Need Advice for Newly Adopted Amazon

[vandivers3]

I adopted/rescued a 7yr old double yellow headed Amazon, Fred, 3 weeks ago. His previous owner died suddenly & "willed" the bird to his sister. The sister kept Fred in his cage 24/7, covered and only opening the cage to give feed & water.
He went to a Macaw rescue & that's where I found him.

Fred has bonded with me very quickly and will let me carry him around, rub his feathers & feed him by hand. A very good bird.

I understand that he had quite the vocabulary before & would be very entertaining. He no longer has any vocabulary or "tricks". He only "honks like a goose". How do I go about trying to retrieve the speech he had before or is this something that he will have to re-learn? I'm just not sure where to start. I talk to him all the time and try to mimic his sounds with actual words. What else can I do?

I appreciate any advice that you would be able to give

Thanks!
Jennifer

[Tishrei]

Originally Posted by vandivers3

The sister kept Fred in his cage 24/7, covered and only opening the cage to give feed & water.
He went to a Macaw rescue & that's where I found him.

OH MY GOSH, this so saddened me -- you won't believe how sad this made me. I am SOOOO HAPPY you have him. I am an unexperienced bird person so I don't have any advice. My bird (severe macaw) comes from a very sad background and has turned into a very loving bird. I know an experienced bird person will be able to help you.

I am only posting because I wanted to tell you that I am so very happy that you have this bird. What I do know is that lots of love will change the bird. It did mine.

[birdsnreps]

it sounds like your off to a great start!! congrats on rescueing this poor bird out of the "dark dungeon"! if hes bonded so closely with you already, time is all its gonna take to get him to start talking again. the more he realizes how much better his life is, the more he is gonna let you know it. he will get to talking little by little, amazons are very vocal birds. it also takes time to get used to his new surroundings, especially from going from a very dark and lonely place, to a bright happy new place. even though hes very happy already, its still a big adjustment for him. if hes not scared, you can turn on the vacuum around him, or take him to the shower with a shower perch and try to let him bathe. alot of times at least one of these two suggestions will really get him to vocalize. my birds go crazy when i do this with them :)

[tawny30]

Hey there fellow amazon rescue lady! Haha not to far apart either!
I rescued Laura..the red lored in my avatar photo from a very similiar situation..except she was not covered by the sister she was willed to...just ignored and in a tiny cage she never left.
Laura didn't talk much when she came to us 2 months ago..She said hello and hi laura, mimicked a parakeet and a cat but that is about it.
Since coming out of her shell she now says Good girl which I think she learned from me..She also mimicks the dogs a lot and the dog whistle LOL.
I just spent a lot of time stimulating her..talking to her, playing music for her and the bigger cage and happy environment did the rest :)
She is over 15 yrs old..which we know since she is a wild caught and was with the sister for 2 yrs.
I hope this helps some..and I am sure with TLC your friend will begin talking to you again :).
It is just a matter of time and patience :)

[Beaks]

just talk to him and he will start talking given a little time to get use to his new home

[T.W.]

My yellow nape amazon, Elvis, came to us when he was 15 years old. He had a first owner who had him from baby to 5 years, who was abusive with him, didn't want his tan to be ruined, so when elvis would try to step up on his arm, he would grab his little legs, and scream no at him! Then an x coworker had him for 10 years. she kept him caged 24/7, only opened the cage for his food and water, and then would be pissed if he bit her, when she went in his cage. She hated him, would come in to work and say she wanted to stomp on him! I saw him leave to go to a new home a few times, only to see him come back a few days later, after he bit the new owner. Well she was always saying if anybody wants him they can have him, so she was going to jamaica for her sisters wedding, so she boarded the bird at the shop (we're groomers). she said to just throw food in his cage, and pour the water from the outside, because he was a killer!! I used a pair of xray gloves to actually go into the cage and feed and water him, and each time, he didn't try to kill, he would put his little foot out and try to climb on me, he would say hello to me, and he just looked terrible, greasy, and tattered looking, no shine to him at all!!! So, since she had said if anyone wants him, to take him, I had hubby come to see him, and he said, we have to take the poor bird. So I took him from the shop straight to a great bird store I knew, to have his overgrown nails trimmed, and have his beak done and wings clipped. We had already bought a huge cage with toys for him. I had parakeets, but I never had a bird his size, so I went to the bird store, and told her in advance that he might be aggressive, she just poopooed me and took him out performed his grooming, then promptly put him on a chair in the middle of all her birds around her counter. Of course they all greeted him with a huge hello!!! He looked mortified, she then put her hand down, told him to step up, which he did, she walked over to me and said go to your new mommy!!! I was excited and scared etc. He came onto my hand and was wonderful, no biting or lunging etc. I now know in order to handle him, being an amazon, I have to remove him from his cage and room, then he is a *****cat. He has taken chunks out of both of us, but we love him, he is a very quiet bird, except in the shower, then he says all kinds of things, but back in his room he acts like a deaf mute, unless he wants what you have then he says hello, he uses the word hello for many reasons, it's very funny, all different tones of hello mean alot to him.

Anyway, I think your amazon may open up in the shower like elvis does. They adore water!!! Good luck with your new baby!!! Tina

[Beaks]

hey vandivers how about an update?