Phobic Amazon

[TKS]

I recently adopted a Blue Front from our local animal shelter. This bird was dumped by the owner with no information. This bird is totally afraid of everything. Without any background information I have no idea what "he" has been through or how much he's been worked with. He runs from everything, won't step up (runs from my hand). The only thing I can do with him is get him to take a peanut from me, and that's all. He hates being outside of his cage. The only way he ever comes out is if he get scared of something and runs out without realizing he's done it. I leave the door open for him daily to give him the opportunity to come out but he will not come out on his own. When he does, I close the door for a while so that he can't rush right back in.

Can anyone give me any tips on how to work with him to be less fearful? I am not a first time bird owner, but this is my first amazon. However, all the other birds I have owned have been older and already trained when I got them from the shelter.

Thanks!

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Welcome TKS; what's your birds name?

I have worked on "rehabilitating" many phobic animals, but most of them have been dogs and cats. I can give some advice that applies to most animals but there may be parrot/amazon experts out there who can give more species specific info - the first such person to contact would be a good avian vet if you have not already had your bird in for a thorough check up.

Patience is key in working with a phobic animal, his reactions will partially reflect your reactions, so controlling your own emotions/behavior is essential. If he panics make sure you remain calm, let him see that whatever "spooked" him does not bother the rest of his flock in the slightest. Of course don't scold him for panicking; but also be careful of trying to calm him down by talking nicely to him - when a phobic animal panics many owners naturally want to calm them down so they talk to them in a soft comforting voice but what they end up doing is rewarding them for being in a agitated state. Behavioral contingencies do not effect only consciously controlled or 'willful' behaviors but they also effect physiological reactions of fear. So in other words if he panics and runs back to his cage just let him go, let him see that NOTHING happens: nothing bad, nothing good. Then when he calms down a bit you can go talk to him a bit.

Thats the general 'attitude' to approach a phobic animal with, but now a couple of specifics that should help. First I'd recommend that you don't close his cage door when he comes out. He should have a safe-zone that he can always escape to. It's much harder for an animal (or human) to feel safe exploring a new environment unless they know they can still get back to their safe familiar place.

With the cage door open he can come and go as he pleases, if he panics he can run home and calm down. With the cage door closed (when he is out) if he panics he has no where to run which most likely will increase his anxiety or panic, but more importantly it will force him to remain in the out-of-cage environment (living room or wherever) in a panicked anxious state. You don't want him to associate your home with that anxiety. So leave the door open.

But of course you do want him to come out for longer periods, but you want that to be his choice. To get him to Choose to come out you can use a shaping technique:

It is very good that he will take peanuts from you and this will be important. If a phobic animal will accept rewards it is MUCH easier to help them overcome their fears. Do explore other treats to in order to see what really motivates him.

Leave the cage door open and sit close to the cage with some treats. Hold one out on the floor where he can come get it. If/when he approaches avoid any kind of reaction or eye contact. He will likely accept the treat then go back to the cage; once he does this much then repeat the same thing while calmly talking to him. Move incrementally farther and farther away from the cage (small increments - baby steps) for future sessions/repetitions. Mix in going farther from the cage with gradually adding more activity - perhaps another person in the room, or you move around a little, or have a houseplant or any other potential frightening object with you.

Continue this until he will come out of his cage and across the room to take the treat (obviously he will be more motivated if you do this before he is fed.) Eventually when he can come a good distance out of his cage keep offering him treats to keep him with you: ie give him the first treat when he gets to you, then offer another, and another so he doesn't flea as quickly. Finally extend the time between these treats so that he will sit next to you out of his cage waiting for the next treat.

By the time you have gone through all the above he should be quite comfortable staying out of his cage for extended periods of time. There will likely be things he still needs to habituate to: perhaps a phone ring will startle him, or the clanking of pots and pans. When this happens remember where we started - do not react to his reaction. Let him have his panic attack but ignore it, and when he starts to calm down talk to him and entice him back out of his cage.

Rehabilitating a phobic animal can take quite a bit of time working a little each day over weeks or sometimes months. But I suspect it should go well for you, if he already accepts treats from you that is a very big initial step.

Keep us updated as the above overview was just that - an overview. It will not likely work as smoothly as I have described it, but for every 'snafu' there is a solution.

Lastly to reiterate if he has not been to a good avian vet yet that would be the absolute first step: animals can appear phobic if they are sick or in pain, so those should be ruled out before much training is attempted.

 

[Vivi]

I'm just a newbie on this forum, but I have sucessfully rehabilated a parrot before. He was just a small half moon conure but his personality was huge! i my opinion patience is the key. I really dont remember giving Max (conure) treats, but i did give him his space. A conure sure does pack a nasty bite and he did make me bleed once or twice so i imagine that an amazon packs an even nastier bite. A trick i picked up when handling him was to use on oven mitt. It sure made handling him much easier. Also you might want to handle him more than once a day. I remember a lot of 20 mins sessions a day. I also agree that you should not pay attention to bad behavior. Just let the episode pass.

 

[TKS]

Thanks all! With lack of any information on him I have named him Bud Bird. Not too original but his attitude reminds me of my brother Buddy...kind of grumpy most of the time and fun every now and then. I will give your suggestions a try. We do not have an avain vet close but there is a vet that comes in periodically for a bird club in the area. I will see if I can get him there. He appears to be healthy, he plays a bit and coos and does general fun bird behavior. He is just terrified of being handled and coming out of the cage. I'm guessing the previous owner must not have worked with him at all. He came in with other birds so perhaps the old owner was overwhelmed, and maybe he misses his flock too. I wondered if another bird (one already trained and comfortable with being handled) would help any? If he saw the behavior exhibited by another bird would he be more comfortable and would it help him to learn? I have been asked to take a Macaw that is 4 years old, well raised and hand trained and very comfortable around animals and people. I am going to see him Monday evening.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Would another bird be a good idea? That goes beyond my experience but I am inclined to think it might not be a good idea for a couple of reasons:

1) If you get another bird be sure it is because YOU want another, not because you think it will help Bud Bird. If you want more than one I suspect it could be made to work without issue, so don't let me dissuade you if your heart is set on building your own flock; but I would be rather surprised if it helped Bud Bird - there are many good reasons to get a second, third, or fourth bird (etc); to help rehabilitate a phobic bird however is not likely one of them.

2) Generally when dealing with fears and phobias you want to be able to control the environment - the fewer variables the better. Bringing home another bird, no matter how well trained, will introduce a whole new set of variables which you would have little to no control over. The new bird may behave well elsewhere but need time to adjust to your home; the new bird and Bud Bird may not get along which would add more stress to Bud's life; the two birds may bond before Bud Bird can form any connection with you (thereby making it LESS likely that he will ever be comfortable with people); or finally the new bird may bond with you quickly leaving Bud even more out of the loop.

Now all this is just speculation on what could go wrong, another bird could also be the greatest thing for Bud. But it seems to me that there are so many unknowns that I would want to give Bud Bird some time to settle in well before throwing in any more variables.

Perhaps the big flock Bud used to have is the reason he is uncomfortable with people - he bonded with other birds and may have not interacted with people. If you just want Bud to be happy then you can get lots of birds and build an aviary - but if you want to encourage Bud Bird to interact with people and get comfortable with you I suspect you'll have the best luck without other birds around.

 

[Avianwebcage]

TKS, I have an adopted Amazon that took quite some time to earn the trust of.
Most my birds are adopted and I'd have to say that the Amazon (in my opinion) was the most stubborn, or should I say slow to open up and accept me, the new home, everything. But in time it happened. And once I started to see signs of acceptance from her, things started to progress a bit quicker. But she was slow to get to that point.
A lot of patience, love, and care earned her trust in me.
I kept her away from the other birds and close to my desk at home. Kind of a quarantine and also a way for her to see "My" day to day routine.
But I have to tell you, when you have reached the time that Bud feels like accepting you and trusting you the slightest bit, that will make all your patience well worth it. Amazon's are amazing companions.
Auggie's Dad has wonderful advice that I hope helps. Allowing all the time that Bud needs is so important. I also don't' recommend another parrot as a companion for Bud. Bud needs to study you, learn who you are, and in time hopefully accept you as his companion.

I wish you and Bud the best.

 

[TKS]

Again...thanks everyone! I'm having my doubts on the Macaw. He wasn't as well trained as advertised...LOL. I watched him try to bite the owners over and over and I'm sure that's not behavior I want to encourage with Bud Bird. I think we'll keep it at one for now and keep working with him. I have gotten him to take bits of toast and cheerios, but haven't quite hit on that treat that drives him wild and tempt him no matter what. I'll keep working at it.

 

[Avianwebcage]

Tonie's favorite treats are Almonds (shelled, plain, natural, no salt) and fresh plain popcorn (popped with as little veggie oil as possible and cooled off).

Try one of those.
For the popcorn, ALL my parrots enjoy that the best for a treat.

 

[TKS]

Denny...thanks! I have been trying different things and haven't hit on that one really irresistable treat so far. I'll give the popcorn a try!