Can I give up looking for his owner?

[Ravennessa]

So, after last fiasco seeing if it was Jacob's owner, they never got back to me... I wonder if I can give up on finding his owner with good conscience?

Legally it's ten days, he has been reported to all the right authorities, ACC, the parrot rescues (both suffolk and nassau), Ive scavenged CL NY, NJ, CT, PA, he's listed on the sites as well as I have looked on them.. I even went to Newsday and looked at their lost and found (in case a little old person was using the paper as opposed to internet)

It's been about 4-5 weeks in total, and honestly I love the little guy, I don't think the landlord will give me problems for keeping him, cause first he was like ok if you don't find the owners you have to adopt him out since parrots can be so loud.. His grand daughter then wanted him and he ok'd that, I figured since she was young she'd grow tired of the responsibility (and I was right), now he has really grown on me, I've discovered that I plan around him like I do with the dog and lizards, and I am thinking that the landlord can't really say no now... Besides Knock wood, Jacob is fairly quiet, he has maybe 2-3 turns of 30 second screeching a day and that's it. He does get 2-3 hours of attention every day though where I play with him and the dog and I take him for walks when I walk the dog.

So as long as he don't start screaming a lot I don't think landlord will really care, and if he does my bf as already declared he will bring him to his place. Cause I am saving to buy my own house in three years anyhow which is nothing for a conure since they can live so long..

I want honest opinion, do you guys feel I can chip him and register him to me without feeling guilty? So far I have spent 600 on him (granted parrot stand was maybe not necessary but I couldn't resist) and I don't think anyone is going to want to reimburse me for Parrot care either.. Not that I'd expect the whole amount, but some of it since I had to ensure he was healthy etc..

 

[JerseyWendy]

.....
I want honest opinion, do you guys feel I can chip him and register him to me without feeling guilty?.....

YES! You've certainly gone above and beyond trying to find Jacob's owner.

ENJOY HIM!! You've already done a tremendous job with him.

 

[kellie]

I think you've done all you can! I'd say he's as good as yours! I know when I lost my bird years ago, after a few weeks I knew I wasn't going to find him, and the best I could hope for was that someone else did and was taking half as great of care of him as you are towards the little guy! I'll rest easy, you did your part.

Also, on the apartment noise thing, I live in an apartment where you can hear most things through the walls such as cabinets closing and vacuuming, but I've had talks with my wall neighbor and though she can hear all that she has NEVER once heard my bird.... And he screams a lot more than yours does! He will probably scream for 5-8 minutes 2-3 times per day... and he's a sun... so his scream is LOUUUD!

So I wouldn't worry too much about that... your neighbors probably won't even complain. I think that maybe highpitched noises don't travel as well through walls as low pitched ones do... He will probably barely bother your neighbors at all so long as you don't have open windows and doors (cause that'll let the sound through).

So happy for you and your new little flock member!!

 

[Ravennessa]

I haven't done anything with him.. I have trained dogs for 14 years now, and I work a lot with aggressive dogs. Key is often enrichment and give them a job to do, consistency and a benevolent leadership. This guy came trained, he was a little screechier at first but he had to learn me and me him etc.. So that I'd say was to be expected.. So I have just ensured that I've been consistent, and I reward the right behaviors. It is funny though, cause he never poops on me, or my furniture, but when the young girl had him he'd poop on her bed, but she never gave him the right area to poop on. With me now he will hold it for an hour or two, the second I place him back on his cage he poops, or he will climb away from me then I KNOW that ok he gotta go so I place him on his cage.. So I have NO issues with poop where I do not want it..

And his social skills, he loves the world, he loves riding the car, he is learning to ride the dog, (yes I ensure it's safe my dog will lay down and let the bird climb all over him in the bed, we do evening cuddles the three of us odd pack but yet a pack), I can hand him to anyone, he NEVER bites.. He is amazing, which is why I have looked so hard for his owners, I still have a hard time believing that he was let out, I think he's an escapee. He was a loved bird, he was so well kept and well adjusted, no way he has been neglected or poorly handled. I mean he even was well behaved at the vets office when they SWABBED HIM.. No screaming, no biting, no fighting.. I don't think he has had a bad experience in his life with humans.. However I can't take credit for how amazing he is, he came like this! lol (I got VERY lucky)

But I appreciate your opinion, it would be nice to make it official if you know what I mean..

Oh and he's a new favorite in my local deli store.. When I come in the first thing they ask.. Where's birdy? lol

Kellie, I rent a room, we are three people in the house whereas one work nights, so if he was loud during the day that could very well be an issue.. That's my worry..

 

[Pajarita]

Well, if you are talking about the sunnie in your avatar, please note that he is still in his honeymoon stage and hasn't started to scream but he will and sunnies (same as Sundays and Jendays) have the loudest, most piercing and most often screams of all the parrots. I have several species but the only screams you hear coming out of the birdroom are the sun and the Sunday conures (and it's not because they are lonely, either because both have mates).

As to microchiping the bird... well, I would suggest you treat him as your own but wait a bit on the microchiping, just in case the old owner shows up and takes exception to it (I don't like microchiping birds and would be mighty upset if it was done to one of mine).

 

[Ravennessa]

I don't know.. I don't think he will start screaming.. If he did wouldn't he be screaming more as opposed to less than he did from the start? Whats a honey moon phase? I am guessing its similar to rescue dogs what we call unpacking, you don't see their true colors until after a month? cause stress has put them into a more passive state of personality?

 

[Pajarita]

Yes, stress if part of the reason but the other one is that screaming calls attention to yourself and parrots don't give their trust to a stranger so easily.

There is always a honeymoon stage with a new parrot, they don't scream, they don't bite you, they don't destroy anything and you think you lucked out and found the perfect bird but this behavior is only temporary. Parrots find comfort in routines and habits, they dislike change because change means, in their mind, that something is wrong (in the wild, they live their entire lives with the same individuals and follow pretty much the same schedule day after day after day). They are also highly social animals which find security in numbers. A parrot that goes to a new house is alone (read vulnerable) and lost in terms of what is going to happen next (he has no previous point of reference) so he tries to blend into the woodwork and not call attention to itself until he can figure things out.

I also used to work with aggressive dogs (managed a shelter and fostered the special needs ones as well as the aggressive) and the one thing I can tell you is that you can't really use the same techniques on parrots as you do for dogs. And this is not only because dogs have been domesticated for over 30,000 years and bred to be a man's companion while parrots are undomesticated or because they are mammals while birds are not, it's mostly because they have completely different social structures.

 

[Ravennessa]

Ahh that's awesome, I work with the shelters as well. Always nice to meet a fellow dog lover.

I don't know what methods you have used but I am positive trainer. I work with clicker, counter conditioning, extinction, BAT etc.. And when I spoke to the parrot rescue about how to handle him they said that a lot of those methods works on parrots. I think the key is to make sure he can be a bit independent as well as be tired when I put him back in the cage. (I was giving him too much attention before) Even my savannah monitor has responded to that training and he is not half as intelligent as a parrot..

Basically a tired pet is a good pet and he has been great, not perfect just almost, he did nibble on my doors in the beginning, or window seal, when he did, I took him, said no, gave him a toy in his cage.. Took a few times and he stopped, but he wasn't severe. When he screamed I would leave the room and not come back in until he was quiet, and I would reward low talk. Now he will only screams when he get super happy which is when I break out his favorite treats, and that goes on for a few seconds and then hes quiet (I dont give him a treat until he's quiet). When we go outside he gets loud, but he loves it, so that's fine.. He needs to get an outlet for that too, but he is def learning inside voice opposed to outside voice. I have to say I have seen plenty of suppressed animals and he don't seem like it. He is also an older conure the vet thinks between 2-5 he's not a hormonal baby, so I do suspect this is who he is.. Time will tell, trust me you will find out if you were right cause Ill run here panicked asking for help if my methods don't work.

From what I have seen here on the forums they have as many personalities as all the different shelter dogs have. I may be wrong, but I hope Im right

 

[PetoftheDay]

You have done more than most people would, I think you can stop looking. Keep in mind someone might still see the listing and claim him - I am thinking as it is summer, maybe someone went on vacation and the person pet-sitting got careless, so they wouldn't know to start looking until they gout home ... but otherwise, I think you have yourself a bird!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Back in the 90s I had a Sun Conure in Germany. Was he loud? Yes, sometimes. How loud was it? Pretty ear piercing - I won't sugar coat it. But it wasn't all day, or all the time. AND he was very easily distracted, which was GREAT because we had downstairs tenants. NEVER had a complaint.

And talking about loud birds....I'll actually take a Sunnie over 2 hollering big macs ANY given day.

 

[Abigal7]

I think you can with a easy mind keep him as your own bird. Conures are great birds but sun conures have a pitch that some people can not stand. I would be surprised if he doesn't start screaming some. For example he may start making racket when he knows you are leaving to go to work. My bird has started squawking when I go out the door for work. I am not saying this bird will have a big flip in personality or there is a high chance he will bite you. He probably will stay nice towards you but unless you watch him when he is out of his cage he can start to destroy things around the apartment.