Helping a LCA trust others and his surround(need taming help)

[Rrrma]

I thought I'd post this in the species specific to more specialized help.

I've read up on some tips and tricks, but I'm looking for maybe some words of advice from experienced owners.

Hardy is a wild caught Lilac Crown Amazon. I have no idea how old he is, but I'm going to go with a minimum of 20 years(more than likely already in his 30s). He was caught and paired with a Mexican Redhead and supposedly they never produced. No one ever sexed them, so they could have both been boys or both girls, and I doubt anyone ever really took the time to get to know him.

My mom's friend rescued him and his mate from the breeder. If I remember correctly she got fed up with them not breeding and just sat them on the porch(regardless of weather) in their cage. My mom's friend brought them home in about 1999. She already had multiple birds and figured that they would be happy in a warm home with good food and nice company. She never tried to tame them, since they were bonded. His mate died last year and since then she has known she needed to work with him, but she hasn't had the time. When she found out my Eclectus needed a companion after her friend died, she thought it might be good for both of them. She also knew I'd be more able to work with him.

So I've had him since July 2nd and have been working on getting him used to the daily grind. He does seem better than he was when he was at her house. He chatters a lot more, but he still just sits on his one side of the perch most of the day. I've been adjusting his diet and I've tried introducing him to new toys, but he is still very afraid.

I've been working on trust with him. Learning to trust fingers, different sides of fingers, hands, the palm and back, fists and wrists. He eagerly takes treats from my fingers and the palm of my hand, and hesitantly takes them off the back of my hand, but does. There have been times where he mistakenly went to step up on my arm, then thought better of it. So I feel like we are making progress.

He hasn't bit, I don't think he will really bite. He lunges and smacks sometimes, but he doesn't show aggression. He would rather run from something than bite it.

I watched a video on youtube about clicker training your parrots and using a small stick(like a chopstick) as a target. What do you think?

I do try to get him to come out of his cage, and he will... sometimes. I leave his door open often, to see if he wants to come out, but usually he doesn't.

He is still very insecure about the area, but it has only been 3.5 weeks.

I don't care that he be tame, I don't need to snuggle with him, I just don't want him to be so afraid of everything. She brought his cage with him, still assembled, with all the toys that have been in there for years, but he never touches them. I think the redhead was who played with them, as he just completely avoids them.

So if any of you have any suggestions. I'm going to keep working with him a little each day, but this is my first time... so I'm not sure if there is a better way.(My eclectus was an aggressive rehome, but she instantly trusted me and has only ever been attached and wanting of me. The grey I got the day after the amazon and she is a 14yo breeder who also just about instantly trusted me and although she needs some taming, she is very eager to fit in and be loved and petted)

 

[greycloud]

I hope you don't mind but I have some major suggestions. You seem to have acquired several birds at once from different places. Not one of your birds was quarentined for the suggested 30-90 days from eachother. The grey came from a barn with many other birds. No matter how clean they were kept they can harbor many dieseases. It is too late now to quarentine and I have witnessed many who made that same mistake and paid dearly. Run, don't walk to the nearest avain vet and have your birds tested.
As far as the LCA. You seem to be doing well with training. Clicker training is excellent positve reinforcement training. Your bird may be depressed over the loss of it's friend. Like you said 3 1/2 weeks is not that long. Have him tested and make sure all his organs are functioning properly. You may want to offer a new cage. A change in cage sometimes inspires a stressed bird. Offer new toys too. If you need help finding a vet, let me know where you live. If you want you can PM me.

 

[Rrrma]

I've been in search of a vet, but am having no luck finding one in a travelable distance yet.

Bringing home 2 birds from 2 different places did worry me, and does worry me. The best I could think to do was keep them relatively separate at first. No one shares anything and everything gets cleaned multiple times a day. But my house has an open floor plan, so they can't be totally separated. I try to be as cautious as possible, though our situation has never been ideal.

That said I do know I need to have them all checked out, finding a vet has been hard, but I am trying to be in contact with people to locate one. I checked the AAV with no luck, but I have emailed a few of the members in my state to see if they know of anyone closer to me.

OK I take that all back! I found one in town! He is relatively unknown and it took calling a vet who called a vet, who emailed a vet, who called another vet, to find him LOL! Turns out he is an orthopedic vet and that is his main practice, BUT he started out in exotic species and does still see them when requested. He has much experience with Eclectus, he says, and of course can see the other birds.

Oh happy day! He is just up the street too!

 

[_Cass_]

I hope you don't mind but I have some major suggestions. You seem to have acquired several birds at once from different places. Not one of your birds was quarentined for the suggested 30-90 days from eachother. The grey came from a barn with many other birds. No matter how clean they were kept they can harbor many dieseases. It is too late now to quarentine and I have witnessed many who made that same mistake and paid dearly. Run, don't walk to the nearest avain vet and have your birds tested.
As far as the LCA. You seem to be doing well with training. Clicker training is excellent positve reinforcement training. Your bird may be depressed over the loss of it's friend. Like you said 3 1/2 weeks is not that long. Have him tested and make sure all his organs are functioning properly. You may want to offer a new cage. A change in cage sometimes inspires a stressed bird. Offer new toys too. If you need help finding a vet, let me know where you live. If you want you can PM me.

I agree completly. But it's greeaat you found a vet!! Hallelujah.
You should make him a whole bunch of different foods too.
I have found the most EXELLENT bird recipe website EVER!!!!!
Here it is! All 311 bird recipes:
Parrot Recipes