couple of questions

[Steamboatwv]

Hi, I just took in 2 Amazons, one is a Red lored and the other is a Blue front, now I was told they were somewhere around 30 years old, their owner past away so they needed a home, they have always been together, no one knows if they are both males or females, the Blue is Blind and my question is on that one is how to get him to trust me when movement makes him jumpy and snappy, the other question is should I keep them in the same cage as they always have been or separate them because the Red is quite tame and loves his petting and holding and being carried around BUT if the blue is in sight of him he will bite because i guess he feels he is the blues protector, so getting him away from the cage can be a challenge till he is away from it. thanks in advance for any advice...

 

[Steamboatwv]

oh and the red tries to mate with the blue also, not sure if he is doing this out of dominance to him or ????? neither to anyones knowlege have layed. but not much is know earlier than them to find them a new home.

 

[MaraWentz]

I knew a yellow naped and blue front couple that did that. Both around 30 and they were female and male, THe male was very friendly but if his mate was near he'd get nippy. I'd advise seperating them. To gain the blind ones trust use strong smelling foods that he like to gain his trust through food.

 

[paulhanlon]

Indeed seperate them if you say the red lord is some what tame you could get a good relationship out of it with him as for the blind blue front you will need to gain trust with strong smelling foods I wish you the best of luck with both these stunning birds

 

[Steamboatwv]

I have been trying to get his attention with food, but he just tries to bite me lol, i talk soft to him for a bit before trying to get too close, I was only after 1 of them but was told that they had to stay together but they seem to be a handful together as far as not nice until apart goes, but the red is gentle as can be once separated, he cuddles up to my neck for nuzzles and coos in my ear and reaches around for kisses and everything, neither talk so far but could just be nerves keeping them from it at this point, but Ive never taken care of a blind anything before so this may be a long journey for me and him. will keep trying the food and soft talking but from the way he acts no one spent much time handling him at all I guess because he was nippy.

thanks

 

[Steamboatwv]

oh and one more thing, they were in a room that was filled with animal urine smell and their feathers have taken on the musky smell from it, is all I can do for that is let them bath themselves in warm water? and if so how often can they bath to get it off of them?

 

[paulhanlon]

The musky smell is a natural thing for amazons there is no need to worry about that as for your blind blue front with it being blind it will take longer to gain your trust just keep talking to him/her try giving treats in a dish if it won't take it from your hands read to it sing to it when your doing things around the house tell it what you are doing eventually he/she will come round but as i said this will take longer due to the bird being blind.

 

[Steamboatwv]

ok will keep doing that, now if one is as old as these can they still learn new words if they dont speak already or are they pretty much set in their ways by this age as far as talking and whistling goes?

 

[paulhanlon]

Age doesn't come in to play when it comes to learning new words if the bird already talks you can learn it a new word its really the same as learning it a new trick but again you will need to give the bird time to pick up the word you are wanting it to say also they tend to learn the words alot faster if your in a calm and happy mood so if your in a bad mood it will take longer to learn as the bird can sense that your unhappy just keep calm with them and learn them when your in a happy mood.

 

[Steamboatwv]

very cool, thank you so much for all your help. will keep you updated as we progress..

 

[paulhanlon]

I would love to see a picture of these two if possible I love my amazons also feel free to ask a question anytime we are hear to help.

 

[Steamboatwv]

here is their pic

 

[paulhanlon]

They are stunning and do you know how the blue front became blind or not

 

[Steamboatwv]

no really no one knows much of the birds past, the owner had cancer and took them to a vet and asked them to find a good home for them from that point no one knows anything. I was told that he had cataracts but I see no haze over his eyes, but clearly he does have trouble seeing and Fred clicks to make him follow him around to get out of the cage and stuff. He is going to our local Avian vet tomorrow for an eye checkup to see whats really going on if they can figure it out. I am planning on trying to use a clicker with him if possible since that is what Fred does to him to get him to follow.

 

[paulhanlon]

A clicker is a great way to train a bird and a great way to direct them to you can also use your voice to direct him to you once he has being tamed down and please let us know what the avian tells you about his blindness

 

[Steamboatwv]

definately will let you know tomorrow eve.

 

[paulhanlon]

Great I hope the avian can help you out with his problem

 

[melissasparrots]

I think as your already kind of noticing, look at what your red lored does to give the blue some cues and see if you can mimic that. You might be able to use your tongue to make a clicking sound, that way you don't need to rely on always have the clicker around to communicate. I know someone that used to have a blind macaw and he was always kind of snappy and unpredictable. Capable of being a real lover, but the owners had to be super careful to make sure everything in the room while he was being handled was calm. Otherwise, he's lash out suddenly and aggressively. Get in a routine of always talking to the bird before handling him. Maybe give him a cue that your hand is coming by tapping the perch before trying to touch. It might take a while before he learns the association, but any little thing you can do to sort of prepare him for what is coming and allow him to get in the right mental state to accept handling before it happens would be a good thing.

Personally I would not be in a huge hurry to separate this pair. If the blue front is indeed blind, make sure to keep toys and food bowls in about the same place. I'd work on stick training the red lored so that you can get him out without too much drama and take him into another room for some bonding time. With older pairs of birds, I don't like to separate them unless its a safety issue or everyone is just miserable with them together. Even if that means you don't have the pettable pet that you could have. Better for the birds if it makes them happier to stay together.

The musty smell your detecting could be normal. A stressed amazon makes kind of a dirty socks smell. A few good baths with plain water from a mister bottle will help over the course of a few weeks. So will good diet. I noticed both birds looked a little chunky, but its hard to tell from a picture. If your vet thinks they are fat, you might want to consider trying to slowly convert them onto a lower fat pellet diet and lots of veggies with limited seed. Healthy and happy amazons produce a sweet musky odore that I personally adore. Although its a little odd to get used to. They make the smell moreso when they are especially content or happy with life. Otherwise if you bury your nose in their feathers it might smell just a little musty.

 

[Steamboatwv]

Well the vet is seeing Barney today will find out a little more about his eyes, and she is going to ask about his weight. no worries about not taking them both at the same time, my wife works at the vet clinic gonna have them DNA tested also. but like I said I just got them and Im positive the diet will change, they were eating alot alot alot of people dinner foods and I know thats ok to an extent but I think they were getting too much of that and not enough pellets and stuff from what it looked like to me.

 

[Steamboatwv]

here is a better pic of Fred..