Baby Sun Conure; I have so many questions.

[BirdLady93]

Hi everyone.
I have a baby sun conure who is about 7-8 months old. To me he is a boy, we haven't had him sexed, and his name is Fredastair. Or fred for short. He does so many strange things. He has more personality than I do in my big toe.

With a lot of things he does I've found answers for but some there is nothing. So here goes.

Fred sleeps in a wooden box attached to his perch. When we all go to bed and say goodnight he seems as if he is thrashing his head around in there and smashes his beak on the sides. My partner thinks it's a sign of him being happy but I don't know. He loves his box so I didn't think it was an anxious thing.

Also, he loves milk. Loves it. I have some issues with milk so I either have lite or lactose free. From what I have read it's the lactose in the milk that's bad for them so is it okay if he drinks this. He doesn't get much. A mouthful here and there.

Next thing. He bites. But only me. He is a mummy's boy but still bites me. Most time it's okay and doesn't hurt but he is getting older now and that bite is getting stronger. He doesn't bite his daddy and I don't know why. We are definitely friends, like I said he is a mummy's boy. He will scream the house down if I walk away from him but when I have him he will bite my neck my ears my fingers. I've tried just putting him down off my shoulder when he does it or giving him a small tap on the beak. But I'm not sure. When I have him I try to find things for him to play with. Also that's another thing. He is very very loud with me and not his dad. I know they are a loud bird that I have no problem with. But I'd love to be able to get up and go to the kitchen and not have him go bonkers.

My head. He loves my head. He will climb on top of it at any chance he gets. I try to get him down but he bites and yells at me. I get him off but he is straight back up there. Can I stop this.

Last thing, I promise. We want to start feeding him fresh fruits but everything I've looked up makes out as if it's all bad for him. What can he have?

Sorry for this being so wordy. I just want what is best for my baby.

Thank you.

 

[BirdLady93]

Whoops. I posted this where I should t have. I'm sorry. I don't know how to move it.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Whoops. I posted this where I should t have. I'm sorry. I don't know how to move it.

No worries, I moved it to the appropriate forum for you.

 

[BirdLady93]

Is there anyway to bump this post up so it gets some replys
I'd really like a little help.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I can't give you a lot of info as I don't know how to deal with some of the things you have asked but I will try to help with what I can...

First the getting on your head is him trying to be dominant over you and do what he wants and not what you want, so stop letting him up there! If he gets up there take him down, put him in his cage and ignore him for 10 minutes. Let him out and if he gets on your head do the same thing. It might take a while or he may learn fast, but you HAVE to give him the SAME results EVERY time he does it or he will just get confused. Use your "unhappy" voice to tell him whatever your key word is "NO" "get down" whatever and use that word every time. Reward him if he comes out of his cage and doesn't go on your head, head scritches or a treat depending on if he likes petting.

Second, fresh fruits and veggies should be the main portion of his diet, in my opinion. My Amazon eats about 70% fresh foods every day. There are lots of information about safe foods, recipes, etc... in the diet section of the forum.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Just to get you started on some foods here are some he can have...

Romaine lettuce
apples
oranges
pears
any kind of berries, strawberries, blueberries, etc...
broccoli
sweet potato
any hot peppers or chilies
cucumber
zucchini
banana
tomato
carrot
beets
radish
turnip
kale
bok choy
pomegranate
kiwi fruit

and so many more I could go on and on! Seriously, go check out the "diet and nutrition" section of the forum for tons more information.

 

[getwozzy]

I'm not sure about the box thing- he could be doing just as you described...whacking his beak on the sides. I think some folks' birds do fine with some sort of sleeping hut/box but I've never given my birds something to sleep IN- they just sleep on the highest perch and their cages get covered at night.

I'm not sure about the lactose-free milk either.... My assumption would be since it's lactose free, a sip here and there would be ok-- what's the sugar content of it? If there's any sugar in it, I would steer clear of it.

Your head- I would do your best to keep him from going up there in the first place. This means no hanging out on your arm or shoulder- restrict him to hanging out on your hand only until you can get the biting issue under control. If he's going to give you attitude and bite you when asked to come down, then it's best to keep him off your head. If he does get up there but won't step onto your hand, use a perch instead in case he starts biting. You can also try to have him step off your head to his cage. Reward good behaviors- no matter how small.

No more beak tapping- this is considered negative reinforcement....you do need to let him know that his hard biting is unacceptable though. When my galah gets nippy, I use my thumb and index finger to gently yet firmly remove her beak from biting me, tell her "no biting!" Or "ow!" and she goes back in her cage if she can't play nice.

Before you leave the room, give him something to occupy himself like a toy or a snack- or just take him with you if you can. Don't respond to his screams though- otherwise he'll figure out that screaming gets your attention and will do it when he (thinks) he "needs" you.

As for diet...here are a couple threads that may help you

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[kq_fan]

Hello and congrats! He sounds so sweet! Anyways, Milk is not recommended but my gcc loves milk as well so I only give her a beakful once every few months. But calcium is good for birds just not too much. For the fruit thing, apple, orange, grapes ( make sure to wash well, they have lots is parasites) anyways, bananna. Just what the can't have is avacado, tomatoes, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate.
hope this helped a little and have fun with him!

 

[BirdLady93]

Thank you all. I appreciate it. I feel so stupid at times cause it seems like the silliest questions I ask I just worry about my baby and something being wrong and I don't notice or I'll do or give him something bad.

 

[laurawaterman]

My Sun, Zuzu, gets really excited when he goes to bed, or when you go to see him while he’s in bed. He bobs is head up and down really fast, but his bed is all fabric, so he can’t hurt himself doing that. My bet is your’s is just excited to be in one of his favourite places. If it worries you, maybe you could line it with something softer to soften the impact when he does it.

You MUST ignore him when he’s screaming. It’ll be hard at first, cause he’s probably used to getting what he wants when he screams, but you HAVE to ignore him. Don’t even look at him. Then, when he’s quiet, go to get him (this is key, you have to reward him for being quiet, or else he’ll just think he’s being ignored all the time, not punished for being loud). When I’m ignoring Zazu for being loud and then go to get him when he’s quiet, sometimes he gets excited when I approach and screeches, I do a 180 and walk away, and wait for him to be quiet again. He’s learnt well that scream doesn’t get him what he wants. You have to be consistent with this though. Like I said, it’ll be hard at first, he’s likely to just keep screaming, but soon he’ll realize that that’s the behaviour that gets him ignored, and the good behaviour gets him what he wants.

Zazu bites sometimes. I can’t tell if he’s meaning to bite, or if he’s just beaking too hard, but he gets a small punishment for it. I’ll either push him away from me and say Owww really dramatically, or I’ll grab and hold his beak and say oww you hurt me and then act like I’m sulking because I got hurt. When I first got him he was very gentle, then as he grew, about a month after I got him he started hurting us, but we’ve been doing this, and the nipping has stopped for the most part. Again, consistency is key.

I don’t let Zazu on my head either. I just don’t want poo in my hair. When he starts to climb, I make a “Pshhh” sound loudly. He hates this sound and knows it means he’s doing something bad. I’ll also pull my head away so he knows when I make that sound what it is he’s doing that wrong. When he makes it to the top, I tell him to step up on my finger (he’s really good at this. If your’s isn’t, I suggest practicing this trick with him… probably the most useful thing Zazu knows and does reliantly) and put him back on my shoulder. I never let him stay on top of my head.

Good luck with your baby!!