Hi.

[Hailey]

My name is Hailey. When I was a kid my mom used to rescue and re home neglected and abused parrots or those whose owners could no longer care for them for whatever reason. I helped care for budgies, cockatiels, a quaker, an amazon, an African grey and a sun conure which I hand fed as a baby. I've always looked back at my experiences with parrots and decided to look for a parrot to give a permanent home with my family. Less then two weeks ago I adopted a conure (I think it is either a green cheek or a maroon belly). He's about 11 months old. He has a few issues we are working on at the moment. One being he only likes to eat seeds unless he is fed directly by my husband or myself and even then he really doesn't like vegetables, only fruit. I've tried healthy home made bird bread but besides one of the days he doesn't touch it. I plan to get him a vitamin supplement for now. I have another recipe I would like to try for him as well. His second issue he his having is his reluctance to play with any toys. I think it's strange... I've never seen a bird who didn't like toys. But I have had some luck with Popsicle stick and bell toys. He won't touch anything else I have put in or on his cage. If I take his piñata toy out and lay it on me, he immediately goes to town on it though. He won't even look it's way when it's in the cage. Just by putting the toy on me he has almost devoured it in a few days. When we picked him up from his previous owner, he only had one toy in his cage so maybe he just hasn't had much experience with toys. He didn't have any plucked feathers or anything. He's a bit nippy as times but also sweet sometimes too and loves to ride around on our shoulders much of the day. My husband and I are loving our new conure who we just named Bobby and are already considering getting another, probably another conure. We are wanting to adopt the next bird like we did this one instead of getting a brand new one from a pet store or breeder.

 

[LeaKP]

Sounds like the new baby found a great home with you! Transitioning him to better food will take time and patience. There are many threads to help with this in the forum. Welcome and enjoy!

 

[Allee]

Hi Hailey! Sounds like you have a great little companion. Please do look through the diet section, there are some helpful suggestions for changing your bird over to a better diet. It does take a while, especially with older birds, but it's worth it.

Some birds just don't like toys, some need a few days before they will touch a new toy, others will wrestle you for anything they perceive as a toy. Simply moving a toy to a new location or trying different kinds of toys will encourage a reluctant bird to try something new. Your conure is playing with his piñata toy so he will probably accept new toys given enough time. Here are a couple of links you might find interesting.

Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Parrot Toys - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Enjoy the forum!

 

[weco]

Welcome to the forums Hailey.....

I'm going to stick my neck out here & offer that your new charge has never been trained for or to anything...and...was weaned to a seed diet.....

You might want to be careful with over the counter supplements, because everything sold online or in a pet shop/store is good for the animals they purport to be made for... We had a recent thread in the forums where one of our members posted a link to an article by the world's top veterinarian on the discussion of calcium absorption offered that a bird's body is best fed natural calcium sources rather than supplements, because excess natural calcium is naturally passed out of the bird's system while supplements can cause over-calcification of a bird's soft tissue.....

If you want your new friend to eat new foods, you might want to invite him to the table & you & hubby eat the things you want the fid to eat.....that's how birds in the wild learn to eat new things...either being fed it during weaning or watching their flock mates eat the foods...be sure to make enjoying faces, smack lips & emit lots of yumms....our feathered friends are very aware of body language and always seek flock approval.....

Toys are similar to new foods...companion birds have no idea of the concept of playing with toys or self entertainment, so he probably needs to be shown, but keep in mind that he may also perceive a toy as something come to eat him, so leaving things lay around in the open, where he can see them before he might think it's out to eat him.....birds don't pop out of the shell ready to make their New Year's selections at Toys-R-Us...the birds you've seen playing were probably raised around other birds that played with toys, swings, ropes, etc.....

Because he equates a flock mate's acceptance with safety, he accepted the piñata as safe to attack/play with.....

I know the affects of MBS (multiple bird syndrome) but I would suggest you wait to get the trust issues it looks like you have (nippiness) with this one under control before taking in another bird needing a home.....remember the old adage "birds of a feather?" It can work both ways...for you & against you.....

I think your choice to open your house to rehomes is commendable, but a bird with its own problems can be a daunting experience and sometimes turns a really good idea into a reversal of enthusiasm.....

Good luck.....

 

[Hailey]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and warm welcomes. I'm glad to be here on the forum with other parrot lovers like myself.