GoDiego

Hi everyone, not that I have a vacation booked and will probably not be going anywhere until next year. I just wanted to pre-empt how this will effect Diego and the best way of going about it. I have several friends that will be able to look after Diego whilst we go away, both have birds of their own. One of them has a Quaker Parrot, which I have heard can carry a virus similar to herpes which although is not harmful to the Quaker, can be very dangerous for other parrots. Is it best he avoids going to this person, or will he be ok if their cages are a long way from each other and they have no contact? Also, how to people prepare for going away and leaving their beloved parrots behind? Is it best to take them for trips to the house a long time beforehand to get them acquainted with the surroundings? Another thing I am worried about is that the people that can look after him have both said that they would not have the confidence about letting him out of the cage. Diego is out of his cage for most of the day at home so would this effect him in a very negative way or would 1 week out of a year be OK and will he get over it? What are other peoples experiences of going away and how this effects their parrots behaviour? Thanks everyone

With Amazon parrots, which I have this stage starts at around 4 years for around 4 years. Normally around 10 years of age with an Amazon they start mellowing again with age as the hormones start to dwindle away. I'm not sure if this is exactly the same for Greys?

I'm really sorry to hear the news Babysweet, I feel even worst for poor Jakob who is no better off because the humans won't come to an agreement. For me personally, I probably would not be able to walk away if I was in this situation and would be doing everything I could to get Jakob home with me. If deep, deep down you believe that Jakob could have a healthy, happy and contented full life with you then would it not be worth just on this occasion to bend your morals slightly just for this situation. Sometimes everyone has to sacrifice something for the welfare of others. Think about this, if you don't buy Jakob then for sure somebody else will at some stage. But this person might not be able to give Jakob the love and specific care that he requires. The end result is, the breeder STILL gets her money whatever way but Jakobs future happiness and welfare has been put at risk.

Today, I'm off to buy some vet wrap for it as recommended by a great person here on the forum as it does have a slight varnish on it. I had put the twine on it but never thought about using vet wrap, great idea! Plus he can have it in his national colour Red, maybe then he will like it more. You know how patriotic these Spanish are LOL

Here is Diego's new homemade perch. It may not look too pretty but it has been made from my boys cot and so holds so many beautiful and precious memories. I have to say I felt like shedding a tear when it was sawn up but am happy that it is being reused for my new baby! All I need to do now is get Diego to like it, he keeps turning his nose up at it at the moment and flying off when I try to take him to it! LOL

Thanks everyone, he really is a beautiful bird and he knows it! All you have to say to him is are you a handsome boy? and he fluffs up his feathers, starts fluttering his eyelids and my husband and I could swear he looks like he's smiling! All my friends think I'm on a slippery slope of going loco when they see how I interact with him LOL. It's just like having a new baby in the house and every new thing he does I get so excited about it, yesterday I rushed outside where my husband was having a manly chat with a friend and enthusiastically shouted "HE'S JUST MADE SOME NEW NOISES!!!!". You can imagine how they both looked at me LOL.

I'm glad you contacted Pamela Clark, this was the person I suggested in a previous post. She has had years of experience rehabilitating parrots and I think that you have made a wise decision getting advice from her. I really hope that this ends up with a happy ending.

Hi, welcome to the forum I hope you enjoy it here as much as I do I have a baby Blue Fronted Amazon, Diego who is 5 months old. I can't wait to hear your stories about your Amazon and to pick your brains a bit too

I promise if I ever catch it on camera, it will be posted here straight away

LOL!!!!! Next he will be walking around the house with a rose in his mouth LOL. He's even just gone to bed without any arguments tonight, I never thought I would be so proud of a ball of feathers as I am tonight!

I personally would not look at him as a giant problem, but as a parrot with individual needs different to other parrots. Price tag or not, if you have fallen in love with him and you want him for this reason and you are confident that you can help and care for him how he requires, then surely he is worth it?

I have not had Diego long, although he is an Amazon and not an African Grey. The first week of having him, I just sat next to his cage or where he was perched and talked to him. About silly things really, like I was thinking out loud. After the first week I think he was curious to who this crazy woman was who did not stop talking and he made the first move and came and said hello. During the second week I still did not put my hand towards him for a scratch as I could see that he still was not comfortable with it, so I did some target training with him. This built up a lot of confidence in both myself and Diego and he soon started showing me signs that he wanted me to be more tactile. He would come towards me with his head down and his head feathers fluffed up and fluttering his eyelids. I also have a certain signal for him where I wiggle my fingers and say scratch when I am moving my hand in to scratch his head. Now when he sees me doing this hand signal is not worried about what is going to happen to him. A parrot who has a hand moving towards them deliberately does not understand what is about to happen, especially if it is from a new person. He could be thinking your going to grab him, however with a signal he knows what to expect. Everything I do with Diego, the final decision is made by him. I leave it until he shows me he is ready for more, this way he knows that I respect his space and so gives him a lot more confidence in me. It will take time, but be patient and it will be well worth it! Also treat all the good behaviour he gives you, it may seem small to you but to him it could be a really big deal so feels great that you have rewarded him for it.

A jungle in the living room I think! LOL

He truely is a real sweetheart. And because he has been such a fantastic boy today, I have just ordered him a Java tree! LOL

Thanks Jayd, I did not think of something so simple as to put a pan on it sometimes the most obvious things pass me by LOL. Looking forward to reading the thread

Oh my goodness, I could hardly believe what I was reading! How can a society who is supposed to be the aid of animals cause so much distress, if they were mistreated beforehand then the SPCA are no better then the previous carers and this is supposed to be a protection agency? Shocking!

That's so cute! She definitely knows how to get around you LOL

My house is pretty safe for Diego as it has been child proofed with having 2 young children. Other things we did before getting Diego was putting all the tv wires under the unit into wire tidy's, windows have clinks on them, although my husband still walks into the patio doors when I've cleaned them LOL. However, I am scared stiff of Diego getting hurt in the kitchen. I don't have anything out that could hurt him, knifes are safely put away etc. again from having children. But what do people do about their cooker tops? I have a halogen hobb which takes a while to cool down, I have a hobb guard for the children, but obviously Diego can fly above this and I am scared stiff that he will one day decide to see what is cooking for his dinner! Unfortunately I have no door to close as it is an open plan kitchen, has anyone got any ideas or tips of how I can make it a safe area until I can train him that the kitchen is a no go area. At the moment, when he wonders into the kitchen, I do ask him to step up and put him back into the living area saying not here Diego and then give him a treat when he is back into the living room. But this is going to take time for him to realise that the Kitchen is not a good place, and even then you know the saying "curiosity killed the cat!"

We have just had friends visit and even they were getting the full force of Diego's love! It must be all the Spanish love songs playing in the background that's doing it LOL

I think Diego is feeling all fuzzy and loved up today LOL. He's normally very sweet natured, but today he's got a lot of love to dish out. I've had snuggles, sweet talking, him constantly fluffing up his feathers for scratches and fluttering of the eye lids. Today we have one very soppy Diego and I'm loving every minute of it!!

Although Diego is an Amazon Parrot, he too seems to have to bigger feet for his body. He's always getting them tangled up. LOL

No problem babysweet. Is he still on a sedative?, maybe this has something to do with his eyes not pinning. Would the breeder agree for you both to go to the Avian vet together, so that you can hear what he has to say first hand? Or would he give you the vets telephone number so that you can talk to them directly in case their is a deeper problem that he is not letting on at the moment?

High 5 to you for taking 5 bites and not showing him it bothered you, how many bad words did you say once you were out of the room? LOL Diego always tests me when he is in a different part of the house, it's almost like he's saying is this your patch or can I have it? Although he never actually bites very hard, it's more the way he does it as if to say, "back off I'm checking the place out" I can't help but laugh when he is doing this as he puffs himself up to be the big man and struts around.

Hi babysweet, I am no way experienced enough to offer advice on rehabilitating such a traumatised parrot. However, I have come across some information about seizures which may be of use to you http://www.avianweb.com/seizures.html I've also found some great information from a lady who re-homes special case parrots, including traumatised ones at http://www.parrothouse.com/pamelaclark/secondhand.html She also talks about providing care for a blind parrot, did the vet say anything about why her eyes are not pinning? I'm sorry I could not offer you any personal experiences but I hope some of the information helps, maybe you could also contact Pamela Clark who is the lady in the 2nd link. Good Luck with everything and I hope it turns out to be a happy ending

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