Sun conure has damaged my apt

[DontEatTofu]

Haha! Tofu doesn't wait for me. He goes straight for his mesh sponge "perch" when he realizes it's shower time. He's in before me.

 

[guesswhokatysue]

AWWW I love this idea.

Mave is only (we think) 3 months old, or in and around there. Once he sees a vet that will help us be sure.

We have had him only a handful of days, but at the store he was at he was handled by a lot of people often, so he is a pretty friendly little guy. That's not to say that he doesn't sometimes bite down a little too hard, but he's pretty good about stopping when we say no.

here is a link that MIGHT help get an idea of how to help with the biting thing..if this particular link isn't helpful that site in general is pretty nice ..at least from what I have seen!

Stop A Biting Bird

 

[ConureCrazy]

Welcome to the forum! The shower thing is such a great idea! My green cheeked conures just use a regular bowl to bathe in, I'm in tha same situation as Mave; I only just got my birdies! Again, welcome!

 

[IcyWolf]

The doors can be fixed with putty like was mentioned and you can also purchase interior doors for super cheap at construction auctions. Not too long ago I know my brother bought like 20 doors for around five bucks. I would consider reinforcing the tops of the doors if he is going to continue to chew them. Just take some sheet metal or something and attach it to the tops. You can always remove it when you move.

As for the carpet, I would start by trying to potty train him. Give him a designated spot so that he doesn't continue to go on the floor. For the spots that are already there, have you tried a spot bot? I've heard pretty good things about them. I'd be careful using carpet cleaners while Tofu is in the house though, they can have all sorts of chemicals and fumes, I would be afraid it might affect his respiratory system.

I know this isn't my place to say this but I really think you need to have a talk with your kids as well. They got this bird and then when they didn't want him anymore, they thought it was okay to just pass him off to you. This type of thinking is why so many amazing animals are rehomed every day. In my opinion it's a cycle that needs to be broken. At some point your kids will be grown and have kids of their own and if they continue to think of animals as disposable entertainment and then teach their own children that this is okay, think of how many animals will be with and then without homes just in their lifetime

 

[DontEatTofu]

The poop stains to which I refer are all old. He is as potty trained as he's going to be, I think. I'm very relieved that he RARELY ... and I mean RARELY goes while on me or while on any upholstered furniture. I'm not worried about recent stains or future ones at all. It's these old ones that exasperates me.
I no longer allow him to perch on the doors so future damage in that area is being prevented now, too. I was frustrated about the prior damage after taking inventory this morning.

I have heard of a spot bot. Anyone have any experience with this thing?

My kids are pretty grown. My daughter just graduated college in May and lives on her own in another city now. She's 22. She was 16 when she helped her brother buy Tofu. He was 11 and is now 17. He has urged me to give away Tofu countless times.

He has apologized many times to me for getting him (because he sees the damages and sees how much I have to now put into taking care of his former pet)and has expressed that he feels sorry for Tofu.
If it were up to my son, Tofu would have been rehomed a long time ago.

 

[dishgal1]

We would love to see pics.

 

[guesswhokatysue]

I agree! I wanna see pics too

 

[Rio Mom]

How about trying a steam cleaner on the carpets? I use a steam cleaner on my cages, and it works great on the poop.

 

[dishgal1]

Tofu I see you are in Dallas, I am in Weatherford. Got my Gcc from a breeder in Garland.

 

[dishgal1]

For those dry crusty spots. Spray them lightly with poopoff..........get a shower scrubber and scuff them ........it works great.
I think the poopoff is great it even gets up recycled red pepper poop. That is a job.

 

[DontEatTofu]

I think I did this correctly.

 

[caliopi]

I would normally be the first one to jump in and say "give the poor bird up to someone who will look after him but I don't think she really "hates" Tofu at all, she is just concerned and frustrated but no one who really hated a pet would carry him around on her shoulders all day or be concerned about rehoming him in case he got neglected.

How about we cut her a bit of slack and generally try and give some constructive advice on how to address the concerns as some already have and help her and Tofu bond even better? Show her links to the type of toys conures like best, maybe someone has a novel way to remove poop from carpet? Oh and by the pics, it certainly doesn't seem that Tofu doesn't like his owner either!

 

[DontEatTofu]

Tofu I see you are in Dallas, I am in Weatherford. Got my Gcc from a breeder in Garland.

Tofu was purchased from Treetop in Richardson.
Now my son not only doesn't want the bird, he harps on how bad it was for them to buy from a breeder because rescue birds need much more support than an overpriced bird. And blahblahblah, he's so righteous now.

 

[dishgal1]

So many people get their children birds and they just don't understand the commitment and lifespan and especially how these birds need so much interaction. I applaud you for stepping up and trying to make the best of the situation. Sounds like you really do care for him. They make such wonderful companions. My husband and I are retired and we thought long and hard before we decided to get one especially since he would probably outlive us. My daughter will take him if that happens. She loves birds and has 2 of her own. Also we wondered if we wanted to be that committed because it is a huge commitment............NOW we both love that little guy to death. We can't imagine life without him. We don't travel much only a couple days every 2-3 months and there again he stays with my daughter. No big deal for him ..........he loves her bird and they have playdays all the time.
So he is at home there as well......
I wish you the best with Tofu and I know you will grow to love him more each day.

 

[dishgal1]

OMG he is beautiful. Is he loud? Most suns are, if not you are very lucky. Does he bite a lot? He looks like a sweetheart.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Looks like Tofu has a nice perch there. When it comes to him pooping on the carpet, if you get the poop up ASAP and then use the PoopOff or AviClean to gently scrub the area with an old toothbrush, once the spot dries it is barely if at all noticeable.

I don't recall anyone giving an answer regarding the life of the carpet in apartments. I am not sure about Texas by in CA and WA it is 5 years. After the carpet has had 5 years of use there is no charge for replacement and it should be discarded. Check your lease agreement. Mine states how much the charge is for damaged carpet for each year of use. At the 5th year is says $0 charge.

 

[KatherineI]

I know this isn't my place to say this but I really think you need to have a talk with your kids as well. They got this bird and then when they didn't want him anymore, they thought it was okay to just pass him off to you. This type of thinking is why so many amazing animals are rehomed every day. In my opinion it's a cycle that needs to be broken. At some point your kids will be grown and have kids of their own and if they continue to think of animals as disposable entertainment and then teach their own children that this is okay, think of how many animals will be with and then without homes just in their lifetime

Thank you for saying what I've been thinking. As a parent, I won't let my daughter get any animal unless I am willing to take care of it. Why? Because she's a kid. I do "force" her, but if I wasn't willing to take care of the animal, then she'd never get one. She's also only 7. If she was 17, I'd absolutely make her take care of her pets herself.

I have heard of a spot bot. Anyone have any experience with this thing?

Yes. I have one and I love it!

I'm glad to hear your son realizes what he did was wrong.

How about trying a steam cleaner on the carpets? I use a steam cleaner on my cages, and it works great on the poop.

What kind of steam cleaner do you use? Is it the one from Shark that you can use on pretty much anything? I have their floor steamer and I LOVE it! I'd love to get the other one, but I never thought about using it on cages... hmm...

 

[lizardsmells]

Katherine, the other day I was at the rescue and a couple of service guys came to do some work around the place. One of them asked us what he'd have to do get one for his 9 year old son and the director told him have his 9 year old come pay us a visit in 21 years. The rescue won't foster or adopt to anyone younger than 30 and it's for this very reason. Life is uncertain and constantly changing when we're younger! Birds are pretty permanent.

Don'tEatTofu, if the stains are just on the very top of the carpet you can take a disposable razor and shave it off. I've used that for ink stains before.

 

[ConureCrazy]

Tofu looks adorable! Yes, try scrubbing really hard with PoopOff, it gets most things out.

 

[KatherineI]

Katherine, the other day I was at the rescue and a couple of service guys came to do some work around the place. One of them asked us what he'd have to do get one for his 9 year old son and the director told him have his 9 year old come pay us a visit in 21 years. The rescue won't foster or adopt to anyone younger than 30 and it's for this very reason. Life is uncertain and constantly changing when we're younger! Birds are pretty permanent.

Don'tEatTofu, if the stains are just on the very top of the carpet you can take a disposable razor and shave it off. I've used that for ink stains before.

While the "Under 30" is a little insulting (I think under 25 might be a more realistic idea, I was already a wife and mother at age 23 and obviously quite responsible) I totally see where he's coming from!