Please help I'm going crazy

[fijii]

Hi everybody,

I rescued a yellow sided green cheek conure back in May of this year. When I first got him home he was an evil little bird lol. He would bite us till we bled, didn't want anybody near him, and refused to ever leave his cage. With in a short time, I'd say about a month, we made a huge amount of progress. We got him to stop biting, and he hasn't bit us since. He also wants to come out of cage and he's out of cage most of the day until bed time. We also taught him to step up. The problem now is that the progress has stopped. When he comes out of his cage, he will only stand on top of the cage.. He will never actually leave his cage. When I move him away from his cage he either immediately flys back or just looks around every where trying to figure out how to get back to his cage and I can feel him shaking as he's standing on my finger. Now for the part that really drives me crazy, he screams constantly. If someone leaves the room, he screams. When were sleeping at 8am on the weekend, he screams. If he's locked in his cage, he screams. It's like he wants attention, but when we give it to him he just runs away.. We don't know what else to do, it's driving us crazy. Please give us some advice.

 

[SailBoat]

Well things had been going well and than not. So, what changed in his World?

Using the basic position that it is never the fault of the Parrot and always the fault of the Humans, will allow you to better understand what changed and fix it.

Many things can drive screaming. One of the biggest is unanswered contact calls. In their natural setting they will be in ongoing contact with each other.

It is very possible that something may have scared him and has cause him to feel not as safe away from the cage. Use the Real Estate Agent tour of your home helps to reassure that monsters are not hiding behind the door, or whatever. We do a tour anytime something changes or once a month minimum. FYI: Hawks have made a major return to areas that have not seen them for Decades.

Start from here and get back to a normal /expanding relationship.

 

[fijii]

Nothing has changed he's just not willing to leave the top of his cage. The most he will do ( once in a while) is fly about 2 feet away from his cage, and then do an immediate U-turn back to his cage.

 

[Terry57]

There is some wonderful info in this thread:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

It sounds like he desperately wants contact, but is too afraid to leave the security of his cage. Do you cover his cage at night? It may make him feel a little safer when sleeping, and he may stay quieter a little longer.
Does he like toys? You may want to add some more toys to help distract him.
You mentioned you rescued him...was he teased or abused in his former home? If so, it is going to take more time for him to feel safe.

 

[Piasa]

If he is at all food oriented, you can use that as something to help him step a little out of his comfort zone.

Does he have a playstand? If you have him out, put his playstand right beside his cage. Move his food there. Let him have easy access to both the stand and his cage. When he starts to spend more time on the stand, move it a little farther away from the cage. Do this gradually more and more, making sure he doesn't get uncomfortable. Let him know that he can have more territory and share it with you.

 

[GaleriaGila]

You're getting great advice here. I just want to add my cheers to you (for reaching out, and trying so hard) and to the wonderful people here who have such great advice and good hearts.