Help with Territoiral Amazon

[stella]

I think one of our big problems with our new bird Toby is that he has become cage possessive, we have consulted a local parrot dealer(I guess you could call her) and she said the best thing to do to fix this is get him out of his cage and make him stay on a perch all day out of his cage, and never let him sit on top of his cage.

Does anyone know if there is any truth to this? Or if it will work once we get him to actually come out?

Would getting a new cage help?

Any suggestions?
thank you!

 

[Spiritbird]

Not familiar with this method. It sounds like a punishment more than anything else. I spoke to my vet about this behavior and she said my bird would grow out if it and she did. I pretty much stopped putting my hands in the cage. When she came out then I did the cleaning and toy changes.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hi again Samantha, I don't know that the advise that woman gave you was all that great, anytime you force a bird to do something against its will or abruptly take away its comfort zone (cage in this case) it will leave a negitive impact upon the bird, I think I stated to you in another post that I am far from an expert on Amazons, but this is pretty much general parrot pyschology 101, all behavior modification training has to be done on parrot time, not human time unfortunatly, you can start by leaving the door to Toby's cage open anytime there is someone there to supervise to see if he'll come out on his own, you can also try and entice him out with treats, this may take quite a while to accomplish, your patience will be the key in gaining his trust, without that trust alls you'll have is pretty much what you have now, a bird that sits in the cage with no interaction with you, My advise is to just take it slow and easy, one day at a time, once you and Toby have each others trust everything will fall into place, one thing I have learned over the years about Amazons is that they are like elephants, they never forget and will hold a grudge forever agianst anyone they think has treated them badly!.....work on the trust, keep us updated on your progress and as time goes by we can help you through other issues that come along, I wish you the best of luck with Toby

 

[stella]

Well, this is good to know!
Well do you think I should wait until he comes out of his cage to get him a new one?
I want to get him the kind of cage with the play top on it.

 

[Bobby34231]

Well, this is good to know!
Well do you think I should wait until he comes out of his cage to get him a new one?
I want to get him the kind of cage with the play top on it.

Thats a great question, what I would do, provided you have the room to do it ,is when you get the new cage, place it next to his exsisting cage to allow him to get used to it, see how that goes for awhile, you never know it might entice him to come out and explore the new cage, give that a shot if you can and maybe place some toys on the playtop and a small amount of food and water in the new cage just in case he takes to it, if he does take to the new cage don't remove the old one right away, let him feel comfortable with the new one first for awhile

 

[stella]

alright, thank you!
I would just get a separate play stand thing so he can keep him cage but i just don't have the room for one.
Living with two cages might be a bit crampt but I think I can do it since it just for a little bit.

 

[greenbirdsf]

Is your bird well socialized? Will he get on your hand? If it is fear that is motivating him to stay on his cage, you shouldn't force him to sit on a play stand all day as this will upset him greatly. You should work on establishing a trusting relationship with him so that he will be happy to go to you and be away from his cage for "playtime". My yellow nape can be territorial but usually if she ever clings to her cage it is because a stranger is visiting and she is uncomfortable. It sounds like your bird has some insecurites. Territorial behavior is more like flashing pupils, tail fanning, puffing and aggressive feather displays.