adopting a rescued Mexican red-headed amazon!

[Kiwibird]

Unless he's clipped or in a closed off room, you will absolutely have to lock up your bird when someone is cooking. Its in his best interest. There is just too much of a risk of a piggy bird taking a nose dive into a boiling pot. My mom has to round up/lock up her birds when she's cooking. Even when she's prepping, they all come over to munch on whatever she's making, it's difficult to keep a parrot (especially the notoriously piggy zons) out of the kitchen. Kiwi has a view of the kitchen from his cage, and will sometimes climb down and come get under my feet while I'm cooking (especially squash, his favorite of all foods lol). He's not flighted, but I still usually lock him up for his own safety (as I said prior, not being flighted does not curb his mischievousness). You also need to be aware that everyone in your house is going to HAVE to start using regular stainless steel pots and pans, because anything with that non-stick coating releases odorless fumes at high temperatures that kill birds instantly. A house with a bird is a house without non-stick cooking things. Personally, I've never had problems with stuff sticking to stainless, but some people have some difficulty remembering to properly grease the pan. It's something else your roomate are going to have to get used to if your going to have a bird.

 

[LakeDesire]

My parents cooked with teflon all the years my conure lived with them and luckily she lived to tell the tale, but I had been throwing out the teflon and replacing it with stainless steel before Jade moved back in with me. Teflon is bad for us, too! I go cast iron all the way... and you don't even have to grease it if it is property seasoned!

We may have to clip then... at least until we don't have roommates (we are slowly transitioning them out as we make more money). We keep Jade in the living room, and plan to keep Henry in the living room too because it is the room with the most activity and best view of outside... but unfortunately the living room is wide open to the kitchen with no door. And with four adults living in a house, someone is always cooking or making tea!

And I will be sure to post pictures! Tomorrow is the big day... I can hardly wait!!!

 

[LakeDesire]

Henry is home! She is so calm. She has preferred to sit on our shoulders instead of on top of her great big cage.

 

[Karigan]

Yay, welcome home!!!

 

[henpecked]

Congrats, Henry was lucky to find you.

 

[LakeDesire]

She is already right at home and showing off her vocabulary. And squawking for popcorn! We watched some TV with her on our shoulders and she begged for head scratches. Now she's getting ready for bed on top of her new cage. She doesn't want to go inside!

 

[julya]

Henry looks very happy with you guys!

 

[LakeDesire]

Thank you! I am amazed how well she is fitting in. She helped me cook breakfast and now is sitting calmly on my shoulder while I work. She won't go in her cage, though... whenever I try to put her in she gets upset and runs out and climbs to the perch on top. Must be trauma from being locked up for 11 years. The rescue said there is no reason to lock her in because she won't get into any trouble... I believe her because she stays put where ever I set her... so long as it isn't inside the cage!

She has not been very playful yet and not shown much of an interest in any of her toys. The rescue said she never played with her toys there either. Is her species just not very playful? Maybe she just needs time to get adjusted.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Phenomenal! I LOVE happy endings...and THIS surely is a VERY happy one.

 

[JerseyWendy]

She has not been very playful yet and not shown much of an interest in any of her toys. The rescue said she never played with her toys there either. Is her species just not very playful? Maybe she just needs time to get adjusted.

Yes, give her time. She is in a brand new environment now, and probably tickled silly to be out of her cage.

You can try experimenting with different toys, show her how to play with them. Perhaps start with a bell. Most amazons LOVE their cowbells.

 

[LakeDesire]

Good idea... I will show her how to play with some of her toys. I think I'll also move her dried food into the cage and see if that gets her to go in and play (and keep her wet/fresh food up top where she prefers to hang out).

The rescue gave Henry fresh fruits and veggies every day but also gave her sleek and shiny seed mix. Our vet said no seeds whatsoever for Jade (who has many health problems). Can amazons have more seed than conures? I am so used to thinking seeds=junk food that it will be hard for me to give them to Henry!

It is funny how uninterested Jade and Henry are in each other! Jade hasn't been around another parrot in years but loved squawking with our neighbor's conure when we used to babysit. I was holding Henry and a water bottle this morning and Jade was much more interested in examining my water bottle! Henry seems uninterested in Jade, except she kind of cringes when Jade screams. (Reasonable reaction!)

ETA: did I mention that Henry seems to be potty trained? She hasn't pooped on us yet... and always poops when we set her back down on top of her cage! Her original owners were crummy, so I doubt they potty trained her... I guess she just figured out on her own that people don't like to be pooped on! I have never heard of a parrot that potty trained herself before!

 

[MonicaMc]

For most medium and large parrots, if you can't feed them a healthy fresh food diet that meets all of their nutritional requirements, then it's recommend to feed them at least 50-75% of their diet as pellets.

Small species/parakeets shouldn't eat more than 25-50% of their diet as pellets.



If you are concerned about feeding seeds, why not feed a sprouted seed mix instead?


Casey, my first tiel, was raised by a couple. She never went on her human mother, but she would go on her human dad! LOL Me on the other hand? If Casey sits with me long enough, she'll go on me, too!



Sounds like Henry is adjusting well! You might want to consider getting him foraging toys, that way he'll not only have to work for his food, but learn to interact with things in his cage as well! You can also put food on his existing toys to try and get him interested in them!

 

[LakeDesire]

Good idea about foraging toys!

Unlike my conure, Henry seems to actually enjoy fresh vegetables. She's been punching on brocoli and carrots all evening!

 

[julya]

You know, I think that Ollie has been potty training himself too. He has gone on me a few times, but less and less as time goes by. I think I might be inadvertently training him to give me a little nip when he needs to go back to potty in his cage or stand, because right after the nip I set him down and he poops.

 

[aliray]

Henry is a very pretty bird, congrats on your new fid

 

[LakeDesire]

Thank you!

Henry pooped on me last night when I was holding her and sitting on the couch. She hasn't pooped on me yet while perched on my shoulder though!

 

[LakeDesire]

By the way... the rescue said that you can sex Mexican red-headed Amazons from their plumage! They said that the males have more blue on their crown. I found this picture from a breeder confirming what the rescue said, but every other site I've found says you need a DNA test.

Not that it matters too much... Henry doesn't care what pronoun we use. She'll still yell HI HENRY regardless!