5 month old Conure cage problems

[JB123]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Sun Conure. He is about 5 months old. The problem we are having and the problem the breeder has had is when you try to get him out of the cage he runs away. The only way to get him out calmly is to let him come out by himself. Has anyone had this problem or have any advice. My fiancee and I have had 6 birds but all have been given to us after they were fairly old. This is our first time with a young bird and we dont want to do anything wrong.

Thanks!

 

[lexx510]

Work with his pace and give him time to adjust to his new settings. He will come out when he feels comfortable around you. The fact that he even comes out by himself is already a good sign. A lot of times, new birds will not even come out of their cage, period. Spend time around the cage, read or talk to him, sing, etc. You may try placing treats around the cage door or the outside of his cage, and reinforce him verbally (or with a treat if he eats out of your hand) once he's out. Right now he may still be frightened of his new surroundings, so understandingly he's reluctant to come out (parrots are prey in the wild).

 

[roxynoodle]

Does he step up for you after he comes out the open door? Some birds don't like hands reaching into their cages, or they defend the cage. I have always let my conure come to the open door first because she is territorial about her cage.

You could also try feeding him little treats from your hand when you reach in and see if that helps him relax about it.

 

[JB123]

No, he doesn't step up. but he does not bite or yell either. In fact he is only yelled about two times a day since we got him. We just want to make sure that we don't do anything wrong. As long as it's normal for to take a few days to warm up and maybe a few weeks to warm up to the owners then we'll be fine. We were getting a little nervous because it takes a long time for him to come outbid the cage by himself. And runs away if we try to put our hand in the cage. Sometimes he flutters away when he is out in the room too. I think your right in he needs to warm up to us more. Hear our voice, get treats, etc.
Also, how long should we leave a toy in the cage that it hasn't played with?

 

[roxynoodle]

Oh, it can take some birds forever to play with a toy, especially birds that don't have a lot of experience with them yet. I adopted an older amazon that never had toys in November. Just now is he playing with them all on a daily basis. He's starting to figure out it's fun.

Yes, your bird just needs more time I think. Talk to him, sing to him, offer him treats, play games like peak a boo. You need to let him set the pace. Try sitting on the floor and see if he comes down to observe you. Try it while he's in the cage, and then try it with the door open later.

 

[Pedro]

I always advise new owners to take it slow with their new babies. You must remember this little guy needs to get used of his new environment before he feels comfortable. He needs to trust his new flock members. Rather than force him out of his cage let him come out by himself. Once he is out start to teach him the step up command. If you take things steady he will learn to trust you. Seems the breeder has scared him by trying to force him out of the cage by possibly grabbing him. Something you are now going to have to work on.

 

[JB123]

Ok, cool. And how do you suggest we work on it when the time comes to do that?

 

[roxynoodle]

That is hard to answer because every bird is different. My conure, Rowdy, came into my house like she owned it. An hour after we got here, I was able to bring her out and she ate half my dinner. My Blue Crown conure needed a few days before I could start handling her. Pete hated me for 2 days and it was another 2 days after that before I felt I could let him out and start working with him. It took me a few tries before he got on my hand though, and I had to sit on the floor to get him to decide I wasn't a threat. He climbed down to see me, I'd offer my hand and up the cage he'd go. It was maybe the firth or sixth attempt that he got on me. Merlin also walked in here like she had always lived here.

None of my budgies were tame at all though. It took me several weeks to a couple of months to get them to consistently step up and come out of the cages for me. I taught them by bribing them with leaf lettuce. I started by getting them to eat it while I held it. Then eventually moved it between my thumb and index finger so they had to step on my hand to reach it.

 

[JB123]

How much should my sun be eating? He seems to eat all day. And then plays with the bowl when there's no more food left. How much should I put in the dish in general?
Also how much attention do they require? And what is defined as attension? I have read so so many different things online and not many websites give a clear answer. Pet smart says 1 hour but that seems way to low and I don't want to let the bird get bored. Thanks!

 

[roxynoodle]

Some birds eat more than others. My BCC ate a lot more than my Nanday. The funny part is the Nanday weighed more and was more active/acrobatic. I would let him eat all the pellets he wants. I don't obesity is as much a problem for conures as it is for some species.

I've also noticed Pete, my amazon, has been eating a ton lately, but he's also sped up the molting process and is getting a ton of new feathers. I think that's why.

Attention can be a lot of things. It can mean out of cage time spent with you or playing with something. It can mean dancing and singing with the bird. It can mean talking with the bird. It can mean giving it a bath or shower. Even cleaning the cage is attention.

 

[mandolynn]

There is alot of contradictory information on the Internet. When in doubt, buy a book. I personally wouldn't take petsmarts advice as gospel, they often have little experience with birds, and they aren't handled enough in the store which may be why the burs is so flightly. Go slow. Buy a playgym for him ti hang out on when he does come out so he gets used to being around you. It may take some time, but as you gradually interact with him more, he will become more used to you. As far as food goes, he may be eating more because he is bored. How many toys does he have? Have you noticed him playing at all? Make sure you are giving him the optimal diet as well. I could go on and on but my best advice is to buy a good conure book to refer to.

 

[lexx510]

It seems that parrots have emotional needs of a 2 year old child. An hour of attention per day isn't nearly enough if you ask me.

 

[roxynoodle]

No, an hour isn't much at all. But, mine are happy just having me around as well, talking to them, singing to them, and just watching the things I do. But, I make sure they each get plenty of one on one interaction with me as well. I also put on TV shows I know they each like. I wish Pete wasn't so interested in Criminal Minds, but apparently seeing people getting shot or hacked up entertains him

 

[JB123]

He has 3 toys, a bone, a ladder, and kind of a hanging toy/ladder. We give him at least 3 hours of attention a day and thats only on Wednesday's. We are buying some different toys today. Even though all of that he eats a lot and now seems to be picking at the his tail feathers. the most outside side of his tail feathers have some missing parts. The problem is one person is with him almost all day. But only comes out of the cage sometimes. And must be doing this when we leave. I really have no idea what if anything we are doing wrong...

 

[roxynoodle]

Get him a preening or shreddable toy. That may get his attention off his tail feathers.

I have a feeling the breeder grabbed him to get him out of the cage. Birds often become frightened of hands or people after being grabbed. I think you just need to be very patient with him. I would start by trying to feed him treats from your hand, and sitting on the floor and talking to him. Spend as much time as you can in the room where his cage is doing quiet activities to give him a chance to see you aren't threatening. Read, watch TV, eat in there. It may even help if you lay down and take a nap in there. And while you are doing quiet activities, make comments to him about them, using a happy voice.

 

[JB123]

Alright great. Thanks! We do have a shreds blue toy for him. And it's one that he uses the most. You may be right. Stinking breeders I feel really bad for my bird. I have actually been han feeding him pellets for the last hour. I started with treats and now it's pellets. He seems to like it. Thanks for the help!

 

[lexx510]

Popsickle sticks make great shreddable toys as well. We tie them to a string along with bottle caps, and our GCC loves to trear them apart. And the best part is that they are cheap!

 

[roxynoodle]

Really it sounds like you off to a good start with a young, shy bird who probably had a bad experience. Remember going too slow is always better than going too fast. He is going to be with you for a long time. Birds are not domesticated like dogs and cats. Many of our pet birds are only 1 or a few generations from their wild ancestors, whereas cats and dogs have been bred in captivity for hundreds and even thousands of years. It is like taming a wild animal in many respects. My vet has told me that my amazon is wild caught. I don't know if he was ever hand fed, but he is bonded to people.

 

[lexx510]

Really it sounds like you off to a good start with a young, shy bird who probably had a bad experience. Remember going too slow is always better than going too fast. He is going to be with you for a long time. Birds are not domesticated like dogs and cats. Many of our pet birds are only 1 or a few generations from their wild ancestors, whereas cats and dogs have been bred in captivity for hundreds and even thousands of years. It is like taming a wild animal in many respects. My vet has told me that my amazon is wild caught. I don't know if he was ever hand fed, but he is bonded to people.

I couldn't have said it better!