Skitty the Sun Conure & his daddy - The days our lives together.

[Skittys_Daddy]

@ravensgryf I've noticed a lot of other suns have a lot less orange and more yellow. All I know is both his parents have deep orange as well.

His coloring is very much like 'neon'.

We had an 'interesting' day the other day. I was drying clothes on the line and he likes to sit on the line and 'swing from it'. I can't tell you how many times I've caught him 'upside down' just hanging there. (Below is an example). But he also likes to 'remove' the plastic clothespins. I'll be in the living room and here something hit the floor and then he'll let out one single screech. He continues to do this. I used to go and pick them up and put them back only to have him do it all over again, so I just let him have his fun.

He also likes to 'show off' his one foot hangs..
H

He also seems to think he's Batbird...

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

You can especially see the 'neon' in that last pic.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Very beautiful!!! His colors are just amazing. I can't get over them!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

What amazes me about suns is how colorful their personality is as well. Usually you get one or the other - but with suns I think you get the whole package (I'm sure this is true of other parrots as well).

Skittles is quite mischeivous, perhaps quite is an understatement. He is always up to something. He keeps me on my toes, which is a good thing. He is also a manipulative little bugger at times too. Whenever he gets into things he's not supposed to and I scold him (I say things like "no", "get away from there" and "stop") he knows what these phrases mean. He will stop (such as chewing on something he shouldn't). But he then makes 'kissy noises'. Sometimes he will try again, but he usually stops by then. It amazes me how obedient he is, considering his species.

My best friend down the hall calls Skittles 'froggy', cause he makes little 'froggy noises' whenever I talk. It's like he's talking back, it's so funny!

I just love how much the people here love their fids. It's refreshing. So many people out there think of birds as just a pet, to be kept caged - not allowed to fly cause they may 'poop everywhere'. Well, owning any companion animal is messy. And vaccuuming up discarded food or tiny feathers as well as cleaning up little droppings is not exactly brain surgery nor back-breaking work. LOL.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Not sure if anyone here has ever heard of Jeff Dunham. He's a ventriloquist, and a funny one at that. His puppet, "Peanut" reminds me so much of Skittles it isn't funny.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Haha! Peanut is hilarious! That's funny that you compare him to peanut. Harley is a handful. I love him to pieces
The only time he is in his cage is when he's in time out, or I leave my house or its bedtime. He's known for chewing on things he shouldn't. Such as his players we made him out of wood. He chews on his perches inside his cage. And when I tell him 'stop' or 'knock it off' he looks at me, cocks his head and quacks at me. When I go to eat dinner(or anything for that matter) he feels he's entitled to what I'm eating. If he can't see me, he flies around looking for me. We play hide and seek. He like to do this thing where he rants for 20 minutes about all sorts of stuff. Half of it I can't understand. When we watch a movie and scary music comes on he says 'Uh oh Uh oh uh oh!' and bobs his head up and down really fast. He sees himself in the mirror and calls the 'other bird' an asshole... He'll ask me 'whatcha doin? Whatcha doin? Whatcha doin?' then answers himself with 'nothin'. I love his personality it's quite unique. Your skittles sounds like a little trouble maker. Lol

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Yeah, I'm glad it's Peanut and not Walter or god forbid, Achmed. Though Skittles can be grumpy and destructive.

"Whatcha doin"? That's funny. Reminds me of that lady with the 'Peekaboo Parrots' YouTube channel. She has a IRN parakeet named 'Bowie' who is just the cutest thing.

Skittles is that way too, free flighted. I think that's the main reason he is so quiet. He is happy outside his cage. He does get into things as well. Not so much anymore,

Skittles has a MAJOR fabric fetish. He loves to rub his face against towels and such - he makes a little 'purring' noise when he does it, it's adorable.

He 'eats' my shirts - so I wear 'white tshirts' around the house and I let him chew on them. So now he leaves my 'colored' shirts alone. He knows which ones he can chew on and which he can't. I find that the best way to prevent them from chewing on things they shouldn't is to provide them with alternatives. They really just want something to chew.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Harley chews on my tank tops all the time! His playgym is wooden so I have wood shreds all over the house. I love when Harley does his little 'purr' usually when he sees the outside birds and is talking to them.

We are using the spray bottle method to get him to stop chewing the wood and plastic. It's a work in progress. But he sit with me on my shoulder and just chew my tank tops. It funny because he tongues them to death. My feather baby (and everyone else's feathered babies) are just too funny sometimes.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I have a spray bottle as well, but it's been a long time since I've had to use it. Usually, when I go to grab it he'll stop before I spray him. Funny thing is though, IF he's NOT misbehaving he doesn't react to the bottle. It's funny, like he knows he's not supposed to do that.

I used to have such a hard time with him. Getting him to mind me and stop doing things he shouldn't. My friend told me that I had to stop letting him get away with anything and everything and set some boundaries. So I did, and it has been much better since. He and I have an understanding. LOL.

I went to Walmart today and someone on the bus asked me why I didn't have Skittles with me. I told her he stayed home this time. Sometimes I take him with me when I go shopping - he never makes a peep.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Awww, that's precious! I can't take harley outside.... He has already taken of once. Thank God he scared himself and was crying for me. That's the way I knew where he was. That was a scary day...

We have an understanding to some degree. He knows not to bite the hand that feeds him. He knows not to bite my boyfriend too. He knows who rules the roost. I pressure trained him as far as biting. He knows what 'no' means because when I'm eating and don't want him to come near me I will say in a Stern voice 'no' and he stays. Other than that he's either on me preening me or trying to feed me. More times than not he just hangs out with me. We watch TV together. He's on me when I draw. Or read. Lol he's my shadow. Always everywhere I'm at.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Harley is adorable. I especially like that peacock feather pattern on his neck.

I take Skittles out in a 'travel cage'. He will actually go in all on his own cause he knows it means 'day trip'. I doubt he'd take off if I did let him sit on my shoulder - but I'd be more concerned about another animal getting hold of him or him getting spooked. Not to mention he might attack anyone who is near me.

He's such a riot. He was making a fuss earlier and I couldn't figure out why, then he sat on the faucet and sneezed - so I knew he wanted a bath. Sometimes I'll be on the computer and I'll hear him let out one peep, and then a few seconds later he'll let out a couple more. I turn around and he is sitting by his treat bag. It's adorable. He does know how to communicate.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Awww!!!! We have Harleys treats sitting under his cage on his table. How our living room is set up is his cage is in front of the windows and then the right hand side of the table has the couch near it. So I'll be sitting there and he will strut his little butt down to the bottom of his cage, walk down his door and look at me. Then look below him. Then back at me. Then he quacks. So I'll ask him if he wants a seed ball and he'll quack again!

When I or my boyfriend brush our teeth, harley will sit on the soap holder and try to get into our toothbrushes to get under the water for a bath. Or he'll yell at us.

I love how they find ways to communicate with us so we know. And thank you, harley is going through his first hard molt. He's almost 1 1/2 years old. So he's like a teething toddler and a hormonal teenage boy. -_-

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Yeah, they DO know how to communicate their needs! Way better than us humans in most cases.

The truth is, I see and hear of so many stories of people re-homing birds because of 'behavior issues' that they don't even attempt to address. If you keep a parrot locked in a cage all day, of course it's gonna screech. If you invade it's space or it feels threatened, of course its gonna bite.

I had SOOOOO many behavioral issues with Skittles in the beginning. But I did research and learned to 'communicate' with him and now it's just a matter of trying to understand what he is saying.

For example, when Skittles wants juice, he sits on the top of fridge. He has these little patterns that I figured out. There are normal places he likes to perch and then there are places he only goes for a specific reason. Figuring the two out wasn't brain surgery. LOL.

I had to make adjustments to my life to accommodate his needs as well. Sure, there is only so much you can change, but in my opinion - if you bring a companion bird into your home, you accept that responsibility.

It's so nice to hear someone else has the same type of relationship and communication with their bird as Skittles and I have.

I'm just thankful I was far more mature when I got Skittles.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

I completely agree. I had issues with Harley in the beginning. But it's to be expected. They're scared, in a new place, don't know if you're going to hurt them or protect them. We had to learn about one another and we had to earn one another's trust. And mutual respect. When he's in a funk, I leave him be. If he needs me, he knows where to find me.

I couldn't cage him for long. When he's in time out its usually a few minutes, but sometimes I give in. His face is just too cute! He looks like he's pouting them makes this miniature Falcon cry and it's just the cutest thing! When I go out to a doctor appointment or something, I give him a treat I know he likes (whether it be an apple piece or a pear if I have them) and a few seed balls to keep his anxiety down. His toys in his cage are always being rearranged to keep him foraging and his brain occupied. When my boyfriend and I go to sleep we make sure to say goodnight and that we love him otherwise he pours and cries out all night. He's never in his cage during the day when I'm home unless HE wants to be in there. Even then, the cage door remains open so he doesn't feel like I'm trapping him. Or make him think he's in time out.

I could never rehome him. My heart would break. We actually got him over a cat, dog, rabbit, snake(I love snakes) or ferrets because of the dander issue. Birds have dander yes, but not like cats, dogs, ferrets or rabbits. So my boyfriend can handle it. Not to mention, my boyfriend would be heartbroken if we ever rehomed him. He's our baby.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I could never re-home Skittles. It will never happen. Even if he passed away, I don't think I could handle it. It'd take me too. Stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome) is very real. He is just so integral a part of my life.

I will miss him after I put him to bed and sometimes I used to wake him up (he is grouchy when I do that) just so I can see him. I don't do that anymore so much since I hung pictures of him and Peaches all over the apartment.

I carry pictures of him and Peaches in my wallet, so when I miss him when I'm out doing errands, I can look at them. I also get to 'show them off' to other people. LOL.

I can tell he is okay when I go to sleep cause he hears me get in bed and then he 'taps his beak' several times against the cage. I repeat it by knocking on my headboard the same number of times. It's just the greatest thing.

I don't really have a dander issue with Skittles. But I do with Peaches for sure. Cockatiels are VERY dusty animals.

I love all animals, including cats and dogs. But to me, cats are too 'independent' for me and I don't like the way dog-owners houses smell. It's just a me thing, but I can always tell when someone owns a dog by the scent. To each their own though. I know some people who say they could never handle the mess of birds (droppings, scattered food and feathers), not to mention the noise. But I can just tune it out. It takes excessive noise for prolonged periods of time to get to me.

I really don't need to give Skittles timeouts anymore. Occasionally, I have to put him back in his cage for various reasons but he always goes in on his own at my command. The only exception being if I try to put him to bed too early. He won't go in. But if I keep him up too late, he will go into his cage on his own and start screeching as if he's saying "Daddy, tuck me in. I'm tired!"

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I find that 95.% of the time he goes on his screeching binges he has a reason for it. That's how I'm able to control it. By just figuring out 'why' he is doing it.

I suppose some people would just think he's acting up and put him in a timeout, without considering his reasoning. There are the occasional times he does act up, but it's a rarity.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Oh that's funny. Harley starts falling asleep when he's tired. He'll start drifting off and rocking back and forth because he's tired. Then he looks at me like 'momma I'm tired... It's bed time'. So we put him to bed. I show him off everywhere! He's my baby! He doesn't really scream unless he's excited or talking to the outside birds. Other than that he just squawks or does chattering, or quacking sometime even purring. He's a riot. If something ever happened to Harley I wouldn't be able to handle it.

 

[BoomBoom]

I find that 95.% of the time he goes on his screeching binges he has a reason for it. That's how I'm able to control it. By just figuring out 'why' he is doing it.

I suppose some people would just think he's acting up and put him in a timeout, without considering his reasoning. There are the occasional times he does act up, but it's a rarity.

This is very true. The biggest challenge in parrot ownership is the ability to understand what your parrot is trying to tell you and to make them understand you as well. It's always a learning process for me.

I love reading your stories of Skittles. He is so full of character and expressive, and very beautiful. I can totally see myself and Boomer in the exact same situations you find yourself in. Like Skittles, he's got a fiery / feisty streak to him. Maybe they are lost long siblings haha!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Thank you BoomBoom. I enjoyed seeing your pics of you and Boomer. I almost said he looked just like my Skittles. LOL.

It is always a learning process. I've had birds since I was 11 and I continue to learn new things each day. It's always an 'adventure' with him and we don't even have to leave the house.

Recently he's taken a fondness to my large snow owl sculpture. He's so goofy.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

It was very hot out today, so I took Skittles to my appt. with me. He just loves the 'attention'. On the way back I stopped at D&Ds for a coolata like I do each week and their was this lovely elderly couple who were there the last time I brought Skittles in (LOL, funny coincidence). The man said to me 'is he still not for sale?'. The lady said 'is that the same one we saw last time?'.

I just love old people, they remind me of my grammy and aren't all glued to their cell phones like most people my age. LOL.

Then I stopped at the pharmacy. I just love how all the pharmacists come out from the back and gather around the counter and coo over him. He acts like it doesn't phase him but I know he's thinking 'yes, I know I'm beautiful, thank you very much'

Yesterday I had to go to pick up a movie at a local store and the mall that the store is in also has a PetLife store (where I bought Skittles four years ago). I bought him a bunch of new toys. He needed some new rope toys so I bought him a bunch. I replaced the hanging rope toy which he has had since I first got him and it's all worn.

I also got Peaches some treats. Peaches doesn't use toys much, other than her perch toys that have beads on them and her cuttle bone.

I made egg-salad earlier and as usual, he just freaks out when I 'shake' the eggs in the pan to crack them so I can open them after they are cooked. He likes to eat them though.