ParrotProdigy
New member
Recently got my Jenday Conure boy, Tempest, from a parrot specialty store. They claimed he was handfed, and I do believe he was, but I'm wondering if he was force weaned. He hatched May 3rd, and was considered weaned on July 16th, that seems a little quick. I feel like I see most Jendays weaning in 3 months. Today is his third day with me and I'm starting to see his personality.
This is my first conure so I'm wondering if this is a normal Conure behavior.
1. He doesn't care for his cage - He would rather be anywhere else but his cage. He doesn't act up or act scared or anything, just prefers to be outside of it. This is fine though because I am always home to be with him.
He also doesn't like me putting him in his cage at bedtime, he'd rather sleep in my bed under the covers, but he tolerates it and goes to sleep. His cage at the moment is 32"H x 24"W x 19"D with 1/4" horizontal bar spacing. I will be buying a larger one in the coming months.
2. He seems klutzy - Unfortunately the bird store had already clipped his primaries before I could ask them not to. He has pretty great control of flight with just his secondaries. However, he has trouble holding onto things with his feet and beak and I can't help but feel the wing clipping had something to do with this. He doesn't seem super confident and falls a lot when trying to climb on things he can't get a good foot grip on. For example, he will slip off my shirt if he tries to climb up it and slips off some of the larger perches or slim food cup edges.
3. His noises - I'm not sure which of his noises are considered good or bad. He seems to make a ton of raspy chirps when I go to pet, and keep petting him. It seems like an alarm call, but he does this sound quietly all the time. I could take a video if needed.
4. Wing slaps - He has been "slapping" me with the back of one of his wings whenever I am petting him anywhere. Is this body language for "please stop"? He'll be slapping me and doing that constant "alarmed" sounding chirping while I pet him, but I don't want to teach him that that is acceptable to keep doing so I keep petting him, but he never calms down or stops. Just today I noticed the wing flips getting more frequent and he always calls out when he flips them. I've checked to see if his feathers were messed up or something was out of place, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary.
5. Confused cuddling - I have never owned a friendly hand-fed baby bird before. In one sense he acts just like a cat. "Pet me! No wait, I changed my mind, stop it! But I'll still sit right here with you." He wants to be with me, snuggling, but doesn't really want me to pet him (I think). He insists on being on my body somewhere. If he cuddles up to my arm and I move it, he will follow and snuggle back up to it. But if I go to pet him it's still "squawk squawk, wing slapped". He has never bitten me other than the beak exploration, It has never hurt at all or been hard for that matter.
6. Grooming - In the three days he has been with me, I have not once seen him preen. Is this normal for babies to be a little clueless about grooming themselves? He will fluff his feathers, scratch himself, and wipe his beak, but nothing more. Should I give him baths to encourage some self grooming?
7. Sleeping - I know the norm for most birds is to get 12-14 hours of sleep per day. My little guy insists on napping a LOT, do baby parrots need extra sleep time just like all other babies do? He also doesn't want to nap in his cage or on his playstand. He wants to nap in my bed, on me, or under a blanket. He hates sleeping on a perch.
8. Baby stance? - While he can stand well on his own, he prefers to be low and laying on his legs when he is on any non perch-like surface. So it appears he is laying down everywhere. Should I discourage this to help him keep his legs strong? Is this just a normal sitting position? He seems like he's sitting down waiting to be fed like baby parrots do.
9. Head bob - Just this morning he started this new behavior. It's not the normal head bob playful parrots do, it seems more like the "I want formula, feed me!" bob. He repeatedly sticks his head in the air, opens his mouth a bit, sometimes does a little chirp, and puts his head back down. He'll repeat that for random lengths of time. Again, another concern he may have been force weaned.
10. Food - The store weaned him onto Roudybush mini and provided me with a sample bag. I had already bought tons of Roudybush small. He will eat the mini pellets without the use of his feet, but the small pellets he has to use his feet. This is also where the klutz comes into play because he acts like he can't hold onto food well at all. He drops everything I give him in seconds. Do I need to help him exercise his feet to make them stronger? He also refuses to eat anything other than his pellets or chopped shelled peanuts (Roasted, unsalted, human grade. I use as a training treat). I have tried carrots and romaine and he will either toss it or take one bite and never come back to it. Even when they are mixed into a bowl of pellets. Seems like the store didn't wean him to veggies and fruit at all!
11. Toys - He doesn't really care for any toys I have tried to give him. Wood, shreddable, coconut shell, excetera. How do I encourage self play when he doesn't seem interested in anything I offer him? Even when I try to play with the toys to get him acquainted he just ignores them.
The three days I've had him all he does is eat, drink, poop, and sleep. He hasn't really played with anything and when he's awake and not eating he is usually making chirps, bobbing his head, and flipping his wings until he falls asleep. All in all, I'm worried I've got a half-weaned baby on my hands and I have no idea how to care for unweaned babies!
This is my first conure so I'm wondering if this is a normal Conure behavior.
1. He doesn't care for his cage - He would rather be anywhere else but his cage. He doesn't act up or act scared or anything, just prefers to be outside of it. This is fine though because I am always home to be with him.
He also doesn't like me putting him in his cage at bedtime, he'd rather sleep in my bed under the covers, but he tolerates it and goes to sleep. His cage at the moment is 32"H x 24"W x 19"D with 1/4" horizontal bar spacing. I will be buying a larger one in the coming months.
2. He seems klutzy - Unfortunately the bird store had already clipped his primaries before I could ask them not to. He has pretty great control of flight with just his secondaries. However, he has trouble holding onto things with his feet and beak and I can't help but feel the wing clipping had something to do with this. He doesn't seem super confident and falls a lot when trying to climb on things he can't get a good foot grip on. For example, he will slip off my shirt if he tries to climb up it and slips off some of the larger perches or slim food cup edges.
3. His noises - I'm not sure which of his noises are considered good or bad. He seems to make a ton of raspy chirps when I go to pet, and keep petting him. It seems like an alarm call, but he does this sound quietly all the time. I could take a video if needed.
4. Wing slaps - He has been "slapping" me with the back of one of his wings whenever I am petting him anywhere. Is this body language for "please stop"? He'll be slapping me and doing that constant "alarmed" sounding chirping while I pet him, but I don't want to teach him that that is acceptable to keep doing so I keep petting him, but he never calms down or stops. Just today I noticed the wing flips getting more frequent and he always calls out when he flips them. I've checked to see if his feathers were messed up or something was out of place, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary.
5. Confused cuddling - I have never owned a friendly hand-fed baby bird before. In one sense he acts just like a cat. "Pet me! No wait, I changed my mind, stop it! But I'll still sit right here with you." He wants to be with me, snuggling, but doesn't really want me to pet him (I think). He insists on being on my body somewhere. If he cuddles up to my arm and I move it, he will follow and snuggle back up to it. But if I go to pet him it's still "squawk squawk, wing slapped". He has never bitten me other than the beak exploration, It has never hurt at all or been hard for that matter.
6. Grooming - In the three days he has been with me, I have not once seen him preen. Is this normal for babies to be a little clueless about grooming themselves? He will fluff his feathers, scratch himself, and wipe his beak, but nothing more. Should I give him baths to encourage some self grooming?
7. Sleeping - I know the norm for most birds is to get 12-14 hours of sleep per day. My little guy insists on napping a LOT, do baby parrots need extra sleep time just like all other babies do? He also doesn't want to nap in his cage or on his playstand. He wants to nap in my bed, on me, or under a blanket. He hates sleeping on a perch.
8. Baby stance? - While he can stand well on his own, he prefers to be low and laying on his legs when he is on any non perch-like surface. So it appears he is laying down everywhere. Should I discourage this to help him keep his legs strong? Is this just a normal sitting position? He seems like he's sitting down waiting to be fed like baby parrots do.
9. Head bob - Just this morning he started this new behavior. It's not the normal head bob playful parrots do, it seems more like the "I want formula, feed me!" bob. He repeatedly sticks his head in the air, opens his mouth a bit, sometimes does a little chirp, and puts his head back down. He'll repeat that for random lengths of time. Again, another concern he may have been force weaned.
10. Food - The store weaned him onto Roudybush mini and provided me with a sample bag. I had already bought tons of Roudybush small. He will eat the mini pellets without the use of his feet, but the small pellets he has to use his feet. This is also where the klutz comes into play because he acts like he can't hold onto food well at all. He drops everything I give him in seconds. Do I need to help him exercise his feet to make them stronger? He also refuses to eat anything other than his pellets or chopped shelled peanuts (Roasted, unsalted, human grade. I use as a training treat). I have tried carrots and romaine and he will either toss it or take one bite and never come back to it. Even when they are mixed into a bowl of pellets. Seems like the store didn't wean him to veggies and fruit at all!
11. Toys - He doesn't really care for any toys I have tried to give him. Wood, shreddable, coconut shell, excetera. How do I encourage self play when he doesn't seem interested in anything I offer him? Even when I try to play with the toys to get him acquainted he just ignores them.
The three days I've had him all he does is eat, drink, poop, and sleep. He hasn't really played with anything and when he's awake and not eating he is usually making chirps, bobbing his head, and flipping his wings until he falls asleep. All in all, I'm worried I've got a half-weaned baby on my hands and I have no idea how to care for unweaned babies!
