Untamed conure progress

[Serena344]

I've made a forum post on here a while ago but I have no clue how forums work so I can't find it back haha.

So I'm making a new one.

a month or 3 ago I adopted a presumably1 year old green cheek conure, the owners told me he wasn't ''tame'' and since they had a little kid that didn't want the bird anymore they had to put it away. so I took him over because i thought he deserved better.

I only know the kid grabbed him and that he got barely to none attenion from the owners at that time.

I took him home and soon enough I noticed he only wanted to eat seeds. I'm still trying to get him to eat fruit and have tried many of them.

he is not fond of dragonfruit, mango's, kiwi's , peers and many other fruits. at the moment he only accepts apples and strawberries.

anywats, in my last yournal I mentioned that he does not like hands. when I first got him he did not even want to come out of the cage.

At the moment he is outside of his cage everyday and is only locked at night time or when we have to leave the house. (we don't trust it to remain open because he has clipped wings and we have a dog)

there's a few things I got him to do, he is less afraid of taking food off my hands but it still takes him time to come and get it and mostly runs away to the other side of the cage again when he has the seed or piece of apple I gave him.

some people sugested making him step up on a stick but he is afraid of sticks the same way he is afraid of hands.

I mentioned we have a dog. and the bird actually likes the dog more than us to be frank haha, he is always trying to look for the dog and when the dog leaves the room he'll start screaming until he's back.
sometimes the bird jumps off the cage to chase the dog and pretty much follows him around the house while we have to keep walking after him to look out for him.

so it's been a few months now and the only thing I got the bird to do is take seeds from my hand sometimes, furthermore I'm next to his cage all day...

does anyone have some more tips to get him to like me? get some mutual respect or something?

i've tried getting him to take snacks and new toys and offering water. I've wanted to shower him but I can't get him on a stick either and he ignores bowl of water. right now he jumps in his water box every day to shower and I don't think thats very comfortable.

he is very interested in camera's though, and he's almost all day on his stick outside the cage (as in the photo)

sorry my english is horrible haha.

 

[jaxyk]

Hey Serena,

We have 2 male green cheeks, we got them together - Bean was 3 months and Kermit was a year. Kermit was more tame than Bean, although Bean's made great strides since. We're going to be embarking on a more formal training program with the two of them, but one of the biggest ways I've found to gain their trust is to talk with them - I'd sit and read out loud so they got used to the sound of my voice and to me. And singing - Kermit now sings along and dances, and Bean is participating more. It sounds like you're starting from a bit of a deficit with your little guy, and it may take some consistent trust building. It's so worth it tho, to see the reward of a happy settled bird who sees a flock around him. Good luck and keep posting - there are lots of people with a lot of knowledge and experience here!

Cheers,
Jacki