conflicting advice on taming young Green cheek conure

[brookeann]

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a green cheek conure from a breeder who runs the local aviary, shes roughly 4-6 months old, and hand raised.
However he had her in a cage with a bunch of other conures when i acquired her and he said i would have to re tame her which should take no time at all (in his words) 1-2 weeks at most. but his advice was to just grab her out of her cage 1-2 times a day and pet her while holding , BUT everything i read on google and watch on youtube heavily warns against it as it breaks their trust. So in turn suggests slow exposure therapy ...

I just maybe wanted a second opinion? i guess.. idk i just dont want to ruin a potential relationship with her as ive had her for roughly two weeks and she freaks out whenever i get too close to her cage with my hands.(i took her out once roughly a week ago and she bit the hell out of me till i got her upside down then she was calm and seemed to enjoy the head pets, but i didnt like how scared she was and haven't made another attempt since)

thanks for any advice in advance

 

[Terry57]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm so glad you are asking for a second opinion, as I completely disagree with the breeder's advice.

It is much better to have a bird who wants to be with you rather than because they were forced.
Slow and patient is the way to go. If this is how she was hand raised, what you have is a wild conure so you will be starting from scratch. I think you may have to go slower than normal with her because she may be terrified of people if the breeder grabbed her like that when getting her out of the cage every time.

This is an excellent thread about how to get a bird to trust you:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

By going slow, you are going to have a bird that loves and respects you.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your journey together.
What's her name?

 

[brookeann]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm so glad you are asking for a second opinion, as I completely disagree with the breeder's advice.

It is much better to have a bird who wants to be with you rather than because they were forced.
Slow and patient is the way to go. If this is how she was hand raised, what you have is a wild conure so you will be starting from scratch. I think you may have to go slower than normal with her because she may be terrified of people if the breeder grabbed her like that when getting her out of the cage every time.

This is an excellent thread about how to get a bird to trust you:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

By going slow, you are going to have a bird that loves and respects you.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your journey together.
What's her name?

i honestly haven't figured out a name for her as with all my other animals i got to know them first before naming them, and havent had much of a chance to get to know her aside from watching her dance, ive got a general vibe of who she is but id like to be a bit closer with her first before committing to a name. thank you so much for the link and i will be reading it today. she is a very sweet, very timid bird. and I absolutely cannot wait to get closer to her.

 

[Terry57]

i honestly haven't figured out a name for her as with all my other animals i got to know them first before naming them, and havent had much of a chance to get to know her aside from watching her dance, ive got a general vibe of who she is but id like to be a bit closer with her first before committing to a name. thank you so much for the link and i will be reading it today. she is a very sweet, very timid bird. and I absolutely cannot wait to get closer to her.

Awww, you are going to do so wonderfully with her.

 

[brookeann]

Awww, you are going to do so wonderfully with her.

thank you , I'm really hoping I give her the respect/care and do her the service she deserves

 

[Terry57]

thank you , I'm really hoping I give her the respect/care and do her the service she deserves

I believe she will be able to feel your kindness and know you are not a threat to her very quickly. I think that's a huge part of bonding with a new bird, and once she crosses that threshold her trust will just continue to grow and her fears will start to fade because she believes in you.

 

[wrench13]

A realistic answer is 2-6 months. Some parrots ( the outliers) will tame quicker, some will fall into this time frame, and sadly some just never do ( a small % of them). Some species like ringnecks are notorious for being tough to tame and needing almost constant human interaction to remain so. Conurs are not like that. THis particular one may have had a poor start with this breeder but slow and steady will win I think. Well worth the effort and time.

 

[SailBoat]

If a breeder does not know the age of the Parrots s/he is selling, why would one expect them to know how to gain the trust of a Parrot?

 

[maddox]

It's funny you mention that! The breeder I got my GCC Maddox from gave me the same advice. He likewise told me to just reach in and grab him. I quickly learned that this practice was counterproductive. I started by just placing my hand in his cage until he stopped running from me, then I had him eating out of my hand, and after a few weeks he was stepping up on his own! The key is to reward her every time she does what you want her to do while remembering that the cage is her safe place and should be treated as such. Grabbing her from the cage is a complete violation of this space. Work at her pace and soon enough you will have a loving feathery friend!

 

[brookeann]

If a breeder does not know the age of the Parrots s/he is selling, why would one expect them to know how to gain the trust of a Parrot?

well, the breeder did specify an age, but i could have sworn he said four months and my boyfriend thought he said 6 months

 

[Terry57]

well, the breeder did specify an age, but i could have sworn he said four months and my boyfriend thought he said 6 months

Sadly, I don't think the breeder could necessarily tell the difference between the birds to give an accurate age if all the babies were together.

 

[Flboy]

Something to consider! You aren’t trying to tame her, you are working at gaining her trust and proving yourself a worthy companion!