adopted 25 year old amazon - lots of questions

[mcmalott]

We adopted lamont a couple of weeks ago from an elderly friend of mine that could no longer care for him. We are his third and last family. It is a guess as to whether or not he is a male - his previous owner liked the name lamont......... He is 25 year old and i think he is a yellow naped amazon. My friend who owned him before did not do much with him and i really want to be interactive with him.

He started talking the first day we got him as well as some sounds (telephone, whistling etc) is he to old to learn new words/noises? His vocabulary is very small and there is lots i would like to teach him.

He comes out of his cage several times a day and always at dinner time with the family. I put him back in his cage using a perch - his prevoius owner did use her hand - i am a little timid - any suggestions? His beake reminds me of a can opener and i have been told that he has bitten in the past!

He seems mostly attached to me - probably because i am home the most and his primary care giver.

Another concern that i have is that he sits on the same perch all day long - granted it is the perch nearest the window and he looks out the window all day long! I have tried relocating the perch and he still picks the same perch. He has others in his cage - different sizes/materials/shapes etc. He also has hanging toys and does not seem to play with them at all.

Any help that you guys could give me would be very helpful - and yes this is my first parrot

 

[Printer bird]

I don't have much experience with Amazons but a little with a re-homed parrot. First off, congrats! Keep using the sticks until you guys build more trust but it is likely that you will be able to use your hand eventually if he was able to be handled by hand before. Does he respond to a command (such as up or step-up?). You can try when you are all feeling relaxed and comfortable to put your hand in front of his chest and say "Up!" or whatever the command is. Let him sit for a minute and then have him step onto the stick. Use treats and lots of praise (you can also coax him onto your hand with a treat as you say "up!" to let him know this is a wanted/good behavior).

Sounds like things are going well, keep going slow with him. It will take time. Don't worry yet about him sitting on the same perch all the time. My GCC did not play with his toys in the first few weeks that we had him as he was adjusting to us, his cage, surroundings etc. Now he is a toy demon. Talk to him in his cage, give him treats in there to let him know he's safe and good. Perhaps hide treats/food in different areas around the cage so that he snoops around more. He'll come around, though, given some time. My only note of caution on this would be if he's only had one size perch his whole life, his feet may not be able to grip other perches or he may have an arthritis that makes other perches uncomfortable. you can ask the vet about this if its been a month and still no perching elsewhere. If he does perch on other sizes of wood/branches, it could just be a comfort thing. Most birds have a fave place in the cage or thing to sit on.

As for the talking, hard to say. Some birds never speak, others have large vocabularies. OUr guy didn't speak to his previous owner but is always chatting away with us. Many GCCs never speak but we didn't do anything in particular with him, he just picked it up. Perhaps Lamont (fun name!) speaks more than he's letting on and is just being shy. Or maybe if he didn't have a lot of attention or association for certain words (most parrots speak in context) he didn't have reason to use them and may begin speaking more with you. But only time will tell, don't focus too much on this as even birds who say nothing can be awesome companions.

Keep asking lots of questions, lots of great people on here and lots of amazon owners who should be able to help you out a bit more with amazon specifics. Have fun!

 

[henpecked]

Hey mc, welcome to the forum and the world of amazons.IMO amazons do better with owners who are bold, decisive and generally unafraid ,amazons are a bird that lives in a flock with a steady partner for life. They don't have an issue with being part of the flock but if you are wishie/washie they will make the decisions and that's when the problems start. In the human house hold they do better as followers then leaders.Learn to handle the bird and not use a perch to move him.If he thinks you fear his bite then he will use it to control you and his situation,and use it more often.Older birds don't learn new words as well because they try to get by with what they know,teach new words and phases when you and they are excited ,like when you come home and he's happy to see you ,teach him to say "hi mom" by using your excited ,high pitched voice.Words and phases are their means of communication and try to give meaning to the things you want him to learn,like singing when your happy and having a good time.Maybe went meeting some one new start by saying "birds can't talk" in an excited voice and then when someone new meets your bird the first thing he says is "birds can't talk" because that's how you greet new people.I'm glad to hear you are rehoming a amazon and think they are the best,hope you both have a happy life together.Let me know if you have any questions i'll be glad to help anyway i can.

 

[mcmalott]

Thank you guys so much for the advice and help.

What do you feed yours besides fresh fruit and veggies - i have been considering dr. Harvey's natural food - any suggestions?

 

[brianlinkles]

I recently adopted a 15 year old lilac crown amazon. She is very territorial in her cage and has been neglected for years. One thing my vet told me to do at first was not to leave food in her cage but to feed her from my hand three times a day. I really didn't have my heart in that (I was afraid she would starve) However I did not allow her to have the seeds in her cage (what she ate when she was adopted ) I would feed her the three times a day from my hand (this is how i got her to start eating pellets) I did then leave a bit in her cage. I pulled the food at night (still do) I am trying to get her to eat veggies and some fruit and I am hoping that she is hungry in the morning and will try some. (it is working so, so) Hand feeding is a key however! Even if you just feed fav. treats from your hand.
I totally agree with henpecked, being wishy washy with an amazon is not going to work. Yes, I have gotten bitten a number of times from Kiwi, however they are not really happening anymore. Yes, she threatens however I am learning that I am showing her no fear and she is realizing that biting does not work. This said, amazons have great body language and you can usually tell when they are going to bite. There is lots of good info on this site about it! I would say try letting him step up onto your hand from the stick. I would say that lots of talking, interacting with him will build up his trust. Again, I agree with henpecked (who knows way, way more than I) about the talking. I just came home from being gone all day and Kiwi was very excited, so I excitedly talked back to her and she talked and talked! I also found that approaching her cage for the first few weeks by looking at her out of one eye (tilting my head so only one eye shows) helped her not to feel threatened. Many times when I am trying new things with her I do this as well. I will also copy her body language or look away and then out of the corner of my eye. It will take lots of patience and yes a bit of courage on your part but it is worth it! Congrats!

 

[suebee]

congrats on new member to your family! an wow 25yrs is a good age welcome an pics please

 

[Tammy]

With my Mr. Precious you have to show him who is boss. If he opens his beak towards me I say, "Who do you think you're dealing with? You never bite Mommy" and then I gently pinch his beak shut like you would with a mouthy puppy. He doesn't resist & lets me hold his beak & then the aggression stops. Unfortunately, he is still going after my mother every time he sees her.

 

[cnyguy]

Congratulations on welcoming Lamont into your life! He's about the same age that George, my Yellow-crowned Amazon was when he joined the family. George continued learning new things all through his life, up until he passed away last year at the approximate age of 70-- so it's probable that Lamont will learn new things too.


It takes a while for a parrot to settle into a new home and get really comfortable. It sounds like you're off to a good start, but Lamont may still be adjusting to all the changes in his life. Sometimes it helps to play with the parrot toys in front of the parrot-- demonstrate how to play with them, and act like you're having the most fun ever.


Good luck to you and Lamont!