blue front amazon help

i recently got a blue front amazon.

when i got her i was told she was not tame, the very first owner who had her was an older lady, her grandkids would poke sticks at the bird and hit the cage.
the people whom i got her from said she would not allow them to do any thing with her, she would take food from them, they fed her oatmeal in the morning, a whole can of tuna at lunch and she got what ever they were having for dinner, plus they also stated she loved doughnuts.
the husband was terrified to get the bird out of the cage, the bird was in a huge cage with one perch.

we brought her home, got her into the cage here i have, with is 4ft by 4ft by 3ft, it has several perches, i had bought toys for her and put them in the cage and she is just getting used to them............
i made canges to the diet... in the morning she get a small amount of parrot food, along with fresh fruits cut up and monkey chow, she geta a bowl of roudybush pellets everyday. in the evening when we sit down to eat dinner i give her a bowl of fresh veggies and cooked pasta, or cooked beans and brown rice, its something different everyday, she has gotten very used to this change.
when we got her her nails were horrible and her feathers looked dull and dusty, we clipped her nails, she did fine with that and never attempted to bite. then i gave her a bath with a spray bottle in which she threw her wings up and enjoyed getting wet, the next day i gave her a large bowl of water in which she got completely wet... her feathers look brighter and shiny.

what i need advice on is this part, she still will not allow anyone to handle her, she will come right up to me and take food from my hand, and even put her face to mine, but wont allow you to touch her, i am giving her time to adjust to every thing, and i let her see my hands like putting things in her cage treats and toys, with treats i let her eat some from my hand.
she has had sevral chances to bite me and has not, so i know i am making progress...
but is there anything else i need to be doing?

When exactly did you get this bird? How recent do you consider "recent?"

I used to have a blue fronted. I rescued him from a similar situation that you rescued yours from. It took him 6 MONTHS to make just a little bit of progress. These birds aren't exactly the most docile animals to begin with, so to taking on an abused amazon parrot is like adopting a child that comes from a family who beat him. You really can't expect to be greeted with open arms for quite a while.

It sounds to me like you are doing everything perfectly (your diet change is wonderful, i'm very impressed!), just make sure the bird always associates your hand with good things. Don't ever let it associate you with anything negative. If you need to yell at somebody, make sure the bird isn't within earshot. They're extremely sensitive to things like that. In fact, a lot of owners don't even stay in the same room when their bird is being groomed (nails, wings).

Also, remember the only time birds are ever held or handled in the wild is right before they get EATEN.

Stimulate the bird to forage by putting peanut butter in different places, changing around the position of the toys....sounds like you know that already though. Oh yeah, and easy does it with the pasta and carbohydrates. She'll start getting overweight with too much.

Time is key. I know it seems like no progress is being made on the attitude, but as long as you keep the positive energy around her, she'll soon realize that you're not going to attack her with sticks.

Also, I wanted to add... try not to stimulate her TOO much. If you're constantly at the cage, feeding her, trying to get her out, talking to her, putting your face in hers all the time, she's not going to respond. All these things are fine in moderation, but try not to overwhelm her either.

good thought on the pasta.

recently means she has been here for a month, i know right now it is to soon to expect her to be friendly.

and im not really, when i go to her cage talk and let her get to my face she usually intiates it, she will come out of the cage on her own, and if she wants to "visit" she will come to the closest end to me where ever i might be and and chatter, as i come to the cage if she backs away, i go back to what i was doing, if she stays there then i come to talk to her, when shes done with the visit, she goes back to what she was doing, there have been a few times that she has chattered to let me know to come back.

she was a handfed baby, i just think that everything she has been through she has been traumatized. she even knows "step up" if you say step up she will raise her foot but if you put your hand near her she quickly moves away.

so i stopped using step up i got the feeling i might need to find another word like "come on" for instance....

I forgot to ask you before, how old is this parrot?

Step up is actually a very important thing for her to learn. If for some reason you need to remove her from danger of some sort, learning to step up on your hand can be crucial. You should start by allowing her to come out of her cage on her own, preferably on a perch of some sort that she can grip well. Once she's out, give her a treat so she gets rewarded with positive reinforcement for just coming out of her cage. Next, rub her chest and her belly softly with your index finger...make sure you talk in a gentle tone and slowly increase the pressure with your finger. You can repeat this daily until she begins to feel more comfortable. Once you feel she's ready, increase the pressure enough that it moves her a bit, which forces her to want to regain her stability. You can then put your finger or hand under the foot and lift her, that is if she allows it. If she doesn't, just let her foot remain on your hand until she decides to remove it. Every time she grips your finger, tell her to "step up" or whatever other phrase you want to use. Eventually she will correlate the action with this phrase...

Switch hands every now and then when training to step up. If you don't, eventually they start getting used to one hand and they won't go near the other.

Also, make sure your hand is always a firm, reliable place to stand. If you're jiggly or nervous, your bird will soon learn that it's not a safe place to perch.

After only a month, you still have loads of time to rehabilitate her. Sounds like she's making a little progress though, take advantage of when she lifts her foot up at you! See if she'll soon grip your finger. Hope I could help a little.

you have helped a great deal, thank you.

thing is with the "dowels" or perches if you approach her with one, she goes crazy, i have wondered if she had been hit.... because of the amount of fear.

but with my hand she will lift her foot, then decide to move rather than step up, if i place my hand in the cage and she raises her foot and i say "step up" she goes balistic............that was why i figured i should find another word, such as come on.....

as far as age im not sure i was told around 10...

this is my first time with a "abused" bird. but my experience is vast.
i have raised cockatiels, conures, quakers and worked with greys, and cockatoos.

what got me into the amazons, was a friend got a double yellow head, that is believed to have come from the same original owner, she had several birds.
this bird has the same back ground, the other ironic part of it, is the couple who helped rehome these birds all worked in the same nursing home.

after 6 month the dyh has come around into his new home and is doing great.