Rescued Amazon help!!

[mangobird]

Hi everyone! Today, I rescued a 13 year old Amazon, who I was told is a Tres Marias Amazon. They call her Tyler! She’s scared, but I can absolutely tell that underneath the hurt and broken is a sweet bird that loves people. I’ve been looking into amazons for a while, but this wasn’t quite my plan. I originally was planning on adopting an Amazon from a formal avian rescue. However, things don’t always work out the way you thought they would, and instead I accidentally found this sweet baby on Craigslist. I need some advice on how to make her comfortable in her new home.

1) Should I keep or change her name?
2) Should I get testing (Psittacosis and PBFD) for her immediately, or wait until she settles in?
3) Should I immediately get her a vet appointment?
4) Her previous (too small) cage only had a few perches and absolutely no toys (she’s never had any), so should I slowly introduce toys or just set up her new cage like normal?

This poor thing has had a rough 13 years and I don’t want to overwhelm her all at once. I could definitely use some advice!

 

[Shezbug]

If she knows her name I would keep it...... it is part of who she is if she knows it. If she does not then maybe it is not a problem to change it. If she does know her name and you really hate it I would slowly introduce the calling of the other name- make out like you keep forgetting her real name or make it as like a nick name for a while.

If that is your grey behind her and you have not done quarantine then I would be fast getting to the vet to have every test possible done. I personally think it is just better to get the vet visit done rather than let them settle then put your relationship under the strain of a vet visit when you are still learning each other and bonding.

The toy issue..... can she see the toys you want to give her? If so and she is not fazed then I would add them one at a time, if she is uncomfortable with them then I would have them in her view but not so close they freak her out (like hang them on the other side of the room from her for a while)- you want her to be curious and comfortable about them and hopefully even excited and interested.

I hope she settles in fast and you get to see how her personality grows and shines

 

[mangobird]

I’ll keep her name then, because it’s not too bad and I don’t want to confuse her. I’m not sure yet if she truly knows it.

That’s not my gray, she belongs to the owner. That photo was taken at her home. She had lots of birds all crowded in one space.

I think I agree with you that I should take her to the vet now, just to get it out of the way. I’ll also let her acclimate to the toys. I’m just worried about overwhelming her and making her feel unsafe right after she came home. Meeting her was extremely stressful for her, so I don’t want to push it.

Thank you very much for the advice, I appreciate it!

 

[Clueless]

I took mine to vet pretty soon after taking them in. I'm glad I did.

Just go slow. Talk a lot and you'll be rewarded.

 

[PufF]

Also what is her diet? And do you have any other birds? She is a beauty too!

 

[jh81]

The vet stuff: ASAP, go fast.
everything else: go slow

if she never had much toys, then dont overload her with new toys.. keep as much the same as possible, and work your way from there. Birds adapt to a change of names, so thats really up to you. I recently adopted two Pionusses that had no name at all.. We’re 3 week down the pipe and they already start to react to their names

i am slowly changing their diet, their cages, etc

 

[mangobird]

Also what is her diet? And do you have any other birds? She is a beauty too!

Her diet at the old home was sunflower seeds, pellets, and occasional vegetables. I’m pretty sure she ate nothing but the seeds. However, I’m switching her over to veggies and pellets.

I have a caique, but he hasn’t come home yet. He’s still a baby. I just paid for a few kinds of tests today for Tyler to make sure she doesn’t have anything

 

[mangobird]

The vet stuff: ASAP, go fast.
everything else: go slow

if she never had much toys, then dont overload her with new toys.. keep as much the same as possible, and work your way from there. Birds adapt to a change of names, so thats really up to you. I recently adopted two Pionusses that had no name at all.. We’re 3 week down the pipe and they already start to react to their names

i am slowly changing their diet, their cages, etc

Ok awesome, thank you for the advice! I have a vet appointment tonight, so it’s going to be all finished soon!

 

[Clueless]

Oh I hate sunflower seeds.....

Secret has medical issues thanks to a prior diet.

 

[Wthensler]

She’s a beautiful girl!

We rescued a DYH in terrible shape. He was in a dark, smoke filled room in a tiny circular cag, eating just sunflower seeds. He was happy even on the ride home - probably hadn’t even seen sunlight in God knows when. We didn’t know his name, so we renamed him Mickey after my grandfather, a PA coal miner.

We brought Mickey home, then to the vet, and got him a big cage with toys. We also changed his diet to real bird food and very healthy human food (veggies, fruit, dairy, chicken, etc).

He made a remarkable recovery, and became a very sweet, lovable bird that learned to trust and love again. That’s him in the avatar.

 

[mangobird]

Oh I hate sunflower seeds.....

Secret has medical issues thanks to a prior diet.

They’re awful, and now she’s drawn to them. I hope Secret is doing well, and I hope Tyler doesn’t develop/have anything

 

[mangobird]

She’s a beautiful girl!

We rescued a DYH in terrible shape. He was in a dark, smoke filled room in a tiny circular cag, eating just sunflower seeds. He was happy even on the ride home - probably hadn’t even seen sunlight in God knows when. We didn’t know his name, so we renamed him Mickey after my grandfather, a PA coal miner.

We brought Mickey home, then to the vet, and got him a big cage with toys. We also changed his diet to real bird food and very healthy human food (veggies, fruit, dairy, chicken, etc).

He made a remarkable recovery, and became a very sweet, lovable bird that learned to trust and love again. That’s him in the avatar.

Thank you very much Your DYH is stunning! I’m so glad that he’s doing so much better!

 

[Clueless]

They’re awful, and now she’s drawn to them. I hope Secret is doing well, and I hope Tyler doesn’t develop/have anything

Good vet care helps.

 

[Ulis_Beast]

Welcome to AA!

You've been given some sound advice...
I actually think the name Tyler rather suits her...
She is such a beatiful girl!

Thankyou for giving her a soft place to land. I hope you two have many happy years together.

 

[Fuzzy]

Tyler! You are certainly beautiful!

I have three Amazons - two rescues and one rehome. To introduce two of them to toys I made them myself. No colours to start with - I strung together slats of soft woods (balsa and untreated pine), woven palm, wooden beads on strips of leather. I made them budgie sized, very easy to destroy and tied them to the side of the cage rather than the top so they wouldn't move much, so be less frightening. Gradually I made bigger toys when they began to interact with them and gradually introduced colour. Now they have enormous toys, but Ollie still prefers my small hand made ones tied to the side of his cage.

You might want to stick with the crap diet for a few days so that there are not too many changes all at once. I found though with Ollie as soon as I gave him a bowl of fruits and veggies, he chose never to eat seed again.

Wishing you all the best with Tyler.

 

[mangobird]

Welcome to AA!

You've been given some sound advice...
I actually think the name Tyler rather suits her...
She is such a beatiful girl!

Thankyou for giving her a soft place to land. I hope you two have many happy years together.

Thank you very much! “Tyler” has ended up sticking and I think she likes her name

 

[mangobird]

Tyler! You are certainly beautiful!

I have three Amazons - two rescues and one rehome. To introduce two of them to toys I made them myself. No colours to start with - I strung together slats of soft woods (balsa and untreated pine), woven palm, wooden beads on strips of leather. I made them budgie sized, very easy to destroy and tied them to the side of the cage rather than the top so they wouldn't move much, so be less frightening. Gradually I made bigger toys when they began to interact with them and gradually introduced colour. Now they have enormous toys, but Ollie still prefers my small hand made ones tied to the side of his cage.

You might want to stick with the crap diet for a few days so that there are not too many changes all at once. I found though with Ollie as soon as I gave him a bowl of fruits and veggies, he chose never to eat seed again.

Wishing you all the best with Tyler.

Thank you very much! I did buy some bland toys to start with, she’s been investigating with one of them, but still not much interest yet. I’ve found out that she ADORES veggies (especially corn), so like your Ollie, she hasn’t touched the seeds since!