Benjamin nailed me good...

[Birdman666]

[

Mark, I'm going to assume this is not something Benjamin would be ready for, right? He'd attack my hand right away.

You assume correctly.

You want to work with handling Benjamin AFTER breeding season. Right now, it's just too risky, because he hasn't been handled much, and he is going to be moody.

You want to work with him, intensely on stepping up, socialization, and basic taming and training, starting around July.

Right now, you just want to get him out away from his cage on a playstand, and back, without attacking. Taking treats from your hand nicely. And just sitting and talking, and getting used to the interaction again...

Take it slowly with this one. It'll save you a few scars down the road.

 

[Carabella]

I think he's a happy little guy, if not content. Maybe it's my attributing human emotion to a bird with a brain the size of a walnut that makes me want him to live a more rounded life.

Actually, they are more emotional than we are on some levels, and they are empathic. They don't control theirs the way we do. They have the same IQ as a three to five year old child, and studies have shown them to be on par with an autistic child in terms of learning IQ.

They are also empathic, and amazons are the most sensitive of the bunch, in my opinion, because SO MUCH of their communication is through body language, and audio visual clues... they pick up on subtle things WE do that we aren't even aware we are doing, and with a "bonded" zon - they GET what that stuff means... And that's the most amazing thing about having a bonded bird in my opinion. They "read" us.

In fact the methods used to train Alex, are now being used to teach autistic children. It's one of the offshoot benefits of that research...

That's really great to know!

 

[Carabella]

[

Mark, I'm going to assume this is not something Benjamin would be ready for, right? He'd attack my hand right away.

You assume correctly.

You want to work with handling Benjamin AFTER breeding season. Right now, it's just too risky, because he hasn't been handled much, and he is going to be moody.

You want to work with him, intensely on stepping up, socialization, and basic taming and training, starting around July.

Right now, you just want to get him out away from his cage on a playstand, and back, without attacking. Taking treats from your hand nicely. And just sitting and talking, and getting used to the interaction again...

Take it slowly with this one. It'll save you a few scars down the road.

Mark, you've been so incredibly helpful. I've got July 4th penciled in. We're working on his playstand manners and he's actually very good about stepping onto his stick. I carry him into through the breakfast room to the family room. It's really quite a way to go and he's great. He's always taken food well, too. I'll keep working on that with him.

 

[Birdman666]

Example of an amazon empathy:

Years ago, I had a back injury, and needed medication. Hadn't ever taken Flexeril before, and wasn't prepared for how badly it would affect me. I took it, felt woozy, and decided to go lay down for a few minutes...

I woke up 18 hours later. My conure had taken full advantage of it to climb inside my shirt, and had slept warm and cozy, inside my shirt in bed with me...

My red lored amazon, on the other hand, was perched on my chest, and was in "hyper-vigilant mode. She had apparently stayed up all night watching over me... and she didn't leave my side, or relax until I started acting normally again.

My Conure:

The one thing my ex-wife and I agreed on when we split up was that we would never put my daughter in the middle, and there wouldn't be a custody battle.

Then I got hit with custody papers, and I just lost it.

My conure did ever silly thing he could think of to try and get me to laugh... and when that didn't work, he dried my tears with his tongue...

My CAG:

One day, I had a really bad day at work, and I came home visibly upset. My CAG waddled over to me. After a few minutes of sitting with me, he climbed down, went back to his cage, and pulled out a cashew (his favorite nut) and waddled back to me. He put the nut down in the palm of my hand, and told me "It's okay. You're a good boy!"

And those are just a few examples. Yeah, it's like that...

The most loving of all of them was my BFA...

When they love, they love completely.

You have to EARN that... they mask that stuff, the same way they mask injuries. But once they let you in, it is absolutely astounding!!!

 

[Birdman666]

One last thing, and then I'll shut up...

My Red Lored... the one who stayed up watching over me?! I got her as a rescue. She was one of the worst biters we ever had when I got her. Cage bound, and phobic. Had panic attacks. Could fly at you in a rage. You couldn't handle her except wrapped up in a towel.

SHE'S A SHOULDER BIRD NOW! MY FLOCK LEADER! CURLS UP INTO A BALL AND USES MY CHEEK FOR A PILLOW...

So, yeah, if you work with him, you can get that back. It's gonna take work, but it is completely do-able.

I've lost track of the number of hot 3's I've retrained over the years. I've fostered 8. Probably worked with 25+ that didn't even step up consistently.

So, yes. Absolutely you can get that!

 

[Birdman666]

Mark, you've been so incredibly helpful. I've got July 4th penciled in. We're working on his playstand manners and he's actually very good about stepping onto his stick. I carry him into through the breakfast room to the family room. It's really quite a way to go and he's great. He's always taken food well, too. I'll keep working on that with him.

A lot of hot 3s have to be stick handled six months out of the year. It's a good thing to teach him. And then, maybe you won't have to.

 

[Carabella]

Mark, you truly are a bird guru! Looking forward to more stories!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Mark, you truly are a bird guru! Looking forward to more stories!

I love hearing Mark's stories about his birds! I don't have a "hot 3" zon, but I do have a zon!

 

[Birdman666]

An orange wing, on many levels is really just a shy blue front...

It just takes a little more to wind them up.

 

[Birdman666]

[
That's awesome! Benj giggles like a little goofball, laughs (like me) and wolf whistles to get attention. He has 6 words and phrases he uses pretty appropriately, but being an unsocialized bird, I'm not noticing true slapstick.

True slapstick with a zon?!

About six months or so after I got Sally completely turned around, she was an out and about trained, car seat trained, go everywhere bird...

I took her through a drive through car wash!

FRIGGIN' PRICELESS!!!

 

[miloslave]

I love hearing Mark's stories about his birds!

So do I! It is just amazing how wonderfull and loving these birds are, and how they try and comfort you when you need it.

I find that it doesn't matter how bad my day was, just a little while in their company completely takes away the stress of the day.

 

[Carabella]

[
That's awesome! Benj giggles like a little goofball, laughs (like me) and wolf whistles to get attention. He has 6 words and phrases he uses pretty appropriately, but being an unsocialized bird, I'm not noticing true slapstick.

True slapstick with a zon?!

About six months or so after I got Sally completely turned around, she was an out and about trained, car seat trained, go everywhere bird...

I took her through a drive through car wash!

FRIGGIN' PRICELESS

Oh, wow, that's amazing!

 

[Birdman666]

PVC... It's not just for playstands!

I've had that car seat perch for about 15 years now too!

 

[strudel]

Thanks, glad it wasn't that serious an injury. After reading all these stories, I'm glad I've got birds who can't really mess me up. I'll stick with my little guys and leave the huge chompers to the experts.

 

[Birdman666]

Thanks, glad it wasn't that serious an injury. After reading all these stories, I'm glad I've got birds who can't really mess me up. I'll stick with my little guys and leave the huge chompers to the experts.

Your RB2s chompers could do this, if they were so inclined. I haven't really seen many that were inclined to be biters...

They really are great birds!

 

[strudel]

Your RB2s chompers could do this,

Nooooo! Don't tell me that. I'll get frightened of her. I don't think she could really hurt me, even if she put some effort into it. She's not very big. I must say that my weiros really hurt when they bit me when I first adopted them (they weren't tame, and were not impressed at being moved into their new home, they bit me hard....). I guess I'm just lucky that nobody tries to bite me hard any more (touch wood). I hope I don't get a cranky one take a chomp on me like the poor OP..... (paranoid squinting).