How do I get my Amazon to excercise more?

[The Outlaw]

Dear Joanie:

I have a 20 year old female Yellow Nape and though she's very healthy, has all kinds of toys and ample access to playgyms, she just doesn't seem to do have very much physical excersize. Any suggestions?

The Outlaw

[Joanie Doss]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw

Dear Joanie:

I have a 20 year old female Yellow Nape and though she's very healthy, has all kinds of toys and ample access to playgyms, she just doesn't seem to do have very much physical excersize. Any suggestions?

The Outlaw

As a bird matures, he/she becomes less interested in play. An Amazon under
four years of age is very active......so active in fact that one of the problems of training them is to get them to sit still long enough. When you ask a young Amazon to step up, they do but soon get "antsy". They have places to go and things to do and to ask them to sit still for any length of time is doomed to failure. As the Amazon matures, he becomes more receptive to sitting with you for long periods of time. Compare a young Amazon to that of a young child. As a person enters their 20's and 30's they lost most of that excess energy they had as a child. The same happens to Amazons. Your 20 year old Nape is no longer a child and is acting like a mature Nape.

There is a real problem here. Just as many people become couch potatoes as they mature, so do many Amazons. They are prone to obesity and as the
weight comes on, they are less and less incline to want to do any exercise.
I have known overweight Amazons that will not fly. It is just too much work
to get that heavy body off the ground.

All clipped birds need to exercise those wings. Birds were built for flying and these wings need to be exercised. However, not all of us can keep fully flighted birds due to our environment. I cannot keep my birds flighted during the hormonal time as they become very aggressive with each other. You can
give them that exercise. Mine are all taught to flap their wings when I have them on a stick. Sometimes I run up and down the hall with them and other
times I just move their stick back and forth. This helps restore some of their
energy level.

Some birds have never learned to play. This is especially true if they are an
only bird. You then have to show them how to play. For instance, if they have a bell.......hold the bell and twist it and turn it. Roll it on the floor. Hold it and ring it. Act as though this is too precious of an item for them to
have. Finally, act like you accidentally left it within reach of them.

You would also be surprised at the number of birds that are really afraid of their toys. The toy should be outside of the cage and away from the bird
when you first get it. They should see you playing with it. Over several days
gradually bring the toy closer and closer to the cage and finally in the cage itself. This way the bird no longer has any fear of it and will be more apt to
want to play. Many people do not understand the different body posture a bird displays to show he is stressed or afraid. Some are very slight. In my
book, "Can You Speak Parrot?" I show many of these postures. When you recognize these, you can quickly help the bird overcome his problem. If you do not recognize them, it often leads to problems down the line.

There are games you can play with your bird as well such as peek-a-boo. Be careful around male Amazons that easily become overly excited as you will not
want to be where they can grab you. Overly excited Amazon are prone to biting.

Also, things such as chewing paper are done by most birds and provide hours of keeping them busy. I use cash register tape that I wind between the bars.
I also give them a couple of craft clothes pins....the ones without any metal.
They are very inexpensive and are great chew toys. They can be hung or used as foot held toys.

Although your bird should slow down in the play department as it matures, you can still stimulate that play by doing some of the above.

Joanie Doss
The Amazing Amazons
http://www.parrothouse.com

[The Outlaw]

Joanie:

Thanks so very much. She does have adding machine tape (as do all of my birds) and does occasionally play with leather and beaded toys. I suppose we'll both have to do a little "hall runnin".

THE OUTLAW