Just adopted 2 Amazon parrots, seeking some suggestions!

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Hello, we are new to the forums! You can read our introduction we just posted!

Basically, we adopted 2 parrots, a yellow-naped amazon, age 9, and a yellow crowned amazon, about 22 years old. They were staying together at a foster home, and they are very friendly towards each other. Originally we just planned on one bird, but when we saw them interact with each other, we fell in love. I am amazed at how much we love them already.

We have 1 large cage, and they are in there together happily. We made a cage separator just in case it wasn't going to work out, but it has wonderfully!

So our Yellow Crowned Amazon came from a loving family environment, but didn't care for the wife, so they gave her up. Our Yellow-Naped was rescued from a neglectful situation. We knew there would be some issues with that.

After getting them, we let them chill out and get situated in the cage for about 1.5 days. Then we let them out on the playtop and they were great. They took treats from our hands, and were immediately pretty interactive. We have them on a great sleep schedule, and everything seems to be working good.

The Yellow Crowned Amazon will step up and let my boyfriend pet her. She will also step up for me, but I haven't tried to pet her.

The Yellow Naped is a bit aggressive, and will only step up on a wood branch that we have. I also haven't been successful with her stepping up on my arm, nor will I try because I can't tell how she is feeling yet.

We let them out after work, they go on the playtop and we dance with them, reward them with treats if they nod their head or do tricks, and we have a great time! My Yellow Naped began regurgitating yesterday when I was baby talking her, and again today!!! I've read that it's a huge sign of love!!!

Well yesterday, as I was passing the cage she (Yellow Naped) flew off and went right into my head!! Then she flew onto the floor. I grabbed the branch, had her step up, and put her back on the cage. She did it again 30 minutes later. It frightened me, but I thought that maybe since I wasn't offering her to step up, she took it upon herself.

Well, today, about 20 minutes after doing the regurgitating motion with me, she flew nearby me and went to the floor again, I got her to step up on the stick, and she stepped up so nicely, I was going to give her a small seed as a treat, and offer her to stand up on my arm. Instead she bit my finger HARD and it bled. It totally shocked me, because I thought I had her all figured out.

I just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas as to what's been going on!!! She dances with me, regurgitates, etc. so I'm pretty sure she likes me already. (I've heard she had trouble bonding with people before at previous foster homes). I'm just trying to figure out what the flying into me is about, and why she bit me when I was going to ask her to step up on my arm.

By the way, she is going for a wing/nail trim in two days!!! I'd love your thoughts!!

We are newbies to parrots!

Thanks for reading all of that!!!!

 

[mandolynn]

I commend you for taking on such a large responsibility, but i hope you.understand how large it is. You may never have them figured out, but she probably sensed apprehension, or is testing you. Put her them on their cage if they bite, without a sound, and walk away. You may need to get used to them drawing a little blood for awhile. You should see mine hands, you do getused to it, but it still hurts. Have you tried a welding glove? That works for some birds, some are afraid of them, but it doesn't hurt much when they bite you then and it gives you confidence they can sense. Also, caging the birds together may not be the best idea until they are more adjusted to you. If they are bonded with eachothet, they have no need for you. Training an adopted bird takes alot of time and patience, and Amazons are.pretty difficult birds for.first time owners so Dp your research.

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Thank you! We are aware of the responsibility we have taken on. You're right - we may never have them figured out! Luckily, I read up on not reacting when they bite or have bad behavior, be it is rewards them. They know if they did that bad behavior, they got your attention! When she bit me I was actually not apprehensive at all. I was actually sure she would take the treat and step right up! That's why it really surprised me. As soon as she bit me, she went in the cage, and I left the room to get a band aid.

I was actually thinking about buying a glove! Since she is so new to our home, I wasn't going to pressure her at all when it came to stepping up, but she seems to come at me while excited as if she wanted to step up.

Luckily, they aren't bonded. Just very friendly with each other. They have only been together for 6 weeks at my yellow napes foster home before I adopted her.

Thanks for your thoughts!!!! Still hoping plenty of others can give some thoughts as well!

 

[cdog]

If you leave them in the same cage together they might end up liking each other more than you. I would put them in separate cages but leave them next to each other. My female is friendly,as long as she isn't nesting, but wont let me pet her because she already has a birdy boyfriend to do that. And my male is just a silly butthead.

 

[Enjru]

A) Here are my thoughts about housing the 2 parrots together:

Make sure these 2 birds are DNA sexed. If not, you could end up with some kind of new hybrid Yellow Hoodie Amazon babies.

You are asking for trouble by keeping them both in the same cage. How are you going to make sure that each bird eats adequately? If you put in 2 pieces of pumpkin, how can you be sure that each bird will eat one piece each? How are you going to stop one of the birds from bullying the other one and eating both pieces? How can you be sure the 2 of them won't get into fights and injure each other? If you find an abnormal poop on the cage floor one morning, how will you know which bird the poop came from? If you need to target one of the birds to somewhere specific, how do you target one of them without targetting the other? If one of the birds develops a behavioral problem (like your Yellow Naped seems to be possibly doing now), how do you use a behavioral technique for this one bird in its cage without using this behavioral technique on the other bird as well? Taming and training and the building of a good relationship with each parrot will be a LOT harder when there are 2 of them in the same cage together.

B) Here are my thoughts about your Yellow Naped:

It used to be a neglected bird. What I imagine this means, is that it was kept in a small cage by itself, not let out much, not getting many toys to play with, not spending much time interacting with anyone. Now, it has lots of interactions with another bird, and plays with you and your boyfriend as well. It can also come out of its cage to fly here and there and everywhere. It is very excited about its new life and is already demonstrating its appreciation of you by regurgitating its food onto you.

This is all very good, but...be careful not to let the Yellow Nape's new-found enthusiasm for life boil over into overstimulation and overexcitement. An overexcited bird can easily flip into aggression and bite, because overexcitement and aggression share a common physiological pathway, ie, the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal system, or the stress response.

Learn to realize when your parrot starts to get over-excited by watching its body language. When its body language starts to show over-excitement, give it enough time and space to relax and calm down before interacting with him again in a physical way.

Also, I would try not to encourage the regurgitation behavior. While you see this as a huge personal approval and are taking pride in the Yellow Nape's acceptance and choice of you as its new love interest and breeding partner, a lot of problems arise when your parrot sees you in this way. Eg, your parrot may get upset when you spend time with the Yellow Crowned or with your boyfriend, and become aggressive at them. Or, it may become aggressive at you, trying to boss you into spending ALL your time and energy on him-/her-self. Or, it might try to bite you to get you to fly away when your boyfriend enters the room, in order to stop you from being impregnated by him and laying eggs with his DNA. Regurgitation behavior is also a breeding season behavior and is associated with other breeding season behaviors including screaming, biting, rubbing its vent all over you, etc. So, to prevent these other breeding behaviors developing, I would highly suggest that you do not let him continue regurgitating all over you.

 

[roxynoodle]

Enjru already made a lot of good points. It's also just plain a lot easier to work with them if they are in separate cages. I would get a second cage right away.

Yellow Napes are subspecies of the Yellow Crown, so yes, if they are not the same gender, they may become mates and breed. Their breeding season is close to over now, but you might get a surprise next year. And obviously the Nape is showing courtship behavior so he/she is not done with the breeding season, lol!

Amazons do have very obvious body language when they are over stimulated. The feathers over their cere come up, they pinpoint their eyes and may spread their tail as well. Even just seeing a pinpoint in the eye can tell you they are getting excited about something. When overly excited, they do not think, they just react and that often leads to a bite. It isn't because they hate you, it's that they are too wound up. Watch for the body language. They are one of the most obvious parrots of them all. If you see that excitement, give them a few minutes before asking again for a step up or offering a treat.

My YC really, really responds to praise. More than my other 2 birds I think. Reward all the positive behaviors with a lot of praise. He also loves when I sing more than anything in the world.

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Enjru - Thank you so much for your response. It was very informative, and all the points you made are great!!! I am going to discuss getting another cage with my boyfriend and that will be the next step. For some reason, they actually don't like the same treats. It's bizarre. I can't get them to eat the same fruit/vegetable or cracker/bread. So that's not a problem. But other than that, being able to identify which one is sick would be difficult. And that was a point you mentioned that I didn't think of which definitely makes me want to separate them.

So basically, you are thinking just what I am. A neglected bird isn't used to the attention, and love. She is getting over excited and just reacts. When I see her getting overly excited, I will need to step out of the room.

I will also try not to encourage regurgitation. She already prefers me over my boyfriend, so I need to work on stepping back from her and maybe letting him bond with her.

They have been sexed, and they are both females - so no babies! They are not "bonded" but they do get along well and preen each other, talk to one another, and enjoy each others company.

RoxyNoodle - Thanks for your response! Oh, they both love when I sing (even though I don't consider myself a great singer AT ALL) at least they do!!! We also dance together, etc. Thanks for your input!

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm a terrible singer but he thinks I'm wonderful. And yes, we all dance together. Not lately due to hip arthritis, but I got a cortisone shot yesterday and we were able to dance again today

 

[lizardsmells]

I have to say bravo for taking on such a huge responsibility! I have one rescue amazon. I can not imagine having two of them!

With past trauma comes issues. There will be bites. Both my hands are scarred up from the bites. Parrots bite for any number of reasons but never ever because they're being bad. When Kazi bites me it can mean he doesn't want to step up because he's afraid I'm getting ready to leave the house or make him do something he doesn't want to do. Or it can mean 'hey that jerkwad is here again, fly away' (the jerkwad being my husband, who is not a jerkwad, but kazi would like to see him burn in hell anyway) or he's just worked up and I get my hand in the way or 'stop talking into that black rectangle and pay attention to me' (he's jealous of the phone) or any number of other reasons. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days before I can figure out why I got bitten, but I've always been able to if I gave it enough thought.

I've had Kazi for just over 4 months now. I try to show him that biting never gets him what he wants (never gets him punished either). And it's working, or at least it seems to be, because the frequency of the bites continues to decrease. It's been at least 2 weeks since he last made me bleed. After the 'honeymoon' period it was every day at least and usually multiple times a day for the first week or so. After that it started to decrease slowly. The running joke around here is that he waits until my hands are nearly healed before giving me another good chomp.

there's lots of good advice on this board and at companionparrotonline.com. Her .pdfs on rescue parrots and amazons are worth every penny!

Have fun getting to know your new family members! When I first started volunteering with a local rescue I was thinking I'd learn some stuff and hopefully adopt a large macaw because I've always wanted one. I wasn't even familiar with amazon parrots until I started volunteering. I have since fallen in love with them. They are just such awesome little personalities and friends. I'd love to have another one, but I think my husband would divorce me

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Lizardsmells - Thank you so much for writing! Was Kazi your first bird? He is BEAUTIFUL. These two Amazons are my first parrots, so when I got bit, I have since been a little scared of it happening again. I know that's the wrong mentality. How did you overcome being afraid (Since you were being bitten so frequently!) When she was on her step up stick I noticed I was afraid that she was going to lunge at my hand while standing on it. Then I told myself that it's the wrong mentality to have, and if I get bit - so what! I am bigger than her! Is that what you tell yourself too? Thanks again!

 

[Mozzie]

Like some of the other members have said read their body language, and go at their pace. I also commend you for adopting these amazons. It will be a lot of work and take a lot of patience, but it will be worth it in the end. We adopted a 20 year old Blue fronted Amazon two years ago. She was a rescue bird and had been in a bad situation as well. When we first got her she was terrified of hands. We had to go at a very slow pace but she is a totally transformed bird now. It is so rewarding to see the change happen. It took almost a year for this to happen, so don't give up if it takes a while. The end result is well worth it. The main thing I can tell you is to let them choose the pace that you go. Amazon's body language is very easy to read. It sounds like you are off to a great start. Good luck!

 

[roxynoodle]

What I tell myself is "It's a one pound bird". Although so far I've only gotten a nip from Pete, not a full on bite. Same so far with Merlin, too, although one of these days I will undoubtedly get nailed. I have been bitten horribly by a large cockatoo, and I was only like 12 years old. So I remind myself of that, too And horses can sure bite hard, as well as what my ex husband's pit bull did to me. So I tell myself I've been bitten many times by much larger animals. I won't die, lol!

I also discovered Pete seems to understand both "No" and "Ow!" Usually I don't want to say "Ow!" and give them drama. But, he has been wanting to hold my finger in his foot lately and chew on it lightly with his beak. When it started getting harder than I want, I said "Ow!" (not loud) and he eased up, let go and looked at me. And he has continued doing that, so he apparently understands too much hurts Roxy. But, I was happy to find out he understood limits to some extent. But, don't be dramatic, that's for sure. Many parrots thrive on it.

 

[Doris48]

Kudos to you for adopting them.I adopted my first Amazon this last month.Luckily mine was not in abusive home but was well socialized.But Im still learning too.Ive been bitten once because he didnt want to step up and go in his cage.He can be very stubborn about going in his cage.But the bite was more of a crush and didnt break the skin.Still hurt but not nearly as bad as the little wasp I stepped on last night.

 

[lizardsmells]

Lizardsmells - Thank you so much for writing! Was Kazi your first bird? He is BEAUTIFUL. These two Amazons are my first parrots, so when I got bit, I have since been a little scared of it happening again. I know that's the wrong mentality. How did you overcome being afraid (Since you were being bitten so frequently!) When she was on her step up stick I noticed I was afraid that she was going to lunge at my hand while standing on it. Then I told myself that it's the wrong mentality to have, and if I get bit - so what! I am bigger than her! Is that what you tell yourself too? Thanks again!

I just saw this! Yes, Kazi was my first big parrot. I had parakeets as a kid and teen and knew I wanted a parrot one day. So I started volunteering at a rescue. I went in vowing to not be afraid of the beak. Turns out self-talk is cheap The only way I got over my fear of the beak was by deciding I was going to get bitten a few times. And then just kept sticking my hands in front of birds. Some of them obliged me and bit me. Eventually, I got over the fear because it's almost never as bad as I think it's going to be. I also knew it was an inevitable part of being around parrots, especially those with issues.

Kazi learned pretty quickly that his bites didn't work. I basically never did what he wanted when he bit me. If I knew why he'd bit me I'd do the opposite. If I didn't I'd just tell him "no biting!" and put him back on his play gym. We've reached an understanding, his 'bites' aren't as hard when he bothers to give them to me. And if I think he may be in a biting kind of mood, but still asking to step up, I'll warn him, "Don't bite," and he doesn't.

He's also learned what 'stop' and 'no' means, so that helps too if he's getting too wound up or aggressive toward the other mammals that live here. I'm also a big fan of distraction or bribery to avoid a bite. Distraction is pretty good, just grab something near by and hold it up to divert their attention. If you move quick enough you can stick your hand against their belly and they'll automatically step up while still distracted by whatever you've got in your hand. But bribery is good too. There are a few treats that Kazi just loves. He gets them only when I really want him to do something, though, so he's learned that if I'm asking him if he wants this treat it's because he'll have to do something first.

But for the first few weeks I was wary of the beak and pretty much thinking I was going to get bitten at least once a day. Eventually, I learned to read his body language and that helps a lot because I can anticipate when he might bite and be able to head it off at the pass.

So yeah, you'll probably get bitten a few more times. Go ahead and decide you will, and it will hurt and might even bleed, but you won't lose a finger or anything!

 

[lizardsmells]

What I tell myself is "It's a one pound bird". Although so far I've only gotten a nip from Pete, not a full on bite. Same so far with Merlin, too, although one of these days I will undoubtedly get nailed. I have been bitten horribly by a large cockatoo, and I was only like 12 years old. So I remind myself of that, too And horses can sure bite hard, as well as what my ex husband's pit bull did to me. So I tell myself I've been bitten many times by much larger animals. I won't die, lol!

I also discovered Pete seems to understand both "No" and "Ow!" Usually I don't want to say "Ow!" and give them drama. But, he has been wanting to hold my finger in his foot lately and chew on it lightly with his beak. When it started getting harder than I want, I said "Ow!" (not loud) and he eased up, let go and looked at me. And he has continued doing that, so he apparently understands too much hurts Roxy. But, I was happy to find out he understood limits to some extent. But, don't be dramatic, that's for sure. Many parrots thrive on it.

I use the word 'gentle' when he's getting too rough with the hand preening. He picked up on it surprisingly quickly, which was great because when he wasn't trying to gnaw off all that 'extra' skin on my knuckles he was trying to dismantle my wedding set. Either one is fine, but not when it starts to hurt! So 'gentle' is what I tell him and he stops immediately. He also knows what 'stop eating my shirt' means and he stops that too but with a look that says "ok, but as soon as you stop paying attention I'm just going to go at it again."