Conure won’t come out of cage!

[ryeandkiwi]

Hi everyone, I’m quite new to this site but I thought I’d give it a try.

Basically, I’ve had my green conure, Kiwi, for around 4 years. He was given to me when I was 12, and I took the best care of him alongside my mom. I took him out basically every day, but sometimes I would not do it if I either went out or was sick.

Now that I’m in high school, I’ve noticed that my time is spent either at school, studying, or out. As well, I visit my dad weekly as he lives elsewhere. This has severely limited how much time I spend with Kiwi. Admittedly, there were definitely times when I was younger when I should have taken him out more, but didn’t, and I feel guilty for all these circumstances.

Now that it’s summer, I try to take him out as much as possible, but even with his cage door open, he doesn’t really want to come out. He has been slightly more biting lately, which I find is reasonable given my inability to take him out so often, but it’s never been a problem.

Any advice?

 

[Terry57]

Welcome to you and Kiwi!

It sounds like you need to start back near the beginning with him and remind him of the bond you share by being patient.

Is there anyone else who could give him time out of his cage while you're gone?

It's difficult finding time when you're a student and is understandable. Do you foresee a time in the near future when you can spend more time with him once school starts again?

May I ask how much time out he has when you're in school?

 

[ryeandkiwi]

Welcome to you and Kiwi!

It sounds like you need to start back near the beginning with him and remind him of the bond you share by being patient.

Is there anyone else who could give him time out of his cage while you're gone?

It's difficult finding time when you're a student and is understandable. Do you foresee a time in the near future when you can spend more time with him once school starts again?

May I ask how much time out he has when you're in school?

Hi, thanks for the reply!

Honestly, our bond is quite good. He’s generally a very calm and well-trained bird. I just find that he’s randomly more aggressive, almost impulsively, despite clearly wanting to be with me at the same time.

There’s no one else here that could take him out, and I feel terrible about that. Around a year or two ago, I recall not taking him out for quite a long while, mainly because I felt incredibly stressed at this time, and because my family who owned birds before me sort of taught me some bad habits, like not taking a bird out for a couple months.

I think now I’m willing to work on rebuilding our bond, but my concern is that I find it very difficult to study at home, given that there are two very loud birds here. Worst case, I may have to find a new home for him. Even if it pains me that I don’t get to see him, it pains me even more that he could be feeling neglected.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Terry57]

Hi, thanks for the reply!

Honestly, our bond is quite good. He’s generally a very calm and well-trained bird. I just find that he’s randomly more aggressive, almost impulsively, despite clearly wanting to be with me at the same time.

Part of this could be hormones. I'm not sure where you are but it's definitely the season for that here right now.

I think now I’m willing to work on rebuilding our bond, but my concern is that I find it very difficult to study at home, given that there are two very loud birds here. Worst case, I may have to find a new home for him. Even if it pains me that I don’t get to see him, it pains me even more that he could be feeling neglected.

This paragraph shows how much you love Kiwi, in willing to do what's best for him even if it breaks your heart. I do hope that you can find a way to make time to bring him out more so that he can stay with you.

Thanks for the advice!

You're very welcome, and I'm sorry that you and Kiwi are going through this.