hi everyone

[shane12]

my name is shanei have a 17 month old double yellow headed amazon named charlie,i have had him about 2 months.he will touch my finger with his tongue before i give him a treat,but as for my hand in general he is scared ,also he will not entertain any of his toys. any advice will be of great help. thanks shane

[Wolf]

I am rarely able to get one of my birds to entertain me , and I have never seen them entertain their toys either. Good humor, thank you.
You bird might not play with his toys if no one has taught them how to play with them. But most of the time my birds would prefer to play on and with me than with their toys. Just show them how to play with them or how to open them if they open, because otherwise they don't know what to do with the toy until he is shown.
Why do you think he is afraid of hands? If I may ask.

[Water]

A great welcome from me in this site, Shane! I joined recently, too. While I personally don't have the right kind of advice with me, I hope others will be able to help you. Atleast your bird licks your finger, mine doesn't. She doesn't even have toys. My mom is paranoid about it, saying that toys might be toxic or bad for stomach and all. I sometimes give my bird scraps of paper to play with.

[Wolf]

A great welcome from me in this site, Shane! I joined recently, too. While I personally don't have the right kind of advice with me, I hope others will be able to help you. Atleast your bird licks your finger, mine doesn't. She doesn't even have toys. My mom is paranoid about it, saying that toys might be toxic or bad for stomach and all. I sometimes give my bird scraps of paper to play with.

Your bird should be able to safely play with palm fronds as long as they are untreated and have not been sprayed.

[Water]

Better luck convincing my mom, LOL!

[Wolf]

Copy this link and show it to her. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521
It has a listing of foods, woods, plants, trees, and household products that are toxic and safe for your bird. The list begins on the second page and it is the best one that I have found, and I have several. Let her know that you are aware that some things are bad for them as shown by the list but everything is not bad. Let her know that your bird also needs mental stimulation during the times that you have to do other things. I hope this will help you.

[shane12]

thanks for your warm welcome,wolf you asked why i thought my amazon was scared of hands well as far as i know he was in a aviary so i guess he is not used to hands.

[Wolf]

Sometimes they will avoid your hands because they don't know you well enough yet, or because they don't want something done to them or don't want to come to you yet and of course there is fear. This is why I was asking. What does his body language say about these times? You should look for what he is doing with his tail, what is his bodily position, what is he doing with his wings, is he opening and closing his beak or what, are his eyes pinned or do they appear to be flashing, does he raise one foot like he wants to grab you with it, what about the feathers on his body are the pulled tightly to his body or does he puff them up? These are all part of the way that he will be trying to communicate with you through. Let us know what he does. Also pay attention to any vocalizations.
What is his current living arrangements like? Things like size of cage as well as placement. Is he in an area where he can see most of what goes on or is he more isolated? Are there other people and/ or pets? What is his daily schedule? When does he get up in the morning and when does he go to bed? Do you cover his cage or not? What is his current diet like? What does it consist of and when does he get what to eat?
I realize that this is a lot, but this is all extremely important information in regards to your parrots well being and they all affect his behavior. The more that we know about his world the better we can help. If it feels like I am looking for everything that you know about him, you would be pretty close to right, and you are the only way we have of seeing into his world to help him adjust. Parrots are very complex individuals, so the more we know the better we can help.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.
Rambo is a real character. You two are going to have so much fun.
Myrtle came to me with many fears. I taught her tickle tickle which meant to her that one wiggly finger was coming at her and would not hurt her. Start with "tickle tickle feet". She also learned her body parts.

[shane12]

Thanks for your reply wolf
His body language when i go near him is as follows,he does not fan his tail out,his eyes are normal,he does not flap his wings and his feathers are not puffed up.He does pull his head away now and again,he opens and closes his beak and squawks but never tries to bite me.Every now and again he will let me stroke his foot and puts his foot on my finger.
The size of his cage is Length 40 inch Hight 45 inch Width 28 inch .
His cage is in my bedroom which i am always in , he mainly sees me all the time as i am always in my bedroom.My son who lives with me somtimes pays attention to him. I have a dog which he does not seem to mind as he as let the dog sniff him on a few occasions.
He goes to bed about midnight,i have tried getting him to bed earlier but he tends to go to bed at that time,then i make sure he gets between 10 -12 hours sleep.
I cover his cage every night, his diet consists of a good quility seed mix,was thinking of trying him on pellets,he also has fruit,does not seem to like the veg i have tried him on still trying different fruit and veg to see what he likes.He has access to his food at all times,i have noticed he as a sweet spot for peanuts.
I hope i have included everything you asked me and once again thanks for you help.