parrotinherited
New member
- Nov 11, 2015
- 1
- 0
I'm not really a parrot person. Nobody in my family is, but we have one, nonetheless. Her (?) name is Teddy, and she's a thirty-something orange-winged Amazon. My dad got him from his ex-girlfriend back when Teddy was four and has kept her ever since. While he was in college the bird stayed with his parents; when he got married 25 years ago, the bird moved in with us. My brother and I grew up with Teddy. My dad moved out five years ago, leaving my mother with the parrot.
So Teddy is very attached to my family. She's hot and cold with my dad, likes my mother okay, but loves my brother and I. She’ll develop a favorite every now and then. Teddy lives in pretty good conditions. She has a nice big cage, plenty of toys (some bells and rope toys), isn't visibly unhealthy and eats well. She likes cheese and carrots (as treats) and loves attention, especially when you pet the top of her head, her cheek and her neck. What I'm concerned about is her mental health. Simply put, Teddy is bored, a lot, and I don’t know how to remedy that.
See, Teddy has lived in isolation since she was taken from the wild at a very young age. We’d get her a companion, but my understanding is that a parrot who’s been alone for so long would freak out or try to fight another bird. And because of the setup of my house, my mother's busy schedule (brother and I live hours away), and my dog (Teddy’s sworn nemesis), we can't take Teddy out of the cage and let her fly/explore. The closest she gets to company is when we wheel her cage out to the front porch and she chatters with the passerby, humans and birds. She loves being outside — provided she’s in her cage.
Teddy doesn't like to be grabbed, touch or held and gets scratchy when you try. We can't wear gloves because she's afraid of those, so you get your hands cut up if you pet her beyond about the top of her wing. My dad swears she used to sit on his arm many years ago, but she doesn’t do that now. She likes to sit on top of her cage, and often does so, but she doesn't want to go away from it completely. It's a huge pain to just get her into a travel cage because she's so - for lack of a better word — agoraphobic. There was one time when we left the door open, the dog barked and she startled out of her cage, more or less by accident. She flew out onto the table a few feet away, freaked out, ended up on the floor and tried to fight my dog, so we had to put her back. She was not a happy bird. And the thing is, she isn’t happy on the whole.
So, to summarize: Isolated parrot, very attached to the family, loves attention and is friendly but hates being handled or moved out of her cage, seems generally bored to death. We can’t set up an aviary at this point, and my mom works full-time. When I go home for break I pay attention to her, but breaks end. We’ve considered giving her to an adoption service, since like I said, nobody in my family really wants a parrot — but it feels wrong to do that after so long.
What can we do to help Teddy live the best possible life, within reason? Are there any toys that you’ve found very good for isolated parrots? Would training her to sit on my mom’s shoulder while she’s at home be helpful? Or is adoption by a proper parrot-owner better than an under-stimulated life with the family she knows?
So Teddy is very attached to my family. She's hot and cold with my dad, likes my mother okay, but loves my brother and I. She’ll develop a favorite every now and then. Teddy lives in pretty good conditions. She has a nice big cage, plenty of toys (some bells and rope toys), isn't visibly unhealthy and eats well. She likes cheese and carrots (as treats) and loves attention, especially when you pet the top of her head, her cheek and her neck. What I'm concerned about is her mental health. Simply put, Teddy is bored, a lot, and I don’t know how to remedy that.
See, Teddy has lived in isolation since she was taken from the wild at a very young age. We’d get her a companion, but my understanding is that a parrot who’s been alone for so long would freak out or try to fight another bird. And because of the setup of my house, my mother's busy schedule (brother and I live hours away), and my dog (Teddy’s sworn nemesis), we can't take Teddy out of the cage and let her fly/explore. The closest she gets to company is when we wheel her cage out to the front porch and she chatters with the passerby, humans and birds. She loves being outside — provided she’s in her cage.
Teddy doesn't like to be grabbed, touch or held and gets scratchy when you try. We can't wear gloves because she's afraid of those, so you get your hands cut up if you pet her beyond about the top of her wing. My dad swears she used to sit on his arm many years ago, but she doesn’t do that now. She likes to sit on top of her cage, and often does so, but she doesn't want to go away from it completely. It's a huge pain to just get her into a travel cage because she's so - for lack of a better word — agoraphobic. There was one time when we left the door open, the dog barked and she startled out of her cage, more or less by accident. She flew out onto the table a few feet away, freaked out, ended up on the floor and tried to fight my dog, so we had to put her back. She was not a happy bird. And the thing is, she isn’t happy on the whole.
So, to summarize: Isolated parrot, very attached to the family, loves attention and is friendly but hates being handled or moved out of her cage, seems generally bored to death. We can’t set up an aviary at this point, and my mom works full-time. When I go home for break I pay attention to her, but breaks end. We’ve considered giving her to an adoption service, since like I said, nobody in my family really wants a parrot — but it feels wrong to do that after so long.
What can we do to help Teddy live the best possible life, within reason? Are there any toys that you’ve found very good for isolated parrots? Would training her to sit on my mom’s shoulder while she’s at home be helpful? Or is adoption by a proper parrot-owner better than an under-stimulated life with the family she knows?
One note, if you get a basket or anything and it isn't parrot safe she could get sick from it. Make sure you get parrot safe materials. 
