Pictures and updates!

Evanskiver

New member
Jun 11, 2011
74
2
Villa Rica, GA
Parrots
Tyrael - Alexandrine
Reptar - White Fronted Amazon Rescue
I was able to get some pictures of both of my pals today. I have an appointment with the local aviam vet at 11:30 to get her horribly long and curled nails trimmed and a check up. Currently I must admit that our Zon is not in a proper cage as the cage we had available was for a small bird. While it is roomy enough the bars are far too close together. However, her brand new correct aimed cage is being delivered today.

Last nogjt our Zon stepped up onto my finger but while I lifted my hand up talking to her she bent and took a good bite on my thumb. I am just so confused. She seems to do a gesture to be scratched that looks very much like her gesture to bite (bowing down and sorta puffing her wings). I do not know what to do. I went to the pet stored bought some nutri berries because she will only eat sunflower seeds but even with fruit and veggies the only thing she ate was the sunflower seeds. She did however taste of everything, just never ate any.

The bites are pretty bad and I know important failing in training because I jerk away but I do not know how else to do this. I used a long wooden perch to pick her up and she stepped on it then immediately ran down the perch and bit my hand. She even sounds like she's laughing after she bites lol.

I will not give up on this bird no matter what, but some advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Edward :green2::green1:
 

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When she steps up, put her back quickly and don't take her away from her cage. Don't try and pet her,kiss her etc. All that will come later when you have gained her trust. For now pactice "step up" and put her right back down, show her you are to be trusted and that "step up" doesn't mean something else like.i'm moving you over here,i want to pet you etc. When she does step up ,praise and reward her. Practice this for a few minutes and give her a break. Don't keep pushing her to do more than she wants.Learn to stop before she bites to tell you she's had enough or that's too much. Baby steps.
 
Edward,

I adopted/rescued 2 blue front amazons that were over 30 years old. I had NO PRIOR BIRD EXPERIENCE at all (see my name on the board?).

Bonding with a parrot takes time. I tried to rush things too - and I was bitten - and I jerked. It's still hard not to pull the hand when they grab you. Henpecked is 100% correct - take baby steps. I've had these 2 for many months and I'm just now getting MC fairly close to my body when I handle him, but he is still scared of hands. I would never try to get either of them close to my face for a kiss.

Just remember to watch their eyes. With Secret, if the eyes pin - I am very, very, very cautious - that's when Secret bites. With MC, the eyes can pin when he's just excited or having fun - but he does occasionally bite.

I find that with Secret I can skritch her head just before bedtime and I only try it through the bars of the cage. It's much safer that way. I also read on the forum to stop the skritches after a short time (while they are still enjoying it) . . . . I guess that makes them want you to do it for longer the next time and doesn't tempt them to bite us. MC finally let me skritch the back of his head - once - when he was on his playstand and I was trying to get him to step up on his stick. He rammed it with his head and while his beak was under the stick and his head was rubbing the stick, I tried to skritch him. Very brief - and hasn't happened since. I'm letting him set the pace for it. But I've noticed when I'm skritching Secret's head at night - MC runs over to his rawhides and rubs his head on them. I always offer to skritch MC - it's just not his timing yet though.

Good luck - Amazon Parrots can make awesome buddies.
 
You'll get there! It's going to come down to a combination of mutual trust and being able to read their body language. Amazons are always crystal clear with their body language, we just have to be able to read it!

Not jerking away is HARD TO DO. I still jerk away sometimes if I don't realize it might be coming. When I don't jerk away though I'll either push my hand toward his beak or grab his beak with my thumb and apply light pressure while saying 'no' or 'don't bite!'.

I've had Kazi for just about 6 months now and we're just now getting to the point where I can read his signals and he trusts me enough to not be afraid of me or what I'm asking him to do. He still bites, but they are not as frequent or nearly as hard. They can't even rightly be called bites anymore, more like beaking. There are still times when he does land a good one, but even those are a thousand times better than the ones that left my arm and hands all scarred up.

Just remember, he can only bite you badly, he can't take your hand off or kill you. Cold comfort, I know! :D

Oh, and after a few really good bites, they're no big deal anymore. I think the biggest thing is to not react much if possible. I try to go into another room to inspect and curse and clean and bandage.
 
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Sometimes you can tilt the end of the stick upward and they will try to move to the higher end instinctively rather than run down and attack your hand. It doesn't work with the most determined amazons, but it often works.
I kind of think she sounds like she's got your number and is working it to the max. I'd start out with what henpecked said. Step up and then right back down before she has a chance to think about biting. If she's on your hand and she has actively bitten you, an old time method is to wobble your hand or drop your had in like a miniature karate chop-like action. You don't want to drop them to the floor, just off set their balance slightly so they have to stop biting in order to do a balance check. That method is not in favore among a lot of behviorists now, but it often works so long as you don't over use it. If its going to work, you only have to drop or wobble your hand a few times(preferably right before they make contact than during the bite) and the bird will realize 1. your not afraid of it and 2. Its not fun to bite. Just realize that if its going to work, it will be apparent within a couple sessions and maybe the ocassional one time reminder. If you don't see improvement, then don't keep doing it because then the bird will just learn your hand isn't a secure place to be and you'll have other problems to deal with.
The more modern positive reinforcement method takes longer, but often you earn their trust. The down side with an amazon is that sometimes the little stinks still think they've got your number and no matter what you do they still want to push you around. I don't like to advise people not to back down because it can totally backfire on you and either pump up the aggression or cause fear, but sometimes it works. However, you also have to combine it with a general not pushing policy.

Try not to get yourself in a situation to get bit. Ask small things of the bird and don't get greedy trying to get more from it than its willing to give. The mixed signals your seeing depending on the bird can mean he's insecure and not sure what he wants, or it could be a gotcha game some birds learn to play. If your seeing a lot of tail flaring or vocalization issues, then I'd say its more of an aggression issue than a fear issue. If the bird is pretty subdued, generally tries not to get your attention and only bites or sends you aggressive body language when your pushing your luck, then it might be more fear and insecurity where positive reinforcement with clicker training and baby steps would be the better way to go.
 
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New cage and forever home!
 

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First off, thank you for all your replies. I have learned a TON from both you and our new vet today.

I was able to change my appointment as she got her talon stuck pretty bad this morning and I begged for some time off work by giving my boss some werthers candy lol.

When we got to the vet, she was examining her and determined that she is healthy and they were able to grind her talons down so that she is now fully capable of walking around her cage. It is obvious that she has not been climbing at the pet store as it seems a struggle for her to get around and hang onto the bars for very long.

I asked the vet about removing the band on her leg as it seems to be kinda snug and was informed that the band on her meant that she is an imported bird making the idea of figuring out her age almost impossible. Hopefully Henpecked can assist there :)

One of the most interesting parts of the visit was when she flew away from the vet and landed on my shoulder :D There may be a chance after all :p
 
Glad all is well with the vet, What does her band say ?
 
"I begged for some time off work by giving my boss some werthers candy lol."

haha if only it were always that simple. you must have a great job. :)
It's a wonderful sign if he flew away from the vet and towards you for security. good luck and keep us updated.
 
here is a quick and useful trick Get a wooden cooking spoon they are cheap and with the spoon part in your palm they make a good perch to get your bird to step-up on; now here is the trick get the lid off the cool whip bowl put a small hole in the middle side the handle thru now you have a hand shield! told you it was simple.
 
I rescued a big nanday conure with a very sharp beak about over a month ago. This bird was very neglected and the rescue could not even handle him. I was the first person to handle him in months, too.

I spoke to a lot of people at multiple bird stores and my vet to get any training info, along with a few parrot keeping books. Most of the books info were good but I wasn't getting any results. The advice from the bird experts at the stores told me to use a towel and go into another room for quick step up time. I did this for almost 2 weeks and now my nanday is tame. I can touch his beak, pet his head, and pick him up. He is very gentle with me now and sits on my shoulder and accepts kisses.

He was extremely cage aggressive. Changing his bowls was impossible before, but now he tolerates me. His lunging, hissing, and biting has stopped since I have been training step up with him. I was advised to push my finger in his face if he tried to bite. It worked for me and he has backs down.
 

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