body Language. Your Amazon should have developed a comfort zone with you.

Also, regarding interactions with an Amazon (and with most Parrots), if you always come from the position that: It is never the fault of the Amazon and Always the fault of the Human - thus allowing you to quickly understand what you are doing wrong, correct it and continue to enhance the relationship.

It is not unusual for a Parrot to develop a favorite toy. However, Amazons are very social creatures that 'want' to be part of a social group.

Prior to having your Amazon's wings clipped, you really need to be asking yourself what you (The Human) is doing that is restricting the development of relationship. Change that or those things first!

Notdumasilook said:

You have a tuff problem. Ordinarily Id never clip wings but your bird is a hard case. Ever seen a T perch?? They have to step on the top of the T part, and USuALLY they wont climb down to attack your hand.. that might help with that. When he bucks up at you on the cage he is probably "defending the nest".... My docile Amazon will do the same display when on his cage sometimes. He is going to have to learn who is boss. PM me and ill make some suggestions.

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I am unable to PM you. But I will definetly get a T-Stand. When I do, I'll start target training. My only question is should I take his toy away? He's literally only focused on that and seriously bonded to it. My guess would be if I took it away would he want to bond with something else (me) or would it make him ultimately hate me?

To PM a member, you need to first PM a Moderator and they will forward your PM to the member. They will explain the reasons and address any further questions you may have.

Best of Luck!