Cutting the Cord

[LoveMyConlan]

My 5 month old Sun Conure, Mouse, is driving me batty! She was not around other birds as she grew and has attached herself to me. When in the cage she is fine alone but as soon as I bring her out she's a clingy mess!

She's a major chewer, which I know Suns are, and she feels she MUST be on me on some way. If I place her down she refuses to go away no matter how many times I push her to the other side of the bed. As she is clipped she can't get to me if she's on her stand but she will sit there and bat her wings and pace until I pick her up. She'll step up and down when asked and is learning the 'come' command well.

In the cages she comfortable and will beg me to pick her up but after a few moments will relent and play with her toys. But when I bring her out, toys included, she won't leave me alone and will get mouthy. She's always been mouthy, which I've tried stopping, but she's going from just a gentle grab to pinch when I ignore her or push hey away. She's relentless!

How do I stop this? I've been trying to stop it for 2 weeks and have never really 'babied' her, but as I'm her only companion she's a needy thing. I don't want this to become any more of an issue but as cute as her cuddleyness is she's pushing into the Pushy/Needy biting. I want her out of this 'BABY ME' stage but don't want to break our bond

 

[SilverSage]

Does she have toys and/or food in the places that you are trying to leave her? It is natural for her to want to be touching you all the time, so if you want her to NOT do what is natural, you have to teach her to do something else instead. Try to distract her witha favorite treat or toy rather than simply pushing her away. Start slow and build up; don't expect her to go 15 minutes, much less an hour, without trying to climb onto you; start with 10 seconds, reward her for staying where she is (not on you, but playing with a toy or munching on a snack), and gradually extend the time that she stays on her own before she is rewarded. Whenever you want a bird to do something you need to think of it as training them to do something rather than keeping them from doing something. Dont just keep her away, teach her to entertain herself elsewhere. And remember, she is a conure, she still needs TONS of snuggles. Does she safely interact with Conlan at all?

 

[Kyoto]

My GCC was clingy like that for the first few months. Get her lots and lots of foot toys, and make them seem way more interesting than what you are doing. For me, Kyo will try to rip keys off my computer while I'm working on assignments, or take my pen from me. I got her these little birdie pencils that she loves to chew and fly around with (they are little dowel sticks painted with food colouring) and she also loves un-used 1 ounce ketchup cups. I often wrap up almonds or dried fruit in them for her to forage for.

Mind you, she still has days where she decides that there is nothing she wants more than to be on me, but that's fine. After caving in for a while she usually gets bored and finds something else to do.

Good luck!

 

[LoveMyConlan]

Does she have toys and/or food in the places that you are trying to leave her? It is natural for her to want to be touching you all the time, so if you want her to NOT do what is natural, you have to teach her to do something else instead. Try to distract her witha favorite treat or toy rather than simply pushing her away. Start slow and build up; don't expect her to go 15 minutes, much less an hour, without trying to climb onto you; start with 10 seconds, reward her for staying where she is (not on you, but playing with a toy or munching on a snack), and gradually extend the time that she stays on her own before she is rewarded. Whenever you want a bird to do something you need to think of it as training them to do something rather than keeping them from doing something. Dont just keep her away, teach her to entertain herself elsewhere. And remember, she is a conure, she still needs TONS of snuggles. Does she safely interact with Conlan at all?

Her and Conlan have a complex relationship.... Both are DNA sexed female but as Mouse wasn't really raised with other birds either she doesn't seem quite sure how to act when Conlan approaches her. Conlan can be sweet and try to groom her but when she touches her Mouse gets upset and Conlan backs off. Then there are some days Conlan is a witch and will try to snap at her. Needless to say they don't spend much time together. And right now Conlan is molting so she's extra grumpy :/

As for this, I have things like cats toy balls with bells, colored wooden sticks, her play stand has hanging toys and levels to play on. She just likes to sit on my arm, against my chest, lean back into me, pick up one foot, and chew on anything on reach. If I give her a toy when she's sitting on my leg or arm, she'll play with that but if I give it to her away from me she plays for like 2 seconds and comes back haha

 

[SilverSage]

Try higher reward toys and treats, like kyoto suggested. I use mini muffin cups for the same kind of thing she is talking about. Training is a process and you have to be consistent or you will just confuse your bird and hurt her feelings. Also, I would suggest working on the relationship between your two birds so that they can give each other some of that love. Conures are love sponges.