A few inquiries.

[Abomination]

Alright, I have a 1 year old Nanday Conure, I have posted a few pictures of him before on here, and he's a great bird.

I just have a few things that I'm not sure how to address.

I will post a video tomorrow of what I mean so you guys can get a more accurate interpretation.

First off, stepping up. He can do it, he knows how and doesn't have a problem with doing it. (sort of?)

basically when I even say step up, he makes a squawking sound (Not his full squawk but like a whine of some sort.) I've taken this as he's basically saying no, but if I insist he will step up. This is more of a problem when he's on my shoulder, he refuses to step up.

Another thing is teaching him tricks. I don't know any incentives for him, the treats I have are large treats that take a while for him to fully eat, or the smaller yogurt covered sunflower seeds he just doesn't like.
So I'm unable to figure out something that he willingly wants that will be a motivation to learn. (Any incentives other than food you can suggest?)

Around a lot of people he goes nuts, he wants to be the center of attention, he'll do whatever it takes, squawking, falling to the floor, etc.

I'm trying to bond with him as much as possible, but nothing is working. I feel like frustration just puts me two steps back after getting one step forward.

 

[SolarEclipse]

First off- be patient! You cant just expect your bird to step up. How long have you had him? If he is hesitant in stepping up, try having him in his cage and talk to him. Say nice things like how much you love him. Trust me,it goes a long way. When he is comfortable with that, start putting your hands next to him- outside of the cage, if he is shy. Then carefully pet him, if he'll allow it. Then ask him to step up. do not do this in one day, and dont stretch training sessions longer than 5mins at first. Do this daily, and dont lose hope!! If he bites, hes just scared and not used to you. Use his favorite treat to reward him as soon as he does the desired behavior, at first. Timing a reward is essential, or he wont know What hes being rewarded for. If he does an undesirable behavior, say biting, simply put him down(dont drop him!) And do something else and he will rethink what Tom your attention away from him,or pull your finger out slowly so you don't stake him, but not completely away, as he will think that is a sure way to get rid of you.

 

[Abomination]

First off- be patient! You cant just expect your bird to step up. How long have you had him? If he is hesitant in stepping up, try having him in his cage and talk to him. Say nice things like how much you love him. Trust me,it goes a long way. When he is comfortable with that, start putting your hands next to him- outside of the cage, if he is shy. Then carefully pet him, if he'll allow it. Then ask him to step up. do not do this in one day, and dont stretch training sessions longer than 5mins at first. Do this daily, and dont lose hope!! If he bites, hes just scared and not used to you. Use his favorite treat to reward him as soon as he does the desired behavior, at first. Timing a reward is essential, or he wont know What hes being rewarded for. If he does an undesirable behavior, say biting, simply put him down(dont drop him!) And do something else and he will rethink what Tom your attention away from him,or pull your finger out slowly so you don't stake him, but not completely away, as he will think that is a sure way to get rid of you.

I've had him for about 6+ months, him and I have had a decent bond, but nothing extreme. I can touch him and even play with him (sort of...) Hang him upside down, etc. Just STEPPING UP seems to make him make a "Crying" noise. He never bites when I attempt to step up, just rejecting by putting his beak down or making that noise, which i still insist on him stepping up, so he will, it's just the short argument sorta that he doesn't want to is the problem for that aspect.

 

[SolarEclipse]

What ive heard is that they instinctively step up if you make a ladder with your fingers and just keep asking to step up, and if they dont, press their belly lightly. Hopefully this works, and good luck with your bond! Do everything you can to make anything you do with your bird positive. Also have him step up then carry him to a place he likes to be, like another place in his cage, then he will associate "step up" and hands as something good.

 

[emilygw87]

I have a new sun conure that I'm having very similar problems with. He was found in a tree and has been with me a little more than a week, so I'm still getting to know him, but it became obvious very quickly that he didn't like stepping up on fingers and much more preferred to be on our shoulders. He would squawk at our fingers and push them away with his beak. If we got adamant he would bite, not too hard, but it was clear he didn't want to be on our fingers. This made it very difficult to get him back in his cage. I would have to push him around my shoulders to his cage. Once inside I would scratch his head and tell him he's a good bird, hoping that next time he'd get the hint. Today he wasn't feeling well and when I tried to get him out of his cage to go to the vet, he would fall back until he was hanging upside down on his perch! I know I still have a lot of work to do with him, and he's very new to me, but I need to find a treat suitable for him just as you do. He LOVES nectarines but I don't want to chop up little bitty pieces of nectarine every time I need treats for him. Other than not stepping up, he's a wonderful bird. He's very sweet and loves to snuggle. The second day I had him he crawled into my shirt and stayed there until I kicked him out nearly an hour later. He loves being with us. Anywhere but on our fingers.

 

[SolarEclipse]

I have a new sun conure that I'm having very similar problems with. He was found in a tree and has been with me a little more than a week, so I'm still getting to know him, but it became obvious very quickly that he didn't like stepping up on fingers and much more preferred to be on our shoulders. He would squawk at our fingers and push them away with his beak. If we got adamant he would bite, not too hard, but it was clear he didn't want to be on our fingers. This made it very difficult to get him back in his cage. I would have to push him around my shoulders to his cage. Once inside I would scratch his head and tell him he's a good bird, hoping that next time he'd get the hint. Today he wasn't feeling well and when I tried to get him out of his cage to go to the vet, he would fall back until he was hanging upside down on his perch! I know I still have a lot of work to do with him, and he's very new to me, but I need to find a treat suitable for him just as you do. He LOVES nectarines but I don't want to chop up little bitty pieces of nectarine every time I need treats for him. Other than not stepping up, he's a wonderful bird. He's very sweet and loves to snuggle. The second day I had him he crawled into my shirt and stayed there until I kicked him out nearly an hour later. He loves being with us. Anywhere but on our fingers.

dont let him on your shoulders if he bites. If he gets the sense that hes higher up than you, he will think he is in charge and start nipping you. No shoulders till he is tame.

 

[emilygw87]

I hadn't thought about him linking being higher up to being more dominant. I hope he settles down quickly, as it will be very hard to keep him off our shoulders. The only times he has bitten have been when we are trying to get him to come out of his cage or get him off our shoulders to go back in. Only once did it hurt at all, and that was the third day we had him when I was trying to get him into his new cage. It was probably my fault because he wasn't familiar with the cage but I had to leave so he had to go in. He always squawks before he bites, and he would rather push our fingers with his beak rather than bite. The biting he reserves for when we force him to do something he doesn't want to do. We are still getting to know each other and I certainly don't want him to think that biting is ok. I know I need to find treats for him to start training him to do the things he doesn't want to do, like go back into his cage or step up, but it will be very hard to interact with him and keep him off our shoulders. I think the next step is to find a treat and start working on stepping up. In the mean time I will keep him off our shoulders.

Any idea why our suns don't like to step up? Anybody have any luck with specific treats?

 

[Abomination]

What ive heard is that they instinctively step up if you make a ladder with your fingers and just keep asking to step up, and if they dont, press their belly lightly. Hopefully this works, and good luck with your bond! Do everything you can to make anything you do with your bird positive. Also have him step up then carry him to a place he likes to be, like another place in his cage, then he will associate "step up" and hands as something good.

Instinctively, but he gets aggravated after about 10 times, but yeah maybe I should try associating a step up with something good.

I have a new sun conure that I'm having very similar problems with. He was found in a tree and has been with me a little more than a week, so I'm still getting to know him, but it became obvious very quickly that he didn't like stepping up on fingers and much more preferred to be on our shoulders. He would squawk at our fingers and push them away with his beak. If we got adamant he would bite, not too hard, but it was clear he didn't want to be on our fingers. This made it very difficult to get him back in his cage. I would have to push him around my shoulders to his cage. Once inside I would scratch his head and tell him he's a good bird, hoping that next time he'd get the hint. Today he wasn't feeling well and when I tried to get him out of his cage to go to the vet, he would fall back until he was hanging upside down on his perch! I know I still have a lot of work to do with him, and he's very new to me, but I need to find a treat suitable for him just as you do. He LOVES nectarines but I don't want to chop up little bitty pieces of nectarine every time I need treats for him. Other than not stepping up, he's a wonderful bird. He's very sweet and loves to snuggle. The second day I had him he crawled into my shirt and stayed there until I kicked him out nearly an hour later. He loves being with us. Anywhere but on our fingers.

I agree, It's hard to find something so small that you can resume training ASAP And keep his mind on one track, yet rewarding.

dont let him on your shoulders if he bites. If he gets the sense that hes higher up than you, he will think he is in charge and start nipping you. No shoulders till he is tame.

I understand this, he doesn't get aggressive, he get's mad that he can't remain on my shoulder, he just squawks or makes a "whining noise".

 

[MikeyTN]

I do training session for 25min+ each time and I do it multiple times per day on a daily basis. IF he refuses to step up and makes a fuss, use a perch! Use two perches, to practice going back and fourth. Praise him when he does it, but be firm when training. Once doing well on the perches, then use your hand. Go back and fourth between hands. During anytime he is refusing the step up, use the perch on one side and your hand on the other, he will go for the hand. Just keep on practicing on a daily basis, you'll get there!

 

[drj130]

One thing that you might be able to use as a treat is seeds. Now that I've gotten Pat off that all seed diet, I can now use them as treats for when Pat good things and for training as well.

You can still use them as treats if that is their diet. Just watch and see which one(s) they like the most and have a stockpile out of sight but you can get to for reward during training.

 

[SolarEclipse]

I hadn't thought about him linking being higher up to being more dominant. I hope he settles down quickly, as it will be very hard to keep him off our shoulders. The only times he has bitten have been when we are trying to get him to come out of his cage or get him off our shoulders to go back in. Only once did it hurt at all, and that was the third day we had him when I was trying to get him into his new cage. It was probably my fault because he wasn't familiar with the cage but I had to leave so he had to go in. He always squawks before he bites, and he would rather push our fingers with his beak rather than bite. The biting he reserves for when we force him to do something he doesn't want to do. We are still getting to know each other and I certainly don't want him to think that biting is ok. I know I need to find treats for him to start training him to do the things he doesn't want to do, like go back into his cage or step up, but it will be very hard to interact with him and keep him off our shoulders. I think the next step is to find a treat and start working on stepping up. In the mean time I will keep him off our shoulders.

Any idea why our suns don't like to step up? Anybody have any luck with specific treats?

If you can tell the signs before he bites, he's warning you to back off before he does. If you can read that, that's fantastic, and it'll save you some pain!If he does that, simply try again another time or with a treat. He's mostly probably still scared of you, as an owner, and needs time to adjust. He will bite in the beginning, but once he's used to you're asking and he knows what you want, he will not make such a fuss, but there are times when even trained birds don't want to socialize! I do t even have a conure (yet) and I learned all this to know what to do should this occur!