First Week progress

[TurquoiseMel]

So a little update-
Day one he was scared of everything that moved wouldn't eat if anyone was watching and stayed up in the top corner of his cage wouldn't come out when the cage was open. Made no noise except little sounds before he fell asleep

Today- he eats whenever he wants, doesn't care if people are in the room, leaves his cage all the time, sometimes he just sits ontop & preens himself, sometimes he wants to chew on his toys (tho he still hasn't figured out that his bell is actually a bell I got a feeling when he does he's gonna drive me crazy with it tho lol) he even came out of the cage & flew towards me twice today & then aborted the mission and turned right back towards his cage like SYKE !! & now he makes a little bit of noise but still really quiet. The most noise he's made was when the dog was barking, I guess he wanted to bark along too lol. He still won't eat from my hand or let my hands anywhere near him but I can tell we're making progress.

I haven't properly named him yet but I've been calling him Syli (Sy-lee) short for Silas, coz Silas just has too many S's, it's annoying to say repeatedly. Try it. Silasilasilasilas, see what I mean?
& my mom still insists on calling him Blue T_T LOL

Anyway, I know it hasn't even been a week since he's been here but I'm just curious how long did it take YOUR conure to warm up to you/ gain his(or her) trust ??

-Mel

 

[Remy]

Puck is a caique, but he wasn't too crazy about me the first couple days, and I got bit a lot. My fingers were covered in bite marks! I've had him a couple months now, and he's biting less and less. I don't even have any healing wounds any more! Give him at least a few weeks, but some birds take longer.

 

[TurquoiseMel]

I'm willing to give him as long as he wants C: I was just wondering coz I've read of people getting birds who are cuddly from day one.

He made a lot of progress today too. He's starting to chirp when I leave the room & he even flew towards me again but this time landed on my dresser & was stuck in corner by my tv and he let me slowly pet him and pick him up. I held him close to me & he climbed up on my shoulder and sat for a while before flying back to his cage. He even ate from my hand! pellets & grapes & broccoli

 

[Amber]

I've read of people getting birds who are cuddly from day one.

Alex, my jenday was a cuddle bug from day 1, but we got to know each other before he came home (I'd visit a few times a week while he was at the breeders ) so thats why

Your little guy will come around fast! You're letting him take things at his own pace, and thats great! He will get to know you and trust you and suddenly he'll be out of that shell! I think the guys here call that sweet, getting to know you stage the 'honeymoon period', because after that, they start showing all their destructive and loud parrot behaviours . But, thats why we love them after all! So keep taking it at his pace and enjoy getting to know the little guy, it's the most exciting thing about getting your bird, after all

 

[Bobioden]

I picked Maxx, rather he picked me out of 7 GCC's. I played with him in the store for more than an hour before I took him home. Once home we continued to get to know each other. He has never once failed to step-up, he uses his beak at time, but he has never bitten me. He gets a little nippy now that he is molting and if I rub one of his pinnies the wrong way, usually just a squawk, then he is back to normal.

 

[coral1]

congratulations on your new fid it seems like things are going good though it took a lot longer for my blue headed pionus to warm up to me! good luck keep us updated

 

[brighteyes]

Hello ,
So far Meko has been great but l don,t wan,t to Bragg l am just going to add the reason y l thank some birds may be quieter !
Meko was handled by all the family members so it became use to people , also be for l got her their was a sun conure in the pet shop that l had been to hoping to buy but that one was already sold so talking to shop assistant she told me the reason why the birds they sold were so quiet was because so many people would handle them so the became very quiet. So give your bird lots of time & encourage other members of the family to handle her . I am sure all will be great for u guys ..

 

[TurquoiseMel]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! That's so cute about Alex & Maxx <3 I wish I had the option to get to know mine before bringing him home but the breeders out in NC & he had to be shipped over.
Anyways I'm here with another little update, & a question I guess. I don't know if I should've done this/ should be doing this or not- but probably around once a day for the past 3days I take him out of the cage & handle him, usually in another room of the house. The reason I'm not sure I should be doing this is that he still will not willingly come to me or step up (excluding times when food is involved and he still is a bit cautious even with that). I always approach him slowly & talk softly & he runs sometimes flies for a little while but then he'll just freeze & clench onto whatever he's standing on & that's when I get a hold of him.

But after he's been with me for a while, he calms down. He'll start playing with my cell phone if I'm texting (touch screen! it's so funny to watch) or my earrings/necklace. We even shared some pistachios today (unsalted), the first day when we did this he watched me eat and demanded I share (turkey sandwich I only shared with him a little bit of bread which he didn't even want lol) & then he hopped onto my cup of fruit punch & took a few sips! X: haha. He'll also nibble on my fingers & he almost falls asleep when I scratch his head & cheeks, he loves it.

I will say tho- there was one day where I was up really early with him at my desk drawing & sharing a few grapes with him (he loves grapes), he was so curious to know what I was doing that he came to my desk to nibble on my book & check things out

So you see, it all seems like he's learning to trust me but at the same time he's still really scared of me when I'm/my hands are near his cage or if I want to bring him out.

What I'd like to know is- should I stop handling him until HE decides he wants to be handled ?? Will what I'm doing help him come around faster? Am I doing the opposite?


I just don't know so I figured I'd ask before ever doing it again. I really really really hope I'm not damaging our relationship by picking him up & stuff when he's not yet ready /:

 

[Amber]

I wouldn't force him personally. Let him come as he is ready Bribe him with food if need be! You want to make every interaction with you a positive one, and not scary for him

He is a tiny little guy, and unlike dogs and cats their not really domesticated. It's still ingrained in him that he is a wild animal, a prey animal that could be eaten at any time! So he's a very wary little thing, as that would be what made his not so distant ancestors survive in the wild. He will get over it more and more eventually as he learns that you are not a threat

 

[Amber]

Oh, another tactic for getting him out of the cage would be to use a stick OR let him come out in his own time. Plenty of birds perfectly bonded to their people HATE hands inside their cage!

I only put my hands into Alex's cage to change food and water or to clean. 99% of the time he is out when I do these things anyway. I do his because he HATES my hands in his cage. It's like invading someone's home without permission. Either you are invited in, or you stay out . Your bird's cage is his one truly safe place, it's his home, and as a result some get very nervous about strange hands poking around in their! That's the best analogy I can think of for it, either way some bird (Alex is one of them) hate their little personal space in the cage being invaded. You can work around it and try to get them used to it, o you can respect that they don't like it and not force them out with your hands

 

[TurquoiseMel]

Yea I see what your saying. Putting hands all up in their cage probably makes them feel like they've got nowhere to run.
I took your advice & didn't try to handle him today. Left him alone & pretty much spent the day in my room with him. Him on his cage & me doing hw. & believe it or not he's climbing on my back as I type this! HIS OWN DECISION !

okay now hes on my head ! LMAO <3 <3
God, I hope he doesn't poop tho D:

There's a rope I hung across my room going from the rod in my closet to a nail over my desk and it crosses over his cage so he can easily step off the cage & onto the rope. I took a little nap earlier today & when I woke up I saw him on the rope climbing closer to me I guess trying to find the courage to fly over to me but when he saw I was up he ran back circus style to the top of his cage lol.
So I guess he just now gathered up the cojones to actually do it

I guess we're gonna be okay after all ;D
Thanks again!
-Mel

 

[TurquoiseMel]

Oh & I think I'm naming him Gambi. !! ......... maybe.



I'm too indecisive XD