Post: An oldish Amazon in a bad way (relatively long)Posted by Emily on 8/31/07
Dear Amazon lovers,
I am hoping that you can help me find a way to bring
happiness to my dad's violet crested amazon. First, here is
some background info.
My dad bought his bird, Pee Wee (yes, I know...), about
25 years ago--before my parents had any children. I'm not
sure, but I'm pretty sure that Pee Wee was 10 when my dad
bought her. Pee Wee received a fair amount of attention
then, and growing up I don't remember Pee Wee causing much
of a fuss. Occasionally my dad would bring her out.
I am now 20 years old and a senior in college. For the
longest time, no one brought Pee Wee out of her cage. Of
course, her cage is always clean and she always has fresh
food and water--but not the personal attention that all pets
crave. My older brother recently taught me how to get her to
step onto my finger by being assertive and not showing any
fear. That usually works, and she usually doesn't bite me
(although she did yesterday and drew blood).
The biggest problem now is that she screams constantly
for "people food". Pee Wee has my dad trained through
negative reinforcement: "I scream, and you give me a
peanutbutter cracker to make me stop". It has gotten so bad
that I can't even be drinking coffee in the room without Pee
Wee creating a fuss. Of course I am annoyed, but I am even
more heartbroken because I know that she must be a very
unhappy animal.
I do not have a whole lot of time right now because I am
starting my senior year in college. I also have several dogs
to take care of, thanks to my mom (*sigh*..another long
story). I hate to see unhappy pets, because I realize that
their happiness (and health) is the responsibility of the
owner. Please give me tips for improving Pee Wee's life. I
really want to show her that I'm here to help...and ideally
create a bond of trust.
Thank-you so much for reading and caring!
Take care,
Emily
Posts on this thread, including this one
An oldish Amazon in a bad way (relatively long), 8/31/07, by Emily. Re: An oldish Amazon in a bad way (relatively long), 9/04/07, by Mumbles. Re: An oldish Amazon in a bad way (relatively long), 9/29/07, by Mj. Re: An oldish Amazon in a bad way (relatively long), 9/29/07, by Mj.