Glad to be here!

[Alaeriel36]

If you need me, I'll be in the back devouring as much info as I can find from the archives!

I've kept budgies before when I was a kid, and presently have a spoiled flock of ameraucana hens. We'll be picking up our 20 year old red crowned amazon at the beginning of next month (coming from a complicated family situation). I don't know what conditions he has been kept in or whether he's ever even tasted chop in his life, so I'm actively hunting for those posts from folks with tips transitioning a neglected bird into a home where he will get the care he deserves.

We'll be driving him home halfway across the US, so I'm also scavenging for as much information as possible to keep him calm during this transition, and over the course of the next few years looking to do what we can so he can bond with us and feel safe in his new forever home.

Thank you all for being here and sharing your experience from years gone by, it's magnificent that there are so many relevant posts to look through! I hope to give you guys an update as we make our journey together with our new family member!

 

[LaManuka93]

If you need me, I'll be in the back devouring as much info as I can find from the archives!

I've kept budgies before when I was a kid, and presently have a spoiled flock of ameraucana hens. We'll be picking up our 20 year old red crowned amazon at the beginning of next month (coming from a complicated family situation). I don't know what conditions he has been kept in or whether he's ever even tasted chop in his life, so I'm actively hunting for those posts from folks with tips transitioning a neglected bird into a home where he will get the care he deserves.

We'll be driving him home halfway across the US, so I'm also scavenging for as much information as possible to keep him calm during this transition, and over the course of the next few years looking to do what we can so he can bond with us and feel safe in his new forever home.

Thank you all for being here and sharing your experience from years gone by, it's magnificent that there are so many relevant posts to look through! I hope to give you guys an update as we make our journey together with our new family member!

Welcome aboard @Alaeriel, I'm glad you found us and I'm SO looking forward to you introducing your new flock member to us Oh and pics of your spoiled hens are most welcome too!!

 

[osklvste]

Welcome and I can't wait to see pictures!

 

[Tman]

Welcome to the neighborhood.
You say you are going to travel across country with your parrot, when you pick him up. Will it just be you or is someone else going to be with you. I ask because one way to help your parrot. Is cover the travel cage.
Just leave the front door uncovered. And have it face you. This way all the movement out the windows won't scare him. He can just look at you. And you can reassure him.
Sorry for jumping right in there. But I thought that might help.

 

[Vampiric_Conure83]

Allo allo! How exciting to be bringing home a new flock member! You MUST post pics when the time comes. I've got a lady coming over today to meet my brats ( I currently have five) and to drop off her senior cockatiels that I hope to adopt . It seems both of us have some excitement in our lives!!

 

[AMD83]

Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your trip! Can't wait to see pics!

 

[texsize90]

If you need me, I'll be in the back devouring as much info as I can find from the archives!

I've kept budgies before when I was a kid, and presently have a spoiled flock of ameraucana hens. We'll be picking up our 20 year old red crowned amazon at the beginning of next month (coming from a complicated family situation). I don't know what conditions he has been kept in or whether he's ever even tasted chop in his life, so I'm actively hunting for those posts from folks with tips transitioning a neglected bird into a home where he will get the care he deserves.

We'll be driving him home halfway across the US, so I'm also scavenging for as much information as possible to keep him calm during this transition, and over the course of the next few years looking to do what we can so he can bond with us and feel safe in his new forever home.

Thank you all for being here and sharing your experience from years gone by, it's magnificent that there are so many relevant posts to look through! I hope to give you guys an update as we make our journey together with our new family member!

Welcome to the forum.
As the owner of (or owned by) 3 Red Crowned amazon’s I hope you like noise.

As far as the drive goes.
An hour and a half to two hours is about the longest car ride I’ve taken with my Amazon’s. I found that they like looking out at the scenery going by. I put an empty box on the seat to set the transport cage to give them a better view. My Bingo was able to recognize when we got close to home and you could tell he was excited to get home.

I am looking at needing to make a long trip (move) with my entire flock. It will be a new experience for all.
At this point my plan is to make frequent stops to rest the birds and offer food and water while we are stationary.

I know of one YouTube channel “Einstein the Texas parrot “ that made a multi day road trip.
Stayed in multiple hotels. You might take a look for their road trip video.

 

[osklvste]

It's been awhile. I am an itchy foot female. I traveled alone California to Nebraska then Texas with my CAG. We took frequent breaks every few hours. I was always in easy CAG sight. Soft music or audio book. Parrots are valuable. Even if not alone, park with spaces between your vehicles. If not alone your companion stays in vehicle with parrot locked up. No matter what. Even if only for a few minutes. You can buy "safety emergency " car windows breakers at any hunter shop for a few bucks. Smash and grab in a few minutes. I've seen it done to early and very expensive laptops and luggage. I was alone. Cage awkward in one hand, pepper spray visible in other. Often had to wait for handicapped stalls. I stopped nights at motel because of parrot. Prepacked bag of necessities. I my CAG went in permanently for night. If possible I parked in front of door. Went out the same way. You have an openly valuable object. In old days kept CB radio for help. Used inconspmore antenna. So make sure that cell phone is charged. If it falls out of reach pick it up. When stopped one watches as the other does the work. If must stop at night at rest park under light alone. You want 360 view. Above all talk to your friend. It doesn't matter what. If he does positive things give lots of verbal praise. Keeping your new friend happy, getting to know you is half. Getting home is the other half. I was a traveling critical care RN for over 4 years. State to state. CAG, 2 dogs. Had to drive. If I took mass transit I didn't have a car. Hopefully the practical I remembered can help. Be safe and welcome to the forums .

 

[Alaeriel36]

It's been awhile. I am an itchy foot female. I traveled alone California to Nebraska then Texas with my CAG. We took frequent breaks every few hours. I was always in easy CAG sight. Soft music or audio book. Parrots are valuable. Even if not alone, park with spaces between your vehicles. If not alone your companion stays in vehicle with parrot locked up. No matter what. Even if only for a few minutes. You can buy "safety emergency " car windows breakers at any hunter shop for a few bucks. Smash and grab in a few minutes. I've seen it done to early and very expensive laptops and luggage. I was alone. Cage awkward in one hand, pepper spray visible in other. Often had to wait for handicapped stalls. I stopped nights at motel because of parrot. Prepacked bag of necessities. I my CAG went in permanently for night. If possible I parked in front of door. Went out the same way. You have an openly valuable object. In old days kept CB radio for help. Used inconspmore antenna. So make sure that cell phone is charged. If it falls out of reach pick it up. When stopped one watches as the other does the work. If must stop at night at rest park under light alone. You want 360 view. Above all talk to your friend. It doesn't matter what. If he does positive things give lots of verbal praise. Keeping your new friend happy, getting to know you is half. Getting home is the other half. I was a traveling critical care RN for over 4 years. State to state. CAG, 2 dogs. Had to drive. If I took mass transit I didn't have a car. Hopefully the practical I remembered can help. Be safe and welcome to the forums .

Thank you so much for this! This is so helpful! Thankfully we will have a few folks traveling together so we will always have someone within arm's reach! I never even considered the possibility of someone wanting to take him, that's horrible!

 

[Alaeriel36]

Welcome to the forum.
As the owner of (or owned by) 3 Red Crowned amazon’s I hope you like noise.

As far as the drive goes.
An hour and a half to two hours is about the longest car ride I’ve taken with my Amazon’s. I found that they like looking out at the scenery going by. I put an empty box on the seat to set the transport cage to give them a better view. My Bingo was able to recognize when we got close to home and you could tell he was excited to get home.

I am looking at needing to make a long trip (move) with my entire flock. It will be a new experience for all.
At this point my plan is to make frequent stops to rest the birds and offer food and water while we are stationary.

I know of one YouTube channel “Einstein the Texas parrot “ that made a multi day road trip.
Stayed in multiple hotels. You might take a look for their road trip video.

Thank you!! We've got a full house already with a one year old and a whole host of fuzzy flock members, so noise is no concern! I would have been concerned about the baby waking during naps, but he's slept through our smoke detector going off so I think he'll be fine. (It should go without saying that there will be NO direct contact between the toddler and the bird, the cats and the bird, the dog and the bird, etc.)

We'll definitely be stopping for frequent rests too! Thank you so much for the reply and videos as well, these are great resources!

 

[texsize90]

Thank you!! We've got a full house already with a one year old and a whole host of fuzzy flock members, so noise is no concern! I would have been concerned about the baby waking during naps, but he's slept through our smoke detector going off so I think he'll be fine. (It should go without saying that there will be NO direct contact between the toddler and the bird, the cats and the bird, the dog and the bird, etc.)

We'll definitely be stopping for frequent rests too! Thank you so much for the reply and videos as well, these are great resources!

Some amazon parrots really like children.
There is a YouTube video of a little toddler with a red crowned amazon that follows him around everywhere, play together.
Hard to believe if you don’t see it for yourself.
And the local pet shop had a lilac crowned amazon that would get very excited whenever children entered the store.
But he wanted nothing to do with me.
The problem with Amazon’s is that the body language for excitement (happy) and anger (attack mode) is very similar.
Until you really know your bird it’s best to be cautious with fingers both little and big.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Welcome. You're our kind of folks, for sure!
You're a saint for all your good deeds. Much respect.
As for the trip, I once drove from New Mexico to Ohio about 30 years ago with the Rickeybird in a passenger seat cage while my ol' man drove the Uhaul! It was an adventure! I recommend lots of treats, lots of loud radio, and lots of good vibes as you congratulate yourself on your good karma.

 

[Alaeriel36]

Some amazon parrots really like children.
There is a YouTube video of a little toddler with a red crowned amazon that follows him around everywhere, play together.
Hard to believe if you don’t see it for yourself.
And the local pet shop had a lilac crowned amazon that would get very excited whenever children entered the store.
But he wanted nothing to do with me.
The problem with Amazon’s is that the body language for excitement (happy) and anger (attack mode) is very similar.
Until you really know your bird it’s best to be cautious with fingers both little and big.

Oh, I love that! Our munchkin is slowly learning how to be gentle with the dogs and cats One of the cats and the dog love him, but our other cat has no patience for the Grabby Hands. In a few years when he knows better, we'll start some supervised contact! In his former home, Tequila was known to call the cats and dogs by name and hurl a footful seeds at them when they came over.

It's definitely going to be quite the journey! We'll have to do a lot of rehabilitation for him to get him used to perches again and strengthening his wings so he can hopefully again fly someday! He loves peanuts and dried bananas, so we'll slowly offer some crunchy treats for enrichment. Working on slowly introducing fresh produce. And pointedly ignoring his potty mouth while we reward polite words... and the list goes on and on...

 

[Alaeriel36]

Welcome to the neighborhood.
You say you are going to travel across country with your parrot, when you pick him up. Will it just be you or is someone else going to be with you. I ask because one way to help your parrot. Is cover the travel cage.
Just leave the front door uncovered. And have it face you. This way all the movement out the windows won't scare him. He can just look at you. And you can reassure him.
Sorry for jumping right in there. But I thought that might help.

Much appreciated! Thankfully there will be two other adults in the car as well as our toddler!

 

[Alaeriel36]

Just stopping by to give an update!

We're home safe with Tequila, he made the drive last weekend. It was clearly very stressful for him, but he did so well!

We've got him in a modified large rabbit/hedgehog run since he can't perch, so any height in the cage could be a risk, and since he's been standing on wire for years, he can't walk either. We've been letting him settle this week and just chatted quietly near him while changing food and water, and this morning we were rewarded by him demanding a head scratch! I hadn't thought he would want anything to do with our hands for at least several weeks!

To aid in mobility, we'll be building a dowel "bridge" for him to use to pull himself around. If he takes to that, we'll slowly drift the food and water further apart to encourage him taking a few steps.

As for his health, he is in even worse shape than we imagined. The vets said in addition to his liver issues and arthritic feet, he has some severe heart disease as well. Unfortunately, he is not a candidate for sedation so we can't do a blood draw or an x-ray to determine the extent of any of his complications. We've been advised that he's essentially here on comfort care, though whether that is days, weeks, or months, we can't say without that additional testing. We do still intend to slowly switch his diet over from exclusively seeds to any of the healthier food brands they recommend, in the hopes that an appropriate diet may yet come in time to mitigate some of the damage his severe neglect had on him.

He seems just as interested in our human-chick as our toddler is in him! We've also discovered that Tequila gets quite distressed during our munchkin's meltdowns, he'll make his way over to the front of the cage and say "oh no!" repeatedly until the baby's calm again.

That's about it for now! I'll keep updating as we move forward, whether positive or negative!

 

[texsize90]

Just stopping by to give an update!

We're home safe with Tequila, he made the drive last weekend. It was clearly very stressful for him, but he did so well!

We've got him in a modified large rabbit/hedgehog run since he can't perch, so any height in the cage could be a risk, and since he's been standing on wire for years, he can't walk either. We've been letting him settle this week and just chatted quietly near him while changing food and water, and this morning we were rewarded by him demanding a head scratch! I hadn't thought he would want anything to do with our hands for at least several weeks!

To aid in mobility, we'll be building a dowel "bridge" for him to use to pull himself around. If he takes to that, we'll slowly drift the food and water further apart to encourage him taking a few steps.

As for his health, he is in even worse shape than we imagined. The vets said in addition to his liver issues and arthritic feet, he has some severe heart disease as well. Unfortunately, he is not a candidate for sedation so we can't do a blood draw or an x-ray to determine the extent of any of his complications. We've been advised that he's essentially here on comfort care, though whether that is days, weeks, or months, we can't say without that additional testing. We do still intend to slowly switch his diet over from exclusively seeds to any of the healthier food brands they recommend, in the hopes that an appropriate diet may yet come in time to mitigate some of the damage his severe neglect had on him.

He seems just as interested in our human-chick as our toddler is in him! We've also discovered that Tequila gets quite distressed during our munchkin's meltdowns, he'll make his way over to the front of the cage and say "oh no!" repeatedly until the baby's calm again.

That's about it for now! I'll keep updating as we move forward, whether positive or negative!

Glad you got him home safe.
I never had to have a bird sedated for a blood draw..
Even my Bingo when he was overweight my avian vet was able to do a blood draw from his neck without sedating him.
But it sounds like the results would not likely change his treatment in any case.

I just recently made a 12 hour drive with a new CAG. She did pretty well even though she is missing one toe on each foot.

Wishing you good luck.

 

[osklvste]

Glad you're home safe. You have my prayers .

 

[Alaeriel36]

Glad you got him home safe.
I never had to have a bird sedated for a blood draw..
Even my Bingo when he was overweight my avian vet was able to do a blood draw from his neck without sedating him.
But it sounds like the results would not likely change his treatment in any case.

I just recently made a 12 hour drive with a new CAG. She did pretty well even though she is missing one toe on each foot.

Wishing you good luck.

Thank you, that is great to know! The vet in his state recommended sedation because he was labeled as aggressive. The vet we have here may have some more skill! She recommended giving him some time to settle before his first appointment later this month!

 

[osklvste]

Time to get settled is great. Getting to know you better and environment will greatly decrease the stress. That's the most important factor.

 

[Alaeriel36]

Time to get settled is great. Getting to know you better and environment will greatly decrease the stress. That's the most important factor.

100%! We're taking everything at his speed!