Help me tame my Conure

Hello everyone,

I recently got my newest little buddy, Kiwi/Link (still can't decide) the green cheek conure, other than a Fischer Lovebird , this is my first experience taming and bonding with a bird.

I've done a lot of research before getting him and I understand the general trust-building that goes into taming a bird, but I thought I'd increase my knowledge even further by going on here.

So he's about 9 months old, very fearful of people, I've gone as far as giving him a treat through the bars, even then it takes a while for him to work up the courage to come take it, on a few occasions he took the treat off the tip of my finger after a few minutes of hesitating, and then he runs to the other side of the cage or moves away if he's out of the cage to go eat it.

I'm putting my hand in the cage for a few minutes like I read to do, so he gets used to my hands, but I'm not sure what else I can do, is it just a matter of patience from here? I'm not seeing that many differences since I got him around 10 days ago.

I let him out of his cage every day for around half an hour or so, he likes going out but getting him back in is heartbreaking because I have to try to let him land on this blanket and return him to the cage, if he lands on it he doesn't mind just chilling on my hand (which is under the blanket) for a bit. And he usually needs to be tired from flying away from me to land on the blanket.

I've seen some people saying to clip his wings until I tame him and let them grow back afterwards but that worries me because my cat Zelda might give him the old 1-2.

Anyways I know this is a lot but I just want to be as precise as possible, thanks a lot for reading.

Welcome to you!

Welcome to you and your GCC! He is young and still quite new to you and a new home. The "honeymoon" period is measured in weeks to more than one month. You'll find patience and a lot of love should result in a close bond. This thread shares tips to build trust: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Clipping wings is a highly sensitive subject with a universe of opinions. I'd recommend against as there are no serious behavioral issues, and a cat is present. I highly suggest you develop a plan to keep them absolutely, positively separate. While some cats appear mellow in the presence of birds, they are not natural friends and the relationship can snap in a heartbeat. The hazard is not limited to lethal bites, cat saliva and bacteria from scratches are deadly. Our bereavement forum highlights heartbreaking stories of birds killed by cats.

GrumpyBurgie said:

I'm putting my hand in the cage for a few minutes like I read to do, so he gets used to my hands, but I'm not sure what else I can do, is it just a matter of patience from here? I'm not seeing that many differences since I got him around 10 days ago.

Click to expand...

We made this mistake with our very first bird when I was a kid. I am not sure why old-school books reccommend this method. It doesn't work.

Imagine something that terrifies you. Then imagine that everytime someone you know comes around, they have that thing and they force you to deal with it. For me, this would be taxes...So if I knew someone who tried to get me to do taxes whenever they came around, I would dread them and avoid them and get nervous when I saw them coming...

Your bird's cage is it's home. You sticking your hand in is scaring it. You are destroying trust each time you do this.

That is not to say it can't be built back up, but think if it as a bank. You had maybe 10 trust points and now you are probably 20 in debt, which means you have to work hard to be extra low-stress and positive, in order to make enough deposits to get back to where you were.

You want to be as positive and non-threatening as possible early on. Birds move in slow motion and pushing that will only back-fire. You have to move at their pace (not the other way around).

People tend to want to touch their birds right away (within the first 2 weeks) and if they are willing and don't hesitate, then fine...but if they back off or anything, read that signal and know that it is stressing them out (ALSO, if you get that response on a Thursday, don't try again on Saturday...they move SLOWLY).

Associate yourself with positives-- if your bird likes a treat, put it in their bowl if they are nervous about your hands...don't get in your bird's face...don't put your hands in after them...never chase...never push your fingers into their chest...treat them as a cliche gentleman would treat a girl he was dating int the 1800s lol.