Adopting Mid 30’s wild Caught OWA

[PatienceBe]

Hello all!
I am entertaining the idea of adopting a wild caught Orange Winged Amazon Parrot.
The rescue is not sure on his age, but suspects he is in his 30’s.
He as you would suspect is not hand tame but from what they have told me he is not aggressive.
I am going to meet him this weekend and I am just wondering if anyone has any advice if I was to adopt him, what kinds of things I should do the same or different from a regular hand raised or even parent raised parrot. I also know he is terrified of wooden dowels so learning to step up that way and potentially target training may be out of the question.
I fully understand this guy is going to control our relationship for the most part, I will have to take his lead. He IS a wild animal.
What I am looking for is advice on how to make HIS life the best it can be so I can be his final and forever home where he is comfortable and happy. Also how to care for him in a way that we do not regress(nail trims, cage cleaning, etc).

Thank you!!

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. I have a wild caught goffin that I adopted about 5 years ago. Different species but both wild caughts. The U.S. banned the importation of wild caught parrots in 1992. So if he was legally brought here (has an import band) then he has to be at least in his 30s. I really don't think a wild caught bird is THAT much different than a regular bird since parrots aren't considered to be domesticated. So they all still have a pretty strong natural instinct. The advantage to a wild caught is that they usually know how to be a "bird". That might sound dumb but we often do a lot of damage trying to hand raise birds and end up with neurotic, needy birds (yes, I am thinking mainly cockatoos). But wild caught birds know how to be a bird. So, typically, they can entertain themselves. From what I have seen, they tend to have less of a chance to be pluckers, etc. They may not be cuddley though. My goffin is definitely not. But that's a good thing really. Too much cuddling can lead to other problems. My bird is very active. Loves to play. Wants me playing with him or just with him in general but he's not going to sit still on my lap. But he is a goffin. I think Amazons are more chill. You can target train without using a stick. You can use a clicker, a spoon, really anything. I think with any rehomed bird, you just have to be preapred to move at his pace and let him be "him". Not put expectations of what you want on him. As for nail trims, I always let the vet be the bad guy. You don't want to break the trust this early. Cage cleaning, if he doesn't come out, you can teach him to station in one corner of the cage while you clean. I hope things go well!

 

[PatienceBe]

Welcome to the forum. I have a wild caught goffin that I adopted about 5 years ago. Different species but both wild caughts. The U.S. banned the importation of wild caught parrots in 1992. So if he was legally brought here (has an import band) then he has to be at least in his 30s. I really don't think a wild caught bird is THAT much different than a regular bird since parrots aren't considered to be domesticated. So they all still have a pretty strong natural instinct. The advantage to a wild caught is that they usually know how to be a "bird". That might sound dumb but we often do a lot of damage trying to hand raise birds and end up with neurotic, needy birds (yes, I am thinking mainly cockatoos). But wild caught birds know how to be a bird. So, typically, they can entertain themselves. From what I have seen, they tend to have less of a chance to be pluckers, etc. They may not be cuddley though. My goffin is definitely not. But that's a good thing really. Too much cuddling can lead to other problems. My bird is very active. Loves to play. Wants me playing with him or just with him in general but he's not going to sit still on my lap. But he is a goffin. I think Amazons are View attachment 445542 more chill. You can target train without using a stick. You can use a clicker, a spoon, really anything. I think with any rehomed bird, you just have to be preapred to move at his pace and let him be "him". Not put expectations of what you want on him. As for nail trims, I always let the vet be the bad guy. You don't want to break the trust this early. Cage cleaning, if he doesn't come out, you can teach him to station in one corner of the cage while you clean. I hope things go well!

This makes me feel better that I was planning on making the vet the bad guy lol!
This bird has some trauma in his past(more than being wild caught) and so we will see what tools I will be able to use that do not trigger him. They tell me he really is a good, sweet boy, just not confident. So hopefully my life partner will see the potential I do thank you for that table! It is a GREAT visual reference to check myself if I get a little impatient!

 

[sunnysmom]

This makes me feel better that I was planning on making the vet the bad guy lol!
This bird has some trauma in his past(more than being wild caught) and so we will see what tools I will be able to use that do not trigger him. They tell me he really is a good, sweet boy, just not confident. So hopefully my life partner will see the potential I do thank you for that table! It is a GREAT visual reference to check myself if I get a little impatient!

You're welcome. Sorry it went in the middle of the message. Not sure what happened. Keep us posted on how things go.

 

[April]

@Clueless @melissasparrots @Fuzzy

 

[Fuzzy]

Ollie, Orange-winged Amazon wasn't tame when he first came to me. He arrived terrified of humans and hands. It took a LONG time for him to feel confident enough to come out of his cage (1.5 years). He never stepped up on my hand or arm which was fine, but I used positive reinforcement to teach him to step up on a wooden branch (you could use the handle of a basket, a folded rope perch... you may find something that he's comfortable with). When Ollie decided to come out of his cage, there was a whole new life for him. He was such fun. I absolutely adored him (sadly lost him 3 years ago to Avian Ganglioneuritis). The great thing about wild caught or untame birds is that they know they are a bird. Ollie used to find all sorts of ways to entertain himself. Orange-wings can be such clowns.

Behaviour is behaviour whether captive or wild caught. You can absolutely teach him to target and other behaviours using positive reinforcement. I taught Ollie so many things - I didn't want to destroy trust, so out of necessity I shaped his holding his toes still as I clipped his nails using treats as reinforcers. Cage cleaning - Ollie used to freak and then later hide when I first cleaned his cage. So I knelt on the floor. Birds feel safer higher up, he couldn't get any higher in his cage, so I got down lower. In fact I took it to the extreme at first and crawled to his cage. I was always aware of his body language with the aim of keeping it as relaxed as possible at all times. I found direct eye contact used to scare him (we are predators with our two eyes on the front of our heads) so I didn't make direct eye contact for maybe as long as 6 months. Gradually, gradually, I earned his trust. I so adored that bird and miss him so much. If you think you have a connection with this bird go for it! I would go through it all again in an instant. Having 10 years with Ollie was a gift - the most rewarding time of my life. I learned so much from him.

I used him as an my example for this article and in the article you can click on links on how I cut his nails, etc:

Fearful Parrots and How to Tame/Gain Their Trust | ThinkParrot

How to gain the trust of your nervous, fearful or untame parrot. Advice including using simple observation skills and reinforcement.

thinkparrot.com

 

[Clueless]

MC and Secret were both wild caught amazons (blue front).

MC wound up being the sweetest friend I ever had. We sort of overcame the fear of hands but since he was most comfortable with the arm, that's how he stepped up. He preferred to go from cage to his play stand, then he would step up.

Secret is still a work in progress but MC clearly showed me there could be a warm loving parrot under fear filled feathers.

Like @Fuzzy said, "the most rewarding time" ... I so miss my little buddy.

 

[SumitaSinh]

My Inca is an OWA male,without proper history. He is the sweetest bird of my flock. It took both of us 1 Yr to gather courage for head scritches. Inca doesn't step up, but he's a scritch bug. OWA s are very independent and friendly. Welcome to Zon paronting.

 

[Clueless]

and before they know it, they will be an amazon sniffer!

 

[Sparkles99]

What do they smell like?!

 

[Fuzzy]

What do they smell like?!

Re Orange-wings:
Ollie used to smell like milk and fruity cookies.
JoeJoe smells more flowery.

Usually Amazons have a kind of fruity smell. When Ollie first came to live with me, he smelled awful - like rotten fruit. I didn't think I could live with it. However as he settled in and started to play (became happier, I guess) his scent changed. He smelled so gorgeous in the end.

 

[sunnysmom]

Re Orange-wings:
Ollie used to smell like milk and fruity cookies.
JoeJoe smells more flowery.

Usually Amazons have a kind of fruity smell. When Ollie first came to live with me, he smelled awful - like rotten fruit. I didn't think I could live with it. However as he settled in and started to play (became happier, I guess) his scent changed. He smelled so gorgeous in the end.

I always tell Elvis that he smells like sunshine and happiness.

 

[SumitaSinh]

Inca emits the smell when he's excited or happy. It's like a musky odour.

 

[Fuzzy]

Inca emits the smell when he's excited or happy. It's like a musky odour.

A much more accurate description!

 

[Gen120]

Well any update? I don't know how I missed this thread. Sammy, my lilac crowned Amazon was most likely WC as well based on his leg band & my personal research on it. I would say go slowly, some Amazon's are shy & very scared when they go to a new home, especially a WC one. We have no idea what he went through in the past.