Help with my green cheeked amazon

[rikasue]

We have had our green cheeked amazon for 19 years. The first 10 years were great. He and my husband were buddies and we had stands in all the rooms in our house and we took him everywhere. Things began to change when we moved into your new house about 9 years ago. He started screaming incessantly and began to bite my husband. Over the course of years, it has gotten progressively worse. He lunges at my husband and bites him if he can reach him. I am the only one who can touch him. He screams all the time. We try to include him, but he has become mean. When he is like this, the only thing i can do to quiet him down is put him in a dark walk in closet. I feel bad. Does anyone have any solutions. I am about to try to find him a new home and it breaks my heart

 

[Sammy01]

I hope you're willing to still work with your parrot. I found this link a few days ago and I think it might help you out.

https://companionparrotonline.com/s...parrotonline.com/Think_Parrot_Hates.html#2809

There are also some links there that you might want to look into that might give you some insight. Good luck with your amazon.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

So sorry to hear about this deteriorating relatioship. 9 years of things getting worse must be so frustrating for all of you, including your amazon (what is his name???). I am glad you came here for advice. There are many highly experienced people with amazons here that will help.

I have not personally cared for a zon, but I don't think it's out of line for me to ask that you please don't put him in the dark walk-in closet any more to quiet him down. Try to get to what makes him tick. Example -- why does being in the dark closet quiet him down? Does it happen at certain times of the day more than others? Etc. Does he fall asleep in there and that's why he is quiet? Is he frightened in there causing him to quiet down.

So what happend 9 years ago? How has your zon's life changed? Did things start to change at the previous home before the move? How much has his living quarters changed beginning with the move? What about his schedule and contact with his human relatives? Noise, light, etc. Was the move itself traumatic? Is there someone new or now missing from the home? Like I said, no direct zon experience, but it sure sounds linked to the circumstances that unfolded 9 years ago and since.

 

[getwozzy]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I hope someone with more zon experience than my 6 months will pipe in soon, but it might have been several things that triggered his new attitude...the new environment, does he have less space? Is he confined to one room instead of the whole house? Is there someone new living with you? Has your husband changed somehow- new hair style and/or color? Glasses? Shaved off facial hair? I guess we could spend all day speculating what happened, but the important thing is to focus on helping you guys on getting him under control.

I would try to avoid getting bit in the first place- amazons are very good about giving physical ques that they're about to bite: tail fanning, eye pinning/flashing, flaring head feathers. If you see any of those- back off.

As far as screaming goes here's one of my threads that might help:
http://www.parrotforums.com/showthread.php?t=34547

He may also be screaming for attention- has the amount of time you guys spend with him on a daily basis significantly decreased??

Also, please don't put him in the closet anymore- although it may stop him from screaming, it's probably pretty scary for him.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I hope you're willing to still work with your parrot. I found this link a few days ago and I think it might help you out.

https://companionparrotonline.com/s...parrotonline.com/Think_Parrot_Hates.html#2809

There are also some links there that you might want to look into that might give you some insight. Good luck with your amazon.

your link doesn't work

 

[MonicaMc]

https://companionparrotonline.com/Think_Parrot_Hates.html


Have you looked into positive reinforcement training/applied behavior analysis/clicker training?

 

[Sammy01]

I hope you're willing to still work with your parrot. I found this link a few days ago and I think it might help you out.

https://companionparrotonline.com/s...parrotonline.com/Think_Parrot_Hates.html#2809

There are also some links there that you might want to look into that might give you some insight. Good luck with your amazon.

your link doesn't work

Sorry about that but it works for me.

I'll try to copy and paste the info.

----

Think Your Parrot Hates You?

(This article and the artwork is copyrighted and may not be reprinted without the written permission of Sally Blanchard.)

By Sally Blanchard

(Unedited Bird Talk Article)

Turned Mean or Hates Me?

When people call me for a parrot behavior consultation, there are two things that I hear quite frequently. The first is, “My bird suddenly turned mean,” and another version of this is, “My bird hates me.” The choice of words depends on how people interpret the fact that their bird has either been aggressive with them or suddenly wants nothing to do with them. Both statements are rarely, if ever, what is really going on. Of course, people tend to take the changes in their parrots’ behavior personally and they also interpret these changes as if parrot logic is the same as ours. While it is true that there are occasionally situations when a parrot genuinely wants nothing to do with an individual, it is very rare for parrots to suddenly “hate” someone that they have previously trusted.

Our misinterpretation of a parrot’s behavior is one of the major causes of problems with the human/parrot relationship. I hear lots of rules and absolutes about parrot behavior but I believe there is one golden rule in understanding our avian companions; parrots are more comfortable with people who are comfortable with them. Many times a parrot changes its behavior toward its caregiver because it is no longer comfortable with that person. Something that has happened is confusing the parrot and this changes the parrot’s reaction to its caregiver. The most problematic aspect of this is when the parrot’s reaction changes its behavior towards the person; then the person’s behavior changes towards the parrot. Parrots are very intelligent but they are most likely not capable of thinking, “This person whom I used to enjoy, is not acting normal towards me, and therefore, she no longer likes me so I can’t trust her and I have to be very careful around her.” However this is basically what is going on and the more reactive the person is towards the parrot’s behavioral change, the more the cycle continues. The person changes behavior towards the parrot; the parrot changes behavior towards the person and on and on until the relationship is almost lost. Notice I say almost because I have worked with many people who have been able to rebuild a trusting relationship with their parrots.

No Longer Comfortable?

There are a few basic reasons that a parrot is no longer comfortable with a person who it was previously comfortable with. Parrots have a difficult time with our energy when we are frustrated, depressed, angry, or aggressive. A husband and wife that I worked with both had long commutes in the San Francisco Bay Area. The woman arrived home about a half an hour before her husband so she would get their African grey’s food ready. By the time the husband came home, the bird had eaten and was in the mood for attention. The man loved and enjoyed the parrot but he was stressed after his commute. He would often approach the bird in this manner and it had reached the point that the bird did not want anything to do with him. It really frustrated him that the parrot’s strong bond had transferred to his wife. My advice was for him to say hi to the grey when he walked in the door but other than that to ignore him until he could relax and slow down his energy. Then he could approach the grey and take him out for playtime.

For various reasons, we humans can be very capricious and companion parrots thrive on predictability in their relationship with us. Our parrots can adjust to a certain amount of mixed messages in their lives but the more unpredictable we are with them, the more unpredictable they are with us. If our behavior continually confuses them or threatens them, they will respond in a negative manner. Years ago I worked with a couple who adored their rose-breasted cockatoo, but the man was a heavy drinker which often made his behavior unpredictable. At some point, the cockatoo became terrified of him. There is no doubt in my mind that the rose-breasted couldn’t relate to his caregiver’s mood swings. The man believed that the bird hated him and couldn’t understand that the bird was reacting to his unpredictable behavior. There were times when he may have been aggressive with the bird and did not realize it at the time. Aggression can easily change a companion parrot’s trust level.

Negative Energy

If someone approaches his or her parrot in a really negative mood, the bird will not want to be handled. In this type of situation, if the person insists, it is likely that the bird will either be aggressive or afraid and both can lead to a bite. Another possibility is change in the physical environment and the appearance of the caregiver. Parrots are detail oriented and even the smallest change can cause them confusion until they become used to the change. Years ago a man called me because his African grey no longer liked him. I asked him if anything had changed and he couldn’t think of anything. I told him to just relax, not make any demands on the bird, and to approach him slowly in a somewhat submissive manner. I advised him to take a few slow, deep breaths, lower his head, and make very little eye contact. About a week later, he called me back and sheepishly told me that there was an obvious change but it hadn’t occurred to him. He had shaved the moustache he had from long before the grey came to live with him. He followed my advice and the bird started relaxing with him in just a few days … once the grey got used to his caregiver being clean-shaven. I have talked to dozens of people who have made sudden changes in their appearance like a new hair style or color, new glasses, or less facial hair and their birds have responded to them as if they were strangers. If the person relaxes with the bird, it usually only takes a few days at most for the parrot to realize that the person is, indeed, their long-time friend.

Another cause of a rift in the relationship could be a traumatic event. When I lived in California, my parrots and I experienced quite a few earthquakes and good size aftershocks. They were quite afraid because they couldn’t instinctively fly away and thrashed in their cages. On the other hand, I was exhibiting similar panic and fear and if I had rushed in to see if they were all right, I would have panicked them even more. As soon as the rumble stopped, I would calm myself down and slowly walk into their room and sit on the floor and hum. They would all relax and climb back on the perches and start jabbering as if they were sharing their experiences.

***continued***

 

[Sammy01]

Part 2:



Immediate Opinions of People

When I first started working with parrots, I was very puzzled about an aspect of their behavior – actually I was puzzled by many aspects of their behavior but the fact that they formed almost immediate likes and dislikes made me very curious. It was not always the same thing that triggered their negative reaction towards people. For example, my Caique, Spike seems to judge people immediately. Generally, he will not like people if I am uncomfortable with them. He also usually does not like baseball hats and will have a negative reaction to anyone wearing one. Other than that, it seems to have little to do with the person’s gender or clothing.

After thinking about this immediate reaction toward people, it became evident to me that it was the person’s energy. Most parrots didn’t like someone who was too direct or someone who was afraid of them. This was interesting to me but how could they observe that energy so well when I couldn’t usually tell who parrots are going to like and who they would dislike? Over thirty years ago, a friend suggested to me that parrots could see our auras. Sometimes their perception seemed so subtle that I couldn’t disagree with her. We now have information that solves the puzzle. Parrots have incredible vision. They have 4 cones for color vision while we only have three. This means that they see in ways that we will never be able to. They also see the ultra-violet color range, which means that they see colors in a very different way than we do. The amazing aspect to this is that they can actually see our energy by the capillary action in our faces. They can see if we are comfortable with them before we do anything that could be interpreted by people.

The fact that they can actually see our energy is the major reason t hat I enco urage people to take a slow breathand relax before they pick up their parrot, especially if they are stressed or upset. I figured this out many years ago when I was asked to tame a wild-caught Military macaw. The imported bird was in quarantine and then was purchased by a pet shop. He had been there in a cage for three years without anyone trying to handle him. The employees called him “slasher” because anytime anyone came near him, he lunged at them. Everyone was afraid of him and approached him with fear anytime they changed the food and water. When I met the bird I knew he would be a challenge because frankly, he scared me. It was really difficult to get him out of the cage. We had to use a towel, stick, and gloves, which I hardly ever use because these items often frightened the bird. He bit me to the bone on my index finger but I wanted to go ahead and work with him because I didn’t want to have to take him out again. I had prepared a back room to work with him so as soon as I had him in a towel, I took him there. I sat on the floor with him on my lap still in the towel and slowed down my energy and started skritching his head. Within ten minutes, I unwrapped him and he was on his back in my lap while I skritched him all over. Most parrots are physical animals and mutual preening is an important part of their relationships with other birds. Once he matched my relaxed energy, it was clear to me that he trusted me. Within a few more minutes he was sitting on my hand while I was petting his head. The key to the whole situation was that I was able to slow down my energy so he sensed no aggression or fear from me. This was an epiphany for me and I have used a calm energy to tame and re-tame many parrots since.

When I do a consultation, one of my most important goals is to help the person slow down his or her energy when they handle their parrots. My caique, Spike, is a perfect example of a parrot that can easily go into overload and become aggressive. He is also a very sensitive little guy so when I recently moved, he went to a friend’s home who also has a caique and is a member of Spike’s fan club. During his visit with her, he occasionally became aggressive and bit her several times. In the beginning she tried to discipline him. With many parrots, aggression is met with aggression and the more she tried to discipline him, the more aggressive he became. In a phone conversation, I told her when he was acting like a little jerk; she should just lower her energy even to the point of being submissive with him. Once she started doing this, iis behavior changed towards her and he was more Dr. Jekyll than he was Mr. Hyde for the rest of his visit. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her; it was that he didn’t trust her energy towards him once.

Fearful Parrots

In another situation, I did a consultation with a red-bellied parrot that was very fearful of his caregiver. She brought the bird to my shop in a carrier and the first words out of her mouth were, “This bird hates me!” Of course, the bird didn’t hate her but he was clearly afraid of her. My guess is that she had tried all of the wrong things and was so frustrated that the parrot became even more wary of being around her. Many people actually worsen the fear in a phobic bird by being too direct or demanding. Since parrots are prey animals, it is easy for them to become afraid of people with an aggressive or direct energy, especially if the bird is already threatened for some reason.

I had the woman put the open carrier on the end of the couch where I was sitting and she sat in a chair across from the couch. As we talked, I lowered my head and made eye contact with the bird for no more than a second or two. Then I would slowly look away. I did this for a few minutes, and the parrot walked out of the carrier towards me. I continued with my lowered energy and my submissive behavior and within a few more minutes, the bird was being a love and snuggling into my neck. Her response was, “OK, he likes you but he still won’t like me.” I was teaching her the techniques that she could use to get the red-belly to like her. I advised her to place a chair at the front of the bird’s cage, open the cage door, and lean into the opening without even making eye contact with the parrot. I told her to sit on the chair and read a magazine and occasionally look at the parrot with a quick glance and then lower her head slowly and look away to read the magazine. In this way she was giving the bird a social invitation to join her without being too direct, which would worsen the parrot’s fear of her.

They Want to be a Part of their Human Flock

The vast majority of parrots are social animals and they really want to be part of a flock or family group. Companion parrots want and need companionship but if a person’s energy is confusing or even frightening, they will not be comfortable with them. We always need to realize that it is our responsibility to try and understand why parrots no longer feel comfortable with us. As intelligent as parrots are, they don’t understand how to mend problems in their relationships with us. If it suddenly seems as if your parrot “hates you,” don’t take it personally but stop and think if the bird is reacting to your negative energy or something you are doing. Has there been a change in its environment or in your appearance? When a parrot’s behavior suddenly changes, talk to your avian veterinarian to make sure that the problem isn’t health related. Most of all don’t react to one negative incident in a way that damages your parrot’s trust in you. A single bite does not mean that a parrot has turned mean or that the bird is even turning into a biting bird. It is up to us to keep a single incident from turning into a pattern. I don’t believe that parrots give us unconditional love; I believe that we have to continually relate to our companions in trust-building ways to earn their love from day to day.

 

[MonicaMc]

I put the link up in my post, so it should work fine now.

 

[Pajarita]

The most important thing to do with zons is to keep them from becoming sexually frustrated which is, in my personal opinion and experience, the number one cause of aggression in them. You do this by keeping them to a STRICT solar schedule (lights off before sun is up in am and after sun reaches half-way down to horizon in pm with full exposure to twilight) and feeding lower protein during the winter (zons should never be free-fed protein foods like seeds, nuts or pellets).

People usually think that because they did something for years without negative consequences it cannot be the source of the problem but, in my personal opinion and experience, this is not so. I have found that parrots are incredibly patient about things that bother them and this added to the fact that they don't show it when they are physically uncomfortable (when they produce sexual hormones all year round, their sexual organs grow too large causing physical discomfort and even pain) until it reaches a point when they simply cannot take it anymore, it makes it double hard for people to identify the cause of bad behavior because everybody always looks for something that happened immediately before the behavior started.

I've taken in several zons that had the same problem as yours (good for many years and then, no longer good) and they all calmed down and became mellow again when their endocrine system went back on track.

Please try reducing his protein intake and keeping him to a strict solar schedule before you rehome him. It will take months for this to happen but it will happen.

Also consider that it won't be easy to find a home for an older, aggressive zon. Lots of people feel sorry for them and think they can do it just to rehome the bird after a while. It's not their fault, they thought they were doing the bird a kindness but unless you can do the solar schedule (impossible to do if you work full time) and have experience in handling aggressive birds, it just doesn't happen and the poor bird changes hands again and again.