An introduction to Theon! Some questions too :)

Greg

New member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Parrots
Theon - Yellow Crown Amazon
Hi all!

Just recently i bought Theon, a Yellow Crown Amazon. Its the first bird that i have owned after being a life long animal lover.

I got Theon from a pet shop where i was told that he is 3 years old (has no leg band) and was given to the shop by a family who were moving abroad. I literally fell in love with this bird on the spot and bought it without ever really planning to own a parrot... now i know people are probably frowning at that, but i really feel i bonded with this bird and i can assure you i am doing and will continue to do everything i can to give this amazing creature a great long life! :)

I have had him for 6 weeks now. In the shop when i bought him he was amazing with me, he got a little spooked on the journey home however and was VERY aggressive (a completely different bird :D ) for about 3 or 4 days. Since then he has settled down. He is a very vocal bird, always sings and speaks in the morning and evening and will chirp and squak whenever i speak to him or anyone in the room. He seems generally very happy and so am i!

However, there are a few things that are eating at me and i would love to get some advice... Im sorry to kinda 'bullet point' the issues but cant think how else to do it :D

1. His wings. They have been clipped before i got him (not sure how long, will find that out) and from time to time on one wing three big feathers will dislodge and 'stick out'. Theon doesnt generally seem to bothered and i think he can shake it back into place, but as im new to birds was wondering if this is an issue? Also i do not plan to ever have Theons wings clipped again (would love to fly him indoors and give him as free a life as possible) is there anything i should know or consider in terms of letting this happen? And generally what sort of time span am i talking before he can fly?

2. His cage. Ok so Theon just does not seem to like being in his cage. At the start i was putting him in when i go to work (i work only 5 hour shifts so spend ALOT of time with Theon) but now i just don't, as it was just becoming a negative experience for both of us. He literally spends his whole life on the top, even sleeps there! Ive built alot of branches etc in the whole corner so i guess he feels comfy there. Is this a bad idea? I personally do not want to cage the bird if he doesnt want to be and i have no issue with him being outside the cage (oh the cage is permanently open btw and he goes in and out to get food/water) but was just wondering are there any deeper underlying issues i should be worried about?

3. Handling. I spend ALOT of time with Theon, standing singing to him, talking to him, petting him when he lets me. But unto now he is not fully comfy with stepping up. I am currently using positive reinforcement in small doses and he today for the first time stepped on a perch swing toy of his i was holding at the top. I am really happy with the progress he is making but Theon still doesnt seem COMPLETELY trusting with hands, if i touch his wings for example he will sorta open his beak and hisss (before he would have lunged so is definately making progress). My problem is this, he HATES it when i go to work, he somehow knows it, it will build up the rage to the point where when im picking up my keys or putting on my jacket and Theon is in demon mode! He will hiss and crackle and prance about like a dinosaur vibrating his wings, and boy, if i go near the cage he will lunge and try to attack me to the point where he is sometimes smashing his beak off the cage and just generally acting so crazy lol. This kinda relates to my last two points, i want Theon to fly but strongly feel that if he could in these times that he would fly to get me. I ve tryed everything to stop this pre-work-leaving-anger but if i try to 'bluff' it, he somehow knows im not going to work and doesnt react. I dont show any fear when he does do this and go to the cage and talk to him try to calm him. Maybe this is linked to the fact hes out the cage alot? Just any ideas or info would be great..

4. His age! Now im told hes three but ive got abit of a feeling he might be older. He is very colourfull and vocal for one, yet not so confident with hands which makes me think he may have had more than one previous owner and a difference in experiences. Also his beak. This may be a seperate issue but his beak tends to chip and 'flake', is this a sign of old age? is it just wear and tear of the cage? Again just any info would be great.

Anything anyone can help me with would be much appreciated! sorry for the long post but wanted to give as much info on Theon as i had and give you a general idea of how hes living so i can get advice!

Thank you :)

Ive included some pictures and can provide more info if needed :)
 

Attachments

  • Theon 2.webp
    Theon 2.webp
    43.8 KB · Views: 146
  • Theon.webp
    Theon.webp
    34.8 KB · Views: 146
hey Greg and Theon,welcome to the forum. I'd read though some of the older post and maybe help to answer some of your question or give you some insight to being an amazon parent. #1,I'm not sure about his clip job , but maybe he just has a few stand alone feathers that get out of place. When he molts in a complete set it shouldn't be an issue. If he's on a good diet he should have a full set in about a year. HOWEVER just because he has the feathers doesn't mean he will fly. It takes awhile for birds that have never flown to learn and many won't even try. So only time will tell. There's a couple of things you can do later when he has feathers that might help and because he's so young i think he can be trained to fly.
#2 For his own good and safety he needs to learn to be alright with being in his cage when needed. i'd encourage him to be at least sleeping in his cage and he needs to be in his cage when your not around. it's good you feed and water him only in his cage . A travel size cage is a big help when transporting him and he needs to be accustom to that as well. My birds are cage free during the day but all sleep in their cage. If they learn to sleep in their cage then you won't have to close it up,they'll just go in to sleep. The problem is there's times when they need to be caged and it's crazy to stress them , their cage should be a refuge /home/ a safe place for them. Maybe his issue is cage placement ??

Enough for now ,it's my bed time, i'll get to the other points in the AM.
 
Hi and welcome
what a pretty boy you have there.

Ok to your questions

1. There feathers will stick out from time to time, they will put them back in place as they see fit and is of no concern. Birds can fly with there wings clipped, they just can't gain altitude or go as high but he may be choosing not to fly or really doesn't know how. He will molt about once a year and his flight feathers will grow back in giving him more flying abilities. A flighted bird is not for everyone but can be done, lots of threads on these forums to see the pro's and cons.

2. The cage, well it's there home and there is great risk in leaving a bird out unsupervised. I know you say he stays on the top of his cage but that will change as he becomes more comfortable. A good way to make it less traumatic is giving a special treat when you put him in. Also a bigger cage and lots of toys can help with this as well.

3. They are really smart and it seems he doesn't want you to go. Once again positive re enforcement, ultimately you have to be the flock leader tey to make a positive experience when you lave and also when you return. A nice cage with treats and things to keep him busy while your gone.

4. There really is no way of telling age, Parrots beaks flake and grow it's normal and they usually takecare of it by chewing wood and rubbing their beaks on things. As long as the hook doesn't grow long where it impedes their eating it's not a problem.

It takes a while to get fully bonded with a bird, but as time goes on it will grow stronger and stronger. Have patience and keep working with him, you'll have a friend for life.
 
Here are my thoughts on your questions.

1) Yay for wanting a flighted bird! There are definitely many things that are important when dealing with living with flighted birds, I'll name a few.
-blinds on windows
-opening doors to the outside should always be done with the bird not in the room
-leave bathroom doors closed
-don't have your bird out when cooking
-say goodbye to ceiling fans

Also, birds' feathers fall out of place all the time. The best way for their feathers to realign is for them to fly actually.


2) Cages are important unless you're planning on making a specialized bird room. You should try leaving your bird in your cage with you in the room. Give him plenty of toys that rotated out every other day, and only feed him in the cage. Spending time in the room with him in the cage makes the bird think that being in the cage is more of "playtime" as opposed to a prison they have to stay in alone. As this gets better, start leaving the room for a few minutes and then come back, gradually increasing the amount of time gone.

3) I'm not sure how to tackle this. I guess you could try leaving for a few minutes, then come back. Slowly increase the time gone each time. My bird hates when I leave to. Sometimes I pretend to leave just to test him. He knows to look out the window to see if I actually walked out now.

4) Beaks normally do that. Photos don't usually show flaking beaks because owners usually take pictures of their birds at their best, and usually don't zoom in enough to see the beaks close up.
 
Thank you all for your advice, its been sooo helpful. :)

Just in regards to the cage issue, how is the best way to get him into the cage? As of yet he isnt stepping up, and the only way im able to get him to go into the cage is to close it when he goes to get food (and this could be hours before i sleep/go out so dont want him to spend unnecessary hours caged). The only thing Theon cannot resist atm is Pine nuts, and im using them for positive reinforcement, and even then when i try these, he seems to know what im upto and doesn't go into the cage for them!

I know there probally isnt a miracle solution but any advice would be helpful.

Again thank you all for your help :)
 
Oh I remember those days of trying to get my guy in the cage before he would step up LOL
It passes with time.

Only give him food and water in his cage and for training and plan ahead.
If he is hungry or wants that pine nut or other treat he will go get it. A few favorites for my amazon that seems to get him almost anytime is popcorn, cashews and small bits of cheese.

Do you give him showers?
My guy always wanted to go eat after a shower, so in the mornings I would shower him and then give him breakfast. That was how I handled going to work in the beginning. At night I would use treats, if he went in his cage earlier to get it I would just close the cage and sit and talk to him usually handing him a few more healthy snacks until it was light out. Figure out his patterns and work with them.

Now that My amazon steps up, I just put him in when I need him to be but still hand him a treat, want to keep his cage a happy place.
 
At this minute i am not giving him showers in the actual shower for the same reasons, i cant get him there :D i am spraying him every day or every other day, sometimes he loves it other times he seems abit annoyed and moves away, while you touched on that is there a recomended amount of sprays/showers i should give Theon?

I will also try them treats that you mentioned :) thanks for that! He also loves his grapes right now :)

Also something really funny that he does, he will generally always go and get a bit of food if we sit down to eat in the house, as if to eat with us haha :D

Thanks again for all the info, really aprreciate it :)
 
As long as they get 1-2showers a week they are fine. More if they want it.
They are flock creatures, they love eating with you. Give him a few bites of bird safe food from your plate when you eat dinner, will go a long way in help creating the bond.
 

Most Reactions

Gus: A Birds Life

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom