fred is eating me ....

[pi77]

i have a few things that i am not sure about as far as behavior goes so i thought i would ask....

i have a spectacled amazon named FRED. he is rehomed and i am his 3d owner including the breeder. he was hand raised not parent raised. i have had him for about 8 months now. he is about 2.5 years old.

1. fred sometimes sleeps on the bottom of the cage. not all the time just sometimes. he likes to walk around and watch tv through the crack in his cover if i dont do it properly. sometimes he sleeps while gripping the side of the cage and other times he sleeps on his perch near his food. is this ok?

2. fred threw up on my fingers twice yesterday and then licked it up. i guess that is his way of sharing? and learning how to be a daddy bird?

3. fred tends to bite all the time from nibbles to hard bites. he likes to go after my nails and bite hard which i try to avoid by offering him a different part of my hand. well yesterday he started nibbling at a piece of skin on my knuckle. it was like he was slowly picking a scab. each time he would pick of a real small piece of skin use the tip of his beak to remove it and than eat it. once he finished he went back to the human skin buffet for more. while he didnt hurt me while doing this that certain place on my knuckle did get sore after awhile like an abrasion. today i have a slight scab about a 1/4 in in diameter on my knuckle.

any comments would be appreciated.

thanks

[LovelySydney]

1. Yes, this is OK as long as the bird isnt spending all day or all night at the bottom of the cage. Constant sitting at the bottom of the cage is a sign of illness and should be addressed accordingly. My conure sometimes wanders around the bottom of the cage but lately has been sleeping on the sides or on a perch, it changes nearly every night. He sleeps wherever he is comfortable. I know he is healthy so the napping on the bottom of the cage doesnt concern me too much. You said too that he tries to watch the television through the bottom of the cage so I also think hes not down there because he's sick, more because hes comfortable or trying to watch the world around him.

2. He is regurgitating on you, which means he views you as his mate and loves you! This is great news because that means he trusts you and is bonded to you and sees you as his family. I know it can be kind of gross to be puked on, LOL, but consider it a compliment

3. My little ones nibbled for a little but I got him to stop by gently holding his beak and saying "no bite". I am not too sure about amazon behavior or if they are prone to nibbling and biting, I know someone else can chime in about that aspect of amazons.



Congrats on your birdie love - sounds like all is going well! Im so glad to hear you gave this bird a forever home, 3 owners already is a lot for a 2.5 year old, good for you showing him some love & stablity