Clingy amazon parrot

[Mig]

Hi,

I have a red-lored amazon. He's approximately 21 years old, and I've had him since 2001. However, lately (maybe a year back), he's become more clingy. He can e.g. be sitting in his sunlamp or on his cage, completely satisfied. When I leave the room, he runs down on the floor and sprints to me. Sometimes, he even flies (which he usually doesn't do). This doesn't happen EVERY time I leave the room, but most of the time.

I cannot understand why he does this. I am at home most of the time, in the same room as him. Therefore, it shouldn't be because I spend too little time with him. And he didn't do this a few years ago.

Does someone know why he's doing this and what I can do to stop it?

 

[noodles123]

It is getting closer to spring and he could be partly hormonal, but there are likely behavioral components as well. Stick to petting on the head/neck (no cuddles) and remove access to any shadowy places in or outside of his cage (blankets, piles of paper, huts, under furniture, boxes etc)
Sometimes, when birds become sexually frustrated, they can get aggressive. It is easy to lead them on by mistake.

How much quiet sleep is he getting each night?

Has anything changed in your home?--new babies, new partners, new pets etc?

Also, what do you do when he runs after you or flies at you?

 

[Mig]

Thank you for your reply!

He sleeps quietly in his cage all night, and is very well-behaved. Nothing has changed in my home, but last year he had a major diet change. He was too fat, and we started feeding him only Harrison's bird food and fruit/veggies. He hasn't really been begging for other foods since then, but lately, he's especially been running to me when I'm in the kitchen.

When he runs to me I pick him up from the floor and put him somewhere convenient at the time (e.g. on a door). When he flies I have to run to his "rescue", since his coordination is awful and he usually crashes into something. He rarely flies, though.

 

[EllenD]

Honestly, it sounds like he's just wanting to be with you more often...It could very well be that he's a bit more hormonal this year than he has been in past years, that's perfectly normal, as some years are worse than others, and that could be a part of it just as Noodles stated above...However, as you know they are extremely intelligent, about the level of a 3-4 year-old human toddler, and they are also "Flock Animals" innately. So it's not unusual at all for them to follow their "Flock" when they go somewhere and want to be with them all the time...And you and everyone else who lives in his house are his "Flock"...

He's only 21 years old, not at all old for an Amazon, and as I said, they are totally and completely "Flock Animals", and you and the others who live in your home are literally his "Flock", as other Amazons would be in the wild...You've had him since 2001, and while that seems like a very long time to us, to them it's not long at all when it comes to forming relationships and strong bonds with us. Sometimes Amazons actually take a full 21 years or more to allow their people to even touch them. I know of someone who has a Yellow-Naped Amazon that his father brought home when he was only 9 years-old, and the Amazon was only 12 years old...Now the Amazon is 36 years old and the owner is 34 years-old, and he owns him solely, as his father has passed away. So this person has literally lived with this Amazon all those years and been "his person" all those year, and it's only been in the last 10 years that the bird will actually come to him when he's called, and only in the last 5 years that he's allowed him to hold him, pet him more than just on the beak, and give him kisses. He is now, after all those years, FINALLY trusting of him and finally bonded to him and now wants to be with him all the time, and on him all the time...And that all happened very gradually and slowly over the last 5 years!!!

So, if I had to guess, I'd say that your Amazon has been getting more and more trusting of you and more and more bonded to you over the years that you've had him, very very gradually over time, and he's now gotten to the point where he very much trusts you and considers you "his Flock" and "his person", and he's now gotten to the point where he simply wants to be with you and in your presence whenever you're home...This isn't a problem to be solved at all, it's just the natural progression of an Amazon forming a strong bond to it's person and actually considering them his Flockmate, and wanting to always be with them when they are home.

This isn't something that needs to be fixed or that you can "stop", in fact most Amazon owners desire this type of bond with their birds and would love to be in your place. You can see just how long it can take for an Amazon to form this kind of bond with it's person, and it's totally dependent on the individual bird on how long it will take...Very few Amazons that are re-homed and adopted by a second person will immediately trust and bond with them and think of them as their Flock or their mate; there are always exceptions, but usually that only happens when someone brings home a hand-raised, just-weaned baby bird...After they are re-homed by their original owners, they tend to become very untrusting and unwilling, and it can take years and years for them to form that kind of bond with a person again...Amazons in particular tend to work this way...So it's not a problem, there's nothing "wrong" with him, he just wants to be with you whenever you're home. How you handle that is up to you, but it's not a "problem", and if you take measures to try to "stop it", you could actually really ruin your relationship with him, depending on what exactly you do to try to stop it...

***I'd wait until you get through this spring into the summer, after breeding-season ends and his hormones will surely be calmed down, and if he's still acting this way or his "clingyness" progresses even more, then you'll know that this is simply his bond to you getting stronger and stronger over-time...It does seem counterintuitive to us for it to take literally decades to form a strong bond with someone, as humans tend to just pair-up with another human the minute we meet them, lol, but parrots just don't work that way, nor do many other animals. And with parrots being as intelligent as they are, and being the extremely social "Flock Animals" that they are, it can take literally years and years to decades for them to get closer and closer to their person or people...

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

What Ellen said! I have had my Amazon for 29 years. He picked me to go home with when he was just four months old. I am his "person". He will lye on his back in my hand,I can skritch his head to the point where his head is laying sideways on my knee,with his eyes closed and beaky slightly open...he is in another world when like that! He has just recently ( 3 or 4 years) started calling for me. "HELLO?".."HELLOOOO??"

I have some health issues. One day last year I either fainted or just passed out in the hallway of my home. I was in sight of Amys' cage,and I awoke to him SCREAMING to me! He was saying every word he knows,as loud as he could ( Believe me,an Amazon can be LOUD if they want!) I came to about fifteen minutes later because of the fuss Amy was making. He KNEW I was in some kind of trouble!
When we go for rides in the car,he'll preen my beard,GENTLY beak my cheek,and make soft sweet Amazon noises in my ear,and I love it!

YOU are one of the lucky ones. Love every minute of it!!


Jim

 

[Mig]

Thank you all for your replies! I will start appreciating his running a bit more!

I do have to add though that sometimes he runs down on the floor when I go into another room, but instead of following me, he goes around the apartment exploring. We just recently placed a lot of toys on the floor in the kitchen, and now sometimes he goes there to look at them and laugh.

Well, I guess he's just a curious bird

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Thank you all for your replies! I will start appreciating his running a bit more!

I do have to add though that sometimes he runs down on the floor when I go into another room, but instead of following me, he goes around the apartment exploring. We just recently placed a lot of toys on the floor in the kitchen, and now sometimes he goes there to look at them and laugh.

Well, I guess he's just a curious bird

Amy doesn't fly. He walks the floor also. He has more miles on those dinosaur feet then on his wings lol. BB is clipped at the moment coz he is taking meds for a bacterial infection. I'm his person also. If you want to see something real fun,just watch a little yellow faced cockatiel running across the living room floor saying "C'mon!...C'mon!"

Smokey (R.I.P.) a Grey,would also walk down the hall towards the kitchen saying "Hello??..Helloooo?" looking for me. Now that I think about it,all my birds did/do a lot of walking! lol

Jim

 

[EllenD]

It's not at all uncommon for them to prefer walking on the floor to flying, and in a lot of cases it's actually necessary for them to walk and impossible for them to fly inside, and the larger the bird the less likely they are to feel comfortable flying inside. They know they just don't have the room for their wings to open-up fully, and their chances of crashing into something is high. They tend to feel claustrophobic indoors and so they walk on the floor...That's almost the way that ALL pet Cockatoos, Macaws, Greys, Amazons, and even the medium to smaller parrots are...My Green Cheek Conure and my Quaker parrot have no issues flying inside, my Green Cheek is the best flyer in the house by-far, he's like a bullet flying around the house, down the halls and around corners...But my Senegal rarely flies inside, and when he does fly somewhere I usually have trouble finding him, and when I call for him he'll come running on the floor!!! And he's not that large, but large enough.

Something else to keep in-mind is that as your bird becomes more and more bonded to you and wants to be with you more and more, that also means that his level of confidence and trust in-general is also going to become greater and greater. So it's not surprising that he's starting to become more and more curious about things and wanting to check-out his home.

These are all good things, they all mean that you have a happy, healthy, loving bird who is becoming more and more bonded with you and loves you dearly. Think of it this way, if it's taken since 2001 for him to build this kind of relationship and bond with you, then it's gotta be quite the bond that he has with you, and he must love you very, very much. That's a special thing that should be cherished and not taken for-granted...

 

[Anita1250]

I guess it could be something to be thankful for. My BFA just turned 36, and I have had him since he was 11 weeks. He won't walk around looking for me, but calls for me when he can't see me. Sometimes that can be pretty annoying also. Especially if I am on the phone! However, I am very happy that he wants to be with me all of the time, and hope to have him around for a long long time.

 

[texsize]

I would try to stay in contact with him when you are not in his sight.
Call to him, “I’m right here “ or “I’ll be right back” or a whistle that he recognizes.

 

[SailBoat]

There is a term that Amazon households use to define life with a beloved Amazon: Being Owned By An Amazon!

Truly great explanations and comments provided above. Contact calls are a reality of daily life with Amazons. Much the same with Humans as we comment with each other as we move about the house. The more active we are with keeping in contact with each other, the happier everyone is. When your Amazon knows where you are, he may choose to follow you a bit less or fly or walk in more.

The great part is that Life is more enjoyable with an Amazon that wants to be with you than one that wants nothing to do with you.