We have suddenly become owners of a parrot - blue fronted Amazon (female, 6yrs old) as my MIL wasn't looking after her properly so my OH decided she would be alot better off with us.

She came with a cage but that's about it. She seems to be settling in ok, she like me but screeches when mny OH goes near her My OH knows a bit about birds but I know nothing.

I've been talking to her alot today, stroking her head & stuff - she's quite friendly & calls me over iof she feels I'm ignoring her.

Just wondered if anyone can give me any tips regarding what they do & don't like, are there any things I should avoid doing, how do I know if she's stressed/scared/happy,etc

I have never owned a bird before & wasn't really keen tbh, but she really couldn't have stayed in her other home so I just want to make sure she's happy here.

Have a good read on this forum...there's a wealth of information for you there..

BirdBoard.Com - Parrot Message Board & Pet Bird Owner Forums

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Try not to feed too many sunflower seeds. Don't mean to scare you but we lost our Blue fronted Amazon at 5 yrs due to heart disease which our vet thought was due to too much fat in the sunflower seeds. He loved a shower with Luke warm water spray and learnt lots of songs to sing. Try not to let him sit on your shoulder which seems to be the most instinctive thing for them to do as this makes them dominant over you. We now have two Macaws and birds can be great fun! It will take time for him to get used to you, but start as you mean to go on to avoid behaviour problems developing as they can become very dominant and bossy if you let them.
Otherwise they can be very clever and fun to be with! handle him regularly to get him used to you.

I wouldn't let any parrot learn that it can call you over for attention. Before you know it they can be doing it constantly and when you ignore them they just get louder

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Maybe I should stop this now then as it could get really annoying -0 her screech is unbelievably loud at times. The dogs are freaked out by her especially when she starts talking.

Although our home is alot better than her previous one I'm a bit worried about the amount of time that we can devote to her. If I'm honest it's really not much but I can't make any more time - I already get up at 5.15am to sort out the dogs/cats/chickens out, go to work then when I get back I'm straight out with the dogs again for nearly a couple of hours. She will be on her own alot so I don't want to keep her if the environment isn't suitable for her but then again I don't want her being passed from home to home.

How adaptable are parrots? Can they adjust to homes quite easily? Are there alot of birds that end up in rescues like dogs & cats? Should we eventually be thinking about getting her a friend - would that help? I've already found some site for toys & stuff to help keep her occupied

Sorry for all the questions but I really have no idea about birds Will definitely have a look at the forum posted by Poohdog though

IMO the Amazons are much more adaptable and less demanding than the A Greys, the Macaws and the Cockatoos. You don't see many plucked Amazons like you do the others.
You could think about a friend for her, but being so intelligent they do like to choose their own and won't always be friends with who you choose. If you had one from a rescue you could probably have it on trial. Two together can get very noisy.
Parrot toys are very expensive for what they are, I used to make all my own by drilling holes through safe branches, old kids toys, lego, building blocks, anything with different shapes, textures and colours and threading them onto chains. If you hang a bunch of old keys up they will enjoy that and cardboard boxes cereal boxes ect that they can destroy

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I was worried that if we got her a freind she may not like him/her so that would mean two parrot with two cages (taking up loads of room!) just squawking at each other.

I will look in to another rescue once she has settled in then, as you say we could trial him/her to test compatibility.

I bought a toy today for her (I see what you mean, very expensice for something she will probably wreck!!), I'll have a look at the weekend to see what we can make.

Seeing as we will have her for a very long time I want to make sure she is happy. I am not sure we can devote enough attention to her but then again there are probably so many birds needing home just as with dogs & cats

Maybe we should review the situation based on her moods but she didn't get any attention in her previous home hence her being taken away.

I've tried not going over every time she calls me now. It's so difficult as she is very endearing. Sheis currrently trying to win me over by whistling The Great Escape to me as she knows already that I'm very impressed with this

You sound like a caring person taking the parrot on and asking for help.
I have a galah cockatoo and have done a course in parrot behaviour using positive reinforcement methods.
Parrots are a very high maintenance pet with an innate intelligence emotionally charged as a human so need a lot of commitment to prevent behaviour problems.
I love my bird to bits and my life revolves around him really they should not be left alone for longer than four hours parrots hate isolation.
Introducing another bird is a tougth one if they don't get on.
Sorry to scare you but these are the realities of parrot keeping.

Hi there,

I have a blue fronted Amazon. He is roughly 13-15 years old but I have only had him for the past 7 years and took him in as a rescue. His brief history was that he was homed with his mate in a tiny cage. A guy owned the pair and kept them in his bedroom which was in an attic of a house. The birds were rarely fed and watered.

A relation to the family knew of this and took the bird away from him and gave him to a lady where she put the pair in her aviary where she kept collar doves and quail. He survived the winter in the aviary but unfortunately it is alleged, he killed his mate. I cant believe this...but they went to the aviary one day to find the female dead on the ground. The owner was selling all the birds but was suddenly left with the Amazon, so my then boyfriend bought him from her and gave him to me. I have a Grey and the two fight like cat and dog when out together but I think they keep each other company.

The Amazon is quiet-ish. He may have spurts of screaming but they don't last long. In the past year he has been imitating the Grey.

After a few years of having him, my mum gave me her Quaker parakeet. It was obvoius after a while that the Amazon loved the Quaker to bits and they both lived with each other in the same cage. It was a very very bizarre relationship with the Amazon being a big sturdy bird and the tiny parrotlet! Unfortunately the parrotlett a couple of years ago.. and he seemed to deal with it ok.

Toys... they defo love toys!! especially the ones they can nibble and keep them occupied, I found the cactus wood hanging toys as the wood is soft/strong enough for them to get through. Also shredding paper. Alterntaively, if you have any envelopes, take all the inky stuff off and give him an envelope ! he'll happily shred it for you.

Also, water spray baths and baths in general. I put a big bowl in his cage and he splashes it up. If i spray he puts his wings in the air to get the mist all over him.

I think you just need to see what fits with your boy/girl.

Best of luck!