| Birds sometimes have strong feelings as to which people they do or don't like.
Max may never get over his aversion to you or may grow to tolerate you in time.
Don't take it personally. If you spend a few minutes each day (even 5 minutes
could make a difference) sitting by his cage, doing nothing that he might
perceive as threatening -- just listening to soft music or reading or just
sitting and spacing out -- he may learn to tolerate your presence better. It's
good that he likes your daughter -- that will help him through this transition.
It is good for Max to share your food, as long as you don't give him avocados,
coffee, or chocolate! It would make him feel more like part of the family if you
made dinner a regular part of his routine. Maybe if *you* bring him some of the
family dinner each night, he will grow to tolerate you more quickly! Also if you
carefully offer him a special treat, such as a peanut.
The feather picking can be a sign of psychological stress, a vitamin deficiency,
dry skin (more likely in winter or very dry climates), or skin disease. You may
want to have Max examined by a good avian vet to ensure the problem isn't cuased
by a physical problem. Since he's had a major change in his life, it seems most
likely like it is stress. My senegal parrot started picking her feathers when I
stopped working at home (she used to help me by sitting on the lamp that hangs
over my desk) and came back to Digital. Does Max have any toys to play with?
Many parrots like to chew wood, leather, rope and cloth. There are several
specific toys are the market that are especially good for helping to prevent
feather picking -- Pet Warehouse offers a "cotton candy" toy that birds like to
preen and chew on. They also have a large, manzanita swing with big cotton rope
bundles that they like to preen. One of my veterinarians (Countryside in
Chelmsford) has some nice large bird toys -- including a rope with different
colored cloths tied to it -- my cockatoo loves to chew that. If you can get him
some large bird toys to play with and hang them in his cage, he may take out his
frustrations/stress on the toys instead of his feathers.
You don't mention what his regular diet is. If he's not fed a pellet-based diet
(80+% pellet) you need to feed a vitamin/mineral supplement. Seed-based diets --
even the seeds that are labeled fortefied -- don't provide adequate amounts of
essential vitamins and minerals.
Good luck with Max and let us know how he progresses.
|
| Thanks for the quick response..
Beleive it or not.. I spend ALOT of time with Max.. BTW, he is a
Yellow headed ?? something.
I feed him treats everyday.. The minute I wake up, I make him toast
or a bagel.. as well as dinner time, I feed him through the cage
by hand, and he is fairly gentle. I sit on the couch everynight
and I am eye level with him, I talk to him, and he talks to me..
He only says a few words.. and he whistles..
I usually try to touch him, sometimes he will stick his foot outside
the cage and hold onto my finger.. But then the next minute, he is
going after me, like I just hurt him.
His normal diet is a Parrot mix that I've been buying, what are the
pellets your talking about.. The stuff I'm buying just looks like
seed and dried fruit..
I appriciate (sp) any and all help!!
TXS!
Joyce
|
| Sounds like a yellow-headed amazon. If he has a whole lot of yellow on his head,
he may be a double-yellow headed.
I don't know much about amazons, but my understanding is that when they reach
sexual maturity (which at 20, he is well into) they can be a handful. Sounds
like he likes you. He probably gets aggressive when he feels overexcited. If you
watch his eyes, you may see the pupils constrict and expand back and forth --
that is one sign that he is getting excited (my senegal's look like yellow moons
when they get going). If you see that happening, that's probably a good time to
put him back in his cage for a little quiet time.
Good seed mixes are Sunscription and Kaytee. If he eats the pellets in his seed
mixes, he's probably doing ok, since that is where the vitamins usually are
concentrated.
Pelleted feeds are available through a number of pet stores and also through
catalogs. I get Pretty Bird pellets through Pet Warehouse. Kaytee also makes a
complete pellet, called Exact. Pretty Bird pellets are fruit flavored and come
in all different sizes.
The most important thing in bird diets is variety. They like veggies and fruit,
which are also good sources of vitamins and minerals. Carrots and sweet potatoes
(raw or cooked) are good sources of vitamin A, as are dark greens (romaine,
green leaf, red leaf and escarole lettuce). Mango and cantaloup are good fruit
sources of A. Vitamin A is *very* important to birds, for immune system
function and also for good mucous membranes.
My birds also like grapes, cherries, berries, bananas, and apples.
They also like occasionally to have a high protein food, such as cooked chicken
or fish (for tuna fish, get water-based and rinse out the excess salt). I'm a
vegetarian, so I feed my birds a little hard-boiled egg once a week (just a
couple forkfuls at most).
|
| Hi Joyce!
Yes, I second the responses you have received so far. Max is
going through a pretty hard time right now. Parrots are very
intelligent and Max is well aware that he has been "given away".
Parrots get attached to "their person" -there are even stories
about how the birds morn after their owner dies.
My Cockatoo picks her feathers too. It is a very common repsonse to
stress--like a human biting fingernails. But like the other noter
said--sometimes there is a physical reason too, so it is best to have
him checked out so you know for sure.
Another good source of information is Bird Talk magazine. You can get
it most places like pet stores and even Walmart. There are excellent
articles in there and lots of advertising for toys and foods. Bird
Talk definetly helped me out in the begining. There is also a really
good softcover book called "Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot" which
didn't cost too much and is written very well. It gives alot of
insight to Parrot behaviour.
It seems like you are doing all the right things to get him to feel
secure and trust you. I would keep up with sitting next to him in
a non threatening way, talking softly to him, offering him foods,
generally letting him get used to you.
From what I have heard, Amazons can be wonderful pets. It will take
some time and patience to bring him around, but I'm sure it will be
well worth the effort.
Good luck and keep in touch--
Renee
|