New Sun Conure, Help Please

[Dre2f]

Hello everyone! Ive recently gotten a 11 week old baby Sun Conure, he/she will come up to the front of the cage and lick all over my face and fingers lol. But the problem im having is step-up training. Ive been training him/her for maybe about 4-5 days now and I know thats not enough most likely but still he does not come to my fingers without a treat being bribed to him/her. Also, it seems that the baby doesnt really like scritches as when I try to give it some, it kind of backs away. That or it lets me for a little then backs away. I find it is also a cage bird, I say this because whenever we he comes out and I bring him to the couch, he flies back to the cage. So overall please leave any tips or info for me as I am a new parrot owner! (Ive had him for about 1 1/2 weeks now) by the way, he also seems to be scared of the clicker as when i have it in my hand, he nips my fingers. I generally need tips on taming and training. Thank you so much.

 

[T00tsyd]

Oh bless him. He has left his home, is somewhere strange with an odd person who he doesn't know or trust because no-one has convinced him yet that this huge stranger won't cook him and eat him! Welcome to the parrot haven. Thank goodness you have decided to come and get advice.

Ok where shall we start? First of all you can forget any success in training at this point. You are absolutely right that training is the way forward but step up is for later. Let's start again. Imagine you have just brought him home. It could take weeks for him to feel really comfortable with you and trust you. So to achieve that talk to him. Read your paper or magazine, even this site out loud to him. Give treats but only if he comes to get it, and repeat often. If he backs away you are too close. At every point my advice is that it must be parrot led so that means forget your timetable and be guided constantly by what your little one is comfortable with. Don't expect two days to be the same at this stage he is a baby and changeable and will forget things except the things we wish he would forget. Spend all your time learning to recognise how he feels. Watch his feathers, his eyes, his movement - all will tell you what he is thinking.
Remember that everything is new. Every sound, every item in your home, even a new colour in your clothes. I wore a new jacket yesterday. Syd is 4+ and I have had him for 4 years - he wouldn't come near me for ages. He checked and double checked because he wasn't sure I was me. I chatted like I usually do. Explained that it was a new colour that he hadn't seen before and that everything was fine. Until he plucked up courage to fly to me and sit on my shoulder I just chatted normally until he was comfortable. No doubt he will be exactly the same next time too.

I always feel that trust is the key. Consistency in you is vital so that parrot knows what to expect and baby baby steps being prepared to back up the minute your little one shows any signs of being unsure. Patience will definitely pay off in the end. Read as much info as you can here about gaining trust and then move on when ready. When baby trusts you, stepping up is only natural. Keep asking questions there are so many really experienced parronts here always willing to help.
ps - put the clicker away for now, There is enough for him to manage at present.
pps - there is nothing wrong with bribery. Treats are essential. They will be needed all the time and help to show that only nice things happen when you are around.

 

[Laurasea]

Hello! Welcome! Congratulations on your new friend!

Here are my tips.
Find a treat that is small and well liked. I find the white safflower works great with conure.

Then many times a day walk over say hi ( burds name) give treat and then walk away. No pressure or expectations. But you can also in addition still spend time with him and very short step up training if you want ( stick to no more than 5 reps ) burds do best with very short sessions multiple times a day.

Since he is so new and cage equally safety and comfort. Set your self up with a comfortable chair right next to the cage. Have perches on the outside if the cage sides and top. To make it as easy for him to move around and gain confidence expanding his home base. You can chill with a book or your phone, and some bird snacks. Let him climb around on you snd go back and forth to cage. You can hold a spray of millet . You can play with a crunched up piece if paper, and let his curiosity come over and investigate or shred it. Or little plastic bottle cap. Mine live to hold carry abd play with those . Doing my own thing right there next to them and not 100% focused on them, has really helped my new parrots get confident , and curious about me, while feeling the security of their home base cage right there.

When you guys feel more comfortable together. You can take him fir a shirt walk around the room then back to the cage. Or walk over to the couch , give him A treat there telling him how brave, then walk right back to cage and give a treat again. Slowing down and less expectancy will buid your bind quicker.

This is a great article , talks about importance of ritual and routines. The part about observations isn't just leaving them in the cage abd doing nothing. Just that its important to take time to observe how dies he use the cage, are there ways to improve and maximize use if the whole cage, placing toys near per he's to make easier use. Use multiple types of shorter perches to climb abd hop too. Provide one per h higher in the cage with a little visual barrier thst he can retreat to for naps and roosting. Hanging a cargo net or toy in front can act like a visual barrier.

Stress Reduction for Companion Parrots – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

To put it bluntly, keeping companion parrots is similar to trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. The fact that they do as well as they do is testimony more to their adaptability than it is to our husbandry efforts.

lafeber.com

Also get a digital kitchen scale and make a life long habit of weekly weight checks. A drop in weight is an early sign of issues. Prompt action at this early dignity equal happy outcomes and easier treatment. Burds hide being sick until they are so critical tgey can't hide it anymore, at that point its sn emergency.
Can't wait to hear more and see pictures!

 

[kme3388]

Hi there, and welcome. I want to try to help the best that I can. I do have a Jenday Conure which is basically the same thing as a sun. I myself 10 years ago went through what you are. I'd like to tell you it gets better, but it doesn't. Baby birds are far easier to handle then an adult bird. Once hormones hit, or my conure starts getting pin feathers. I'm going to get bit. The best piece of advice for anyone that owns a sun/jenday conure is to keep that beak occupied. Toys truly are the answer. My jenday loves demolishing toys, and it keeps her from getting bored, and using my fingers as a toy. Unfortunately once a jenday/sun finds their beak they love using it for everything!!!!! What are you feeding your conure for food? I use pellets for food, and sunflowers as treats. If you use seed for regular feeding it is impossible to train your conure because he/she doesn't have a reward at that point. There's no inspiration to even come out of their cage either. They have everything they need in there.

 

[Emeral]

Hello everyone! Ive recently gotten a 11 week old baby Sun Conure, he/she will come up to the front of the cage and lick all over my face and fingers lol. But the problem im having is step-up training. Ive been training him/her for maybe about 4-5 days now and I know thats not enough most likely but still he does not come to my fingers without a treat being bribed to him/her. Also, it seems that the baby doesnt really like scritches as when I try to give it some, it kind of backs away. That or it lets me for a little then backs away. I find it is also a cage bird, I say this because whenever we he comes out and I bring him to the couch, he flies back to the cage. So overall please leave any tips or info for me as I am a new parrot owner! (Ive had him for about 1 1/2 weeks now) by the way, he also seems to be scared of the clicker as when i have it in my hand, he nips my fingers. I generally need tips on taming and training. Thank you so much.

Warm welcome to you and your bird, bonding and taming is a very delicate subject. But with the right understanding and patience, it is a lot of fun and definitely a beautiful journey.

So, let's learn to walk before we can run.
Here is a list of things for your bird to acquire in order to understand and trust you. With the easiest thing at the top towards the more difficult ones.

1) he know his own name. what do you call him? Does he look at you when you say his name? If not, mention his name more often while you talk to him.

2) he needs to feel safe. So during the introduction of anything new, let him get used to it at his own pace. This is a whole new world to him. Does he want to shower once a day? (Emerald take a shower every day. She loves playing with water in the morning)

Introduction to a new item, say a new clicker. (To my Emerald, I would hold the new object in my hand and say....this is a toy. It is safe. I will put it here so you can see it. We will use it tomorrow....and repeat this until she no longer is afraid of it. Then I move this item closer to her. When she walk to it and lick it, then, we can start clicker training.)

3) familiar with the environment. At the beginning, the cage is the only familiar place. So we move his cage closer to the couch to get him used to the couch. This way he can see that couch, making certain that no big cat will jump out from behind, in the safety and comfort of his cage. Hand taming is similar to getting him accustomed to the couch.

4) how is his weaning? Variety of food not only reduce bordom but is good to health as well as bonding. Our family tried to eat meals with Emerald since she was a baby. I always offer her foods while I eat. Boiled beans, roasted pumpkin, boiled pasta, cucumber, banana, orange, broccoli etc.

Make Sure Your Parrot Is Getting a Balanced Diet

What constitutes a nutritious and balanced diet for pet parrots? Start with a well-formulated diet and go from there.

www.thesprucepets.com

4) he need to understanding your mood, your body language in order to relax. To help him do that, you can talk to him so that he gets to know your tone of voice. Simple command to get him starting to understand you are....
.....good boy for positive reinforcement
.....Nooooo for negative reinforcement
......give me for dropping unedible things
.....poop command

5) understand his body language,

6) teaching him tricks such as turning

7) recall training

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. So much good advice and information from our great members! Parrots often have a GLACIAL speed of acceptance on new stuff, especially when compared to our quick, facile monkey brains. SO proceed based on his speed and not the speed of your expectations. he is going to be with you a long long time - there is no need to rush on things.

 

[Flboy]

Hello and welcome!