Having second thoughts

[Ozzy]

Hi All, I apologize in advance for the essay...

This past Saturday I went to 'just look' at some parrots at a rescue. As many of you probably know just looking doesnt ever happen. I ended up taking home a male 5 year old blue fronted amazon named Ozzy. I was told that I would be his fourth home including a stay at a county animal shelter. The person who currently had him had so many birds he was not given much attention. She said that you could not put your hand inside his cage but could take him out with a perch and then hold him but not pet. She also said he had previously been hit.

I took him home in his cage with one perch and two toys. I went out and bought him some new food that wasnt entirely seeds (Zupreem fruit blend and wild and spicy) and some new toys. I hung the toys on the outside of his cage and introduced his new food (which he ate with no issues and actually will crawl out of his cage and jump in the tupperware container to get more). I have since put in his toys and he doesnt play with any of them except the one thats made to be torn up. I can take him out with a perch (and once was able to take him out with my hand) with no issue. He also will jump down off his playstand and walk across the living room floor and yell 'hellllo' until I pick him up off the ground and set him on the couch next to me. I can not touch him anywhere though.. He does give me a kiss on the lips when i say 'I love you' but thats about it.

My fears now are from reading postings about Amazons. I live in a town house with neighbors and while Ozzy is currently pretty quiet, only yelling 'HELLLLO' when I leave the room suddenly and dont say bye or when he thinks I'm ignoring him during my attempt at bonding time, I am worried that he is going to become very loud all the time. I am also worried that he will never let me pet him or scratch him. I know it takes time but is 5 still young enough to get him to learn to trust again? He does not bite when you get close, just growls and backs away.

So in a nutshell:
1) is 5 too old to regain trust?
2) am i guaranteed a very loud bird or could I have lucked out with a quite one?
3) Is there anything I can do to get him to play with toys? I feel like he is bored
4)How soon can I transfer him to a bigger cage
5) He also hates water... are baths neccessary right now? Or can I gain some trust first?

I love him already and I want this to work!!!!

Thank you!

 

[Ozzy]

Ok- So after reading through some more posts I answered a lot of my questions. I think I just needed to vent my worries!! I will not give up on Ozzy and I refuse to let him get bounced to another home. I know it takes time..and that I have lots of.

 

[greycloud]

Ozzy is very new and so are you! It takes lots of time to gain trust. All of my birds were rehomed in late single years (7yrs) and up into their 20s. They have all bonded with me fine.
You need to have patience, love and reward with positive reinforcement. I bathe my birds with a mister 3-4 times a week. He will play when he is ready. You may want to sit and play with a toy while he is near you. Show him it is fun. Praise him if he even touches the toy.
No guarantee about loudness. He isn't feeling at home enough to voice his opinion. He very well be a quiet bird.
Place his new cage near his old to get him use to it. Put yummy treats in it and praise if he shows interest. Do this for a couple days, then take the old cage away. Most birds do pretty well moving to a new cage. Hope this helps.

 

[Bobby34231]

For a bird capable of living 50-60+, 5 years old is basically just a baby still and I don't know that you can ever say that at any age their to old to trust, you have to take each bird on face value and treat them as individuals, I myself just adopted a 7 year old Yellow Crown Amazon Sunday, as his story was explained to me Joe had no real human interaction for about the last 7 months, 5 with his previous owner and not much in the last 2 months with his foster parronts, they were very intiminated by him as he bit everyone he came in contact with, for some mysterious reason joe and I hit it off from the moment we set eyes on each other, it's something that rarely happens, i've only been on the forum for about 3 months and have read many stories of members getting very depressed and discouraged from working with their fids for months with little or no results in the trust and bonding issues, then all of a sudden as though someone turned on a light switch things began to change and got better as each day passed, I'm sure many will weigh in with their experiences, as for being quiet or loud, I guess theres no way of telling till it actually happens, as far as toys go, some Zons are playful with toys, some aren't, the trick is to buy many toys and put in a few at a time and rotate them out frequently so its always a new experience, if you already have a bigger cage, you can start by placing it near his current cage, leave the door open with food and water in it, allow him to climb on it and explore it, the more comfortable he is with it the more likely he will chose it on his own, so if you have it you can start now, for now until you and Ozzy have a better relationship the showers can wait, when you get to know one another better you can start with fine mistings and work your way up to total soakings later, give both you and Ozzy some time to learn and trust each other its worth it in the end, hope this book I just wrote helps some

 

[Ozzy]

Thank you for the kind words. I know its going to take time, sometimes a little reassurance just helps From what his previous foster said he has made more progress with me in a few days then he did with her in a couple months. I always see the glass as half-full so I know everything will work out.

Bob-Looks like we are pretty close to each other.. I live in Orlando

 

[Bobby34231]

Yes, just about an hour and ahalf south of you, I know birds can be very trying to the patience, especially Amazon's, PM me anytime you want to talk or I can help you out

 

[nofearengineer]

Ozzy, don't think you are the only one who ever had second thoughts. When my CAG first hit adulthood, and got very hormonal for the first time, I seriously wondered if I was capable of handling him. Not for my sake, mind you, but I just thought I must be mistreating him somehow and he was very unhappy. I didn't know any better.

Being my first parrot, I just didn't realize how to handle it. However, I learned to pay even closer attention to his body language, and as a result, I think he bonded even more to me than before (if that is possible). Our last couple of years were the greatest...full of trust, cuddles, and playtime.

Point is, glad to hear you have decided to stick it out. I'm sure you will find it is worth it.

 

[lisamarie973]

Ozzy,

Bob is an awesome point of contact if you have any questions at all, as it turns out, we kinda met each other through an ad I had to re home my Rosella, then he realized that I belonged to another forum, similar to this one, and invited me to join this one. Bob has answered LOTS of questions for me, as I have just adopted a baby CAG, and am a TOTAL worry wart about him. I do have some experience with birds, not as much as Bob does though, and certainly don't have the vast knowledge that he has either, however, I can tell you this. All birds are different, some will "warm up" almost right away, and others, are just very very leary and it takes a good while for them to trust, but guess what, there is a really really incredible feeling when they FINALLY show you how much they love and trust YOU, you will feel So accomplished and special that YOU didn't give up on him, when everyone else did. The very best of luck to you and Ozzy!!!

 

[Bobby34231]

Funny you posted to this thread Lisa, I was just thinking about how Ozzy was making out today, hope we hear something back, I'm curious :09:

 

[2Birds3Kids]

I have a 17 y.o. rescue ekkie that bonded with me. I can pet her all over and even lay her on her back. She bit and growled in the beginning to so don't give up.

Go ahead and bathe him because this does give you the opportunity to towel him afterward and pet him over the towel. He will then learn that your hands are safe.

My sister in law has a lot of rescues and she has a really old cockatoo that is tame with her so even older birds can bond with new parronts ~Page

 

[Ozzy]

Just an update! Ozzy is doing wonderful. He is in a new cage which is much bigger and brand new and he loves it. He has started to nibble things besides zupreem (almonds, monkey chow, dried apricots and peanuts). He has finally started to play with some wood toys even though its just a tiny bit.

He screams and growls when I put him near water so I still havent bathed him. He does jump in his water bowl and throws water all over himself and kicks it around. It makes a mess but thats fine with me for now.

He lets me pet his back sometimes but if I'm holding him he will always let me nuzzle him with my head (weird I know lol). Today he flew to my bed from the top of his cage to sit on my shoulder so I know he must like me a little!!

He is also talking up a storm and has learned the name of his favorite person (my step-daughter Hannah) and yellllllls her name to get her attention. He is pretty quiet though and I left a recorder one day when I went out and he barely talks when no one is there so I am not too worried about noise anymore.

Anyways, just wanted to say thank you for all the help and support! And give you guys a quick update! Look forward to talking to you all more!

 

[gleek!]

Wow! What an amazing story! I wish you continued success -- it sounds like Ozzy has found the perfect home!

 

[Bobby34231]

It's great to hear the possitive turn around and progress that you and Ozzy are making, keep up the good work!

 

[lisamarie973]

Funny you posted to this thread Lisa, I was just thinking about how Ozzy was making out today, hope we hear something back, I'm curious :09:

I'm glad to see that he's sticking it out with Ozzy, I see a lifetime love about to happen here! Hang in there, Ozzy needs you! And soon enough, you'll wonder how you'd ever be without him too!

 

[bogo1]

Fun story and we really appreciate you sharing it. Remember that things don't always progress on a straight line. He is entitled to a grumpy day even as you are. But clearly the general direction is toward a happy and strong bond.

 

[Ozzy]

A couple pics of Ozzy (taken with phone so not the best quality)

 

[lordburrito]

Beautiful story!! Don't worry about Ozzy, he is still around "baby faze",and with a lot of patience, you are getting his trust... keep up the good work, and remember, never punish him with anything else but ignorance!! I think that in 4-6 months, he'll be kissing you lips!!! Keep up the good work!!