Guacamole had her collar removed!

[Guacamole]

Hi
Guacamole had the collar removed today after almost eight weeks. Her legs have healed nicely and I hope they stay that way. She spent all afternoon preening all of her new feathers. I had a meeting tonight and was a little afraid of what I might come home to, but she did fine and left the legs alone.
She is such a lovable, gentle 'zon and loves to be cuddled and have her neck scratched. If there has been a good side to all of this, it is that she and I have really bonded. I have noticed that she loves to be held close to me and bury her head in my hand. I think I've seen little 'huts' or pieces of fleece for smaller birds to sit in. Is there such a thing for a 'zon? Is it advisable? It appears that she would really enjoy something like that. Does anybody have something like that, or a suggestion?
She loves to strip the bark off of branches. I don't spray my trees, is it ok to give her maple branches to keep her busy?
I recall my Mom saying that she took all Guac's plastic toys away, and wish I had asked her why. I am thinking that it was because she was afraid of her swallowing bits of plastic that she chewed off, but I don't know for sure. I do see that there are a lot of plastic toys for parrots on the market. Are they safe? I stay away from anything made in china for my boxers, so I will do the same for Guacamole. Can anybody weigh in on plastic toys? I also have questions for those who put a harness on their birds. Guac has a portable 'motel' that I just put out on my porch. Over the weekend she really enjoyed sitting outside. When I came in the house (I kept my eye on her through the window) she started singing and whistling up a storm! I heard songs I had never heard before, so I assume she loved being outside. I just worry about transporting her to the cage outside. I hold her feet firmly, and her wings are clipped. A harness might be over kill; I don't know.
I'm sorry for all of the questions, I just want to be sure I treat Guac well. I've really come to love this girl.
Thanks, Laurie

 

[SandyBee]

That's wonderful. Plastic toys from safe bird suppliers can be ok as long as she doesn't ingest pieces. Wood always a good choice and acrylic foraging toys.I've yet to het a harness on my zon but I haven't tried to hard. A carrier might work too going to outside cage and back.

 

[henpecked]

Oh thank you. it makes my day to read post like yours. I love it when a amazon and a good person find each other. If you ever need my help , pm me. you're doing great.

 

[BillsBirds]

Good for you! It sounds like she's doing fine. Instead of plastic, if you're afraid, give her things like paper cups, cardboard, wooden spoons, popsicle sticks, and wine corks to chew. Also, baby toys are okay because it's expected that they'll put them in their mouths. If something is not edible, or tastes good, birds will just chew them up, and let the pieces fall to the floor of the cage. They might ingest something not good for them, but, in over 45 years of giving birds homemade things to chew, none have had any problems. Branches from outside are not advisable. Even if you don't spray chemicals, they have bacteria, parasites, and other things not good for our birds.

 

[MissTaz]

I don't have an amazon but we have a gcc and we got him a harness and I LOVE it. It makes me feel secure knowing my baby boy can enjoy outside without a cage. I purchase the aviator harness.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi Laurie,

It's great to hear that Guacamole is doing so well.

My Amazons have many different types of toys. Wood, foraging, and some acrylic. When they shred a toy, they let the "shredded" parts fall to the bottom of the cage.

If you're holding her feet while taking her to her outside motel, I don't think you need a harness for the presumably short distance.

I have used outdoor branches before with absolutely no ill effects. Always make sure the wood is safe for birds. Here is a link for safe and unsafe wood:
Wood / Trees / Bushes Considered Safe for Birds

 

[Guacamole]

Thanks so much for all of the great replies! Guacamole is doing very well; I am so happy. She is back to climbing about her cage and playing with toys. I think one of the things she missed most was being able to use her feet to hold things. I have noticed however, that she is not as content sitting on her perch on my desk any longer. She dropped a peanut yesterday and let herself down to pick it up. She walked right over to my keyboard, and proceeded to eat her peanut there!
I put a peanut in a small bathroom sized paper cup and she enjoyed tearing it apart to get to the prize. Straws in a paper wrapper are fun for her too, just really keeping an eye on the bits she rips off. I hung an adding machine paper roll in her cage, but she seems not to be interested in that yet.
I will investigate the aviator harness. If I can have her on top of her motel with the harness, I can take better pictures of her without the bars.
What kind of foraging toys do you recommend? I put a straw basket type toy in her cage that has different things for her to pick out. I also bought her a bag of pine nuts. She seems disinterested in the toy, and has no inclination towards the nuts at all. Now, peanuts are a horse of a different color! Can't have too many of those!
Thanks again! Laurie

 

[JerseyWendy]

Another GREAT update. Thanks so much for that!

Here are some links to foraging toys I have for my fids:

Coco Monkey - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Space Circles by Creative Foraging - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

JW Pet Hol-ee Roller for Birds - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Large Hexagonal Wrought Iron Toy Feeder/Forager - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Star Bird SpinaRoo Large - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Reinforcement Foraging Wheel by Creative Foraging - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Four Big Drawers Foraging Box by Creative Foraging - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE