Sun conure behaviour help?

[skyweekes]

hey im curious if anyone knows what these gesters mean that are shown in video (linked)
sunny is our sun conure and we believe he is young but he keeps doing these strange things and i just dont know what they mean

any help useful x

https://vimeo.com/178345133

https://vimeo.com/178345537

 

[GaleriaGila]

It looks to me like mating behavior... preening, regurgitating, tail-grinding, etc.

There are various ways to lessen or regulate that so that it doesn't become problematic/aggressive/embarrassing.
I'm sure more experienced folks here will add to my ideas, but...
You can lessen stimulating hand-caresses. You can keep the bird on a natural light system of waking and sleeping (lessening the behavior to a natural season).
I keep the Rickeybird on a natural light schedule, and just put up with him during the hormonal period (for him, that's July-September, roughly).
Stay tuned.

 

[skyweekes]

I don't believe he has regurgitated though�� And we are not certain he is a male, me and my mum think he is a she�� what exactly is tail grinding by the way? Thanks for response by the way ��

 

[GaleriaGila]

Looks to me as if he is regurgitating and then swallowing when he grabs your finger and shakes it... tail-grinding is a male mating move...
We have a number of sun conure folks here who will be along soon, hopefully.

 

[skyweekes]

We have only had him/her for 2 months he was a rescue bird so we are still learning�� Can you tell me what the clicking is also? ��

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

The grinding/shaking on your finger in the second video is actually him using your fingernail to scratch his beak. Skittles does this a LOT.

In the first video, its just affectionate behavior. As far as the wing raising, he might be trying to tell you to give him a wingpit rub. Skittles will do that when he wants them.

Also, what do you mean by 'clicking'.?

 

[skyweekes]

ahh ok he does like under his wing tickled but my hand doesn't bend back that far to do it lol and he only does it when in cage not when hes out XD

beak clicking does it all the time

 

[SirEdwin89]

ahh ok he does like under his wing tickled but my hand doesn't bend back that far to do it lol and he only does it when in cage not when hes out XD

beak clicking does it all the time

There are three kinds of "clicking" type noises that I know about.

1)Tongue Clicking: Is a rapid clicking of the tongue against the beak, which is usually a way of saying "hey, I'm not in a bad mood, I won't hurt you, I want to be friends" I know this is most often seen in cockatoo's and cockatiels, but it isn't unheard of in other parrots.

2)Beak Clicking: This is normally a very sharp, consistent clicking. Often accompanied by neck stretching, this is a signal that the bird is feeling threatened by something, or is "protecting" something they find particularly important. generally speaking though, putting your hand up to a bird doing that is going to result in an unfriendly bite, so we can probably rule this one out.

3) Beak Grinding: While not exactly "clicking" I think the sound is close enough to count it in as well, sounds very similar to kids grinding their teeth. This happens when a bird scrapes their upper and lower mandible together, and is usually an indication that the bird is feeling very secure and content.

I wasn't able to watch the videos to get a better idea for exactly what your little one is doing, but hopefully that gives you enough info to figure it out

 

[skyweekes]

that helps alot i reckon its the last option as he/she never bites unless its too noisy in the house ( hates loud people )

thank you for the help

im sure i will be back for more help on strange things

 

[SirEdwin89]

that helps alot i reckon its the last option as he/she never bites unless its too noisy in the house ( hates loud people )

thank you for the help

im sure i will be back for more help on strange things

Absolutely, and feel free to stick around even when you don't have any strange things to figure out. It's a great community just to be able to have a place to show off our babies if nothing else (and there is plenty else! the people here are awesome possums)

 

[Notdumasilook]

That head bobbing is typical "begging food from momma" for a baby sun conure. The first vid seemed to show lil butt grinding...like he was mating with your hand/arm... typical ... also sun conures have a material/fabric fetish. You bird appears to be normal and healthy... and adorable. my Sun loves havin his tail pulled and wiggled... try it with your bird... bet he will too

 

[skyweekes]

He does the tail thing with both my mum and me and we did think maybe it's a mating thing we usually stop him. And yea the begging food the his why I told my mum I think he's a baby he's only recently also got coloured feathers under his wings, he's grown so much since we rescued him, took to me straight away🙂 He/she hates their tail touched 😆 Is there a simple way of telling the sex? Also could we get him like a teddy or something to keep him/her company when I'm not there or is that bad idea? Oh one other thing 😊 We have tried a parrot bath and he/she wasn't interested so uses their water bowl as bath is there any suggestions to help them bathe in something other then a small water bowl? Lol

 

[Notdumasilook]

Sure.. Booger would go for the waterbowl too. What I started doin is as soon as he got in the mood to bathe Id fill a small bowl with wide edges he could grip on with lukewarm water.. bring him near it and take my hands and gently splash the water.. didn't take too many tries and he got the idea and dove right in.. He knows his dish now and we do the same thing about daily.. He loves playing in the water. and loves being dried gently with a lil cloth too..
Just a guess but looking at the way your bird was grinding on ya.. its a boy.. Wanna be sure?? U can get a DNA test done.. order it online as I recall.
Sun conures are adorable sweet SMART lil birds.. feed him well and spoil him rotten... and if u get tired of him let me know )~~... I got a place for him here.

 

[skyweekes]

hmm may try that with the water and cloth its hard to know when he wants to bathe it can be when we clean out his cage or change his water or his food or it could just be every other day they fancy it lol

oh trust me he is spoilt rotten lol very needy bird

see we was confused about the sex because apart from the grinding u say he does he also pushes up against with tail up, does this on both my mum and me, this is what we thought was more female bird behaviour? but either way whatever sex sunny is we should just stop it once he starts yes?

also about the teddy..... good idea or no?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

There really is no way to tell a suns gender for sure outside of DNA (or invasive surgery) except egg-laying.

As far as bathing goes, suns are water babies and bathing for them is a must. Skittles will fly over to the faucet and ruffle his feathers and sneeze when he wants a bath. If I don't oblige him in a timely manner he will go on screeching tangent. lol.

Skittles takes it a bit too far though. He isn't happy until I am as wet as he is- and he has to have the water temp 'just right'.

 

[skyweekes]

Hmm ok, sunny only bathes every other day in his water bowl is that not enough ? He bathes when he wants I never really know when he wants one so maybe that will come with time 😊

 

[Notdumasilook]

Each bird might be a lil different. They pick the times they wanna bath. I can stick the idea in Boogers head by fillin the lil dish and splashing water a bit. I was only suggesting catching him when he is in the mood wanting to bathe already to show him you have a better tub for him to use. Once he gets that... then u can try pullin it out daily or every other day if that's what he wants.
And my Booger is male.. but he likes to push his butt all over my amazons head.. so don't bet that's a female trait. And the lil head bob/food begging thing your youngin does... when hes doing that with you its more or less a sign of affection methinks.. cuz when they are REALLY begging food... its a really forceful head bob that looks like it can cause injury.. no kiddin. Booger begs food for real from my amazon.. grabbing his beak and jerking like a jack hammer. And Cookie (a male BFA) obliges him.. hacking up some crop milk and feeding him... hah.. what a pair. Booger now has Cookie trained to feed him first thing every morning.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Yeah, it really does depend on the bird. Sometimes Skittles will bathe like every other day and then sometimes once a week. I find he tends to want to bathe more at the end of molting season.

He is pretty good at letting me know when he wants a bath. You should try studying your birds behavior when he bathes/wants to bathe, that way you can come up with a way to communicate with each other. That's what Skitty and I do. We have a great way of communicating. He tells me what to do and I follow through. hehe

 

[skyweekes]

Hmm ok thanks guys ��

 

[skyweekes]

Are sun conures ok with having a bed? On of those material beds you get for birds or bad idea? I don't want to get one if it causes our sunny to be quiet aggressive towards me or others due to a bed