My parrot Kiwi, is holding her foot up at me with a flat bottom facing me...

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

What does this mean??? When I was talking to her, she raised one foot and is facing the bottom towards me. I have never held her since I've had her for a month because she bit me bad before. Any idea what this means? She also took her foot and began scratching her neck and head feathers slowly, staring at me!

 

[Mare Miller]

My U2 will wrap his foot around his neck and slowly scratch his head, neck and face area, I think he is just preening himself. If Amigo lifts his foot towards me he usually wants to be picked up but I understand your fear. Could you double wrap a towel around your hand/arm and try again?

 

[BillsBirds]

Maybe she's decided to step up. With rescues, you can never be sure of what they know from before coming to you. My friends' 'zon does that to "shake hands". Approach her gently, but, not hesitantly. See if she steps up.

 

[suebee]

i agree with bill, it looks like a invite for a head rub or step up, nut does the same when she wants a head scatch

 

[cdog]

I would wear two pairs of leather gloves first. Sully did that so i thought he wanted to step up but he just wanted me to come close enough for him to bite me.

 

[QuackQuack]

I've seen Amazons do that before to invite you to pick them up. The rescue Amazon we tried to have live with us would do that as a hello gesture as he had been trained to wave - give it a shot and see what is up. Getting bitten will happen sooner or later with a parrot in the house!

 

[lizardsmells]

When Kazi does this it means he wants to step up. Well, it means a lot of things, but they all come down to 'yes'. I taught him to 'raise your hand' when he first got here and he turned it into a way to say 'yes'. So when he raises his foot like that to me it means "I want what you're offering," he also slowly scratches his head with his foot and looks at me if he wants head scratches.

Now, I will also say Kazi will raise his foot to step up when he's being an ass too. But I can tell he's up to no good because his wings are out, tail is flared and eyes are pinned. I just look at him and say, "you may be smart, but that doesn't mean I'm dumb, you don't fool me, bird!"

If Kiwi's eyes aren't pinning, her feathers aren't flaring and she's not all wound up, stick your hand up there. She might bite, but she might not. And even if she does, she's not going to remove your finger or anything. But if she's acting calmly and raises her foot, I bet she just wants to step up.

 

[Spiritbird]

someone could have taught him to wave.

 

[KatherineI]

It could mean any number of things.. "Hello" as in he was taught to wave, "Step up", meaning he wants interaction and wants to be near you, "give me head rubs pleas!" or even "come closer so that I may taste you".. hehehe... the last one cracks me up, sorry!

I also think that this needs to be addressed; Biting is inevitable. If biting is going to prevent you from interacting with your bird, then that's a serious issue that needs to be addressed. No offense. It's just that not handling a parrot can lead to some serious issues for the parrot.

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

We have only had them for about a month now. Kiwi was from a drug abusers home and was neglected. I don't want to push her to step up if she isn't ready yet, and just get used to my presence first. She has done a few flying attacks on my as I've walked by before, and bit my boyfriend and I good a few times. I was just wondering what this motion was. Something I'm learning is everything an amazon does can mean many different things. Kiwi and I are still learning to understand each other. I don't want to use gloves in fear of getting her used to gloves and becoming aggressive to bare skin.

 

[KatherineI]

We have only had them for about a month now. Kiwi was from a drug abusers home and was neglected. I don't want to push her to step up if she isn't ready yet, and just get used to my presence first. She has done a few flying attacks on my as I've walked by before, and bit my boyfriend and I good a few times. I was just wondering what this motion was. Something I'm learning is everything an amazon does can mean many different things. Kiwi and I are still learning to understand each other. I don't want to use gloves in fear of getting her used to gloves and becoming aggressive to bare skin.

Understandable, but it's also going to require work on your part.

My Aunt-In-Law has a wild-caught Amazon (loooong story and she "captured" the bird herself) and she is the only person that can handle that bird. She has also worked extremely hard to gain his trust.

Obviously, you don't want to push the issue too much, but at some point, it can't always be on Kiwi's terms. Loki came to us at over a year, had already been sold once to a smoker and good lord knows what kind of abuse he endured, before being returned and later sold to us. He was distrusting, nasty, angry, despite anything we did. But we kept rewarding his good behavior, doing our best to ignore the bad things, endured a lot of biting (purposeful, "I'm-doing-my-best-to-inflict-pain-maybe-draw-blood-and-maim-you" bites that definitely hurt and I've been bitten by a B&G, a Too, and a Grey on numerous occasions) and had a lot of patience. He isn't perfect, but the change in just the 6 months we've had him, is remarkable. He still bites, but it's already significantly better. It has taken a lot of concerted effort on our part though.

I mention this only because, after working with my Mother in rescue, we saw a lot of birds who were being rehomed and weren't tamed because their owners were too scared of getting bit and therefor they didn't handle them hardly ever and left the bird in the cage 24/7. That alone can create plucking, screeching and in many birds, neuro disorders. I'm not saying that's the case with Kiwi, but I'd hate to see that happen.

 

[Mare Miller]

The fact that you and Kiwi are still learning to understand each other is HUGE!! I congratulate you for being that sensitive...seriously.

 

[QuackQuack]

I'm not sure what Kiwi's situation was with the drugs, but there is a big parrot rescue near me that gets drug raid birds from time to time. When I was there there were birds that were in quarantine that were coming down from or withdrawing from drugs because the 'cooking of drugs' or exposure to it came from their previous home. I know that it tended to effect the birds rehabilitation! If you think that is the case I can put you in touch with the guy who has the rescue here!

 

[Clueless]

I'm "walking the walk" right along with you. Lifting a foot? Secret lifts her foot, I was using that as the thought that she wanted me to pick her up. Then I read that it could mean "stay away!". I'm not too sure after watching her and working with her that it can mean BOTH of those things depending on her mood.

After being bitten a few times after we brought the 2 amazons home - I had a pet store make me a T stick. I hold the base of the stick and the top of the T crosses my hand. When the birds reach over with their beak to grab the top stick prior to stepping on it - I don't get maimed and I can carry them and work with them away from their cage. I reward them for "stepping up" and tell them "good boy/girl" when they step down on a little stand that I had made for the weight scale (it does double duty as a tiny stand on the floor in the living room).

First - remember that love conquers everything - and these poor little things have it rough with absolutely no control over their lives and they WANT control. MC is like a little 2 year old - HE wants to say when and where he will do something. I just smile and keep right on coaxing and using patience.

Just spoil Kiwi and Beako and keep on talking and loving on them. They'll come around. (And thanks for taking them in!)

 

[KathyBatesel]

When our Amazon does that, it's usually a sign that she wants to be left alone. The first time she showed she'd allow me to pet her, she wrapped her talon around her head and slowly scratched.

Is your bird stepping toward or away from your hand immediately before?

 

[Mare Miller]

My husband bought a pair of falconer gloves so he could handle Amigo. I used them around Amigo for a while so's he could get use to them and after a few days they weren't an issue, Amigo would hop right on. The bummer was, this bird could bite right through the leather glove! I'm guessing that an Amazon couldn't. Amigo will hop on to my bare hand, falconer's glove, or towel with no problem...if your bird's going to be aggressive it will happen with or without a glove.

 

[terry52449]

You must make the time to give your bird some attention. A foot raised can also be a defense mechanism and should be respected. Fear is the worst thing you should show your bird. My very first cockatoo was a real she devil at first. Would not have anything to do with me for along time and bit me to many times to count. But I kept calm and alway spoke to her calmly. I never yelled at her. I would point my finger and say "no" sternly. I used food as an aide to getting her to come to me without force. While sitting on the floor with her I would hand feed her every day. One day she stepped up on my arm and ate from my hand for the first time a good month after I bought her from a pet store. Back then they were mostly wild birds then. It is important that you spend that time with your bird everyday even if it is just to sit and talk calmly to her for a while to start.

 

[KellyH]

My Blue Fronted Amazon always does the foot in the air thing. But he also fans his tail feathers and fluffs the feathers up on the back of his neck and his forehead at the same time. This is a clear "stay away" signal.

You need to check and see what her other feathers are doing while she is holding her foot up.

I know my bird wants to come with me when he crouches down horizontally on his perch, shakes and opens his wings just slightly from his body. When I approach him and offer my hand, his feathers stay down and smooth and he holds his head up when he steps onto my hand.

Any time he fluffs his feathers and fans his tail or pins his eyes, it means he doesn't want any attention.

I've learned to read his body language after being bitten 3 or 4 good times. And yes, I was fooled by the foot in the air the first few times too. I also read somewhere that it is a defensive posture for some birds that means stay back. So again, look at what the feathers and eyes are doing when the foot goes up and read the whole picture.

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Thank you so much!!!! Kiwi has put her head down and crouched when I walked by, and I felt like she was going to go a flying attack at me, so I left the room.

It seems that Kiwi pins her eyes when she is happy too. Could that be? Should I never offer her to step up when her eyes are wild? She does that a lot when she's excited.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge folks!!!

 

[Beako_N_Kiwi]

Terry - Thank you so much. She has climbed down the cage when I've been sitting on the floor, but I told her to stay on the cage. Maybe I will invite her down to the floor and see how she reacts to my legs and arms as I sit there. Maybe she was walk over to me and i can offer her treats. Thanks!!!