Wicked's Sun Conure thread

[wicked demon]

So after the first day it is very obvious that this bird does not like men very much, or hats, but I see a HUGE difference in approachability and aggression. He is a pit bull at the gate when he is in his cage.
Another thing I have noticed is he does not respond to the name I recieved him with, "Buddy". I am considering a name change.
He is super friendly with Anna, (my wife), and Zoe (11 yr. old daughter), he will even let Zoe put her hand in his cage with no aggression, he has not even biten Zoe one time, but he has had his way with my hand and neck, and he made the woman I got him from bleed pretty bad the day I picked him up.
I just dont think he was very happy where he was before, they had 2 smaller, high-strung boys, and a big dog, a more excited enviroment in general, and they only had him a few months.

Day1 nick-name is Bitey McBiterson

 

[Birdamor]

Awww, poor little guy! No wonder he is not very nice! But, with patience and love, he will come around.

 

[wicked demon]

Man, the bird loves my kid! Bizaar on the good side.
We have decided on a new name,
~~"Tiki".

 

[antoinette]

Tiki sounds great. good choice you made.
Tiki needs time to settle down, get used to his new surroundings, and his new "flock"
At the moment his cage is his "safe haven", let him come out on his own. Talk to him, sit near the cage, let his get used to your voice. Offer him treats, through the bars. After a while place a treat near the open cage door. Once he begins to gain your trust, he will venture out further and take the treat. When he seems confident and more trusting, offer his a treat from your hand. Let all this happen in his own time, be patient and you will be greatly rewarded.

 

[GreenCheek]

He is a pit bull at the gate when he is in his cage.

Really?? Did you have to say that?

Pit bulls have a bad enough reputation thank you very much, without using them as metaphors to aggression.

 

[wicked demon]

Pit bulls only have a bad rep cuz they are physically capable of doing what mother nature is telling them to, if my chihuahua could she prolly would.
Sorry bout the offensive metaphor though.

 

[GreenCheek]

Pit bulls only have a bad rep cuz they are physically capable of doing what mother nature is telling them to, if my chihuahua could she prolly would.
Sorry bout the offensive metaphor though.

Yeah, but any large breed dog can kill... It's not like it's only pit bulls that can. A lot of pit bulls are just owned by stupid owners who don't know how to train/contain their dogs, or think that their dog SHOULD be aggressive. Pit bulls are actually extremely people friendly, and absolutely should NOT be human aggressive.

I'm sorry. I volunteer at the city shelter and have worked with hundreds of pit bulls and am constantly trying to educate and undo what's been done by the media. When I see things like what you posted, it really bothers me. Some may say I'm over reacting, but I see way too much to not have strong feelings on the matter.

And it's fine, just wanted to clear that up. Hope your conure comes around, it'll just take time.

 

[wicked demon]

Day 4; Well the bird still does not like me, or any men for that matter, the name tiki didn't stick, we are now calling him Leon, cuz he IS a ladies man.

 

[leomacaw]

Leon will be fine with time and patient...

 

[erik7181]

IN my opinion, i think that if you have a conure and you don't show him attention they get aggressive, which was the case with pepsi my green cheek.

 

[wicked demon]

He has gotten a lot of attention and handling since he has been here with us, but I think his first 3 years were spent being bounced from home to home where he had owners who did not have the proper knowledge and patience for such a creature. I also think he has been with men who get angry at his aggression which would explain why he doesn't like men. Right now he is bonding HARD CORE with my wife so I am letting them be for a few weeks till he gets settled in, then I will start handling him more and we will be friends eventually.
For now he is pretty quiet when he and I are alone, then Anna shows up and he goes berserk for her, squakin' and dancin' and carrying on like a tard. She carries him on her shoulder most of the time and he pecks her shoulder and chatters in her ear when I walk by. He is SUCH a character.
Last night Anna was laying on the couch and he climed down the cage and hung off the door, almost fell off trying to get to her, it was so funny.
On another note I have noticed a change in his bowel movements that tell me his diet was not what it should be before I got him.

 

[wicked demon]

Here he is with my wife;

 

[mompopsicle]

Pit bulls only have a bad rep cuz they are physically capable of doing what mother nature is telling them to, if my chihuahua could she prolly would.
Sorry bout the offensive metaphor though.

Yeah, but any large breed dog can kill... It's not like it's only pit bulls that can. A lot of pit bulls are just owned by stupid owners who don't know how to train/contain their dogs, or think that their dog SHOULD be aggressive. Pit bulls are actually extremely people friendly, and absolutely should NOT be human aggressive.

I'm sorry. I volunteer at the city shelter and have worked with hundreds of pit bulls and am constantly trying to educate and undo what's been done by the media. When I see things like what you posted, it really bothers me. Some may say I'm over reacting, but I see way too much to not have strong feelings on the matter.

And it's fine, just wanted to clear that up. Hope your conure comes around, it'll just take time.

I agree, it is all in how you raise your animals. I had a pit bull and he was the sweetest dog I ever had. He just loved to be loved. MP

 

[wicked demon]

We have broken new ground! I have not held the bird since he was brought home, but today not only did he step up for a treat, he flew to me to get the next one!!! i am soooo jazzed about all the patience starting to pay off! He loves fresh corn, bell peppers, kale, collared greens and his fav is wheat thins roasted almonds, so we decided that only dad will give this treat so the bird would warm up to me a little more, but the only time he can get his salty treat is when he is nice to dad, its working quite well!!! I am elated with the progress. Please share any thoughts or input, as I am kinda a lonely bird owner.

 

[SharonC]

That's great! It just takes a little time...Not too many salty treats though!

 

[wildheart]

We have broken new ground! I have not held the bird since he was brought home, but today not only did he step up for a treat, he flew to me to get the next one!!! i am soooo jazzed about all the patience starting to pay off! He loves fresh corn, bell peppers, kale, collared greens and his fav is wheat thins roasted almonds, so we decided that only dad will give this treat so the bird would warm up to me a little more, but the only time he can get his salty treat is when he is nice to dad, its working quite well!!! I am elated with the progress. Please share any thoughts or input, as I am kinda a lonely bird owner.

That is such wonderful news and he is really beautiful! How does your wife get it right to have a earring in her ear? Since my parrot arrived I've been without ALL jewelery cause she just cannot resist biting it.

My parrot hates all men and black people, actually it is more fear than aggression. When she is on her cage and they walk past then she will run to the furthest end of the cage to try and get away. If any one of them touches her cage then she will run forward to bite them. When she is out of her cage and with me and a man or black person approach me then she starts screaming the loudest that she can and try to fly away.

My husband did try the treat trick with her and it does work sometimes. She will take the treat and if he does not move his hand away fast enough then she will bite him. She will gladly eat his human food out of his plate but if he lifts his hand then she immediately strikes. She does this with the full intention to draw blood. It has been 5 months now and some days it goes well and others not.

The reason why I am telling you this is because I dont want you to get upset, disappointed and feel as if you failed when your parrot maybe turns around and bite you again. If Leon did come from a family where the men treated him bad then it is not just a question of like or dislike. While watching my girl I can see that it is a deep psychological problem, the fear is real and the aggression is just a symptom.

It might take years for them to overcome the problem and it might happen that they will never completely heal.

But, that is the worst case scenario and hopefully Leon will not fall in that category. I just wanted to share it with you so that you know what you might be up against and not feel disappointed when it maybe does happen.

Good luck to you both!

 

[wicked demon]

That's great! It just takes a little time...Not too many salty treats though!

Yup, just a little pinch of the cracker, and I dust the salt granules off.

We have broken new ground! I have not held the bird since he was brought home, but today not only did he step up for a treat, he flew to me to get the next one!!! i am soooo jazzed about all the patience starting to pay off! He loves fresh corn, bell peppers, kale, collared greens and his fav is wheat thins roasted almonds, so we decided that only dad will give this treat so the bird would warm up to me a little more, but the only time he can get his salty treat is when he is nice to dad, its working quite well!!! I am elated with the progress. Please share any thoughts or input, as I am kinda a lonely bird owner.

That is such wonderful news and he is really beautiful! How does your wife get it right to have a earring in her ear? Since my parrot arrived I've been without ALL jewelery cause she just cannot resist biting it.

My parrot hates all men and black people, actually it is more fear than aggression. When she is on her cage and they walk past then she will run to the furthest end of the cage to try and get away. If any one of them touches her cage then she will run forward to bite them. When she is out of her cage and with me and a man or black person approach me then she starts screaming the loudest that she can and try to fly away.

My husband did try the treat trick with her and it does work sometimes. She will take the treat and if he does not move his hand away fast enough then she will bite him. She will gladly eat his human food out of his plate but if he lifts his hand then she immediately strikes. She does this with the full intention to draw blood. It has been 5 months now and some days it goes well and others not.

The reason why I am telling you this is because I dont want you to get upset, disappointed and feel as if you failed when your parrot maybe turns around and bite you again. If Leon did come from a family where the men treated him bad then it is not just a question of like or dislike. While watching my girl I can see that it is a deep psychological problem, the fear is real and the aggression is just a symptom.

It might take years for them to overcome the problem and it might happen that they will never completely heal.

But, that is the worst case scenario and hopefully Leon will not fall in that category. I just wanted to share it with you so that you know what you might be up against and not feel disappointed when it maybe does happen.

Good luck to you both!

Kinda stinks your bird is sexist AND racist...(j/k) lol.
I see the same fear/ aggression in leon, but he is SLOWLY not so terrified when I walk by, and if i sit and talk in low tones he will come to the doorway and mumble mumble mumble to me, maybe take a treat. I have seen the loud squawking when I get to close to the wife, or especially if we hug or kiss in front of him, he throws a fit. But it is getting less and less, and he pecks annas shoulder less when i walk by now as well. And he has still gotten a few good bites in on me when I have handed him treats. I am not offended, I don think its personal. lol. He kinda messes with her jewelry, but the thing he messes with the most is her glasses, and a little mole on the side of her neck.