hello fellow bird owners

[themancmt]

Hello everyone. My name is Chris and i have a beautiful Amazon parrot named Emmitt who is pictured in my avatar. I just got him from a guy who could no longer take care of him. He is 35 years old, steps up on command and loves to eat and be by people in general. he has not talked yet so im a little sad about that. He also does not like to be touched at all, like being pet or anything like that. so those are our flaws that we are working on and I have came to this site for a little advice. We hope to talk with you guys soon.

Chris

 

[patterson]

hey chris welcome ur at the best place for advise. plenty of people to help. emmitts a nice boy indeed

 

[suebee]

hey chris how long have you had him?? might be to soon for petting as such even now my nut will only let me pet her when she is in the mood and that is strictly a head rub

 

[themancmt]

I have had him for about 3 weeks so far. he eats out of my hand, will willingly step up on my hand but will not let me touch him/her any more then that. his wings are not clipped so he can fly and he is out of the cage 99-100% of the time. i have perches set up in a few main rooms so if he wants to join us he can. i dont know if its a good idea or not as it seems to be some what messy, but i enjoy when he flys to his perch to wana be by us. any sudden move ment or you get to close and he starts squaking and me and getting low showing me the beak. he has not bit anyone yet and i hope to keep it that way. he simply flys away if you try to push him a little. so i am just trying to give him some room and let him come to me when he wants.

 

[Spiritbird]

First thing with a new bird is a examination by an avain vet. so that you know what is going on. Birds tend to hide any diseases as they are prey animals as you know. Vet will give over all check on feather condition, eyes, mouh, beak, feet, wings, heart and lungs. They also like to draw blood so the calcium level and organ function can be evaluated. They will also check the droppings. Then vet will recommend any food changes or supplements. Good luck.

 

[mtdoramike]

DO NOT PUSH HIM, let him get used to you, which can take days or months. As an example, I have had my Senegal going on 4 weeks and eventhough he was hand fed by his previous owner and is friendly, he has just nstarted letting me scratch the back of his neck.

He literally climbed up on my forearm, cocked his head down, did his little kissy sounds and starting talking. I reached FROM THE SIDE NEVER FROM THE TOP and started scratching the back of his neck all the while, he was telling he was a pretty bird.

Any ntime I tried this before today, he would try and nip my fingers and make a whinny sound while backing away to let me know to back off. So it takes time and with your bird being in his 30's, he might not ever let you pet him if he;s not used to that behavior.

 

[suebee]

i found with nut, keeping her mainly in the living room and sitting about watching telly etc and every now an again offer her a treat where she has to come to us for it, she would take treat an then fly of to top of her cage, once she got familar with the room (door kept shut) she was more confidant with us, and when we went to eat dinner she could come to the kitchen, but i put her into her sleeping cage now thats in the kitchen, so its dinner then taken upstairs to spare bedroom and covered, for her thats her night routine, but i would get her to perch onto my shoulder to go from room to room, i would stand at the door an say *come on nut, and she will think about it for a bit, then come onto my shoulder an i'll walk her into other room that way, and other times she wont want to come so she stays in the living room

also because we kept her mainly in the room with her main cage, she tends to toilet mainly over it and if she is on me she will fly to the cage for a quick poop, and then back

i had probs getting her to bath, but she like to sit on my shoulder when i bath, so i so i splash her wet there so if you can see what your birds reaction to water is? and speak to your birds previous carer about these things first

you say your bird gets low an shows the beak?? normally nut wont do that unless she is about to attack with intent! as her first signal of i dont want to is to lean away, turn her back, walk away and then she does the crouching tiger thing an with a hiss as well!! i didnt read these signals she gave me at 1st and i got bit rather a few times an once with blood it got to the point when she just lunged when anyone went near her

Parrot Musings: Parrot body language

but now she knows she can trust me to understand her and she kinda knows our routines, but i still have days when she is a complete nut, but the biting has stopped, she just gives very gentle beak clamps, her fav person is my partner, i spend most time with her and the one she bites the most now is my son who ignores her signals

your bird will learn your routine, and as mentioned above, a vet visit for a check up and don't rush into contact

i don't think my nut will ever talk, but she does meow, this is because when i nip out for a cig, there is a cat that comes over meowing for a head rub so she must have heard it grrrr oh an she kinda makes a laughing noise at times

i've had days when i've been telling my son of for annoying her, only for her to start annoying my son and vise versa, she is like a 2yr old with attitude! its taken over a month for me to get to this comfortable with each other stage and even now certain things i take for granted will freak her out, like black nail varnish, new bits of furniture, or if she is in a mood about something and i put my hands into her cage for what ever reason, she'll be in to give me a nip

so use food to get your bird to trust you more, as i generally kept the best treats for making her come to me or getting her into her cage

good luck an let us know how you get on

 

[themancmt]

thank you for all of the info. im gonna google a vet in my area and see about making an appointment for Emmitt. i just hope he does not hate me for making him go. i will keep you guys posted on our progress.
thanks,
Chris