AboutChrys Meatyard Expertise I`ve been raising/breeding/handfeeding/selling parrots for over 20 years (parakeets/budgies, cockatiels, 6 subspecies of conures, parrotlets, amazons, lovebirds, etc.). I've been published in "Budgies" and "Cockatiels" offered by Bow Tie Productions, and have written avian articles for publication in England. I can provide advice in raising healthy birds, handfeeding/weaning babies, some health problems, nail/beak/wing clipping, general husbandry, etc. I also have experience with racing/showing homing pigeons. I cannot diagnose specific illness over this website. If you suspect your bird is ill or if you have an emergency, contact a certified avian veterinarian or emergency pet clinic ASAP.
Experience Experience: Over 20 years raising parrots and over 13 years raising pigeons. Organizations: Currently, American Racing Pigeon Union. Prior member Miami Valley Bird Club, Southern Ohio Pigeon Association, National Cockatiel Society, Miami Valley Sportsman's Club, others. Publications: Monthly newsletters of bird clubs.
Education/Credentials American Federation of Aviculture, completed Level I course, Fundamentals of Aviculture. Keeping/breeding parrots and other birds for over 20 years.
Question hi, im kane, i bought an orange winged amazon parrot 2 weeks ago, from what the owner has mentioned, its male and 40 weeks old. Although i've had the parrot for 2 weeks, its shown no signs of friendliness or affection. I talk regularly to it, etc. It is scared of me, i've tried feeding it food, but it just backs off.
How long should it take to get used to me, or what am i not doing to stop it from becoming tame?
Another funny action my bird does is to have fits or go mad several times of the day. It starts shaking its head vigourously, jumping as if someone scared it, does funny squeeky noises, etc. It usually lasts 15 minutes and twice a day. For the first week of having the bird, it was normal, it stared this shaking business about a week ago, ands continues to do it. Its bothering me, have you any idea why its doing this or what it means?
Sometimes the bird is puffed up while standing on the perch, what does this mean. It also rubs its beak together making a squeeking sound, what does this mean?
He has an enormous cage as big as a house door, its cage is always open for ther bird to get it and out the cage and it does leave it every now and then.
It sings, flies normally, but what do these funny actions above mean?
Thanks, take care, and im looking forward to hearing from you.............kane...............
Answer Hi, Kane. Thanks for posting your questions.
Parrots don't just become tame. They have to be handfed by a human with baby parrot handfeeding formula and a handfeeding syringe from about 2 weeks of age until weaned, and then handled every day to maintain tameness. This bird's tameness or lack of it should have been evident at the time you were considering purchasing the bird. If this bird were tame and imprinted on humans, at it's young age, it should not take too long for it to acclimate to it's new home with you. However, this depends on the individual bird. Two weeks may not be long enough for this particular bird. Moving from one home to a new home is stressful for a parrot. I've had some untame parrots take as long as a year to acclimate to my home, but they were a bit older than your O wing. It doesn't sound to me like this bird was handfed or, if it was, it has not been handled regularly. In addition, it seems from your description that it does not trust humans. If/when a parrot doesn't trust a person, it will be difficult to deal with. Perhaps this bird has been mistreated/mishandled in the past. You need to do whatever you can to gain this bird's trust so that you can have a tame parrot. No one can say how long it will take for this bird to get used to you...you must be patient with him and take time, learn all you can about these birds (I have 4 of them myself and have raised them for years). You need to interact with this bird as often as possible. When you are watching TV, let him sit with you. When you're having dinner, pull up a parrot perch so he can join you. When you're messing around on your PC, let him sit there with you (watch so he doesn't chew on anything). Your goal is to let him know that you mean him no harm. Keeping both of his wings clipped will help with tameness, as he will have to rely on you to get from place to place.
You mention you've tried feeding it food, but it backs off and is scared of you. What are you trying to handfeed it? Is it eating at all? A bird will not eat anything it does not recognize as food, so perhaps it doesn't think what you are offering it is food. Keep trying every day. Sometimes it helps if he sees you eating the food you want him to eat (take a bite and comment that it is "good.")...it never fails that my parrots want ANYTHING that I have to eat! ALWAYS reward positive behavior (when he does anything you want him to do, reward him EVERY TIME with his favorite treat). NEVER reward negative behavior. If he doesn't know the difference between good and bad behavior, you'll have to teach him.
Shaking of the head, and jumping up and down, and squeeky noises bothers me, too. Are you sure this bird is nearly a year old...the squeeky noises could indicate the bird is still a baby or has regressed as a result of the move? If you do not know the people you bought this bird from, be aware that some people who sell birds will not be truthful about their age...does the bird have a leg band that could show it's year of birth? Did the previous owner give you a DNA sexing certificate proving this was a male? If you can buy a parrot handfeeding syringe (or something that might resemble a handfeeding syringe...at local pet store that sells birds), and show it to him/put it close to the bird so he can see it, and if he recognizes it, you'll know if this bird was handfed. You'll get a reaction that he wants to feed from it. If you get a positive reaction, you might want to buy some handfeeding formula and handfeed him once a day...this helps with the human/bird bonding process and will also help him become tame with you. I've raised amazon's for years and twice a day at least (morning and dusk minimum), they flap their wings vigorously while holding onto their perches, then they hollar/yell at each other (or me) for about 15-30 minutes. This is normal behavior. Is this what your O wing is doing?
Parrots will puff up their feathers when they sleep. If he is puffing up his feathers when he is NOT sleeping, he could be ill (this is a warning sign of illness). The stress from a move could allow opportunistic illness to take over, particularly if this bird is having adjustment problems. Keep him away from cold drafts.
When a parrot rubs it's mandibles together like you describe (like grinding teeth), this means it is happy and content. Therefore, I'm really confused at this point about what is going on with your bird! On one hand, your bird is exhibiting signs that bother me (unless I'm misunderstanding your descriptions) but, on the other hand, it sounds like he likes his new home.
You might want to consider taking your new parrot to an avian vet for a checkup to rule out any medical problems. This is always recommended after a bird moves to a new home. If you need help finding an avian vet (exotic animal vet), let me know (a regular dog/cat vet won't work). If you want to send some more descriptive information, I'll try to help more.
