Hi from Mark and Cecil

[parrotntn]

Hi, I am new to the board, first-time poster, and I'm "birdsitting" Cecil for some friends. Cecil is a 20 year old yellownape. He's very tame and is on my shoulder making noises as I type. This has grown into a big deal. See, we have a tiel, Dood, and he's the fam pet. We camp, Dood goes with us.
I have two kids 13 and 10 and a wife of 23 years.
Cecil has become, well, part of the family. He is SUPPOSED to go back to his owner when they return from Florida in the spring. This has went from just sitting to, shamefully..., I have his feather on my desk at work...I'm teaching him "I want to stay with Mark" when the owners return.
PARROTS ARE AWESOME PETS!
I had no idea. Although Dood is nice, he's so hyper, running around like a lil ADD bird most of the time, but he sings a nice Andy Griffeth and beeps when the microwave door shuts. hahaha, oh and give big kisses to all of us.
But Cecil is more substantial and calmer. First time he crawled up my arm, I thought he was stalking me cause he was so feebily slow compared to Dood who barely takes the time to walk.
Cecil has a good vocabulary and sings a lot if nobody is in the room. Answers the phone, door, and loudly sings Mary had a little lamb and ends in operatic high pitch! dunno...
See, the owners enjoy him for entertainment purposes. He hasnt' even been out of his cage since October till I got him out. They have a nice place at the river and he stays in the trees in the summer there. I'd be petrified that some big bird would come after him, even though it's leafed out good. His nails had overgrown pretty bad, so I took him to the avian vet and she clipped em. They get him out on a stick. I"m breaking him from the stick. He is stubborn sometimes about UP on my arm, but nothing that a lil speck of pnut butter doesn't help. He hasn't had to have the stick for awhile now.
So, that's us. I"m already putting feelers out for when Cecil MAYBE pried from my cold dead hands. I want another yellownape. I live in west Tn and there are no bird rescue shelters around here, that I know of. Besides, being new to big birds, it might be best I stick with one that is a little more known. I have a lead on one from my banker, she has a yellownape and maybe needing to find him a home.
So, ya'll have a good day!

[ROYJOY]

welcome to BB,Please post a picture of of the yellow.

[Luvmygrey]

Welcome to BB! Sounds like you are doing a good job with the birdsitting.

[Stizby]

The very first parrot I got is my yellow nape named Stella. She is an absolute hoot and a favorite with everyone in my family. She talks up a storm and makes up little songs on her own. She is still young -- will be turning 4 in the spring -- so I have yet to go through her hormonal period, which I understand can be quite the challenge with yellow napes.

I think amazons are amazing parrots!!

[Monica]

Welcome to BB! I can see where you may be concerned for the yellow nape, as long nails could be a sign of liver or kidney disease. Curious as to what he eats?

[Machelle]

Welcome to BB! Glad you found your way here!!! It sounds like you've been bitten by the parrot bug. Easy to do. They are wonderful pets. I have a mealy amazon and he's a hoot!! Amazons are truly wonderful! I do hope that if you aren't able to keep Cecil you are able to find another yellow nape. It sounds like maybe he has a better home with you anyway. =O) Please stick around and keep us updated as to whether or not to get to keep him. Like Monica, I'm curious to know what he eats. Anyway, pull up perch and hang around. There are alot of extremely knowledgable peeps here.

[parrotntn]

Well, he eats Zupreem that stays in his bowl all the time and atop his cage in a bowl. I also feed him apple/bits of pnut butter/celery/he hates oranges/he ate some oatmeal today. bread, bananas,
The vet said feed him whatever we eat, except for avacados and chocolate. She said to set aside some veggies before we cook them for him to eat.
She's avian vet, so she is supposed to know. That scares me, to think he eats pizza and spaghetti?? On examination, when she looked for clevage, she said he hasn't any and appeared to be within weight range and healthy. Except for the missing toe he got from falling out of a tree before I got him. clumsy oaf.:)
I dunno, what do you feed yours???

[Monica]

I have no amazons, but feeding them a larger variety of fresh foods is good for them! Look for Lissas Kitchen Sink recipe in the Recipe section, do a search for it... You can also get The Heathly Bird Cookbook by Robin Deutsch for food ideas, too!

[The Outlaw]

Actually, that's a good diet. So long as you watch your fat intake and avoid avacado, chocolate, caffiene, onions, you should be golden. Make sure that veggies are offered daily, some fruits, protein by way of eggs, beef, chicken, etc a few times a week and some seed and nuts, and he should live a long and happy life. Provide some starches, such as pasta, rice, bread, cous cous, barley, etc. and don't forget beans. I use the 15 bean mix, without the soup seasonings and just soak them until el dente.

[Irish]

Sounds like Cecil and Dood are quite the birds. Welcome to Birdboard :-).