New Bird Owner Behavior Questions

Hi there!

I’m a longtime, experienced pet owner - first time bird owner. I’ve always wanted a bird, but was never in a situation that allowed it. I finally was able to fulfill my dream over Christmas, and I got a baby Green Cheek Conure named Fig (Hatched Nov 2020)

After only spending a month with him (or her - I want to keep it a mystery and not know ), this is already the most rewarding animal partnership I’ve ever had. I’m so in love with this little thing, and I cannot believe what an amazing personality he has.

We are running into a few snags & I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing.....

While he has a large jungle gym on the top of his cage with toys and shred things AND a smaller desktop jungle gym on my desk (I’m home, thanks Covid), he only wants to be on my desk, lap, arm, etc. I try to be patient and just put him back and it doesn’t matter. He bee-lines straight back to me. I’m perfectly fine playing the broken record and put him back each time, but it just doesn’t seem to be sticking. He is just attached to needing to be by me. There are times I’ve had to put him in his cage because I need to be on a call or a type something, and I can’t have him dangling from my shirt sleeve.

This brings up two other points of concern:
1. He is starting to rough house with me, and bite me pretty hard. I take his beak off and say “no” but like the getting him to stay in his jungle gym, we’ve mad zero progress and the bites are getting harder. Not sure if this is like the bird-equivalent of having a rambunctious kitten or puppy that wants to play-fight and he’ll grow out of this?
2. Kind of mentioned earlier - he doesn’t seem to have any interest in toys. I’ve tried buying a variety (a wood thing, a plastic bead thing, a paper thing, etc) he just wants to play with ... me. I’ve tried putting sunflower seeds in a paper wad - he loses interest. How do I get him to be a bit more... independent? (And this is not to say I dont want all his attention and affection and I know they are high maintenance critters .... but you know??)

TL;DR
1. How do I get my bird to spend more time on perches/jungle gyms and not on top of me?
2. Is rough housing for baby birds normal?
3. How do I get my bird interested in toys?

Welcome to the amazing green cheek world.
You definitely don't want to rough house, he/she has likely decided this is fun abd gets your attention. Teach dimple tricks instead, like picking something up and putting in a container, or turning circles. Bird tricks you tube has good video on foraging, on target training, ect.

Every parrot wants to be with us. You can use a ceiling hook and fishing line to hang a big rope spiral next to you. Attach stuff to shred to it like yucca chips. Birds are flock animals and are driven to stay close. Workable compromise...lol.. and bribes

I worked to have mine be caged for an hour or so, as I'm home and they are out all day. But when my health takes a turn they need to be caged. I started with short sessions, around when they usually nap. And put great things in the cage at that time. Millet, a slice of apple, popcorn. I was able to get them over the screaming mad, and to tolerate, and now they do great. Birds do well with routines and rituals, and pattern.

This is toy article, but also get creative, sbd DIY, definitely research foraging. https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/2018/10/10/my-parrot-wont-play-with-toys/

Covers behaviors
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

This article is great abd has lots of great stuff in it, like patterning, not just for stressed parrots at all, I have used many of the tips.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

And please have a digital kitchen scale and weigh your bird weekly. Burds hide being sick. Most will loose weight when sick, abd you can catch it early enough to have great outcomes. More than a 3 % weight-loss get your burd checked by a veterinarian, mire than 5% your bird can be very sick , get to a vet quickly, 10% van be a critically sick bird.

Here is a copy and paste of mine for people living with birds after a long time, or for the first time:
Birds can cause allergies-- especially cockatiels, african greys and cockatoos...but others as well.

One really important thing when keeping a pet bird in the house is that you cannot use scented products or chemicals/fumes in your home (even things that smell nice to us(---things like smoke, perfumes, air freshener, standard cleaners, vaping, burning food, incense, cigarettes, glue, paint, window sealing kits, polishes, aerosol sprays etc can harm your bird's sensitive respiratory system (which is not the same as mammals'). Using products that heat or are heated which contain Teflon/PTFE/PFCs = very very dangerous. These products off-gas and can kill a bird in under 5 minutes. Teflon/PTFE/PFOA/PFCs are most commonly found in the kitchen (pots, pans, cookie sheets, drip trays, air fryers, popcorn poppers, baking mats, crock pots, toasters, toaster ovens, popcorn poppers, waffle irons, electric skillets etc. They can also be found in space-heaters, curling irons, blow-dryers, straighteners, heat lamps, heat guns, irons, ironing board covers etc. These fumes have killed birds through closed doors and on separate floors of a home, so you should replace your cookware with stainless steel, cast iron or ceramic. You may be thinking-- well, I have used them before and my bird is fine, but they kill very inconsistently and it depends on what you are cooking, the age of the pot/pan, the specific bird etc. There was a member who lost many of her birds from a pan she had literally used for years...then one day, her husband cooked an egg (without burning or overheating) and many of them died, while the rest showed signs of respiratory distress.

You will need an avian-safe cleaner to use within your home (both on the bird cage, but also, around the house). Again, chemical cleaners cannot be used in the home unless avian safe. F10 SC (the yellow/clear concentrate) is a great, avian-safe disinfectant. Other (less effective) options include products such as "poop-off", white vinegar + water, grapefruit seed extract + water, baking soda etc. Peroxide is also fairly safe for disinfecting places like your bathroom, but you do not want your bird to come into contact with it.

Some foods are toxic to them--avocado, coffee (even decaf), caffeine, rhubarb, alcohol, onions/garlic/leeks/chives, mushrooms etc. Salt is also very bad for them, as is most human food. They love it, but it's not healthy.

They should not just eat seed--you will want to feed lots of washed fresh vegetables. Fruit is fine in moderation, but too much can lead to obesity and behavioral issues due to sugar. I feed my bird a mix of high-quality seed (no sunflowers, no peanuts) and pellets (in addition to fruit/veg). ECCLECTUS PARROTS SHOULD NOT EAT PELLETS. Fruit pits are toxic, as are apple seeds. Corn cob and certain nut shells (if swallowed in big pieces) can cause blockages, so you should be very cautious if you give your bird nuts in the shell. Peanuts can harbor aspergillosis, and should be avoided altogether (even they you often see them marketed towards parrots).

It is important to make sure that your bird's toys and cage are made of safe metals. Stainless steel is safest. They can get metal poisoning from playing with or mouthing objects made of unsafe metals.

They need a set amount of sleep each night (at least 10 hours) and the largest cage you can manage with lots of different perches. You want to avoid the totally smooth/round ones as they can lead to a condition called bumblefoot. Never place a cage near drafts and never allow cool air to blow on a bird. They are sensitive to drafts and any temperature shift greater than 10 degrees can cause a shock to their system.

They need lots of safe toys and safe wood to chew. Not all wood is safe, so don't just assume you can give them any kind you want. Pressure blasted or chemically treated wood (e.g., lumber and many other types of wood from the hardware contains toxic chemicals or are cut from trees that are naturally toxic.

They hide illness and so you have to watch them to make sure they are eating normally and pooping normally etc. You should try to find an avian vet (certified avian) if at all possible and take your bird AT LEAST 1 x yearly for an exam. An avian vet is NOT the same as an exotics vet who sees birds--- so if a certified avian vet is available within a few hours of where you live, you will want to set up care.

All parrots can easily confuse the relationship with their human for a sexual one. You don't want this to happen, even though it seems sweet at first. Stick to petting on the head and neck only (the rest is sexual) and do not allow your bird to play in shadowy places, like boxes or under furniture, as these spaces are similar nesting sites and are hormonal triggers. NO SNUGGLE HUTS/TENTS!

Food and water should be replaced daily--- wash the containers daily. Never leave wet food out for more than a few hours (as it can lead to bacterial growth). Never try to medicate a bird via drinking water and never add vitamins to water. Vitamins can be over-dosed easily and harm a bird. Plus, when you add things to water, it makes it impossible to know how much they have gotten and it also encourages bacterial growth. Sometimes it can prevent them from drinking adequately if they don't like the flavor of whatever it is you added. Citrus and fruits high in vitamin C should be given in extreme moderation because they can cause "Iron Storage Disease" (for a cockatoo, 1 small tangerine slice 1-2 times a week was okay, according to my vet).

These birds have the intelligence of 3-4-year-old human, but they are wild animals (not domesticated like dogs). This means that they see the world (and humans) in a very unique way and so you must learn about their behavior in order to prevent problems (screaming, plucking etc). They need lots of time out of their cage daily and a lot of interaction (at least a few hours). At the same time, you don't want to spend TOO much time with a bird of they will become overly dependent and not know what to do with themselves when you go to work etc.

Finally, baby birds are ALWAYS sweet compared to adult birds. When your bird hits puberty, expect that it will exhibit some annoying and problematic behaviors (much like a teen). A through knowledge of behavior and setting expectations at an early age will make your life easier when that time comes, but do prepare yourself and expect that things will not always be so smooth-sailing. Think about a baby human compared to a teen...

I am sure there is more...but that is a basic overview of caring for birds.

Here is an excerpt from another post (which you may want to reference when shopping/ calling about Teflon:
The most insidious is the Teflon/ptfe/pfoa/pfcs because you have to call the company to verify that anything that heats or is intended to be heated does not contain these substances ("PTFE free" doesn't mean PFC free and so there are a lot of marketing gimmicks out there to make people buy what seems like healthier cook-ware, even though it still contains a version of the same chemicals). Also-- these chemicals can be woven into fabric, mixed into metal during the moulding process, applied as a powder, applied as a clear-coat, or mixed with a colored coating. You cannot assume that you will be able to identify them visually, so, when you call, you must provide all abbreviations and full names + spellings of each chemical compound (and then they usually give you "the run around" for a week or so IF they ever answer your questions at all---because sometimes it's a "trade secret"). It's all very sketchy and DuPont (manufacturer of Teflon) claims that off-gassing only occurs at really high temperatures, but there have been numerous documented/scientific and anecdotal reports of birds passing away at temperatures in the 300 F range (and again, it kills through closed doors and on different floors).
FYI- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
A perfluorinated compound (PFC)
Teflon (a common brand-name of non-stick cookware containing these chemicals)

10- 12 hours nightly for sleep. If you get up at 6 and make a bunch of noise, you will wake the bird up (even if they are still covered). If they wake up at 6, bed should be between 6-8. You want to keep it around the same time if possible (because that's how it is in nature).


OH-- something I didn't mention in my last post-- stainless steel is really one of the only safe metals for them. Research the heck out of your cage and make sure that if it uses a powder-coating it is truly non-toxic. Birds can get metal poisoning from playing with sketchy toys (many made in China do not adhere to best practices) and just mouthing things like money, bolts, locks etc can cause toxic impacts...A man I know allowed his bird to play with un-used toothbrushes and (unbeknownst to him) there were small copper bits that held the bristles in place-- this nearly killed his bird even though the bird didn't actually swallow the pieces. Copper, zinc, nickel, some iron, lead etc are bad.

To get your bird to be more independent, you need to narrate what you are doing and use key phrases. Station training is also very helpful as far as getting them more inclined to staying in an area. You also need to make sure he gets at least 10 solid hours sleep and that you aren't touching him/her in places outside head and neck. Narrate what your are doing and use key phrases to help your bird predict time-spans and routines better. Make interaction interactive--- not just petting. 3 hours + out of the cage= important, as is cage size etc. Ignore what you do not want and praise/reward/treat what you do want to see (remember, your attention can be an even stronger motivator than food for many parrots).



Here is a more detailed response on biting for attention- see my reply - http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/89020-conure-biting-sometimes.html


http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/89112-help-rehoming.html <-- see my reply, bc it is very applicable.



Also, see this post: http://www.parrotforums.com/general...change-after-getting-your-first-big-bird.html


Here is one on biting: http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/89054-biting-aggressive.html