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Nemesis457
Egg
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2
Location: San Juan |
| How can i introduce a parrot to another parrot? |
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Hi everyone, my name is Lori and i have a yellow head amazonian parrot. I didnt know that till today. Ive had him for about 12-13 years now. My other family members got their parrots at around the same time i got mine. BUT, they got 3 and i only got one. i havent been home a lot lately.. and i feel bad. I want to take him over to my relatives house and set up play dates or give him a new home with other parrots that he can play with. do any of you know how other parrots react to a new parrot? My parrot is very friendly and lets you pet him, my other family members parrots arent nice at all. does that make a difference? i dont want him to get attacked.. please, if anyone can help.. id appreciate it.
~lori |
Monday June 12, 2006 9:31 pm |
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fruitynutbird
Fledgeling
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 226
Location: Sydney, Australia |
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Hi, Lori!
I need a bit of clarification here. Are you saying that you don't have enough time to properly look after your Yellow-headed Amazon and therefore you'd like him to be able to spend some more time at your family's place so that they can help to look after him properly, either on a part-time or permanent basis?
What species are your family members' 3 other parrots?
This is important as different species of different sizes should preferably be kept separate from each other and IF they are allowed to be together, they MUST be closely supervised AT ALL TIMES!! The reason is that, as an extreme example, a small budgie would have VERY little chance in a fight with a large macaw if the macaw should get pissed off with the budgie for any reason whatsoever. Different parrots also bond differently. There are bonding species and non-bonding species, and these two kinds of parrots would react differently to people and birds with whom they are not bonded.
I'm assuming that you know for sure that your Yellow-headed Amazon is a male. What sexes are your family members' 3 other parrots?
It worries me that these parrots are all mature and are of breeding age now. They have established their own individual personalities, habits, likes and dislikes and even their own territories - and the 3 who have been living together would have established their own pecking order - and you now want to bring a totally unknown variable - your single ousider parrot - into this established environment.
It worries me when you say that your family members' parrots aren't nice. When you say that, do you mean that they are not nice to YOU or do you mean that they are not nice to ANYONE including their owners? Please be more specific about this, as this gives us some clues about these parrots' psychologies.
It further worries me that there are 3 of these "not very nice" parrots (who have been living together and presumably at least used to each other being around, even if they are not especially fond of each other). It is an even greater worry if any 2 of them or worse still if all 3 of them quite like each other. Your parrot will be a complete outsider butting into THEIR established territory. If even 2 of them joined up to bully your single outsider parrot, your single outsider parrot would be in big trouble!!
Another issue would be the quarantine issue. All 4 birds should be completely checked over by a reputable avian veterinarian before they are allowed to be near each other, and the recommended quarantine period of 6 weeks should be kept during which all 4 birds should be closely monitored for any signs of ill health. Needless to say, if any of these 4 birds show any signs of ill health in this 6 week quarantine period, then they must all be thoroughly checked over and treated by the avian veterinarian and the 6 week quarantine period re-instituted from the start after the sick bird or birds have recovered.
If, after you have considered all these issues, you are still proceding with introducing these 4 birds to each other, then it is recommended that your family members' 3 parrots meet your single parrot on NEUTRAL TERRITORY, ie, at someone else's BIRD-SAFE house (WHICH MUST NOT HAVE A 5TH BIRD LIVING THERE). NONE of the birds should be familiar with this NEUTRAL BIRD-SAFE HOUSE. You need at least 4 experienced bird people present, each of whom will be responsible for handling one of the birds present, should any problems arise. Have equipment like 4 towels and 4 dowels easily at hand, in case towelling or prying apart is required!
Firstly, bring all 4 birds, each in their own cage, into the room and observe their body language! BACK OFF if any of them shows aggressive body language!
If you think they are ALL ready, then let one out one at a time, each onto a separate play-stand, and watch their body language VERY CAREFULLY! BACK OFF if any of them shows any aggressive body language!
If they STILL remain calm, you might want to put one of the other 3 birds onto the same play-stand as your outsider bird, and WATCH THE BODY LANGUAGE CAREFULLY! Separate them at any suggestion of aggressive body language!!
If these 2 stay OK together, you can try to add a 3rd bird onto this play-stand, BUT WATCH THE BODY LANGUAGE CAREFULLY! Remove any or all of the birds if there's any aggressive body language!!
If these 3 stay OK together, you can try to add the final bird onto this play-stand, BUT WATCH THE BODY LANGUAGE CAREFULLY! Any or all of the birds will need to be removed if there is any aggressive body language!
The best time of the year to introduce strange birds to each other is during fall or winter, when the breeding season is over.
The best time of the day to introduce strange birds to each other is just after the morning "dawn chorus" vocalization, when the birds will be calmer.
I hope this has given you some food for thought. |
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Monday June 12, 2006 10:41 pm |
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Chaquita's Mom
Experienced flier
Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1028
Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
Hi lori and welcome  Are you planning on giving your bird to the person that owns the 3 agressive birds? Are these birds agressive with their owner? If this is true then I'm not sure this person should have your bird as he could become agressive as well due to lack of human interaction, malnutrition or lack of stimulation. The situation just doesn't settle right with me  Owning a parrot is like having a small child for 80+ years. They need A LOT of love, attention, toys, healthy food and interaction. I would be very selective in who you choose to be your birds parronts. I would LOVE to hear that you would like to know more about your species bird and keep him It sounds to me like you haven't been properly introduced into the wonderful world of parronting  We can surely help you!! Your bird has been with you for 12-13 years!!! I think you will have an empty place in your heart if you rehome him  Let us help you find new passion in the world of parronting.
Take care, Mickie |
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Monday June 12, 2006 11:38 pm |
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shirin
Moderator
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 7402
Location: Canada, Toronto |
Hi Lori, welcome to fluffies
I very much agree with Mickie, I think if the 3 parrots that your family members own are aggressive and have behavioural problems, it's because they have not been socialized properly and probably don't have a lot of, if any, human interaction. Nutrition, stimulation, and out of cage time are also big factors in the behavioural development of parrots as Mickie Mentioned. These birds behaviours are only a reflection of the way they have been raised and treated by their owners, not because they're not nice birds. Please reconsider placing your beloved parrot, whom you've shared your life with for 13 years, in a home where he might get neglected.
Now if you just want to bring your parrot over for play dates, then I recommend introducing them on a flat surface, in a neutral room, away from any of the 3 parrot's cages, and closely supervise them as they interact. |
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Monday June 12, 2006 11:57 pm |
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fruitynutbird
Fledgeling
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 226
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I agree with the others and would want to question why, if your family members' haven't been able to deal with their own 3 parrots properly to maintain their tameness/pet potential, that you'd think they would be able to deal with your bird properly.
It would be a pity to see your bird, whom you describe as being very friendly, degenerate into the same kind of "not very nice" state as the 3 other birds.
The best option would be if you could somehow make the time to keep looking after your Amazon, and if this is not possible, to rehome him with a family able to deal with your bird and look after him properly to keep him tame and friendly.
Hmm, I just had a weird idea...maybe you can even make the time to work with your family members and their parrots to improve their tameness? Or would that be just too much for you to handle since you already seem to be saying that you don't have enough time? Maybe you can work with just one of them at a time? |
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Tuesday June 13, 2006 1:16 am |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7972
Location: Australia |
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hi lori,
Welcome to Fluffies. good to have you here with us. I hope we don't scare you off with all the long long information that's given.
first of all, When you say you're hardly home, how long are you usually away for? i mean like more than 8 hours a day? many of us that owns a parrot also work full time or study full time. It usually doesn't constitute a problem unless of course when you get home you don't play with your Amazon, which from the sound of things you do let your bird out and spend time with it. Usually that's ok as long as there are lots of toys in the cage to keep your amazon active and curious he'll be just fine.
i just want to clear up some things that Fruitynutbird have mentioned...
First of all, no two parrots should be house together in the same cage no matter the size of the parrots unless they've been together since they are very young. and even so, there's still a very big risk of them fighting come breeding season and one or both of them could very well get hurt.
Secondly, the breeding seasons for parrots kept in captivity are different to those that are in the wild. This is because the parrots kept indoors are expose to conditions that aren't normal for them when they are in the wild such as the varying temperature and the lighting and all the rest therefore affecting they hormones cycles. So you can't just assume that fall and winter will be the time that they are out of breeding condition. the way to be sure is to actually study the behaviour of your parrot and read the body language. |
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Tuesday June 13, 2006 4:49 am |
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Nemesis457
Egg
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2
Location: San Juan |
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Hi again. All I can say is WOW.. I hoped to at least get one response and was shocked when I saw so many people willing to help. Thank you very much. I’ve taken everything you guys have said into consideration and I’m going to keep my parrot! Id miss him way too much.
I have him outside most of the time and cover him at night in case he gets cold. He has plenty of sunshine and shade. I don’t let him out too often because he doesn’t have his wings/feathers clipped and I’m too scared to do it myself. When I let him out I get grief from my parents (I’m 25) because he knocks down my moms decorations etc. he’s really my moms parrot, but I find myself taking care of him most of the time. Id like to get his feathers trimmed so he wont fly around but most of the veterinarians that work here aren’t very knowledgeable with birds and id hate for them to hurt him.
I was very excited to hear that if a bird does get attention then he’s OK.. great! Someone put it in my head that if you don’t have two parrots the 1 parrot gets lonely A LOT and have been worrying ever since. So thanks for clearing that up.
I would love to know more about my bird.. if any of you know of any sites or books even videos that are out there to help me learn more, that would be awesome. Thanks again!
~Lori |
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Tuesday June 13, 2006 8:25 pm |
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fruitynutbird
Fledgeling
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 226
Location: Sydney, Australia |
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That's great to hear that your amazon parrot will be staying with you! Yeh, it's a common misconception that a parrot will feel lonely unless there's another parrot around. The truth is that your parrot, especially if he was hand-raised, would see the people in his home as his flock members, so if you spend quality time with him, he shouldn't have to feel lonely at all!
Would you still be able to contact the breeder/pet shop where you got your bird? If it is a good-quality breeder or pet shop, there could be experienced people there who might be able to show you how they hold their birds properly to clip their wings.
I haven't been able to find any good quality books specifically on Amazon parrots out there. The best, all-round, informative book on parrots in general, which I use and is also very easy to read, would be "Parrots For Dummies", by Nikki Moustaki. I've accumulated a current, useful library of more than 30 good quality books on parrots (the low quality, useless books have been put out of sight and out of mind), so "Parrots For Dummies" really had a LOT of competition and Nikki Moustaki did well to EARN this recommendation from me, heheh! |
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Tuesday June 13, 2006 11:25 pm |
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