Wanting to bring an older parrot home

[Crystalmcp]

Hello everyone, I have been patiently waiting for the right bird! My interest was mostly an African Grey or a blue front ! Walked in a local pet shop yesterday and happened to run up with a guy that has 2 male parrots he is wanting to sale.. One is 19 years old and the other is 10....hmmm I have never owned anything bigger than a cockatiel , so ????? I went to take a look and these birds are in a cage on his back porch... I approached the cages and neither panicked , but he said he had not handled them much at all.. He bought the birds trying to get males and females , but had ended up with all males is why he is selling!!! I feel really bad for both birds , they had no toys and are eating sunflower seeds ... I'm for sure going back for one if not both... My question is will I have any luck with these older birds... They are talkers , and seemed sweet !! HELP

[Wolf]

Before trying to answer your question, could you identify the species of these parrots? It may have a bearing on the answer.

[liz]

My 22 year old DYH Amazon, Rambo, came from a good home where he was treated like a child. After 11 years she decided to sell him. I had met him a couple times and told her I was taking him. The biggest bird I ever had was a cockatiel. Even though he had been treated extremely well, the first 3 times she came to visit he hid and would not come out. When I found him in a cardboard box he gave me the look of don't tell on me and send me back.
Rambo taught me about parrots. He is equivalent to a 5 year old boy in every way except he is green.
a
Myrtle was 1 when I got her and she is now 4. She came from an awful place: in the dark, only seed and in a little cage next to a gray who wanted to kill here. She was skinny, dirty and so scared that she shivered. I took her from that, put her little cage on the dining room table and opened the door (she will never be closed in again). She is equivalent to a 2 year old girl.

These two remember where they have been and they are quite grateful to be here in my kayos.

Even if the older bird is scared, mean, a bitter or untrusting, they know where they have been. They learn that you love them and care for them. They are like little orphans that you take in.
An older parrot has more ability to communicate. Where Myrtle would say "c'mere", Rambo will say "Momma, c'mere, pick me up right now, hurry hurry."

[Crystalmcp]

One is a blue front and the other is a double yellow head

[Crystalmcp]

Aww.. I feel so bad for them, I think the guy means well but is in the breeding so he does as little as possible..the only thing that is scaring me is that I don't know what kind of home they came from before he got them! When I sat down next to the blue fronts cage he came right over , I talk to him but wasn't pushy!! The DYH seemed a little more reserved, he is the 10 year old! I guess my concern was he told me he would have to go in after them with a glove because he has no clue how he will act... Which tells me he don't give any attention.. If that's the case will he be ok with me wanting to handle him, or will he always want to be left alone

[Wolf]

OK ! That is what I needed to know. The problem that I see is if they are hormonal that you may be getting in deeper than you are prepared for. High protein diets will cause them to be more aggressive, but their recovery might not take too long unless they are hormonal from the wrong lighting as well. An aggressive, hormonal Amazon could be very dangerous as when they attack they keep attacking and you are looking at two of them. I understand that they need help as soon as possible.

Any parrot that is hormonal out of season needs to be put on a strict solar schedule with full exposure to the twilight periods that occur at dawn and dusk in order to reset their biological clock and balance their endocrine system as well as to be put on a low fat, low protein diet to help reduce the hormones that they are producing. This can be a long process taking up to several years before they are back to a normal level, it depends on how long they have been on a high protein diet and a human light schedule. But this is the only thing that will bring them back to normal.

No it is not a permanent condition, but it could be dangerous. Do you have the compassion to do the hard part along with the patience to deal with two highly volatile animals. They will resist eating a good diet at first and it is difficult to be up for dawn with them and to put them to bed at dark every day.

They may also not be that hormonal although they will still need the same diet and light schedule to be healthy. The question is how aggressive are they? If you feel that they are not too aggressive for you to deal with on a long term basis then by all means get them out of there.

[liz]

I don't think the problem is the birds aggression if neither one of them pulled away or attacked the side of the cage. I think the problem is in the man. He does not understand them and he is afraid of them. They are used to being together so all you have to do is open the cage doors. I doubt they can fly. They will just have to be pedestrians like Rambo.

The man I got my sweet little Cagney and Lacy from toweled them before I could stop him. They don't know step up but will take my help to get back to the cage.

Before, Myrtle, my BF grew her feathers back and before I could touch her she would jump off the top of the cage to test her wings but fall on the floor. She would walk over to me and crawl up my close to my shoulder then I would ride her back to her cage and she would step off. And we all know what she is like now.

[liz]

I don't think the problem is the birds aggression if neither one of them pulled away or attacked the side of the cage. I think the problem is in the man. He does not understand them and he is afraid of them. They are used to being together so all you have to do is open the cage doors. I doubt they can fly. They will just have to be pedestrians like Rambo.

The man I got my sweet little Cagney and Lacy from toweled them before I could stop him. They don't know step up but will take my help to get back to the cage.

Before, Myrtle, my BF grew her feathers back and before I could touch her she would jump off the top of the cage to test her wings but fall on the floor. She would walk over to me and crawl up my close to my shoulder then I would ride her back to her cage and she would step off. And we all know what she is like now.

correction - crawl up my clothes

[Wolf]

Well Liz, you may be right, but there is no way to tell with the amount of information that was presented to us. I would rather err on the side of safety in this instance that to be remiss and have this person be seriously injured when it could be prevented. At the very least they should know the possibilities of what they may be getting.
I am all for getting the birds away from this person who has them as he should never be allowed within a mile of a bird, but although I am on the birds side, I don't think that going to an inexperienced human that has no idea of how bad these birds could be is doing them a favor either as it would probably be a disaster and the birds would again be locked up until they could be rehomed yet again.
On the other hand, even if they are hormonal, they may not be too aggressive for this person and they could actually really be real sweethearts. Either way, if the person wants to take this on, then I know that we will all offer any assistance that we can to help both the human and the birds to get through this as best as they can.

[liz]

You are right. I am wrong to give my feelings on this. Just because I have no fear and the birds know it doesn't mean the next person can do it.
I am here if he goes that route.
I'll bet a dollar though that those birds can't fly.