Anti-social Mealy

[machwon]

We bought a Mealy Amazon Parrot back in October of last year. It was my first big bird purchase (I’ve only had parakeets before) and we noticed when we bought him that he was very aggressive when the people were trying to get him out of the cage and into the transport cage. Now, I bought him at the Canton Trade Days in Texas from some bird salers there and I figured some of his aggression could be from being pestered all day. They told us they thought he was about 2 years old but weren’t for sure. I would say he's fully grown or very near it. Looking back though, I probably shouldn’t have gotten a bird from them but hindsight is always 20/20.

After we got him home and settled into his new cage, he was visibly nervous and still sort of aggressive. He growled at us whenever when went near him. I didn’t pay it much mind at first since I figured he was still adjusting to his new home. Well, it’s been almost 5 months now and he is still almost the same way. He is still scared of us when we try to get him out of his cage, but the thing is that he is still the same even when he is out of the cage. He is always visibly nervous around people (in or out of his cage) and actually acts the same around strangers as he does us. He’s never formed that bird bond with anyone. We have got him to calm down some but not to the level that I expected him to be at at this point. Am I expecting too much?

We really don’t get to spend a ton of time with him (I'm sure a lot less than we should), but we try to at least interact some with him by saying hello or calling his name whenever we walk by his cage if we can't get him out and play at the time. But nonetheless, I’m starting to think that he was some type of breeder bird or never really handled. He just doesn’t like being around people. Any thoughts or suggestions? I’m not sure what to do with him. I’ve thought about trying to sell him, but I don’t know. I like him. Plus, the odd (and unexpected) thing about him is that he is rarely loud and almost silent at night. He’s so quiet that we keep him in our bedroom right by the bed.

[Tom Lawless]

I can't even guess what his background was but you are right, after five months he is settled in so what you are seeing probably isn't new home adjustment issues. There are things you can do. One thing I've read on these boards that is always recommended is reading to them. It is a chance for him to spend time with you in a non-threatening atmosphere where he becomes comfortable with your voice and presence. These guys are flock animals and he probably likes having you around more than you think. From there I would start working on training. There are a lot of good training books and tapes out there. People have had very good luck with clicker training. I believe there are discussion groups on Yahoo specifically for clicker training for parrots. Also there are good training DVDs out there by people like Barbara Heidenreich (Parrot Behavior and Training) and books by people like Sally Blanchard. Other people have had good luck with Chet Womack training DVDs (I've got some but haven't really watched them yet). I was lucky to get well socialized babies so I did not have to go through what you are but I do think you will accomplish a lot with some good training instruction. I've heard many success stories. Good luck.