20ish year old male Amazon

[Bartleby]

Didn't know you were in Oregon! I'm in Gresham and I take Zilla to Dr. Lintner in Lake Oswego.

She would only be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Bend. She is the only Board Certified Avian Vet in Oregon and she is AWESOME!

If you want her information I can get it to you.

CF is in Paisley I believe which is another 2+ hours south of Bend, so that would be the 6 hour drive she/he is trying to avoid.

According to the ABVP there are NO board certified avian vets in the entire state of Oregon. There used to be one out of Salem I believe, but no longer. So, if she is certified she should really get them to update their database, because she is not coming up...anywhere.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Didn't know you were in Oregon! I'm in Gresham and I take Zilla to Dr. Lintner in Lake Oswego.

She would only be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Bend. She is the only Board Certified Avian Vet in Oregon and she is AWESOME!

If you want her information I can get it to you.

CF is in Paisley I believe which is another 2+ hours south of Bend, so that would be the 6 hour drive she/he is trying to avoid.

According to the ABVP there are NO board certified avian vets in the entire state of Oregon. There used to be one out of Salem I believe, but no longer. So, if she is certified she should really get them to update their database, because she is not coming up...anywhere.

I guess that is a pretty long drive for the birds. I should have known where Paisley is, I used to live in Bend!

I will definitely let her know she isn't coming up on the ABVP so she can take care of it. Thanks!

 

[CFellows]

Yeah, Paisley is not close to anything. You get used to being in the middle of nowhere. I was able to find a Dr. Mass in bend that works with birds, but he is out of the office till the end of january

It is nice to see how many others are here in Oregon

 

[henpecked]

hey, i drive past 20 AVs to visit my AV. 3 hrs is nothing. Most AVs have a lot of respect for parronts who care enough to find a good AV.

 

[CFellows]

My goodness, this bird is a perch potato! It just sits ther all day and does nothing. I think the lack of attention has turned its brain off. I want to try to stimulate the bird to be more active during the day so I made up a few foraging toys. What do you guys think?
1) The first one is just two small plastic bowls strung on a small rope with various other things. I fill the lower bowl with food. For now I left the upper bowl high so Sammy can just eat the food, but as Sammy gets the hang of it I can close the lid more and more to make it more of a chalange.
2) I saw this one on pintrest, its just a tp roll with the ends cut and folded in. I left one end open until Sammy gets the idea.
3) This is one of the toys I had in his cage I just stuffed some peanuts and dried mango in the cracks.
4)This is an old baby toy i filled with paper and then put peanuts, mango, and apple around the out side for Sammy to find.
5) The last pictue is of Sammy eating out of a mandren orange. I cut the orange in half, spread peanut butter on the cut side then dipped it in bird food.

 

[Kiwibird]

Sounds like your getting Sammy to slowly power up that birdbrain (and that's not an insult, zons are smart!). Kiwi just kind of sat there like a lump and/or behaved aggressively when we got him. We started with super simple challenges and pretending to play with toys to get him intrigued and help him understand why they were there. Now he's got endless amounts of energy and is always playing, hanging upside down, foraging ext... Give it a year, and Sammy is going to be a super curious, expert forager who lets his toys know who's boss Brilliant idea with the orange BTW. I never thought of doing something like that before, but that could work for many fruits and veg!

 

[4dugnlee]

Those are awesome toys and ideas! Sammy looks great!

 

[CFellows]

So I think Sammy is slowly comming around to the foraging toys, he will at least pluck out the easy ones. I have tried to get him to take a bath but he is having none of it. I place fresh water in a large shallow dish, turn on a youtube video of a amazon in the shower (for water sounds and a visual) and when Sunny takes a bath (their cages are in the same room) I mist sammy with a spray bottle. His feathers do look a little better, just after the few mistings, but I really wish he would just wash himself.
It really bothers me, not being sure of his gender, so I sent off for a DNA feather test kit. I can't wait to get it. I have a feeling he is a she, after the members advice on his crouching. I want to change Sammys name after I know for sure. I am not normaly one to go changing names, but in this case, I dont think sammy knows his name, and sammy & sunny are way to close. I am working on recall training sunny, and I have hopes to someday be able to do the same with sammy. I want each bird to come when called and as it is now sunny and sammy would be confusing. I know these are pretty big hopes but if a name change is going to happen it needs to hapen now and not later. What are your thoughts?

 

[Birdman666]

You are on the right track...

The other thing that helps the perch potatoes is to get them out and about. I realize that may not be practical if he's (1) not clipped, and (2) not especially tame. But perhaps just rolling the cage outside on nice days when the weather allows will help.

Sammy is a unisex name, isn't it? Sam. Samantha. Sammy is short for either.

Lila came to me with that name. It isn't exactly creative either Lilac Crowned... just drop the C. But she's 42 years old, and she knows her name, so I kept it.

Hated Sally's name too, but she knew it, and responded to it, so I kept it. I had enough to do without worrying about a name change.

I've actually only named two birds that I have ever owned (Tusk and Sweepea.) The rest came to me with a name.

And actually, my daughter named Sweepea...

 

[CFellows]

You are on the right track...

The other thing that helps the perch potatoes is to get them out and about. I realize that may not be practical if he's (1) not clipped, and (2) not especially tame. But perhaps just rolling the cage outside on nice days when the weather allows will help.

Sammy is a unisex name, isn't it? Sam. Samantha. Sammy is short for either.

Lila came to me with that name. It isn't exactly creative either Lilac Crowned... just drop the C. But she's 42 years old, and she knows her name, so I kept it.

Hated Sally's name too, but she knew it, and responded to it, so I kept it. I had enough to do without worrying about a name change.

I've actually only named two birds that I have ever owned (Tusk and Sweepea.) The rest came to me with a name.

And actually, my daughter named Sweepea...

Thanks birdman, I will try rolling Sammy outside on our next nice day. I never really thought about taking him out cage and all.
I would never think of changing the name of a bird if I thought the bird knew its name, but I don't think Sammy knows. I dont think anyone has ever really talked to or interacted with him before.

 

[CFellows]

How often should I mist Sammy? He does seem to be grooming himself more but still no chance of him taking a bath on his own.

Big news! yesterday I got Sammy to touch the cue stick for a treat He was afraid of the stick at first, but after just a few days of working with him we are ready for the first step of touch training.

 

[Birdman666]

The hardest thing with a zon is pushing past their fears the first few times. Once they let go of their stubborn resistance, and try it, and discover that they won't die from it, you're golden.

Ideal would be daily mistings, weekly soakings.

Misting is exactly that. Just a few zaps with a spritzer.

Soakings at my house means showers.

 

[CFellows]

Thanks Birdman! I have been doing it 3 out of 4 days or so, but I wanted to make sure I was not over doing it.

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks Birdman! I have been doing it 3 out of 4 days or so, but I wanted to make sure I was not over doing it.

Be sure to offer a treat and praise every time you mist! Many parrots have been 'punished' with water (squirted) in their past, so it's best if they are not natural water lovers to make a positive association with the spritzer

 

[Birdman666]

Thanks Birdman! I have been doing it 3 out of 4 days or so, but I wanted to make sure I was not over doing it.

Nah. Consistency is the key. Not a detriment.

More interaction is better than less, in my opinion, unless the bird is showing signs of stress. If the bird is into it, then it isn't a problem.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

You are on the right track...

The other thing that helps the perch potatoes is to get them out and about. I realize that may not be practical if he's (1) not clipped, and (2) not especially tame. But perhaps just rolling the cage outside on nice days when the weather allows will help.

Sammy is a unisex name, isn't it? Sam. Samantha. Sammy is short for either.

Lila came to me with that name. It isn't exactly creative either Lilac Crowned... just drop the C. But she's 42 years old, and she knows her name, so I kept it.

Hated Sally's name too, but she knew it, and responded to it, so I kept it. I had enough to do without worrying about a name change.

I've actually only named two birds that I have ever owned (Tusk and Sweepea.) The rest came to me with a name.

And actually, my daughter named Sweepea...

I have just given in on that name thing myself . About half of mine are rehomes . Even though I don't care for the names [I find it easier to keep them
]. its hard to change when their saying their own name

 

[CFellows]

I have got Sammy to start touch training. He will touch a cue stick to get a treat. He will not take a step yet, but it is a start. I love seeing him make progress

 

[Kiwibird]

I have got Sammy to start touch training. He will touch a cue stick to get a treat. He will not take a step yet, but it is a start. I love seeing him make progress

Good job! Sounds like Sammy will be a fast learner

 

[kimn818]

I just read this entire thread! I have no experience with Amazons, but it warms my heart knowing that Sammy is being loved the way he (she?!) should have been his entire life!

Since being on this forum since April(ish), I have made the decision that my next bird will be a rescue....But not before volunteering at a local rescue to get hands on experience.

I look forward to reading more Sammy updates!