JOZA
Joza (dob 03/09/2006). Joza is a Blue fronted Amazon. She was hatched in September 2006 and we are assuming a dob of the 3rd. She is believed to be a Hen but will be tested to check. She arrived with us 09/07/11 coming from Steve in Stoke on Trent. She spent most of the journey back hanging upside down in the travel cage but I think it was just so she could get a safer grip. She has a Blue wash all over her front from her lower mandible (beak) to her vent. She certainly looks stunning and proud. She currently doesn't step up but is learning already. She very rarely bites and even then, not that hard. After only 10 minutes of getting to know me at Steve's she came and sat on my shoulder and was happy to stay there for a while, which was a promising sign. She is currently being quarantined in the lounge until we have the result of her Chlamydia test, although she did come up to the study with me earlier today. Joza's name comes from Steve's kids names; Joshua and Zara, making up Joza. Hopefully next week, she can be introduced to the rest of the flock and then we'll see what she makes of the other Amazons. Already, she likes coming out in the evening and sitting on my shoulder or the back of my chair and watching telly with us. Watch this space for more details.
The results are in!
Ollie & Joza
On 19/7/11, we had Joza's results! She is indeed a "she" as we were led to believe and her Chlamydia test came back Negative so she could meet the other birds. She looked on in amazement when her cage was wheeled into the birdroom and positioned between Kenny & Sydney's cage and Jasper's cage but still in full view of Phoebe, Ollie and Billie. In the evening when she was in her usual position on the back of my chair, I took Ollie in to meet her. They were a bit unsure of each other at first and when one decided to fly, so did the other but after a short while they got used to each other but still kept a respectable distance. It would be really good if they did accept each other's friendship over the coming weeks as I would like them both to share some "out time".
A Progress Report
I thought I would post an update on Joza since I have been back from my 5 weeks away. Well she was always a Man's bird and Stacey couldn't really do much with her without panicking her so it was left to Adam. Whenever Adam went near her (inside her cage) she started flapping vigorously so Adam didn't really pursue things too much and I understand that. However, since I have been back I have been trying to work with her. I started by trying to get her to Step Up - something which she has never been taught to do in her 5 year life. The only problem is finding something to reward her with for bite-sized progress. Everything I have tried with she either backs away from or takes and promptly throws straight down. So, I am even more pleased when she is "getting there" with the "Up" command and only verbal praise. She backs away to the back corner of her cage but then steps up fairly well. When she is out she nearly always steps up straight away which is really good. Everyday since I have been back she has come up to the study with me while I check e-mails, eBay, the forum and deal with the (loads of) photos I took on holiday . She sits very well behaved on my shoulder or occassionally on the back of my chair until it is "time for bed" or for her to go back to her cage. While I bring her up she sits on my shoulder but when I take her down she is on my hand and I have been holding her feet with my thumb to stop her flapping and flying off and getting more stressed when I try to catch her. She now accepts this everytime which is great news. She really seems to be associating "Time for bed" with going on my hand, having her feet held and being put back in her cage. As I said, it is so frustrating not being able to reward her with treats but she is now reacting very positively to verbal praise that I am beginning to think treats are not necessary for her. I was really sad for her when I came back - there wasn't anything I could do - it was just bad timing - but I am soooo very pleased with the progress she has made this last week. She really is an Angel and it is so rewarding to see her making progress .
Further Progress 6/10/11
Well, things have moved on quite a lot over recent weeks! Joza now "Steps Up" perfectly everytime, whether in her cage or out which is great news! She will now be carried around the house on my hand without me needing to hold her feet, and she doesn't fly off. I can carry her upstairs and downstairs, to and from the Study; into the Kitchen or Lounge and she doesn't fly off - just sits there as good as gold which is great!
Since the last update she has moved into half of the large double cage with Ollie. She seems to get on very well with Ollie and they both seem very happy together. In the other half are Kenny & Sydney. She now enjoys morning "out time" with all the other birds as she has lost some of her nerves. Unfortunately I do have to watch her & Sydney sometimes as Sydney can be a bit "anti" her at times. I am hoping with continued time out together Sydney and Joza will become good friends
As I said, Joza & Ollie currently share half the large double cage, with Kenny & Sydney in the other half. I have been wondering about the possibility of removing the partition and giving all 4 of them the complete double cage to themselves but there are 2 obstacles. These are the fact that Joza & Sydney need to get on better before I even think of doing this and their food - Kenny & Sydney eat Pellets and Ollie & Joza don't! So I have been addressing the pellet problem by trying to switch Joza & Ollie to pellets. For 3 days now they have been having their fruit all day; Pellets in the evening and seed in the morning and there has been more and more evidence of them eating some pellets. This is brilliant news and so quickly too!!! I now need to catch them both "in the act" to make sure they are both eating the pellets and then that'll be a major step forwards. Now I just need to concentrate on getting Joza & Sydney out together to see how they get along! Watch this space!
Since the last update she has moved into half of the large double cage with Ollie. She seems to get on very well with Ollie and they both seem very happy together. In the other half are Kenny & Sydney. She now enjoys morning "out time" with all the other birds as she has lost some of her nerves. Unfortunately I do have to watch her & Sydney sometimes as Sydney can be a bit "anti" her at times. I am hoping with continued time out together Sydney and Joza will become good friends
As I said, Joza & Ollie currently share half the large double cage, with Kenny & Sydney in the other half. I have been wondering about the possibility of removing the partition and giving all 4 of them the complete double cage to themselves but there are 2 obstacles. These are the fact that Joza & Sydney need to get on better before I even think of doing this and their food - Kenny & Sydney eat Pellets and Ollie & Joza don't! So I have been addressing the pellet problem by trying to switch Joza & Ollie to pellets. For 3 days now they have been having their fruit all day; Pellets in the evening and seed in the morning and there has been more and more evidence of them eating some pellets. This is brilliant news and so quickly too!!! I now need to catch them both "in the act" to make sure they are both eating the pellets and then that'll be a major step forwards. Now I just need to concentrate on getting Joza & Sydney out together to see how they get along! Watch this space!
Joza's new Diet
As you may know, Joza shares half of a double cage with Ollie; the other half being occupied by Kenny & Sydney. Kenny & Sydney eat a pelleted Diet but Joza & Ollie eat seed. In the future we are thinking we might remove the partition and allow all 4 birds to be together but before we do this we would need to get them all eating the same. I firmly believe a pelleted diet to be the best as it offers much less fat than a seed diet. We have done extensive research to balance out cost v benefits and what we are using is a pellet that is nutritionally similar to Harrisons but cheaper to buy. We started by offering this to Joza and Ollie in the evening after their day of fruit & Veg. In the morning, before I give them their fruit and veg I put a bowl of seed in for half an hour so they could top up on this. After 2 mornings I forgot to do this and noticed they were eating the pellets! Job Done! They haven't had a bowl of seed since! I have to say that they do have a couple of Hazlenuts and/or half a walnut each in addition as nuts do hold some benefit for them nutritionally but they avoid stuffing themselves with very fatty sunflower seeds. This was a very quick and easy transformation from seed to pellets and I consider us very fortunate that it happened so quickly and smoothly.
As for putting all 4 together? Well Joza is a bit timid with Sydney at the moment. I am working on this when they are all out in the mornings and I sometimes get just Joza & Sydney out in the lounge in the evenings. They do both sit on the Java tree together - well not literally together but on the same tree! I think we have a way to go yet but time will tell if this ever becomes possible. If I don't think they will get on, it wont happen. Kenny & Ollie are both pretty laidback but the 2 blue-fronts are a bit feisty!
As for putting all 4 together? Well Joza is a bit timid with Sydney at the moment. I am working on this when they are all out in the mornings and I sometimes get just Joza & Sydney out in the lounge in the evenings. They do both sit on the Java tree together - well not literally together but on the same tree! I think we have a way to go yet but time will tell if this ever becomes possible. If I don't think they will get on, it wont happen. Kenny & Ollie are both pretty laidback but the 2 blue-fronts are a bit feisty!