My new YN Amazon

[peacockcreek]

My dear sweet husband surprised me with a 3 yr old Yellow Naped Amazon this week. I have a 17 wk old CAG "Tiki" which I have been having problems with weaning. He decided that if she had a older bird to watch, she would learn from him how to eat, hold its food, climb on cage, etc. My husband said before he bought the YN he stepped up on his hand, let others pet him and was very friendly. Now that we have him home, his cage is next to the Greys cage, he is very aggressive. The only thing he will do is take food from us, he will not step up. Today he escaped from his cage and the fight was on to get him back in. I have a long stick and after a major battle, he finally stepped up so I could put him back in his cage. Like I said, my grey is still a baby and when she wants mama...she lets everyone know it. When she is screaming for me, I noticed he was trying to regurgitate his food. I know that it is getting close to breeding season for amazons. Is he trying to bond with the grey and how do I handle this without getting a nasty zon bite. Been there done that! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

My dear sweet husband surprised me with a 3 yr old Yellow Naped Amazon this week. I have a 17 wk old CAG "Tiki" which I have been having problems with weaning. He decided that if she had a older bird to watch, she would learn from him how to eat, hold its food, climb on cage, etc. My husband said before he bought the YN he stepped up on his hand, let others pet him and was very friendly. Now that we have him home, his cage is next to the Greys cage, he is very aggressive. The only thing he will do is take food from us, he will not step up. Today he escaped from his cage and the fight was on to get him back in. I have a long stick and after a major battle, he finally stepped up so I could put him back in his cage. Like I said, my grey is still a baby and when she wants mama...she lets everyone know it. When she is screaming for me, I noticed he was trying to regurgitate his food. I know that it is getting close to breeding season for amazons. Is he trying to bond with the grey and how do I handle this without getting a nasty zon bite. Been there done that! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That's so cool!
You should separate them as soon as possible though, all new birds need to be QT as they are masters of hiding disease.

The Importance Of Quarantine And Screening Tests For Birds

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined,,,,, wish you had joined before getting the zon to train your new CAG. I could write a book here but will focus on the future and try to help. Yes you should quarantine the new bird from the old bird for at least 30 days. Now that they've been together it doesn't matter that much. I'd move the bird's cages apart, the same room but further apart. Ideally you want your pet to bond with you before adding another bird,To keep the birds from bonding to each other instead of you. I'm sure we can help with weaning the grey and should start a thread about that. This is the zon section so we'll keep that in mind. The zon was a lot friendlier because he was in a situation where he was comfortable. Now he's in a new home. Does he have a new cage? Any old toys from his old cage. I'd leave him be in his cage for a while. Take this time to talk,interact and learn what his favorite treat might be. Most Zons are very food motivated so learn what he likes as a treat. Reserve this treat as something that you only feed by hand. Of course feed many other treats by hand but save the special one for future training rewards and don't ever give it as "free feed". It will take some time for the zon to warm up to you (trust you) this varies from bird to bird. Start by sitting close , when you see the bird relax, try rewarding him with his treat. Praise him and tell what a good bird he is. Move alittle closer, to the point where he starts to become somewhat alarmed and back off a bit. When he relaxes, treat and praise. At some point he should allow contact though the cage bars. Try opening his door and try working with him though the door. The cage is his safe spot so respect that. Learn to "read" his body language and avoid the bites. You should goggle "Clicker training Parrots". Don't buy a program but read about how to train and get a clicker from the pet store. Let us know how things progress. We'll be around to help.

 

[aliray]

Congrats on your new zon