Very scared of new people. What can I do???

[JerseyWendy]

No, Amazons don't need huts to sleep in.

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[Mattroma]

I am still a relatively new bird owner, but I second Mikey idea of moving the cage so he can see people entering the room. When you have friends over, you may want to have one enter at a time. give your bird a chance to settle before someone else enters the room.
Everyone keeps saying birds are wild animals, in the wild a startled bird takes to the air to get away from danger. bird trapped in a cage is only going to hurt himself attempting to flee. From what I've read you have had him a short time a new environment and new face, I can only imagine he is still on edge. Build his trust with you, and take it slow.

 

[MikeyTN]

One more thing: the stupid old owner cut tikis wings zigzag. Tiki lifted his wings for me today and they are really bad. I am pretty sure there is nothing I can do for him right? I am taking him to the vet Saturday to have his beak, nails, and wings looked at. And one more question. My green cheek sleeps in her little hut at night which she loves. I know that small birds like that need little sleeping places. Do amazons need something like that too? I have tried looking it up but haven't found anything yet. And on a side note. I made a post about tiki not drinking any water. And today he finally did! I was drinking water by him and then he went to his bowl and started drinking a lot. And then proceeded to giving himself a bath in the water bowl.

Don't worry too much on the wing clip, it will grow out eventually when he molts. And no I wouldn't give a Amazon a happy hut, for one they might destroy it quick making it useless or it can bring them to mating mood which you don't want that happening!

 

[SoCalWendy]

I tell people who come over to completely ignore Rio... No staring, no talking, no contact at all. Then I allow Rio to investigate on her own terms. Usually she is totally cool with people who come over. After a while I might allow a step up, but it depends on Rio's anxiety level. Don't know if that helps but that's what we do.

 

[henpecked]

Hey Brittani, i was asking questions about your bird in order to give better advice, not to "beat you up". Sounds like your getting great advice. If you have folks coming over on a usual basis, i'm sure he'll adjust to having folks over. I wouldn't stress over his wing clip, Like the others have said, it'll grow back a few at the time with each molt.Good luck.

 

[Terry57]

Hi Brittani...I have the same problem with my Hawkhead. We don't have alot of people over, usually just my daughter and her fiance, but Dar absolutely hates it! She is getting a little better when they come in the room quietly and keep their distance for awhile. She will finally stop screaming and out her crest down. With her, it is giving her some time to get used to them, and them not getting close to her until she calms down. Best of luck and you have come to a good place for advice, there are so many people here with alot of experience I have learned so much in the time I have been here!

 

[henpecked]

Ahh, Hawk heads are a bit different of a bird than a zon. They seem to be much more wary and territorial. That's pretty common for many Hawkheads.

 

[brittani299]

Thanks everyone for helping me. Today my sister is having friends come over. So I am going to they'll them to come in quietly and then ignore him. I will probably put a blanket on the front of his cage if he is in it when they come over. Right now he screams until he can go to the top of the cage so my sister lets him out every morning and it takes a lot to get him to go back in. I have told my sister to keep him in the cage so he gets use to if but she doesn't listen to me ever so there isn't much I can do there

 

[MikeyTN]

In order to train our beloved parrots, everyone within the household needs to be on the same page otherwise it's not going to work. They'll differentiate oh you let me out, she'll keep me in and start the bad behavior process.

 

[Betrisher]

Brittani, find out what your bird's ultra-most-favourite treat is and save that for 'home time' (for my beaks, it's dried pawpaw). When you want to put your bird back in the cage, say 'Home time' or something similar and offer the treat on the palm of your hand. Ideally, birdie will come to your hand for the treat and that's when you quickly and quietly put him straight inside the cage and move your arm to the top of the doorway so you can kind of 'scrape' him off as you withdraw your arm from the cage. Do it slowly, of course, so he can get his balance and cling to the cage. Once he's in, shut the door and give him a decent amount of treat for being such a good boy. It can be helpful to offer a piece of treat above his head so that he has to climb upward from the doorway in order to get it.

It's most important that you do all this slowly and patiently so that he learns the routine of Home Time. If you're in a hurry and take shortcuts (like grabbing him or trying to stuff him in when he's not ready for it), he'll learn that going home is a very unpleasant experience. So, start training him when you're alone with him in a calm, quiet atmosphere and especially when you've got lots of time to wait for him to do it right. It takes a little while, but it's so worth it when you need to get your bird back in the cage quickly. Once he learns the drill, he'll just go home for you when you ask him to. Best of luck with it and let us know how you get on!

 

[brittani299]

Well my sisters friends came over and tiki wanted to be by them. He started talking to them and came very close to them. I told them to ignore he when they came in and I think it helped. He even played with his bell toy!

 

[MikeyTN]

That's good!!! I'm glad he's doing better.

 

[Terry57]

That's great news!

 

[brittani299]

I found out why he freaked out last Sunday at the group in my house. My sister told me last night one of my friends was chasing him around the cage with a stick so she could touch him. I am pretty pissed because it really freaked him out. And I didn't see it because when it happened I was in the bathroom. So tiki isn't really afraid of people just stupid people that try to grab him. So I will make it very very clear to her again not to do that. I am not sure why my sister didn't tell me this Sunday but she is a difficult person.