New Sun Conure Question.....

[tadd82]

I got my new sun conure from Petsmart and have had he/she home now for almost a week. Named it Calypso because I'm absolutely captivated by it (obviously leaning towards she). Calypso is now comfortable enough to eat from my hand and when I enter the room races around the bars of the cage to the the front to greet me. All is well but Calypso won't let me touch "her" at all. Any attempt and I get screeched at and "she" tries to bite my finger. This is understandable since it has only been approximately a week but my question is how am I suppose to allow "her" out of the cage if I can't handle "her". I don't want to freak Calypso out when it's time to go back in by having to catch "her", but I know out of the cage time is important too. Any suggestions?

 

[Sc0tt]

Out of the time cage isn't important until your bird is ready for it.

Just open the cage door so she can come out when/if she wants too. Could be minutes, could be days, etc.

Just try leaving it open and doing normal activities, not making her the center of attention so she doesn't feel uncomfortable and I think you will find she starts warming up :]

 

[Julianna]

Target training! I've recommended this to almost anyone with questions about taming birds...I think training helps birds to get used to their owners and bond with their owners, and it's a great way to be able to move your bird around without picking it up. Here's a video explaining how target training works: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c]How to Target Train Your Parrot | Parrot Training - YouTube[/ame]

 

[tadd82]

Ok I've been trying to do my reading on these guys and just keep seeing "out of cage" being stressed but I see your point. So I should probably give a bit so she can warm up a bit more? I just don't want her to regress on the trust issues if I have to corral her to get her back in. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Julianna]

By the way I absolutely agree with Sc0t, too. I definitely would not recommend corralling, toweling, or using any other force to get her back in her cage, because, as you say, it would probably cause her to lose trust in you.

 

[tadd82]

I will just give it a little longer then. Every day she shows another sign of a stronger bond. Today, for the first time, she started this loud screech when I leave the bedroom. It didn't last long but in a weird way it made me feel good knowing she cares enough to get upset that I leave. Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[Superxdude]

I've only had two Sun Conures but both have had open top cages. It allowed Connor and now Chopper to come to us whenever they felt ready.

Connor was 2-3 years old and the bond took 3-4 months to build complete trust. While he still had issues at times stepping up, Chopper is the compete opposite. Get near the cage? He'll fly to you and start making his little happy "buc buc" noises as I call them.

 

[tadd82]

I would love to have an open top but the presents of a 2 year old and 2 large dogs dictates that to be a bad idea.....lol