I just aquired a 5 month old Nanday Conure(Named Camelot). I know about the species and care, but I can't find any good information on how they develop/change through the first year of their life. At what age does conure "Childhood" become adolescence? At what age is a Conure fully mature? I've read that Conures go through a nipping/biting stage--about what age does this start?
Thanks for any info!
Skydancer
Hello there! Birds can go through a "terrible twos" stage. For the bigger birds, it really does seem to be at around age two. For the smaller birds, it would be based upon their rate of maturity. I think all birds go through a "nippy" stage. When you get them at an older age, behavior patters are somewhat set and therefore a little more difficult, not impossible, to change. When I was hand feeding my Hyacinth, Talara, I began teaching her at 2.5 months old, appropriate biting. She needed to differentiate between a macadamia nut and my finger. When she gets excited, her bite gets a little harder and I tell her, No, no, too hard! She will back right off. I also find that a positive distraction can be helpful. Remember, birds can bite. Sometimes, my birds will get a little pissy with me and then let me know. I feel that like children, they need to know the boundaries. All of my birds have been put on a time out at some point. I hope this helps and if you need any further assistance, this is a good forum to be at.
I also have a (very tentative) theory about conure hormonal development - though this particularly applies to genus arratinga conures.
There seems to be a drastic change when they bond with a new person/home. Generally it is several months into settling in - they become horribly vicious biters for a couple of weeks.
This doesn't seem to occur at a particular age, but rather at a stage in bonding.
RIP
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