What can I do to make my conure more comfortable? How long will it take

[JesusWasRussian]

I brought home a gorgeous green cheek conure yesterday. He's a bit over 3 months old. I got him, Buddy, from a breeder and Buddy was quite attached to the breeder. When I would get him on my hand he would fly back to the breeder after a few seconds, over time he would stay longer. Eventually he did sit quietly on my shoulder though. Since bringing him home he'll try to bite or run away from my hand, but he has taken apples from me but he'll try to bite again when he's done. He has started chatting a bit today now, bathing in his water bowl too.

I have bags of his normal food and treats from the breeder so at least that is familiar. He was kept in the living room at the breeder's house, so I've been leaving the TV on in my room (where he is kept now since I live with my parents) in the hope that's comforting for him (I have been sitting in there as well). He also had heaps of toys which I'm going to stock up on later today hopefully.

What else can I do to make him more comfortable? What can do I to help him trust me? Is it going to take longer because he was attached to the breeder?

 

[Rora]

I've found that just getting my sun conure used to the sound of my voice helped a lot. Try reading to him, that's what I did.

Good luck <3

 

[Catisue22]

Rora's idea is great! Sit down in a chair near his cage where he can see you. Then read a book in a soft relaxing voice. I would do this every day for as long as you can. Have him step up a few times a day, and spend as much time with him as you can. Keep hand-feeding him treats, and just try to make him as comfortable as you can. I would keep him in a quiet room for at least the first week or two, and give him extra attention until he's used to you. Next time he bites you, don't jerk away. Gently push back with your finger, letting him know that he won't get the reaction he wants from you. He may miss his breeder for a while, but he will become attached to you over time. These are only the first few days; you're a stranger right now. He should start feeling more comfortable after the first couple of weeks.

 

[JesusWasRussian]

Thank you for your replies. I was going to use your suggestions but Buddy has suddenly done a 180 and is social and loving!

This turn came after I gave him fruit this morning and this evening I bought him toys and he warmed up while I was giving him the toys. For about a day he had no toys so he was no doubt bored out of his brain. He first played with the toys while I held them, then he stood on them, eventually he climbed on my arm and since then, no hesitating, and this is while my mm and sister were in the room also. I haven't let them hold him yet because I need him to bond to me first. Is that reasonable, or it is alright to let them hold him?

He 'steps up' most of the time I want him to, he's been on my shoulder eating my hair, which I don't mind, and 'nibbling' my face, which I also don't mind. He's quickly learning to difference between what is and isn't okay is terms of biting though, when he bites too hard for my liking I just say "Ow!" and he listens most of the time, I don't pull away, I'm boss, he has to pull away! I've only had to make him lose his balance twice, which is what I do when he doesn't listen to "Ow!", so he does listen to me. He's just growing out of his nippy stage now the breeder said so hopefully he will get better at that.

As I type this, he's snuggled against my neck in my hair and he hasn't moved in a while, and he doesn't like it when I move my warm hair to peek at him, haha. He's not gonna be happy when I put him back later. Also, he hasn't pooped on me yet, which is a bonus. Once I was moving him and he pooped then while he was over his cage and I made a big deal and praised him. Haha.

So, yeah, it's looking good. This is a really long reply and I apologize, I just didn't expect this turn around and it has made me really happy. I was feeling bad about taking him away from his Dad, but he's doing just fine.

 

[Birdy916]

I dont know if its good or bad, but when I first got my birds and they were kinda bitey, I bribed them with sunflower seeds...

And, I didnt just give them the seeds, I would hold the seed in between my fingers, let the bird see it and reach for it, then Id stick my face really close and talk to them, and Id hold onto the seed so the birds would have to work to get it out of my finger...

Like i said, I dont know if it was right or wrong, but my birds got over their shyness and fear of [my] hands very quickly this way....

My thoughts are that you gotta make the bird realize that when its nice to you AND your hands, he gets good things to eat...

Yes, of course I got bit a few times, but they learned really quick that biting means no treats...

As a side note, I can take a full-pressure bit from my conure no problem, but my Alexandrine is another story... me and my fingers are really glad he got over it quickly...

 

[lquan]

The livingroom is good during the day for parrots, but bad at night for them. Humans stay up and occupy the livingroom much later than parrot. You need to move Buddy to a dark quiet place for him to sleep at night; 7pm to 7am. They need 11 to 12 hours of dark and quiet place to sleep to stay sane and healthy.

The breeder where I got my Lily from fed her soaked refrigerated mixed seeds. I got her when she was 4 months old and she still preferred soaked mixed seeds for 3 more weeks. Now she only wants 30% mixed seeds for her diet. 30% pellets. And the rest are fresh legume/fruit, steamed rice and sweet potato.

I didn't pick Lily when I got her. I had my heart set on a Pineapple Conure. In a small cage of 16 Pineapples and Yellow Sideds, Lily picked me. She was anxious to get away the breeder's small cage. I stuck my index finger in the cage while checking out all of the conures, Lily immediately climbed up to my finger while the rest huddled in the back of the cage.

She bonded with me and my family the minute we brought her home; no sweat there. She sticks to us like velcro now. She potty trained herself; so no sweat there either. She like to stay on our shoulder, if she needs to poop, she flies down to a hard surface like table or counter top in front of us to poop and immediately flies back to our shoulders. She doesn't poop in her sleeping cage, only on the news papper outside of her cage; all on her own. Her sleeping does not have doors. She is free to fly in the house. But she prefers the familyroom where every body spend most of their time. She hangs around on our curtains, refrigerator top, and on our beds a lot, but never poop there; only on the dinning room table or dresser top. So yes, conures are pretty smart, they can be potty trained. If you learn their pooping interval, you can potty train them very quickly. Pooping accident only happens when something scare them. It is their nature to poop before taking flight when scared. That's how they lighten themselves for quicker takeoff.

 

[JesusWasRussian]

I've found that just getting my sun conure used to the sound of my voice helped a lot. Try reading to him, that's what I did.

Good luck <3

I just figure out how to do this! I don't know if you saw, but thank you for your reply and I just wanted to let you know Buddy has done a 180 and is very social. Hopefully it keeps up! I made a longer post in this thread if you want to read it, but again, thank you.

Rora's idea is great! Sit down in a chair near his cage where he can see you. Then read a book in a soft relaxing voice. I would do this every day for as long as you can. Have him step up a few times a day, and spend as much time with him as you can. Keep hand-feeding him treats, and just try to make him as comfortable as you can. I would keep him in a quiet room for at least the first week or two, and give him extra attention until he's used to you. Next time he bites you, don't jerk away. Gently push back with your finger, letting him know that he won't get the reaction he wants from you. He may miss his breeder for a while, but he will become attached to you over time. These are only the first few days; you're a stranger right now. He should start feeling more comfortable after the first couple of weeks.

Thanks for your reply (I just figured out how to do this reply thing)! I was quite worried it would take a while, but over night Buddy did a 180 and is now very sociable. Hopefully he keeps it up! I made a longer post in this same thread if you want to read. If not, still thank you again.

The livingroom is good during the day for parrots, but bad at night for them. Humans stay up and occupy the livingroom much later than parrot. You need to move Buddy to a dark quiet place for him to sleep at night; 7pm to 7am. They need 11 to 12 hours of dark and quiet place to sleep to stay sane and healthy.

The breeder where I got my Lily from fed her soaked refrigerated mixed seeds. I got her when she was 4 months old and she still preferred soaked mixed seeds for 3 more weeks. Now she only wants 30% mixed seeds for her diet. 30% pellets. And the rest are fresh legume/fruit, steamed rice and sweet potato.

I didn't pick Lily when I got her. I had my heart set on a Pineapple Conure. In a small cage of 16 Pineapples and Yellow Sideds, Lily picked me. She was anxious to get away the breeder's small cage. I stuck my index finger in the cage while checking out all of the conures, Lily immediately climbed up to my finger while the rest huddled in the back of the cage.

She bonded with me and my family the minute we brought her home; no sweat there. She sticks to us like velcro now. She potty trained herself; so no sweat there either. She like to stay on our shoulder, if she needs to poop, she flies down to a hard surface like table or counter top in front of us to poop and immediately flies back to our shoulders. She doesn't poop in her sleeping cage, only on the news papper outside of her cage; all on her own. Her sleeping does not have doors. She is free to fly in the house. But she prefers the familyroom where every body spend most of their time. She hangs around on our curtains, refrigerator top, and on our beds a lot, but never poop there; only on the dinning room table or dresser top. So yes, conures are pretty smart, they can be potty trained. If you learn their pooping interval, you can potty train them very quickly. Pooping accident only happens when something scare them. It is their nature to poop before taking flight when scared. That's how they lighten themselves for quicker takeoff.

Thank you for replying. I think you missed it but I made a post in this thread saying how well Buddy is suddenly doing, he is now very social. It's like he's a different bird. It's great to hear about your bird though. She sounds lovely. Also, Buddy was kept in the living room at the breeders house (they were amateur breeders), but he is kept in my bedroom now, so I'll try to regulate his sleep more.

I dont know if its good or bad, but when I first got my birds and they were kinda bitey, I bribed them with sunflower seeds...

And, I didnt just give them the seeds, I would hold the seed in between my fingers, let the bird see it and reach for it, then Id stick my face really close and talk to them, and Id hold onto the seed so the birds would have to work to get it out of my finger...

Like i said, I dont know if it was right or wrong, but my birds got over their shyness and fear of [my] hands very quickly this way....

My thoughts are that you gotta make the bird realize that when its nice to you AND your hands, he gets good things to eat...

Yes, of course I got bit a few times, but they learned really quick that biting means no treats...

As a side note, I can take a full-pressure bit from my conure no problem, but my Alexandrine is another story... me and my fingers are really glad he got over it quickly...

Hey, thanks for your reply. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, it's great that it works for you. Buddy's nipping isn't that bad now. I loud "Ow!" when he bites to hard for my liking is enough to startle him and get him to stop, when he doesn't listen to that, I just put off his balance a little, force him to let go, but he's pretty good now. He's like a brand new parrot overnight. I think you missed it but in this thread I made a post saying about how well Buddy is doing now. But your reply is still helpful. Thanks again.

 

[legal_eagle]

My GCC is semi-potty trained to poop in her cage. I noticed that she would poop just before she came out of her cage, so I began saying "poop" before I brought her out and now she does it on command. She will also often wait to poop until she is back in her cage, although there are accidents sometimes.