Noisy, Anti-Social Green Cheek Conure

[sillykins]

I adopted a 3 year old Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure about 2-3 weeks ago. A nice lady dropped him off at the pet store my brother works at because she could no longer take care of him.

Since then, I have bought a larger new cage. I kept some of his same toys and his bed, but also provided new toys. He gets fresh water and veggies with some fruit every day. He has a seed/pellet mixture with various treats throughout the day.

He never bites, but was more interested being around us when we first got him. He used to like me more than my boyfriend, but ever since I took him to the vet for a DNA test it hasn't been the same. It could be coincidence or even just all in my head. I took him in a cab that day and it seemed fine, but he did seem upset after his nails were clipped and DNA taken. The vet cut all his nails without asking me first. I understand he needed to for the DNA, but I wasn't impressed he didn't ask me first as I would have said no.

At the time I didn't get his wings clipped because he wasn't flying very far, but now he can fly across the apartment which makes it hard for me to have him out with me more often. Every time I bring him out, he tries to run away from me but eventually does step up. Before he used to come running to me and do a cute little hop on to my finger. Once he's out, he flies back to his cage or the closest place he can fly to if I'm not near it. He does have a wing clipping appointment in 2 days so hopefully that will help.

He was also very quiet when we got him. Now he is screaming for most of the day when I'm working (I work at home), especially when my boyfriend isn't home. I've had him in the same room as me but it doesn't help. We have him next to our other parrot who is a Quaker. They have their own cages, but when they are out, the Quaker is interested and wants to be friends but the Conure wants nothing to do with him. We don't force them to interact but we do have their cages side by side.

Another thing the conure does sometimes is tuck his tail in and shake. I don't know why he's doing this.

Any suggestions/advice is welcome.

Thank you.

 

[Inger]

Welcome!

I have heard that there is often a honeymoon period when you bring a bird home. It may be that your new baby has moved through that and now the real fun begins. This link below might be helpful. Maybe you could postpone the wing clipping until after you’ve tried some of the suggestions-you may find it’s not necessary, and there are some who believe that taking flight away can be psychologically damaging.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...orums.com/showthread.php?t=49144&share_type=t




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LordTriggs]

please don't clip his wings because he's not running over to you. Doing so I and others would claim is cruel, it's like tying a child's shoes together to stop them running around. He needs time and patience to understand you're a friend and not going to hurt him, his brain is hard wired to think you're going to eat him and he has a flight response now. You also have no idea what the old owner was like, they could have been incredibly cruel to him. It doesn't teach him to enjoy you, it teaches him he has to do what you say and eventually he'll realize you move away when his beak chomps you and he will start doing it more and more, many people who clip to force their bird to be dependent on the human often find themselves with a bird that is always ready to launch full scale attacks.

Give him more time and avoid chasing him around if he flies around the apartment, it's his home too and he can wander around it if he wants and can come to you when he wants as well. Give it a few more weeks and a lot of treats and you'll struggle to get him off you.

Patience Patience Patience is the key

 

[wrench13]

I may sound a bit manipulative, but treats , his favorite one, should be given for good behaviour ( being quiet, stepping up on request, or other good behaviour, Bad behaviour gets no treat and the burd is :shunned; - no eye contact , turn your back on hum, for 1-5 minutes, and try again.

Contct calls - answer him once or twice and thats it.

Be consistent in all that you do same for family and boy friends.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hello, and welcome. Good advice above.

May I add some thoughts about expectations? I hope I don't sound preach-y. I also want to make it clear that I completely support all the great advice on training!
My bird is "difficult", and so I have expressed these thoughts so often that I made a cut-and-paste (below). Apologies to those of you who've heard it a zillion times!


My bird is pretty awful. He's a fun mimic and a real character, but...
Even after all these years, I sometimes find myself putting myself or my bird down... stuff like...
I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS OR THAT.
WHY CAN'T HE BE SWEET AND NICE, LIKE A PUPPY?
PEOPLE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY I PUT UP WITH THIS.
Stuff like that.
But the Rb is a parrot... in his particular case, one generation out of the wild.
I do all the right things, as much/well as I can, but in the end, I just LOVE my bird,
Some parrots are SO SWEET, some are NOT. I'm HAPPY and a bit JEALOUS of those successes.
I have lessened my psychological and physical wounds over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered. I admit... as to why have I not (and why am I unable/unwilling) to train the Rb to do anything that he doesn't want to do?.
Example... if I have a treat, and he sees it and wants it, I HAVE to give it too him. I simply cannot/will not NOT give him what he wants. No training there!
Consequently, I have a Tazmanian Devil on my hands. I love him. I have no complaints, really. He's HIMSELF. And I'm MYSELF. And the result... check my Signature for videos. etc., if you like.
BUT THERE'S LOTS OF GOOD TRAINING ADVICE HERE... DO READ AND LEARN AND DO YOUR BEST!
Over the years, I have sometimes been very embarassed/downhearted/sad about having a pet that was so... out of my control. But it is my choice to indulge and adore him.
Finally, I accepted that I have an amazing half-wild being who shares my life! It's magic enough for me!

 

[MonicaMc]

Clipping doesn't always help with taming, especially if you do it wrong. Clipping could result in a compliant bird that, once flighted, wants nothing to do with you.


Treats can go a long ways to earning their trust. If he constantly attempts to fly away when you bring him out, then stop taking him out. Having to chase him to put him back in the cage is not trust building exercises.


Instead, any time you walk by the cage, drop a favorite treat into a designated treat cup. Work on target training through the cage bars. Teach station training. Once these behaviors are good, you can then work on training through the open cage door, then around the outside of the cage and eventually away from the cage.

 

[clark_conure]

there is nothing wrong with clipping wings if your in an environment where escape or danger from flying eg. ceiling fans is present.

In a perfect world sure no bird would be clipped and no bird would need a harness, and no animal would predate on birds...but do what is right for you and your bird.

now this part sounds kind of mean...but clipping will make him more anchored to you. if he can't have full run of the apartment he will be more inclined to be on you or around you. Despite what others said. the key element is clipping a bird so it can fly, but not gain altitude...so it's a gentle glide down so they won't hurt themselves even from a second story to first story drop. that takes finesse but it can be wort it for safety and not escaping.

 

[MonicaMc]

I see far too many birds trained wrong with clipping being done. As soon as the bird is flighted, they show avoidance behaviors. IMO, it's better to train in such a way that even if your bird is flighted, the bird still chooses to come to you.

If ceiling fans are an issue, you can always put a 'cage' around the ceiling fan or turn it off when the birds are out... or get box fans that birds can't get into! There are plenty of ways to make a home 'bird safe'!

 

[jenphilly]

I see far too many birds trained wrong with clipping being done. As soon as the bird is flighted, they show avoidance behaviors. IMO, it's better to train in such a way that even if your bird is flighted, the bird still chooses to come to you.

If ceiling fans are an issue, you can always put a 'cage' around the ceiling fan or turn it off when the birds are out... or get box fans that birds can't get into! There are plenty of ways to make a home 'bird safe'!

Totally second Monica's thoughts here.... clipping is not a 'training' aide. While the bird may become reliant on you to move from point A to B, once those wings grow back in, you are no longer useful or needed. And often a bird that is clipped that has been flighted will show more attitude because the frustration of not being able to fly. You want a bird to want to hang out with, not be forced to... And while I can agree for safety, sometimes a light clip is needed to reduce a bird's ability to be a rocket or jet fighter - such as my bare eye too Ivory, she has become such a strong and amazing flier over the years that she does get a light clip, but it is only to prevent her from having too much ability to fly really great distances, should there ever be the accident of her zipping out the door (we take precautions, but accidents are called accidents). Ivory gets just a couple feathers clipped and she is still able to fly back and forth in the home, get lift to get up high, take off from the group and maneuver around like an ace jet fighter But, that is something to worry about probably 6 months or more down the road when the wings grow back in and your relationship is established.

But, back to working with what you are dealing with. I was Adoption Coordinator for years for a large parrot rescue and one thing that always happened was multiple visits to be sure the bird really connects with you, versus you are someone for an attention starved bird to interact with. Let's presume that you have a conure that has not connected with you and go from there.

And a thought some may disagree with, but I have seen many many times with Adoptions, not all birds like all people, much like you or I do not like every single person we meet.... parrots are smart little buggers and often they like who they like and will pick a person and that is THEIR person (i.e., mate replacement they bond to). I may have missed, but is your little one more bonded to your boyfriend now? If not, you may just be dealing with a little one that has been thru a lot in a short time and you need to start over... The good news is that the vet did all the 'mean' things to him and not you personally, many times I'll suggest people have their vets groom their birds if they hate having nails done because the bird holds a grudge or even becomes afraid of the person, so let your vet be the meanie.

But, again, back on track... sorry I tend to ramble and babble...

Starting over. I agree with those who have suggested bribery and treats. Is there something you've seen that your little one absolutely loves - be in almond pieces or a veggie or fruit treat? Try to limit fruit, even tho natural sugar, smaller birds should only get small bits to keep the sugar level down. Half a grape to a conure is like eating a whole bag of jolly ranchers to us. But, find something your guy absolutely loves, all parrots have a weakness Try nutriberries, pieces of nuts, tiny bits of apple, green peppers (which are excellent for parrots), but when you find that treat, only use it when working with your little one. Try not to react to the screaming, you don't want to create a little brat that screams until mom/dad comes over to get them.... You can try to teach your conure a call that is more pleasant, such as whistle or pick sound, and do that sound and give your conure a piece of treat, keep that up and hopefully your conure will learn that whistle is how to get your attention and a treat. The only catch with this, is that you must respond everytime (all the time).

Try letting him hang out on a playstand, but give him lots of toys to play with on that stand. Every so often if he is quite, try the whistle and treat. And try just talking to him, or sitting next to the cage reading aloud. Conures are insanely curious little things, chances are your guy will come over to you eventually to see what you are doing. If you are working, have something ready to give him to reward him and encourage the interaction, but so he doesn't start shredding your work papers

The good news is that your guys is past sexual maturity, so you don't have to deal with that crazy hormonal period. But, you might have some trust tasks ahead of you to get your little one to connect and bond. It's an endurance ride, not a quick sprint, so stick to it!!

Good luck and post some pics!!

 

[eagle18]

I think you should have the vet lightly clip his wings. That way he can still fly a decent amount. And the clipping can allow for him to depend on you a little bit more which will lead to bonding. You can always decide to let them grow back out. And clipping can be a safety precaution as well since you don't want him to fly high enough to get in a ceiling fan.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

No clipping. The whole “making them more dependent on you” thing is equivalent to saying a dog would be more dependent on you if its legs were tied together. You need to be patient with birds and gain their trust, if you clip a bird’s wings while it’s still afraid of you it will just be even more terrified because it can’t get away from your big scary hands. If an alien suddenly handicapped you, you certainly wouldn’t bond to them any faster, you would simply have no other choice. I’m against clipping in general, but clipping for no other reason than to make them tamer really gets on my nerves.