UDATE on Adopting a 25 year old Green Naped Parrot

[susiequ53]

Hi all. I am new to the forum so thanks in advance for your help! I currently have 1 canary, 2 parakeets, 2 cockatiels, black headed caique, and a Senegal. My feathered family are all rescued or adopted. I have agreed to bring into the fold a 25 year old Green Naped Parrot who was owned by an elderly gentleman now passed. His wife is unable to care for the bird and is afraid of it. This bird was very bonded to the man and will bite any others, particularly female gender! Any advise as how to introduce this newcomer to the "family" and how to gain its trust and love? He has been in the care of this one family its entire life and never around other parrots tho the wife ways she feels the parrot is lonely. I will be receiving this bird in a few days. Any thoughts or ideas? Help!
Susan

[pennyandrocky]

he will bite all females or just the wife who is afraid of him?i got a 12 year old last year who i was told hated men turned out he liked my boyfriend but not me.my first bird was an who lived without other birds for 20+years when an x dropped off a i found out my loved having other birds around. just make sure to quarentine and introduce them,i would do it 1 at a time so he doesn't feel crowded,in a neutral territory away from what either bird believes belongs to them.i would wait til you have built some kind of trust and bond first that way you can pick up on any stress signs like eye pinning and tail fanning these were both signs my s were about to attack.

[susiequ53]

Thanks for the tips! My understanding is he does not like females in general even tho he sounds like the wife in voice and pitch. so yes, this will have to go slowly. All of my birds are in their own private room (used to be a bedroom) because I do have cats and dogs (and lizards and guinea pigs!) yes slightly crazy. Anyway, what do you think of an hour or two a day with the other birds until acclimated? I would think he probably is depressed since his main owner has passed so I was hoping he might feel among "friends". Oh and how long before I should let him fly and/or make physical contact with him? Thanks!

[pennyandrocky]

he shouldn't be around the other birds for a couple weeks at least for quarentine to make sure he doesn't have any illness that could be passed to the ones you already have. he should be put where he can hear the other birds without seeing them at first.use this time for bonding with you on your own the others will be a distration for him and make bonding more difficult.when i bring a new bird in i let him just observe for a day or 2 depending on how soon they relax i open the cage right away but it's really about what your comfortable with.i just sit and talk to them making no moves it's never taken more than a few days for them to get curious and come to me let him explore your fingers and hands until he knows your no threat.then i will attempt a touch watching for the warning signs i posted before.let him fly around the house after you see how he is first in the cage in the same room with the others be very careful s can quickly kill one of your smaller birds if you don't closely supervise my was fine with smaller birds i had him paired with a and my plus playdates with my cousin and aunts and but i've heard stories of them killing smaller companions so take your time.

[susiequ53]

Excellent advise! Thank you so much!

[susiequ53]

"Katie" is at her new home. What the previous owner was calling a green nape is actually a yellow naped amazon. Quite gregarious too! The first thing she said when I greeted her was a big "hello" followed by a wolf whistle. Naturally she is quite upset after traveling 200 miles to an over night foster home to another ride the next day to me at work ( I work in a pet store) and then the ride home. She started slinging her head left to right and back again, over and over so I'm guessing this is a stress thing they do? I have no background with Amazons :/ Once I got her situated in a quiet room, I was going to put food and water in her cage. The owners have only been feeding her striped sunflower seed and peanuts and a low quality parrot food. Definitely have to change that up! She immediately climbed right out to the top of her cage, flew around to a planter and when I asked her to step up, she did! yahoo! I took her back to her cage but she only wants to sit on top of it. She only tried to nip me once but that's pretty awesome I think! Guess that's ok for now. They said she will put herself back in. ? So much to learn about these guys. Any help will be greatly appreciated! I'll upload a picture soon.

[pennyandrocky]

i'm so glad it's going well

[liz]

It always surprises me how critters added to a home learn house rules. They adapt.

Dakota, a 65 pound dog I had a long time ago, was not allowed on furniture in my home. I took him with me when I visited my aunt and her 3 chihuahuas. They were allowed on furniture. The first time he jumped on the couch my aunt's eyes got real big. I told her he was following house rules. He never did get on my furniture.

Myrtle added to my home learned that Amazons were in charge and did not fear the others.

Rambo accepted her because he came first and got first attention.

My critters, no matter what species, look out for each other. If one yells the others go to check it.
That includes dogs and cats checking on each other and even the parrots. The parrots come to tell me if someone is in trouble.

Don't under estimate addaption but do be on guard until you know it has happened.

[susiequ53]

HI LIz! I have followed your posts since I joined and have to say, you always have a story that makes me laugh! What characters you have! Poor Katie slept quietly in my room, covered with never a peep. I'm getting ready to change out her cage. She has NEVER had toys, ropes, play grounds and sits on a swing meant for a tiel, all crammed and hunched up and two too small perches. Her owner was in his 80's and I 'm sure he did what he thought was best for her but I'm hoping she will as you say " adapt", She has this little growling sound she makes from the back of her throat, Don't know what that's all about! Should be fun to learn all her little habits! Thanks for the support!

[Polarn]

Just gotta add that the swinging back and forth with his head, seen quite a few amazons do that when their stressed. But mine does it both in case of stress and when he is overly excited same with wagging his tail but more frequently when happy. I don't see him stressed too often tho, but he doesn't like the garbage truck for some reason. However when excited he whistles or mumbles while strutting around wagging his head and tail. But mine is a bf but guessing their quite similar in behavior even if some is known to be calmer than others etc.