Hi everyone. This is my first time posting on this forum because I need HELP. I've had a sun conure for 20 years. She's wonderful. A few years ago she got egg bound. The vet recommended putting a hormone chip in her to prevent her from laying eggs again. That next year was a nightmare with her attitude; cranky, needy, not satisfied with anything. I was beside myself. So I consulted with the vet and she said the hormone from the chip wears off which it did, I think. It's been 2 years since she had that hormone chip. Since then I have noticed that she is still not as happy and content as she once was. I don't know if this has anything to do with the chip or just a part of her aging or if it had something to do with her getting egg bound. I have been reading about meeting the needs of your parrot and have implemented some of them which has helped somewhat. I'm still in the process of learning what I can do to help her (and me) be happy. She just had a blood test and exam and all looks good there. In the past, when I would board her (which I don't do very often) she always came back calm and happy. Not any more. She is cranky and needy, wakes up first thing in the morning screaming. I talked to the vet about it and they said that they could be encouraging her to scream and squawk because they come say hi when she does that. This is the same place she's been going to for years, so what's changed? One thing that has helped give us some relief is I found out that she LOVES tearing apart cork. This keeps her busy for a long time. For the past 2 months she loves her time doing that. But I am concerned that all that tearing apart might encourage her to lay eggs which has not happened yet thank goodness. But I've just noticed after 2 months that she is not as interested in tearing apart the cork as she was. Now she wants something else to do and for the life of me, whatever I think of only lasts a short time. I feel like I'm a new mom caring for a baby! But here is my typical daily schedule;
Get up between 7:30am-8:30 am. uncover her cage which is in our bedroom and put her in a smaller cage to bring out to the family room. I give her 4 corks and she's happy doing that for about 30-45 min while I am doing my own duties. Now I put those corks at the bottom of her cage. They are not hanging from her cage. She won't chew them if they are hanging or clipped to the cage. Then I give her a couple of snacks. She likes a date and pecan food bar and a few almonds. Her regular food is Harrisons pellet diet that I keep in her cage at all times. A couple hours after getting up I open a window for her to get some sunshine for about 20-30 min. She's usually fine. Then depending on how her attitude is, I bring her into my office so I can work or put her back in her big cage for some alone time which is fine for a period of time. If I leave her alone in the family room she will start squawking and disrupt my husband'a ability to get work done. When she starts making a repeated grunting type sound, I know she is unsatisfied. To give an example, as I'm typing this she is grunting, squawking for attention and I'm just ignoring her and she calmed down for a bit but not grunting again. So I try and satisfy her with fresh fruit which lasts a few minutes. She is VERY PICKY. She won't eat greens and most fruits and veggies but she loves apples and peaches. Back to trying to satisfy her, I've tried all sorts of toys but she just isn't interested. Sometimes I put her on my lap but that doesn't usually last long either so I usually end up putting her in her big cage in our bedroom and she is satisfied for an hour or two then I will bring her out again to be with me. I've noticed she is easier to handle in the morning verses the afternoon. Also, she takes a shower with me every day. We keep a perch in the shower and I leave it up to her whether or not she wants to get wet. Then, when it's bedtime, she seems to have quite the biological clock and wants to go to bed about 7 pm (at this time of year) which is about 30-45 min before it gets dark. I would surely appreciate any feedback and if you notice any bad habits I am doing. Thank you!
Get up between 7:30am-8:30 am. uncover her cage which is in our bedroom and put her in a smaller cage to bring out to the family room. I give her 4 corks and she's happy doing that for about 30-45 min while I am doing my own duties. Now I put those corks at the bottom of her cage. They are not hanging from her cage. She won't chew them if they are hanging or clipped to the cage. Then I give her a couple of snacks. She likes a date and pecan food bar and a few almonds. Her regular food is Harrisons pellet diet that I keep in her cage at all times. A couple hours after getting up I open a window for her to get some sunshine for about 20-30 min. She's usually fine. Then depending on how her attitude is, I bring her into my office so I can work or put her back in her big cage for some alone time which is fine for a period of time. If I leave her alone in the family room she will start squawking and disrupt my husband'a ability to get work done. When she starts making a repeated grunting type sound, I know she is unsatisfied. To give an example, as I'm typing this she is grunting, squawking for attention and I'm just ignoring her and she calmed down for a bit but not grunting again. So I try and satisfy her with fresh fruit which lasts a few minutes. She is VERY PICKY. She won't eat greens and most fruits and veggies but she loves apples and peaches. Back to trying to satisfy her, I've tried all sorts of toys but she just isn't interested. Sometimes I put her on my lap but that doesn't usually last long either so I usually end up putting her in her big cage in our bedroom and she is satisfied for an hour or two then I will bring her out again to be with me. I've noticed she is easier to handle in the morning verses the afternoon. Also, she takes a shower with me every day. We keep a perch in the shower and I leave it up to her whether or not she wants to get wet. Then, when it's bedtime, she seems to have quite the biological clock and wants to go to bed about 7 pm (at this time of year) which is about 30-45 min before it gets dark. I would surely appreciate any feedback and if you notice any bad habits I am doing. Thank you!