Help!

[Carl_Power]

You guys are gonna be just fine x

 

[AmberAndOscar]

Lol, its like everytime I say "Oscar won't let me" he likes to prove me wrong. I am sitting here with him and I constantly offer my hand with a step up. This time, he put his head down, the same way he does on the bars for a head scratch.... I wonder... Yep, Oscar decided it was time for a good scratch, no bars in the way!!!

 

[AmberAndOscar]

He is making a purring type noise!!!!

 

[AmberAndOscar]

So, Oscar continues to amaze me! We put him to bed with our son, 9 pm. Usually, around 7-8 pm Oscar goes back in his cage and hangs out in there. He is not as fond of my husband and son as he is of me so once they get home from work and school and I start cooking dinner, until I sit outside his cage again, he is inside. Last night, Oscar stayed out, he is getting used to the boys! It was bedtime for Oscar and my husband asked me how I put him back in his cage. I told him Oscar is usually already in his cage by now so I was not sure what to do considering he still does not want me touching him unless its for head scratches. I read something on the sticky thread that came to use, I kept me hands and arms close to my face and put my forearm up to him, he would not go the other direction because my husband was back there waiting to help me cover the cage. Oscar still wouldn't let me touch him with my hand, but he accepted cheek kisses and head scratches while he road on my shoulder through the house getting his first tour! This, of course, still didn't solve our delima, how do we get him IN his cage without being able to touch him? I plan on keeping my fingers just the way they are, so going after Oscar is not on my list, as all of you have said, he will come to me when he is ready, I just thought he would step up on my hand before he took hostage of my shoulder. So, I went back to his cage and hold my shoulder up to it and Oscar does not get off... I wiggle a little, still nothing.... I ended up having to get my husband to slowly walk up behind me so it wouldn't scare Oscar but would make him want to scoot away back onto the cage. It was an exhausting, amazing, late night... So, in less than 1 week, a bird who has never came out of his cage and was only scratched through bars for the last 5 years, has come this far. They are so much more forgiving than us humans.

 

[MonicaMc]

Well then! Can you please expand my signature pics and take a look at Gonzo? I've always assumed he is a BFA, but perhaps a variant?

Gonzo is, without a doubt, a blue fronted amazon. Blue fronted amazons have black beaks with varying amounts of blue or yellow to the head. Some blue fronts may have minimal or no yellow where-as others may have minimal to no blue. Blue fronts without blue are probably more common than blue fronts without yellow... as odd as that may sound.


Orange wings on the other hand should always have blue and yellow heads and a two-toned beak. They are also smaller than blue fronts.


Here's a picture of a blue front and an orange wing - although the website says they are both blue fronts....

http://www.parrot-bird.com/parrot-pictures/blue_fronted_amazon/amazon-parrots-01.jpg


This site has both species labeled correctly

https://www.hbw.com/ibc/photo/orang...ange-winged-amazon-right-amazona-aestiva-left



Or a great shot of just an orange wing amazon's head

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3259/2730092576_3bca69c790_b.jpg



And this is what you get when you don't realize that they are separate species and allow them to breed.

Amber, it sounds like you two are making great progress!!!! If you teach Oscar some target training, it will make it easier to get him moved around!

 

[Scott]

Well then! Can you please expand my signature pics and take a look at Gonzo? I've always assumed he is a BFA, but perhaps a variant?

Gonzo is, without a doubt, a blue fronted amazon. Blue fronted amazons have black beaks with varying amounts of blue or yellow to the head. Some blue fronts may have minimal or no yellow where-as others may have minimal to no blue. Blue fronts without blue are probably more common than blue fronts without yellow... as odd as that may sound.


Orange wings on the other hand should always have blue and yellow heads and a two-toned beak. They are also smaller than blue fronts.


Here's a picture of a blue front and an orange wing - although the website says they are both blue fronts....

http://www.parrot-bird.com/parrot-pictures/blue_fronted_amazon/amazon-parrots-01.jpg


This site has both species labeled correctly

https://www.hbw.com/ibc/photo/orang...ange-winged-amazon-right-amazona-aestiva-left



Or a great shot of just an orange wing amazon's head

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3259/2730092576_3bca69c790_b.jpg

Thanks so much, Monica! Subtle but important differences. Would be nice to respect the variations and carefully breed.

 

[SailBoat]

Well then! Can you please expand my signature pics and take a look at Gonzo? I've always assumed he is a BFA, but perhaps a variant?

Gonzo is, without a doubt, a blue fronted amazon. Blue fronted amazons have black beaks with varying amounts of blue or yellow to the head. Some blue fronts may have minimal or no yellow where-as others may have minimal to no blue. Blue fronts without blue are probably more common than blue fronts without yellow... as odd as that may sound.


Orange wings on the other hand should always have blue and yellow heads and a two-toned beak. They are also smaller than blue fronts.


Here's a picture of a blue front and an orange wing - although the website says they are both blue fronts....

http://www.parrot-bird.com/parrot-pictures/blue_fronted_amazon/amazon-parrots-01.jpg


This site has both species labeled correctly

https://www.hbw.com/ibc/photo/orang...ange-winged-amazon-right-amazona-aestiva-left



Or a great shot of just an orange wing amazon's head

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3259/2730092576_3bca69c790_b.jpg

Thanks so much, Monica! Subtle, but important differences. Would be nice to respect the variations and carefully breed.

Thank you, for nailing that down Monica!!!

That said Scott; Gonzo is not a 'Northern' Blue-Fronted Amazon (common). Depending on his overall size (length) and weight, Flight (flash) Feather Coloration and just how big his claw grasp is, his natural range is from the Center to the far Southern region of the very vast overall range of the family of Amazona!

 

[Scott]

Thanks Steven, appreciate the appraisal!!

 

[tanyamitchellrn]

My Blue Fronted is yelling at me right now. Haha. You do have to go at their pace! You can’t be pushy or you’ll make matters worse. I just rescued mine 1 month ago and he is 7 years old. He is super happy in his cage but wasn’t handled. He doesn’t even understand the concept of stepping up. He cannonballs into my hands if I reach into the cage. He won’t bite me but yells when handled.
For the 1st 10 days, I held him against me in a zip up hoodie. I decided to make a change because he became very comfortable in there. My hands were nowhere to be seen. Now we are working on him sitting on my chest/lap without a hoodie, exposed, but hands nearby. As I text this, he is calm. If my hands get any closer, he yells. I’ll just keep doing this until I see a change in tolerance. Then we will advance a bit more.
That’s about all I know. I’ve read tons. The only consistent thing I see is patience and don’t give up. I’ve been working at it a month and have made only minute progress, but it’s progress nonetheless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mindy]

My Blue Fronted is yelling at me right now. Haha. You do have to go at their pace! You can’t be pushy or you’ll make matters worse. I just rescued mine 1 month ago and he is 7 years old. He is super happy in his cage but wasn’t handled. He doesn’t even understand the concept of stepping up. He cannonballs into my hands if I reach into the cage. He won’t bite me but yells when handled.
For the 1st 10 days, I held him against me in a zip up hoodie. I decided to make a change because he became very comfortable in there. My hands were nowhere to be seen. Now we are working on him sitting on my chest/lap without a hoodie, exposed, but hands nearby. As I text this, he is calm. If my hands get any closer, he yells. I’ll just keep doing this until I see a change in tolerance. Then we will advance a bit more.
That’s about all I know. I’ve read tons. The only consistent thing I see is patience and don’t give up. I’ve been working at it a month and have made only minute progress, but it’s progress nonetheless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This method seems contrary to building trust in my opinion. Aren't you afraid your bird will always associate you with doing things he/she doesn't want?

 

[MonicaMc]

My Blue Fronted is yelling at me right now. Haha. You do have to go at their pace! You can’t be pushy or you’ll make matters worse. I just rescued mine 1 month ago and he is 7 years old. He is super happy in his cage but wasn’t handled. He doesn’t even understand the concept of stepping up. He cannonballs into my hands if I reach into the cage. He won’t bite me but yells when handled.
For the 1st 10 days, I held him against me in a zip up hoodie. I decided to make a change because he became very comfortable in there. My hands were nowhere to be seen. Now we are working on him sitting on my chest/lap without a hoodie, exposed, but hands nearby. As I text this, he is calm. If my hands get any closer, he yells. I’ll just keep doing this until I see a change in tolerance. Then we will advance a bit more.
That’s about all I know. I’ve read tons. The only consistent thing I see is patience and don’t give up. I’ve been working at it a month and have made only minute progress, but it’s progress nonetheless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your blue front looks like it could be a hybrid - beak should be 100% black. It's not.


As long as it's allowed, I created this thread which may be of use to you and help give you direction.

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/72250-free-training-resources.html

 

[tanyamitchellrn]

My Blue Fronted is yelling at me right now. Haha. You do have to go at their pace! You can’t be pushy or you’ll make matters worse. I just rescued mine 1 month ago and he is 7 years old. He is super happy in his cage but wasn’t handled. He doesn’t even understand the concept of stepping up. He cannonballs into my hands if I reach into the cage. He won’t bite me but yells when handled.
For the 1st 10 days, I held him against me in a zip up hoodie. I decided to make a change because he became very comfortable in there. My hands were nowhere to be seen. Now we are working on him sitting on my chest/lap without a hoodie, exposed, but hands nearby. As I text this, he is calm. If my hands get any closer, he yells. I’ll just keep doing this until I see a change in tolerance. Then we will advance a bit more.
That’s about all I know. I’ve read tons. The only consistent thing I see is patience and don’t give up. I’ve been working at it a month and have made only minute progress, but it’s progress nonetheless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This method seems contrary to building trust in my opinion. Aren't you afraid your bird will always associate you with doing things he/she doesn't want?

No, I’m not worried about that because I’m not holding him there. He wants to be interacted with. He’s just scared. So I move my hands further away and he’s super content. I move then closer for a minute and he yells. Then I move them away again. I read somewhere that it’ll get him used to the fact that I won’t hurt him.
We hit another bit of progress last night. He has really bad balance because he never left his cage. Last night he stood on my shoulder and we walked around the room. He is very wobbly but the vet said it’ll improve with time. I do have to be careful though because the guy that has him before me clipped him wrong and he can’t even glide to the ground. This could take years to grow back the vet said. [emoji22]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tanyamitchellrn]

My Blue Fronted is yelling at me right now. Haha. You do have to go at their pace! You can’t be pushy or you’ll make matters worse. I just rescued mine 1 month ago and he is 7 years old. He is super happy in his cage but wasn’t handled. He doesn’t even understand the concept of stepping up. He cannonballs into my hands if I reach into the cage. He won’t bite me but yells when handled.

For the 1st 10 days, I held him against me in a zip up hoodie. I decided to make a change because he became very comfortable in there. My hands were nowhere to be seen. Now we are working on him sitting on my chest/lap without a hoodie, exposed, but hands nearby. As I text this, he is calm. If my hands get any closer, he yells. I’ll just keep doing this until I see a change in tolerance. Then we will advance a bit more.

That’s about all I know. I’ve read tons. The only consistent thing I see is patience and don’t give up. I’ve been working at it a month and have made only minute progress, but it’s progress nonetheless.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your blue front looks like it could be a hybrid - beak should be 100% black. It's not.





As long as it's allowed, I created this thread which may be of use to you and help give you direction.



http://www.parrotforums.com/training/72250-free-training-resources.html

I’ll still love him the same. I don’t know much about hybrid. Will that affect learning ability?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MonicaMc]

I’ll still love him the same. I don’t know much about hybrid. Will that affect learning ability?

Not at all. It simply means that he's not "pure", but many birds within captivity are no longer "pure" anyway because species and subspecies have been mixed.

 

[Happy2bme]

Wow! All that in 24 hrs! I inherited an Amazon when a neighbor died and the police were going to call animal control. I had met the bird over the course of a week 3 years prior and he lived in a dark stinky bedroom in a dirty cage. I got a mean frightened bird in a dirty dirty cage. He sat in the cage with his back to me for 2 weeks. Every time I would clean the cage feed or change his water he would try to bite. I know he had a bad life but I feel like an abused spouse! I've had him a year. He only goes in his cage to eat and drink. He rarely lets me rub his face. He wants to"step up" but has bitten me so many times I won't do it. I use a stick! Do you think he will always be mean? I wouldn't let him anywhere near my face! He got in my arm once and crawled up my neck. I looked like Dracula had lucnh

 

[MonicaMc]

Every time I would clean the cage feed or change his water he would try to bite. I know he had a bad life but I feel like an abused spouse! I've had him a year. He only goes in his cage to eat and drink. He rarely lets me rub his face. He wants to"step up" but has bitten me so many times I won't do it. I use a stick! Do you think he will always be mean?

Honestly, he doesn't sound mean to me. It sounds like the only way he knows how to communicate is through biting. He's not comfortable with you around his cage, so he communicates in the only way he knows. He's not comfortable with hands, so again, he communicates in the only way he knows how to. Through biting.


"Yes", he will always be mean if you think he's mean. "No", if you can learn how to communicate with him in a way that wont result in getting bitten. It does require changing how you think and interact with him though. It's not something that will change overnight or within days, because you are trying to undue everything he's learned, and the longer a behavior has been reinforced for, the longer it may take to undue.


You start by using the methods employed by Positive Reinforcement Training, Applied Behavior Analytics, the ABC's of Behavior and Force Free Animal Training.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Well then! Can you please expand my signature pics and take a look at Gonzo? I've always assumed he is a BFA, but perhaps a variant?

Gonzo is, without a doubt, a blue fronted amazon. Blue fronted amazons have black beaks with varying amounts of blue or yellow to the head. Some blue fronts may have minimal or no yellow where-as others may have minimal to no blue. Blue fronts without blue are probably more common than blue fronts without yellow... as odd as that may sound.


Orange wings on the other hand should always have blue and yellow heads and a two-toned beak. They are also smaller than blue fronts.


Here's a picture of a blue front and an orange wing - although the website says they are both blue fronts....

http://www.parrot-bird.com/parrot-pictures/blue_fronted_amazon/amazon-parrots-01.jpg


This site has both species labeled correctly

https://www.hbw.com/ibc/photo/orang...ange-winged-amazon-right-amazona-aestiva-left



Or a great shot of just an orange wing amazon's head

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3259/2730092576_3bca69c790_b.jpg



And this is what you get when you don't realize that they are separate species and allow them to breed.






Amber, it sounds like you two are making great progress!!!! If you teach Oscar some target training, it will make it easier to get him moved around!

That second picture looks like a hawk-headed Amazon! Beautiful!

 

[AmberAndOscar]

UPDATE: Oscar is doing great! He has his days, yesterday he didn't want me to touch him at all, so I didn't, I just sat outside of his cage and spoke to him. It seems so weird but I just tell him everything I am doing, like right now I am telling him I am writing in a parrot forum Oscar, and reading it aloud to him. He seems so interested in me talking, a nice change from my other child, a teenage boy lol. Oscar loves climbing on me when my boys get home. He started doing tricks for my husband, when my husband stretches his arms and makes a growl noise, Oscar does a flip on his door perch! He even walked onto my husbands chest and started picking at his beard. That terrified my husband because Oscar still will not let him touch, pet, head scratch, nothing without trying to bite him, but its a great start!

 

[AmberAndOscar]

So, another great update! Oscar is awesome!!! With the exception of slight weight loss due to stress, he is perfect! I am still reading and learning more everyday about Amazon's! Oscar is extremely picky when it comes to food. If he had it his way he would eat only peas and cooked carrots with an occasional green bean... He loves to nibble my cheeks now... And my arms, and my neck, and my eyebrows... Switching to pellets is NOT happening if Oscar has a say... I have tried the juice soaking, mixing with fresh fruit etc, I am going to try a new brand next. He still will not go to my husband or son, but yesterday, I drove to the store and Oscar flew off his cage, my son picked him up while I was gone! Thats progress! Oh yeah... And he flew!!! Yep, Oscar is not flightless!!! It took him 3 weeks, but wanting mama while she is busy was a good teaching agent... He now comes to me when I call him!!!:

 

[Soyajam]

Sounds like he's getting nice and comfortable, which is fabulous news!

When my bird is feeling affectionate sometimes she tries to preen my eyelashes, now THAT is an unsettling feeling...

As for the pellets, if he won't try them in one go you'll have to be more sneaky. Either introduce them in tiny amounts in his normal food, or (which sounds more likely), see if you can mash the soaked pellets in with the peas. I've read parrots are all about texture so if you can make it all the same texture he might not notice.