Overexcitement ?!?

[Kateew26]

Hi all..i have a blue fronted amazon called minty who i have had for 2 weeks.he is about 14 years old and i took him on from a lady who could no longer keep him as her son had brought him home but was now moving out and she had no confidence with him at all.as far ss i know minty has been cage bound for quite some time as even the son wasnt comfortable letting him out.since i have had him we have done well together..he now steps on my hand to come out of his cage..lets me scratch his head..and tries to talk to me.on my question is ...on 2 occasions i have been singing and whistling to him while he has been on top of his cage and he has been trying to whistle along and dancing..then all of a sudden he tries to lunge for my face in what certainly looks like a biting motion...do parrots trybto bite when they get overexited/stimulated or could there be another reason..he doesntbtry to bite me any other time and although he was well loved in his previous home i dont think he got anywhere near as much attention as he gets here..any thoughts greatly appreciated

 

[SandyBee]

Oh amazon's are famous for over stimulation. It does sound like that, learn body language and keep digits and faces away during these times. As time goes on you will learn what makes him excited and how to calm the situation when needed.

 

[Birdman666]

The phenomenon is known as "Amazon Overload."

And you can generally see it coming when the bird starts getting excited and working itself into a state.

Here is the deal: Your zon is actually playing with you.

AND HOW DOES A ZON PLAY WITH IT'S TOYS?!

That's right, it attacks them... !!!

When he gets worked up like that, take a step back and let the bird calm down a minute before handling again.

This is a train the people thing.

Like when he's doing the "line of death dance" thing, don't go over there and try to show him who's boss.

You may be the boss, but he will bite you...

Sometimes you put the bird down and just back away...

 

[Kateew26]

Thanks sandybee...will bear that in mind lol ..no digits no faces ..when the dancing starts lol xx

 

[Kateew26]

Great advice thanks birdman..as i said at this moment in time he will step up on my hand to come out but wants to go straight on top of his cage ...im guessing this is his safe place at the moment..i love interacting with him but once he's on top of his cage he will not step up to come to me .he just legs it to a different part of the cage if i put my hand there.so any interactions are with him on top of his cage and me at face level basically,which im guessing is probably not ideal !?

 

[Birdman666]

Get a step ladder, and be taller than the bird.

He goes up there and behaves like that (1) because he knows you are not in a position to control him, (2) because he can, and (3) because he is not 100% tame or trusting yet...

There is still work to do. But it sounds like you are making progress.

 

[Kateew26]

Great thanks i shall be taking that advice ! Will keep you posted on progress

 

[SandyBee]

Birdman has nailed it, get up to his level. I wouldn't force anything at this point until you establish even more trust but in time you will be able to have him step up from anywhere. My DYH did the exact same thing, it took me over 4 months to get him to step up reliably. After the trust was there I can get him to step up from anywhere and can approach him during excited times and line of death dance LOL, It takes time but well worth it.