Orange winged amazon

Plasticgoat2012

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Aug 6, 2018
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I was preparing to rescue some pionus ( no bird shelters here and its as good as buying birds) and had custom made a stainless steel cage 185cm x 185cm x 90cm). However, as its the lunar new year and it will not be shipped to me till the end of this month. I had bought some toys etc reading n preparing for the pionus. I have not much experience in bigger birds as my other birds are 5 conures. I do have some fundamental knowledge in understanding bird's behaviour and have trained my birds to play fetch, as well as play bird basketball (birds rush for e ball before dunking it for rewards)

Last saturday, I was looking through the local ad for some bird accessories and I came across an ad about an orange winged amazon. The pictures looked pretty sad, it was chain to a mini stand and was only given sunflower seeds to consume.

I felt quite lost, torn between getting it to offer it a better life to the feeling of am I reading for this for about 15 mins. Kind of a moral dilemma.


About 30 mins later I was like what the heck, I contacted the seller, grabbed my bird carrier and went to the seller's place.

At the seller's place. I noticed that the amazon was only offer sunflower seeds. It was pooping black / dark green poop. Its eyes seemed to be partially open, it seemed lethargic.
The seller doesnt seem to be have handled the bird as it was trying to get away from him after he release the chain catch.

Fast forward i brought him home and placed him in a tiny cage as I had no spare cage. I searched online and acquired a cage and had it shipped with express shipping. Not the best as its only 90cm length by 70cm by 170cm. I placed some spare perch and new spare toys that i had, when transfering him he panicked and bite my finger till it bled.I managed to adjust his chain out of e cage and used a cutter to cut the chain.

In the larger cage, i offered it roudybush breeder pellets mixed with egg food which he readily accepted.

A day later he seemed more calm, i offered him some roudybush california blend which he ate from my hand. I find him pretty easy to work with as he would growl if he didnt like something. In addition, I began handfeeding him with zupreem enhanced plus handfeeding formula (he didnt want it as he was not comfortable with the syringe, after i pretended to drink it and offered him he tried it and loved it now). I feed him by opening the cage with my hand within the cage. I have also misted him as I noticed that he began molting on the third day. He seems pretty happy now and twitches and fluffs up when i speak to him.

He is not really afraid of my hand now but he doesnt step up and i do not want to push him for it.

He now understands basic commands. When i say 'kitchi' he rushes to the cage bar for a head scratch.

The issue I need help with is:

His nails etc are overgrown and as he doesnt step up, I cant bring him to the groomer. I dont want to force him.

Will getting a sand perch help in the interim?

He sneezes but not often more like once today morning.
I guess cause he is molting and 3 other crimson hybrid conures are molting too. I will get the rainbow vacuum cum air purifier today or tomorrow. Hope this helps.

Based on the above, any advise will be great.

Video of him. It will be 1 week being with me. He is 1yr+.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7Z9kNvRwoVMq1MNoVn6SOPc3AhscdBs/view?usp=drivesdk
 

bill_e

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I don't think that the sand perch will help, it is for maintenance and in my experience it really didn't do a good job at that either.

I once took a couple of days to clip the overgrown nails of my own OWA when I first got her by clipping, one by one, the nails as she grabbed the cage bars.
 

ChristaNL

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All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
Hmmm, bird on a chain tells me you are nowhere in the western world ;) (since it is illegal in most countries by now afaik) so do you have a good CAV around?

You are obviously aware of quarantine etc. but since you already have some birds (the conures) in the house or near by testing for diseases (should be done anyway) is a must!
(and when you are at the vet, nailtrim etc can be done -IF necessery at all- as well)

So glad you got your new one one a healthy diet at once and now you are in the honeymoonperiod...enjoy the time where the bird is not being 'a typical amazon' ;)
(He may stay a sweetheart of course, but you'll know for sure after a year or so.)

You have read the amazon sticky's?
(the bodylanguage part is a lifesaver sometimes :) )


Take your time, the 'step-up' will come to you guys.
 
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Plasticgoat2012

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Thank you bill, but I don't think I am brave enough to clip his nails on my own.

Yes christen there are ubiquitous CAV here in singapore. The birds brought in here undergo a strict quarantine process before they are allowed into our country and there are no wild caught amazons here. Moreover, it is illegal to trap any wildlife here.


The state birds are kept and sold are at times worrying too.

Thank you for the tips. I shall read more through the suggested.

With regards to the "step up" would amazons naturally want to step up after sometime when they are compfy with a person or would it involve operant conditioning (positive reinforcement)
 

ChristaNL

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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
Glad to hear that.
afaik Singapore is one of the hot-spots when it comes to (animal-)smuggling on this planet- but maybe they are cleaning up now?
 

Laurasea

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O wow thank you for the rescue,( rehome) of this gorgeous parrot!!!!! Look at those eyes closed while scritch the head!! Love it!!! Congratulations on a job well done! Abd such a beauty!

Now quarantine can't catch every thing, that's just the facts of Life. Plus birds can develop a bacterial or fungal infection from stuff in the environment. Especially birds that have low vitamin levels from an all sunflower seed diet....
I hope you will feed veggies, like hit chili peppers and other peppers and leafy greens and veggies, they have lots of vitamin in them
What a great story!
 

bill_e

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Plasticgoat, trust me, you can do this. Pick up a guillotine style clipper. When the bird is gripping the bars slide the clipper over his nail...you can pause here so as not to excite the bird, then when it is positioned to clip off the amount you want, just squeeze. If it surprises the bird just walk away and come back later. Over time you will be able to trim all of the nails without stressing the bird or getting bit.

Have some corn starch handy in case you clip too much but if you just take a little bit off Every two weeks you can safely trim overgrown nails. Even just clipping the very Tip will do more than those perches will. The perches only work, sometimes, on properly trimmed nails to keep them from getting too sharp. Not to keep them from getting too long.
3f775d424a08a85f94b4e900739618e1.jpg


Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

Anita1250

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He is beautiful, and seems pretty tame. When he closes his eyes and ruffles his feathers like that, it shows that he trusts you. He probably knows you rescued him! Just give it some time, and he will come to you. I had an OWA for many years, and they can be a little skittish, but are very loving birds.

As far as the toes go, if they are very long and curved, I would bring him to someone to have them trimmed. They can get stuck. Mine was missing a toe nail because he got it caught in the carpet and pulled it out.

Good luck with this pretty baby! I hope you have a long and happy relationship with him.
 

noodles123

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Overgrown nails and beak +weird greenish poop+ sunflowers= very probable liver damage (my cockatoo had this when I adopted her). If you get to the vet, and your should (ASAP) they will need to do a CBC (complete blood count) and this will tell you whether his counts are high. They will likely give you a mixture of milk thistle and lacTUlose (not lactose) which is intended to prevent seizures caused by ammonia build up within the body of a bird with a dysfunctional liver.
In the meantime, you can give your bird milk thistle drops as long as it is bird safe (not suspended in alcohol etc). The lactulose prevents seizures and the milk thistle helps the liver. Avoid high sugar, high fat and high protein foods, as these are hard on the liver.

In terms of sneezing, I would also do a gram stain and a mouth swab test to see if there is any yeast or bacteria.


Black poop also makes me worry about metal toxicity.
 
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SailBoat

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Trimming nails is best done a little at a time! It helps get them comfortable and you from cutting to deeply and needing to hold your Parrot to place the cornstarch on the nail to stop the bleeding. Just a little each time saves all that drama.
 
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wrench13

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Perches come in different materials. sand perches tzke off very little, with cement materials taking much ,ore off. Salty has 2 a sand one for everyday, and a cement one for when his nails are getting a bit long. Nails are too long if they lift the first toe off the tble when the bird is placed on a flat surface. . If they are sharp, thats an entriely different matter. A regual old nail file can be used to take the point off. When it comes to nails and feathers , too little is much better and safer that too much.
 

charmedbyekkie

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Small correction - there are NO Certified Avians Vets in Singapore. However, there are vets who claim to be interested in treating birds. That being said, there are only two publicly accessible vets (not with Mandai) that are listed with the Association of Avian Vets. And only one of those two does blood tests.

As for groomers, there are two highly recommended ones (gentle with the bird) and another who will not hesitate to... use light force on the bird.

You can PM me if you want lobang. I too paiseh to say here.

I recognized your vid, but didn't want to dox myself :p
 
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Plasticgoat2012

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Dear all thank you for your kind words and advise. His poop seems to be quite find now as i have restricted seeds from him for the past week. I handfed him this morning. I gave him a chilli just now he ate it and seem to enjoy it.



He still eats his roudybush mixed with egg food. What i noticed is that he would eat more of his food when i am there with him.

He rushes to me for head scratched quite often now.
In terms of toys, he is not interest in the swing rope, hope like toys but he started playing and shredding the blocks toys, guess i should more of these.

I started running a humidifier with the F10 disinfectant that I had diluted.
 

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