Roscoe vid. question....

[Chrissy and Flock]

I recorded Roscoe today and I have never seen him doing this before... for want of a better description ... he is doing an imitation of a kickboxer...
is this something that Zons do or is it something I should be concerned about?
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj124/Chrissy0150/?action=view&current=20080620092207.flv

[bonnie]

I don't know... It kinda looks like he's just playing and dancing to me...

[Dot]

Roscoe is beautiful!

Had you just tried to pick him up? He looks like he is trying to push you away. If I offer Tommie (BFA) my hand and she doesn't want to step up, she turns her foot sideways and gently pushes my hand away. She doesn't lift her foot like that, so Roscoe could just be playing. Or, he wants you to get that recorder out of his face. LOL

[iti hoa's mom]

I recorded Roscoe today and I have never seen him doing this before... for want of a better description ... he is doing an imitation of a kickboxer...
is this something that Zons do or is it something I should be concerned about?
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj124/Chrissy0150/?action=view&current=20080620092207.flv

He is uncomfortable with the situation. He is either trying to push you or the camera away. He has even turned his back to make it go away. Birds do this to each other to warn them away.

[Chrissy and Flock]

Okay thanks for that input, I had not thought of that. I guess like most people enough is enough. I am just relieved that it is not a sign of something wrong with him....

[Chrissy and Flock]

Well he just did the same thing and there were no cameras and no people near him, I watched from the doorway and he didnt even know I was there. Then I went over to him and he came closer to me and did it again, I think he wants me to get him out of his cage. He really likes being out, something he was not used to very often till he came here.

[bonnie]

Chicken use to freak out when I put him back in his cage. Even thought we got him a cage 4X the size he was in when we got him, he didn't want to go in and especially to be covered up. He had lived like that for a long time. It may just take him a bit longer to get the hang of it. He may not yet realize that you will let him out tomorrow.

[FoxersArtist]

Hi Chrissy.
The behavior that I saw in your video was most certainly not something playful though I agree that it is difficult now to figure out what exactly he is trying to tell you. The sound he is making is an amazon distress call and the only time my orange wing ever makes it is when he is being toweled to trim his nails or beak. His body language was clearly irritated and nervious as he was shifting from foot to foot. That kind of methodical shifting, as well as the turning around to face away from you as Peggy pointed out, is all body language that suggests a very threatened or upset amazon. You said that he was doing it without the camera or you around and this is something that he just started? He had not been doing any of this before? How does he react to you now when you want to step him up? Is he still cooperative?

My first instinct would be to make sure there is nothing in his cage or in the room that he is afraid of. My second instinct, and one that I hope is not true but seems to be a good explaination is that Roscoe may be hurting somewhere and this is the only way he can tell you that he is hurting. Again, this sound is a distress call and most amazons only make it when they are really upset or afraid, so this video does have me very concerned. If you cannot pinpoint anything in Roscoes environment that is upsetting him so greatly and he continues the behavior I would not hesitate to take him to a vet to have him checked out.
-Anna

[Chrissy and Flock]

I have been keeping a close eye on him and he has not done it since... when getting him out of his cage I usually wrap a towel around my hand and arm because I am a little nervous of invading his space with bare hand. Once he is out of the cage he will step up and let me scritch and love on him without any problem, and he will step up to bare hand to be put back in his cage. Other than those two incidents of that behavior he seems to be a very happy loving bird. I will continue to watch for the behavior and try to see what is setting it off.

[FoxersArtist]

One more quick thought, though pleeeaaassseee don't take this the wrong way.

I know you have a house full of grandkids right now. Is it possible that one of them has been very curious of Roscoe and maybe standing next to his cage a lot? Sticking fingers or other objects in the cage probably wouldn't help, thought it would not take that kind of behavior to make an amazon so protective. I have noticed that if someone in our household does something that makes our orange wing feel threatened he will start a pattern of being defensive no matter who is near him or reaching for him. He doesn't make that distress call, but he will bark if anyone comes too close. When this happens we just have to spend a few days soothing him and making an extra big point to show him that we respect him and his little brain will then switch gears to being relaxed again. Even if one of the kids has just been visiting with him frequently through the bars and he is protective, this will be enough to set him off.
-Anna

[Chrissy and Flock]

Anna Roscoe has spent the last 3 years of his life in the same house as two of the granddaughters, in fact his sleeping cage was in the older ones bedroom. All of them know not to stick fingers in cages... 3 of them are teenagers. I do appreciate the suggestion though and I wish it was something that simple.