I adopted a Double Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot today. His name is PopEye. He is 15 years old.  He is absolutely beautiful. He is not banded and I have never met his original owners. I understand they had him for 14 years.

 Jonah and Katrina rescued him from his original owners and have had him for about 10 months. They have a Timneh Grey that is about 2 years old and they are going to have their first baby in September. They felt they would not have the time to spend with PopEye after the new baby arrives so they wanted to find him a good home.

They asked my daughter one day if she was interested because they had seen her with a parakeet cage one day.  She said she wasn’t but she thought her mom would be. She called me and I was so excited and could not wait to talk to them.

Of course I wanted him and would take him under any circumstances. I could not wait to talk to Katrina to tell her I definitely wanted the bird and he would have a wonderful home with me. Days went by and I didn’t hear from Katrina. I kept asking my daughter (Anne) about them every time she called me. I finally told Anne to give them my toll free number. I wanted this bird in the worst kind of way. Anne went to give them my number and saw PopEye.

 She told me he was beautiful and he talks real good and that his poop looked healthy. Finally the evening of May 5^th Katrina called and I wanted to go that night. She said she had to talk to Jonah to be certain and she would call me back. She called me back at 6:30 that evening and I had the car loaded and was ready to go. I was on the road by 7:00. I was so excited, still not believing that someone was going to give me a talking Amazon Parrot.

I arrived at my daughter’s home in Lexington Park, MD around 10:30 and immediately went to meet PopEye. He was on top of his cage and he was very excited. He was saying hello and pacing along his cage. I offered him a peanut and he took it. I asked Jonah if I could pick him up and he said sure if I used the ski glove. I offered the bird my glove covered hand and he hopped right on went up my arm and onto my shoulder. I was in love.

He sat on my shoulder and was happy. I waited patiently while Jonah got a card board box ready to carry him home in. While waiting I asked Katrina some questions about PopEye.  He talks well.  He can only be handled with the ski glove, but once he is out of the cage he is fine. Jonah helped me put the bird cage in my car which just barely fit. We had to take the wheels off the bottom and were just able to get the doors closed on the car. 

I visited with my daughter for a few minutes and headed home with my new buddy excited as a school girl at my good fortune and my new  buddy.

We arrived in Virginia Beach around 2:00 that morning. I unloaded the car with help from one of my son’s friends ( Danny ). Got the cage out and set up in my bedroom where I could supervise and watch PopEye with no problems. Got him out of his card board box and put him in his cage. I woke my son ( Hjalmar ) up so he could meet PopEye as he has the same love of animals that I do. I covered his cage around 4 and we all went to bed. Long day for me and for PopEye.

I woke up at 7 am after just a basic nap; as I take my son  to work every morning and I was so excited about having my new baby in the house. I uncovered his cage and he talked and was excited. I took Hjalmar to work and came back and had some coffee. I got a shower and headed to the pet shop for new food for my new kid.

He was on a 95 % sunflower seed diet and I knew that was not good for him. I arrived at the pet shop before it even opened. I knocked on the door for my friends to open the door for me. I had taken a quick picture of my bird for them to see and printed it out. I knew they would be excited for me because I had purchased a "Quaker Parrot" a few years earlier from them. Kiwi is no longer with us and that is another story all together.

Lucy helped me pick out some healthy seed for PopEye and some new toys and advised me as to how to handle introducing new things if the bird had not been introduced things in the past.

I came on back home to offer him new seed and to monitor the other animals around him. I also own a dog named Tashina and two cats named Maggie Mae and Suzie Q.

While observing PopEye through out the day, I noticed that he is very territorial over his cage and would beak at you when ever we got near his cage. I started researching Amazon Parrots on the internet as soon as I found out I was getting him. I started thinking that he had not been offered new foods or toys and he had probably been in that same cage for 14 years.

I shared this with my husband (Dan) and mentioned that eventually I would like to buy him a new cage to see if it made a difference in his behavior. I knew that somehow I have to instill dominance over PopEye.  Dan suggested I go ahead and get a new cage for him since my birthday is near. That made my day. 

The animals of course were very curious about our new family member. Even though I knew PopEye was used to being on top of his cage, I was not allowing it for now so that I could begin to establish my place as the dominant bird in the flock and I needed to make sure the other animals could not get to the bird. Maggie Mae was the most curious and immediately wanted to jump on top of his cage to investigate.      

This morning I got real brave and decided PopEye needed to “Step Up” onto my bare hand. I stuck my hand to his feet and gave the command to step up.  He said  “UH OH”  and proceeded to try to avoid my hand.He ran all around the top of his cage continuing to say "UH OH".  He took several good bites and finally stepped up. I was overjoyed and proud of myself. I took the bites calmly but he stepped up. I proceeded to do several ladder commands and he did the good deed bitin my hand occasionally .My hands were in terrible shape but he stepped up.

I got my youngest grandson (Trey). Anne(my daughter) needs me to watch him over the summer while she works and gets her personal life straight. Tyler has to finish the school year before he can come he is 7 and in the first grade. Trey is 4. They are wonderful little boys and very well behaved. I love them with all my heart and enjoy being a grandmother.

I went looking for bird cages most all day. I ended up back at my favorite little shop and purchased a real nice cage for PopEye. The  store owner followed me home to put the cage together for me. I didn’t realize people were still that nice these days. Thank God he did because I would have had a real hard time getting it together.

Anne and the boys arrived just as I was leading the store owner to the house with my new cage. Mory came on in and started putting the cage together. I got PopEye out and put him on my arm and he was excited. He talked some and sat on my arm and seemed very excited and happy. There was a lot going on.

So far I had heard PopEye say…. Pretty Bird,  What cha doing , huhhh ?  What’s the matter,  huhhh ?  Come innnnnn....   Come ere….What cha wearin, huh?  Good boy..  Helloooooo...  Needless to say I am ecstatic that he actually says words.

As soon as Mory finished putting the cage together we let PopEye get on it. He was very excited and hopped right on and was talking and laughing and very entertaining. I put him back in his old cage to go to bed that night so I could watch him and monitor the other animals. All is good for me and for PopEye.

I was worried that I had moved too fast and had taught him to bite me. He had a new mommy, new home, new cage, new toys, and from what I had learned with my continuing education on the internet and the books I had purchased, it looks like I have totally invaded his territory.

Now what do I do? I decided I needed to back way off. Not handle him much at all. I figured I would continue to offer him new foods and new toys slowly. My game plan at this point is: he will only get out of the cage when I take him out. I decided I will take him out with the glove since he does not oppose that and I will perch him close to me when ever I could.

I now have a cage in the kitchen and one in the bedroom and several T-stands for convenience. Needless to say;  my heart now races every time I reach for him because the previous bites were pretty good ones. I have also decided I better not let him on my shoulder at all for now. I had learned from my reading that you really should never let Amazon’s on your shoulder. It is considered very risky and now I realize that I do not know this little guy and need to establish trust for the both of us.

I am determined that this will be the home he lives in till something happens that I can no longer care for him and then my son Hjalmar will inherit him and take care of him since he will be the one that knows him the most. Hjalmar is the only one of three kids still at home. I am trying to educate Hjalmar as much as I can about respecting the bird and realizing he is not a dog or a cat. At 16, Hjalmar thinks he should be able to just pick him up. So far he is respecting my wishes hesitantly as he really wants to handle PopEye too. I am certain that I have the patience and the desire to make this bird a friend and companion. I also know that his quality of life is already better since I am offering him new things to chew on and trying to offer him different foods. I also talk to him a lot and visit him near his cage as much as possible. It was another good day for me and for PopEye.

Dan is also due home tonight. He works in Washington DC and comes home most week-ends. There will be a house full of people for PopEye to deal with.

All has been going well. I moved PopEye out of the kitchen due to Teflon coated pans and too many concerns in the kitchen. Also Hjalmar and his buddies started hanging out there late at night and I wanted to be sure PopEye got his recommended amount of sleep each night. I have continued to work on foods and cage accessories and making sure he sees me moving things around in his cage. He is very quiet and all seems to be going real well. 

 He will let me spray him with a water bottle for his shower. He takes it real well.At first he was frightened but I continuted to try as he refused to get into the shower. He seems to tolerate it for now.. He doesn’t preen a lot when I am done.I think he should be preening himself more than he does.

He is now trying more foods and comes to see what I am giving him when I put new foods in his dish. He has eaten a few blue berries, some cooked sweet potatoes. He is eating frozen corn from the bag and is finally eating a substantial amount.

 I no longer have the grandchildren and Hjalmar is working full time. I finally have some time to my self during the day. I am trying to get the house clean from the winter and lots and lots of rainy days this spring. We have had so much rain I was starting to worry that PopEye might need some artificial light. I do want to check into that to see if it will be beneficial to him.

Tonight PopEye let me pet his beak through the cage bars. PROGRESS!!!! He actually layed his beak between the bars and let me stroke it. I was able to just touch above his beak on his forehead. I am so happy. He seems to like it. I did it a few too many times though, I always take it a step too far. He also let me stroke near his eye on the side of the head. My fingers won’t fit inside the cage on the one I just recently bought so I was very limited. I am very happy though and feel this is great progress. I want to pet this bird so badly. It is hard to wait,  he is definitely hand shy. I have to take it slowly.

I recently spoke to Katrina on the phone and she told me the original owners started having children shortly after purchasing PopEye and he spent his life in the laundry room in his cage. I bet the kids poked fingers and toys at him through the cage bars and that is why he reacts to the hand the way he does. I feel certain if he can learn to trust my  hands I will be able to eventually hold him more and pet him. This is my goal anyway.

I have been cleaning the house today. Hjalmar was off work all week due to continuous rain. The sun is shining and he will probably be able to put in a full work day for a change. I am excited over being able to pet PopEye”s beak. He hasn’t let me do it again yet today.

Mom just brought me some corn bread and fresh cooked Kale. I love it with vinegar. I gave PopEye a pretty good size piece of fresh Kale and he chowed on that. He is doing much better with foods all the time.

I also found out he likes Sesame Street. He saw Big Bird on TV one day and said “Big Bird.” I found the channel this morning and let him watch it. I am sure that is from being around all those kids for all those years.

I just caught him drinking from his water bottle which he has not touched in the whole time I have had him. I bought it when I got his cage because he has a tendency to put breads in his water bowl. I am pleased to see that he is showing an interest in drinking from the water bottle. This way I can be sure he always has fresh water no matter what he dunks in his water bowl. It will also eventually free up one more container for extra treats and fresh foods and such.

He loves peanuts and sunflower seeds. I have gradually cut down on the amount of sunflower seeds just in case this has affected his attitude. People tell me that the sunflower seeds become very addictive and affect their personalities. He loves salted corn nuts which I am personally hooked on right now. I only give him one or two while I am snacking on them. I try to hand feed him anything I can. I am very careful how I hand him those little corn nuts.  He doesn’t do much with other nuts. He can crack the occasional almond but the nut is usually laying on the bottom of the cage. He is still nibbling on  fresh Kale. I am anxious for him to learn to eat that because I understand that is where they get vitamin A which apparently they need.

I have been real busy with family stuff. PopEye is still doing great. It seems that he really likes kids so maybe the kids in his first home didn’t terrorize him as much as I thought since he never came out of his cage.  When my youngest grandson came in this week, PopEye got real excited and went to the bottom of his cage so he could be eye level with him.He was all fluffed and excited as though he was happy to see Trey.

I have recently been trying to just touch PopEyes’ toes and he is finally starting to let me. I was able to touch both his feet last night. I am still hoping to teach him to trust me through his cage doors.

I wish I could just take him out and pet his head and stroke his back while he sits on my hand. Someday I am sure I will. I do love this little guy very much and have not had him long at all.

I am hoping to have DNA testing on him eventually to determine his sex. I have a feeling that he is a girl. I don’t really see him strut. He hunkers down on his perch and kind of bobs his head and wings gently. I have read that females have a tendency to do that.

We had a family barbeque today. I took Popeye's old cage outside on the deck so he could enjoy some fresh air and be with the flock. He seemed to really enjoy himself. I got the misting bottle and gave him a good soaking. He really put on a show.

While I was grilling the food, I realized the smoke was rolling right towards him.. I decided I better take him in. I had not thought of the grill smoke. I am sure it wouldn't take much to snuff his life out. What a foolish thing for me to do.

He had a great day and so did I . The family enjoyed watching him enjoy the shower. I am so proud of him.

Popeye is letting me touch him more and more. He now comes to the corner to let me pet his beak and the top of his head through the cage bars. I tried to touch his head while he was on his perch the other day and he was not ready.  Today I opened his cage door and worked my hand in slowly by petting him through the bars and working my hand till it was just inside the cage near the bars.I was able to get a scritch or two in.

He is still accepting different kinds of foods. Some he will try and some he won’t touch.  I am very pleased with his progress at this point. Things are actually going quicker than I had anticipated.

I now have him off sunflower seeds completely. I have done that over the last 2 months till just about a week ago he got the last ones. I will probably use them as training treats in the future.

Did I mention previously that my daughter and two grandchildren have moved back home? Life is full of surprises most of the time around here. I am always adjusting to some kind of change. I hope Popeye can handle it.

Popeye was a little loud the first few days but seems to have calmed down again over this past week-end.  There is always a lot going on at my house and this little guy seems to do very well. He sits in the main area of the living room which is active all the time now.He seems to handle change very well. I am always moving his cage and he doesn't seem to react at all.

 He also seems to enjoy watching the grandsons play. Tyler and Trey both respect the birds private space and are excellent around the bird. They are very pleased to have a Parrot for a pet.

It seems he is not talking as much right now and I am striking that up to all the commotion and Popeye never getting bored.  He will occasionally say a few things. He is definitely beginning to crave to have his head petted and I am sure I will be able to pet him outside of his cage very soon.  Between all the people and all the animals I have to make sure my comfort level is good before I attempt anything with him. 

All is going well with Popeye still. He still lets me pet his beak and the top of his head. I was actually able to touch his body thru the bars yesterday. I can hold onto his beak and give him kisses through the cage bars. I am still not brave enough to actually pet him unless it is through the bars.I am very careful but he seems to really want the kisses.

He does seem to crave human companionship now though and I am very pleased with his progress. He seems to accept strangers well and actually likes to show off a bit for someone new. He is not talking as much as he was. I believe it is because he is in the center of lots of action between the grandchildren running around and the televisions being on and the adults on computers most all the time.

He did eat on a raw carrot the other day. I was pleased to find it on the bottom of the cage partially eaten. Not doing much with canned fruits, I think I need to stick with fresh fruits and vegetables. He seems to be more apt to try those than the canned ones. He loves salted corn nuts and of course his shelled unsalted peanuts.

 I am very much in love with this little guy and am extremely pleased with his progress. I am sure he will be tamed enough to hold by the time of his 16^th birthday. That is my hope anyway.

I am trying to take things very slow and slowly build his trust and mine. He is trusting me more each day and I am the same with him.

It is so much fun to watch this wonderful bird come out of his shell. I wish he had been handled as a baby like he should have.

The more I see the more certain that he will be very tame one day. He seems to really want to be held and petted. I am still not over those first bites he gave me the first week I got him. They were some pretty healthy nips. I am able to pet his beak while he is sitting on his perch and now he turns his head so I can reach his neck through the cage bars. I am extremely careful petting him if he is outside his cage on a perch as he can be very quick.

I have read so many different things on biting birds and who knows what information is right. I have chosen to follow my gut instinct. I have read to:  give the command to step up and let him bite and don’t react and he will stop biting. I think that is what helped me get bit that first week. I have also read the best way to stop a bird from biting is to not give him the opportunity. I think I like the second one better.

We are making progress and he has not bit me since that first week. I am now trying to touch his back if given the opportunity. As soon as he turns his head toward my hand I stop. He really wants me to handle him and we are both still very uncertain of each other but the desire is there for both of us.

When my daughter Anne is near his cage he seems to get real excited and all fluffed up and tries to stick his leg outside of the cage as if he is saying, let me get on you… She is really uncertain and untrusting although she is very interested in him and talks to him a lot. I am wondering how he sees her in the flock of things, if you know what I mean.

When my son Hjalmar is near his cage he reacts totally different for either Anne or myself. He fluffs real big and spreads his tail feathers and speaks in a lower tone and acts as though he would like to eat him up. We can’t be sure if it is aggression or excitement at this point. I always tell Hjalmar to be very careful as I do not know what the birds behavior is saying.

 I have had Popeye in the living room for several weeks now but I keep his original cage in my bedroom and recently moved  him back there for a change of pace.

He seems to have talked a bit more the last few days and I know that over all it is a quieter surroundings. Will switch him back and forth for change and cage control. I do believe at this point I have established dominance over his cage. I make it a point to change things around and can do things with him in the cage now where as in the beginning I had to make sure Popeye was out of the cage to do anything as I was sure he would have eaten my arm for sure.

I do believe he understands the Back Off command as when I say it he gets off his food bowl so I can remove it for fresh seed and I have said it to him while in the process of cleaning his cage. I do not know if he knew  the word when I got him or if he picked up on it from me. Either way I do believe it is a good one for him to know  and I plan to keep using it.

 I have had Popeye for 3 months now and am very pleased with how quickly things are going. I believe his original owners must have handled him lots in the beginning and probably loved him very much. I believe that some of what I am doing is refreshing his memory from his early years.

I would love to talk to his original owners and wonder how I can track them down. Maybe Jonah and Katrina can help me, and yesterday looking through one of Sally Blanchards bird books I saw an article that placed Popeye on the endangered species list. I wonder if that is still true? I know I was recently in a pet shop here in Virginia Beach and they showed me a yellow naped amazona and called it a double yellow head. My birds head is solid yellow and the one they showed me looks like a yellow naped one to me. I am still not an expert on amazons and did not argue the point but I do look forward to the day I can take my bird in there for all to see just how beautiful he is.

I have been looking at travel carriers and there are several I am interested in. One is a mesh nap sack carried on the front like you would an infant child. I love that one for the park and or going into stores. I am trying to decide the best one for car travel and there are two I have narrowed down too. One is called the Wingabago and one is called the Pet Coupe. Sure wish I knew which one is the right one for him. I also have to be able to get him into it. That should be very interesting the first time I try that.

Eventually I will have to take him out to the vet and will also need to get his wings trimmed.  For now they seem to be okay and I was told he was clipped in April just before I got him. I do not know how often they need to be trimmed. No one I have talked to so far has really seemed to know for sure.

I have not taken him to the vet at this point due to his severe phobia of being handled. I do not want him traumatized any more. He appears very health and I have no other birds to worry about quarentine issues. I have called several vets in the area and they recommend I wait a bit.

I decided on the Wingabag Travel Carrier. My husband figured all the dimensions and thinks that it is the largest one. I am excited to get that and be able to take Popeye out on day trips and occasional weekend trips.

I also have one of the local pet shops coming this evening to clip his wings. I am apprehensive as to how Popeye will do with that but also know I need to make sure he can't fly. Better safe than sorry. They are coming out for such a small fee I couldn't resist. They will be here this evening around 7:00.

The Wing clipping went extremely well. I was nervous as I could be. The girls had me get Popeye out of his cage and gently set him on the floor so they could towel him. I put on a sweatshirt and the heavy ski gloves for safety. I set him down on the floor and they gently layed the towel over him. He didn't like it but only whined some. They were extemely gentle and talked to him the entire time.

As he lay in that towel so helpless, something came over me and I lost all fear of him. I talked to the girls for 45 minutes about him. I rambled like a new mom. I was so pleased with how well they did and how well he did.

I knew as soon as they left I would attempt to handle him. They had set him onto his cage and when they did leave I walked over to the cage and offered my hand and said STEP UP. He gently nudged my hand away but did not bite me. I offered it again and he nudged it away again. Still he was being very gentle. On the third command he stepped up. I was ecstatic.

I have been handling him with out the dreaded ski glove ever since. Such progress in just a  few short months. I feel very lucky. I had anticipated it could take me years to get this far.

Popeye took another shower today. He seemed to really enjoy it again. He declined yesterday. He just doesn't step off my arm if he doesn't want to. Today he stepped right off onto his shower perch.
 
I have also noticed that he is preening himself more than he was. I think maybe due to getting his showers now and feeling handsome and clean. I was concerned that he wasn't preening enough.

He is also starting to mumble up a storm if someone is having a conversation. Every now and then he will throw in a chuckle. He is starting to say hello, pretty bird and come in more often. He is also whistling some more. He does a fantastic Wolf Whistle.
I will be tickled when he finally really starts talking again.

I do make sure I say specific words for certain things very clearly. Every morning when I uncover his cage I say    " GOoood Morrnninnng"  When I cover him each night I say  "Time to go to bed, and Good niiigggghhht."

I also slowly turn down the lights each evening so he realizes bedtime is coming. I like to have him coverd between 10:00 and 11:00 each nite. He alway has a bedtime snack around bedtime. Usually just his seed mix because I am tired from offering him foods all day.

He cracked his own walnut yesterday. He ate the entire nut. I had been cracking them for him. Wanted to see if he could do it. He really dove for his oatmeal this morning. He is starting to look forward to his fresh food cup. I am using a specific food bowl for foods other than seeds and pellets.

He seems to enjoy it if I swing his boing while he is on it. I would love to see him learn how to make it swing like some birds do. I have seen them flap their wings and really twirl. I am content now for his occasional flips. It makes my heart do flips to watch him.

Popeye has been with me 6 months today. I am so thrilled at the progress. In the past few days we have bonded even more.

He is wanting to step up onto my hand more often. I can pet and scritch him more often. He even lets me handle his beak when ever I want to.. When I reach for him he doesn't hesitate to stick one of his feet out to step up. . He is amidextris.  He uses both feet equally. He does not appear to have a preferance.I am allowing more freedom to come in and out of his cage because he is not resisting my hand when I tell him to step up. Not unless I have interrupted a nap or a nice rest period. Even then he very gently nudges my hand away. It is wonderful to see him out of his cage more often. I am perching him in different rooms and he seems to be very content. He still doesn't seem to want to be handled by any other members of the family. He will allow the occasional stranger to offer their hand. I have explained to offer the arm and if he is interested he will extend his foot other wise the head bobs forward and they should respect his warning.  It is usually when we are not at home that he will step up onto other human hands.

Today he ate some oatmeal, mashed sweet potatoes, some fresh birdie bread that I recently made for him and some raw corn on the cob. I remember when the cob scared him to death. I only offer shucked half ears for now because he thinks the husk is some kind of vulture ready to attack him.

At this point I feel he has learned to trust again and yearns for my companionship as much as I yearn for his. I hope the next few months prove to be as successful as the past 6. We should be able to see how he learns to play and see what  kind of vocabulary he actually has retained in that wonderful little birdie brain of his.