New member seeking knowledge...

[rebel619]

Hello all, I am new to the form, I am a 27 m living in San Diego CA. Reason for joining is recent purchase of a 3 month old blue crown conure, he will be 4 months Dec 8th, I nicknamed "duke"...the reason I bought him/her? Was to give to my mom for Christmas, she had a parrot long ago (not sure what kind) that lived to be 25! And she was heart broken so i decided when I got the chance I would purchase her another one, well I was at the local swap meet this weekend and came across a sweet deal on him/her? He had two and both were hand raised, he had quite a selection, and all looked very clean and bright nice colors, I wasn't sure what to to get, so I told him my price range and something that talked (as my mothers old parrot talked) he recommended a few ling story short, I walked out with "duke". He/her? Has been home for three days and has gotten comfortable the first day he was really sketchy and being nippy, I've held him for three days scratched him, and he likes it I've only been bit once but he was really pissed and I shouldn't of approached him...he's only sketchy when i try and pick him up, once he's up he's fine, so that's something were working on...my mom is scared of him/her? Cause of the bite Mark he left me so I am stuck training him...witch sucks cause now I'm getting attached to him/her? I am planning on a trip to the vet next week just to make sure everything is A OK ...

 

[rebel619]

Here is "duke"...He loves bananas and plums!

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum,it's hard to gift a bird. You might fall in love and have to get your mom a pair of slippers instead.LOL

 

[rebel619]

Welcome to the forum,it's hard to gift a bird. You might fall in love and have to get your mom a pair of slippers instead.LOL

Haha, I like your style...

 

[Lacey]

Wecome!! Well the difficulty with this is that parrots may only bond to one person. If you do the training and the work, he is going to bond with you. Taking a bite comes with having birds. Once Duke bonds to you, it will be extremely hard not only for you but also for Duke to give him to your mom. He could be aggressive towards her etc. Just food for thought;-)

 

[beckybird]

Hi : )
I have a blue crowned conure too (Lincoln), and I got him when he was 3 months old. He was extremely skittish for several months and did not like to be touched at all. I began training him to be more friendly by telling him what I was going to do before actually handling him. For example, I'd say "toe touch" and then touch his toe gently. When he got used to that I'd say "head touch, beak touch, or wing touch." He started to really trust me when he began to understand the connection between the words I was saying and the gentle touch that came after.

He is still not a "cuddly" bird and doesn't like to be held or have his head scritched, but when he wants to be handled he will tell me "toe touch" or his favorite, "beak touch." He also knows "shake" and will hold up his foot and let me give him a good little foot-shake when I say "shake." He will fly to me and say "Kiss, mwah!" when he wants a gentle kiss on the beak. When he wants a snack he will fly to me and ask, "Do you want some nummy num?" When he gets tired and wants to go into his cage and be covered he'll urgently squawk, "Do you wanna go night-night?" After going into his cage and having it all covered he will let me know if the TV is too loud! He'll hiss Shhhhhh! at me, repeat "Do you wanna go night-night?" and tell me to "go in the cage." He needs his space sometimes.

Blue crowned conures are extremely intelligent and can be trained to do and say so many things. I wish you the best of luck with the new little blue crown! They're fantastic!

 

[MikeyTN]

It reminds me of the movie "Paulie" everytime I see a Blue Crown Conure. Or the one in Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill....they're so cute! But not my cup of tea as I turn conures away all the time. One of the specie I can not tolerate....

 

[Lacey]

Can I ask MikeyTN? The reason I ask is because I don't know the species.

 

[MikeyTN]

All the conures I've been around just scream all the time. Even the ones I owned before. They got to me after being around them for 3 years on a daily basis. I give them to my best friend when I moved as they like him better anyways....

 

[Lacey]

Oh wow! So probably not a parrot to consider when I already have a needy hormonal U2 then! Thank you for your reply.

 

[MikeyTN]

It will probably teach your U2 to scream more...lol....if you wanted conures, get the smaller package ones like Green Cheeks. They don't scream like their cousins....

 

[Lacey]

Lol! Well I think I want a CAG, but just exploring right now. I appreciate the advice though!!

 

[rebel619]

Thanks for all the info ladies and gentlemen learning more and more everyday!

 

[rebel619]

Hi : )
I have a blue crowned conure too (Lincoln), and I got him when he was 3 months old. He was extremely skittish for several months and did not like to be touched at all. I began training him to be more friendly by telling him what I was going to do before actually handling him. For example, I'd say "toe touch" and then touch his toe gently. When he got used to that I'd say "head touch, beak touch, or wing touch." He started to really trust me when he began to understand the connection between the words I was saying and the gentle touch that came after.

He is still not a "cuddly" bird and doesn't like to be held or have his head scritched, but when he wants to be handled he will tell me "toe touch" or his favorite, "beak touch." He also knows "shake" and will hold up his foot and let me give him a good little foot-shake when I say "shake." He will fly to me and say "Kiss, mwah!" when he wants a gentle kiss on the beak. When he wants a snack he will fly to me and ask, "Do you want some nummy num?" When he gets tired and wants to go into his cage and be covered he'll urgently squawk, "Do you wanna go night-night?" After going into his cage and having it all covered he will let me know if the TV is too loud! He'll hiss Shhhhhh! at me, repeat "Do you wanna go night-night?" and tell me to "go in the cage." He needs his space sometimes.

Blue crowned conures are extremely intelligent and can be trained to do and say so many things. I wish you the best of luck with the new little blue crown! They're fantastic!

WOW...I didn't know BCC could have such big vocabulary, (from what I've read online) very impressive...

 

[beckybird]

: ) Yes, blue crowns can really talk your ear off! My favorite "Lincoln story" is the story of the day he scolded my son right along with me. My son is forgetful and I am constantly reminding him to brush his teeth before school. One day after school I was giving my son his 3rd or 4th strict reminder to do his homework. I was quite peeved and I'm sure Lincoln could hear the irritation in my voice all the way down the hall because he chimed in with a loud reprimand of his own, "Julian! Come here! Quick! Brush your teeth!" That's the only time he ever said that, but it was absolutely unbelievable to me!

 

[rebel619]

: ) Yes, blue crowns can really talk your ear off! My favorite "Lincoln story" is the story of the day he scolded my son right along with me. My son is forgetful and I am constantly reminding him to brush his teeth before school. One day after school I was giving my son his 3rd or 4th strict reminder to do his homework. I was quite peeved and I'm sure Lincoln could hear the irritation in my voice all the way down the hall because he chimed in with a loud reprimand of his own, "Julian! Come here! Quick! Brush your teeth!" That's the only time he ever said that, but it was absolutely unbelievable to me!

Wow...Haha thats funny, duke just found out how to open his cage:11:

 

[Mamanda]

Hi : )
For example, I'd say "toe touch" and then touch his toe gently. When he got used to that I'd say "head touch, beak touch, or wing touch." He started to really trust me when he began to understand the connection between the words I was saying and the gentle touch that came after.

I did the SAME thing, except I would just say "Mama touch" and that let Keen know that I was going to touch her. She seemed more upset that she didn't know WHAT I was going to do when moving my hand toward her, than me actually touching her once I did make contact. Now she trusts me more and I rarely have to "give notice". It worked awesome though and still does when she seems a little weary.