New to Forum and Parrot world!

[Kimber]

Hi everyone! I am new to the forum and owning a Parrot. I just recently adopted a 1.5 year old Yellow Headed Amazon. His name is Cheeko and I just love him. The owner before me had allergies to him. I have a feeling he was not handled much. He takes treats from my hand and talks alot to us. Its only day two and I know I need to be patient and he should eventually come around. Any suggetions on how to be able to handle or touch him would be muchly appreciated.

[captwest]

Hey Kimbo, welcome to the forum, i really hope that you become a regular here, love to have members with amazons,and welcome to Cheeko, yes maam you can learn all about taming and training your zon on this site, many great members who are willing to help, you need to browse around and check out some of the post about taming,training diet and all that kind of stuff. If you have any questions just ask or if you just want to talk birds that's good too, once again welcome, hey post some pics and vids we love em.

[Roger P]

Welcome to the forum! As Captwest already mentioned, the Taming and Training area is a great resource. The regular posters here are great for questions and feedback, and there are quite a few Amazon owners on the forum. Again, welcome!

[snakesentwined]

Hi Kimber - always nice to have another Amazon-owned person here

[zazanomore]

Welcome to the world of parrots!

[Kimber]

OK starting to ask myself if I did the right thing taking this bird in! He has become really cranky the past week. He has been biting at me! Not hard and has not broken skin but enough to scare me away. What should I do? I don't want to give up but I feel lost in how to handle this. He has fluttered down off his cage and I just sit and let him come to me and when he does he attacks my clothing. Then trying to get him to his cage...... well thats a whole other story! I have tried to pick him up and he screams and hisses and trys to bite me. I have tried to walk him to the cage and then I had to trap him in a box and that was today as he made it upstairs and I needed him back down. I give him lots of treats and talk to him lots. What do I do.... I feel so sad about this. He (Cheeko) is only 1.5 years.....is there hope or have I got someone else's Parrot problem on my hands.

[Roger P]

He's in a brand new place with people he doesn't really know or trust yet. You and I would be uncomfortable in that kind of situation, and we could at least express it in a way someone could understand. Cheeko can't make himself understood, so he is only doing what he can to try. The "biting" also serves to keep him safe and is working at keeping you away (for now). You need tio build trust with him before you can move forward. Read through Michael's Taming and Basic Training post and apply the techniques from the perspective that Cheeko has not been handled by anyone. You also need to become confident in your handling of Cheeko. Birds seem to sense when you are tentative and will take advantage if you let them. You may need to start simply, maybe just by bringing a special treat with you whenever you approach the cage, so that Cheeko starts to look forward to you coming by because he knows good things happen when you come around. If he was not handled much before, moving too fast will be scary for Cheeko.

Also, things like chasing him and trapping him in a box don't build trust very well. I know early on you may find it necessary to get him back into the cage. However, rather than have to do that, maybe start with very little time out of the cage, until Cheeko trusts that you will not hurt him. As the trust builds you can increase the time out of the cage. The idea is to make the time with you out of the cage special, so he wants to do it over and over again.

Once he knows he can trust you, you will be able to make progress. Don't give up, some animals take longer than others to come around!

[Kimber]

BREAK THROUGH!!!!!!!!!! Over the holidays I got a real bad flu and then so did the rest of my family. So I never saw Cheeko for about 24 hours as I was in bed. They day I was able to get up my husband had let him out of the cage so it was time for bed. So I went up to the cage cut up some fresh fruit and put it in his dish. It was just me in the room and it was quiet and the lights were dim. He walked down onto his cage door and over towards me and bent his head down. I was thinking in my head.... ok he is getting ready to reach out and bite at me or he wants a scratch........... so I slowly reached out and well...... Cheeko for the first time let me scratch and pet him!!!!!!! There was no biting involved. Im wondering if the limited time out of the cage and little to no attention had something to do with it!!!! Im so happy. I have continued to limit the time out of the cage and to get him to go back into his cage with out stress. I prepare a dish of food for him or just fix his dish up and then he get curious and goes in to have a look. Then close the door, talk to him and give him a treat.

NOW.... my new dilemma is this awful loud screech/honking he does to get our attention! Its over the top. So far I have tried to ignore him, tell him to quiet as well as cover him with a blanket! He seems to do it when he cant see ME! My husband pointed out that i had been giving him a treat when he would do this before, just to quiet him. So I have stopped doing this right away. So does anyone have any idea to stop this behavior?

[zazanomore]

I'm so happy to hear about your breakthrough! Nothing feels more rewarding then earning a birds trust.

[sidech]

If it's a flock call he's doing, then he's calling you because he can't see you. Have you tried just answering him, so he knows where you are ? That might be enough to make him stop worrying about where you are.

If it doesn't work, I guess you'll just have to ignore him, no matter how long it takes for him to stop, and reward him when he's been quiet for a few minutes. If he's been doing it for a while, it's going to take longer.