A lil lost here .. help would be greatly appreciated ❤️

[yflores]

I recently brought home a GCC for my 9 yr old daughter . She had been wanting a Quaker parrot for 2 yrs now . When I went to the pet store the employee suggested a GCC instead as they tend to be friendly and less loud . I was able to hold one and he seemed fine did not offer to bite and seemed really sweet . Fast forward a week later and we have a totally different bird . He will not willingly come out of the cage but once he’s out he’s happy to hanging out on our shoulder and chew on our clothes aggressively. We are currently trying to step up train but our little Noel is not treat motivated at all we have tried every treat we can think of ! We finally figured out he will step up on a perch and since he doesn’t accept treats (or if he does he takes it and tosses it ) we reward with a very excited “ good boy Noel”.
He will not step up to our hands ! Which I feel is important as a first step in bonding and building trust . I know my daughter is trying very patiently to bond with him but I feel we need some guidance so we don’t turn our lil Noel into a tiny terror accidentally. Please help!

 

[sandy101010]

The same thing happened to me when I got my plum headed parakeet. He was cage bound from the trauma of being forcefully grabbed at the pet store we got him from. Now he steps up and flies to us every time we say his name without fail. I would recommend to spend as much time with him as possible. When my bird wouldn't come out of his cage when I first got him I would just talk to him with the cage door open in a soft tone and watch tv or read a book next to him just so he could see that I meant no harm, and in less than 2 weeks I couldn't get him off of me. I would also recommend that you never force him to leave his cage as that is what creates the trauma that makes them scared to leave their cages at pet stores. As for the treats, I would recommend for you to try small pieces of fruit and veggies if you haven't already. My bird loves apples and bell peppers and prefers them over any seeds. It sounds like you and your family are off to a great start, just give it time. The fact that he sits on your shoulder already is a great sign.

 

[wrench13]

SO it sounds like this is a first parrot for your family. IT is very important to keep this in mind - let the parrot advance at his own pace, and not the pace of your expectations. Keeping a parrot is an exercise in patience, and not many 9 yr olds have that in abundance. It can take a parrot a few days to weeks to months to really settle in. For a treat, try small pieces of pine nuts, like 1/3rds. My Salty would plow the back 40 for a pine nut.

 

[yflores]

The same thing happened to me when I got my plum headed parakeet. He was cage bound from the trauma of being forcefully grabbed at the pet store we got him from. Now he steps up and flies to us every time we say his name without fail. I would recommend to spend as much time with him as possible. When my bird wouldn't come out of his cage when I first got him I would just talk to him with the cage door open in a soft tone and watch tv or read a book next to him just so he could see that I meant no harm, and in less than 2 weeks I couldn't get him off of me. I would also recommend that you never force him to leave his cage as that is what creates the trauma that makes them scared to leave their cages at pet stores. As for the treats, I would recommend for you to try small pieces of fruit and veggies if you haven't already. My bird loves apples and bell peppers and prefers them over any seeds. It sounds like you and your family are off to a great start, just give it time. The fact that he sits on your shoulder already is a great sign.

Thank you for the advice .

 

[yflores]

SO it sounds like this is a first parrot for your family. IT is very important to keep this in mind - let the parrot advance at his own pace, and not the pace of your expectations. Keeping a parrot is an exercise in patience, and not many 9 yr olds have that in abundance. It can take a parrot a few days to weeks to months to really settle in. For a treat, try small pieces of pine nuts, like 1/3rds. My Salty would plow the back 40 for a pine nut.

Hi , this is our first conure , we have had cockatiels but they seemed to be much sweeter lol . I had a cockatoo before I had my kids and he was a breeze compared to our conure but that could be because I hand fed him and he bonded with me fairly young . Thank you for the advice I think you’re right we may be expecting too much too quickly . I will try just letting him hang out in his cage with the cage door open . I was curious about one thing though. When he does sit on our shoulders he is constantly chewing on our clothes. It seems to be aggressive. Is this a conure behavior that screams aggression or am I reading him all wrong ?? Again thank you for the advice

 

[wrench13]

Welcome. I only know coures from what I read on here ( and trust me thats a LOT, conures almost being the new budgie), but it seems like that is pretty common with them. Not agressive just a pretty std behavior. A few folks have a special shirt(s) they wear when having their little on the shoulder. An alternative is to start the 'shunning' practice, but that takes a lot of group determination to retard the habit. SHunning - basically removing the bird to a neutral spot ( NOT the cage) immediately when he starts the behavior, turning your back to him, no eye contact - nothing, for 1 minute and the then trying to re-engage. TO work it has to be immediately and it has to be done by everyone in the family. It does work.

 

[LoveMyFids]

I recently brought home a GCC for my 9 yr old daughter . She had been wanting a Quaker parrot for 2 yrs now . When I went to the pet store the employee suggested a GCC instead as they tend to be friendly and less loud . I was able to hold one and he seemed fine did not offer to bite and seemed really sweet . Fast forward a week later and we have a totally different bird . He will not willingly come out of the cage but once he’s out he’s happy to hanging out on our shoulder and chew on our clothes aggressively. We are currently trying to step up train but our little Noel is not treat motivated at all we have tried every treat we can think of ! We finally figured out he will step up on a perch and since he doesn’t accept treats (or if he does he takes it and tosses it ) we reward with a very excited “ good boy Noel”.
He will not step up to our hands ! Which I feel is important as a first step in bonding and building trust . I know my daughter is trying very patiently to bond with him but I feel we need some guidance so we don’t turn our lil Noel into a tiny terror accidentally. Please help!

Parrots normally take awhile to get used to a new home, new people, new surroundings, new sounds, smells, etc. It can take a couple months even. Trying to handle them & such immediately can often result in unwanted behaviors because they don't trust you or their surroundings yet. You're actually not supposed to let them hang out on your shoulder because it can cause a lot of behavior problems & it can be dangerous if you have a bird that is nippy, or can turn nippy quickly (like some do). They can pierce, lips, ears, will go for jewelry & chew on your clothes. I would give the bird time to acclimate before much handling, or keep the handling down to very short sessions a day at first. You won't really be able to successfully "train" a bird until it actually feels comfortable & trusts you anyway. "Training" really only works once the bird has established an actual bond w/the person doing the teaching & this bond often will only be w/one person in the household. I had an African Grey for 21 yrs. since it was around 5-6mo. old that would not let anyone else touch it except me. She wasn't unfriendly towards others, but would not step up on others without giving them a nip at some point. To me she was ultra tame & never bit me in her life. I could even trim & file her nails w/no toweling. Let the bird adjust for several weeks. You should see the behavior start changing as the bird feels more secure, but keep in mind ALL birds no matter what species are all different in personality & disposition. Some species will tend to have some behavior traits that are typical to them (such as Poicephalus being little Jeckyl & Hydes w/being super sweet one min. & then giving you a nip w/no warning the next). You never know what you're really going to get w/ANY bird regardless of what any pet store employee or breeder tells you. Esp. breeders, because basically all baby birds are docile & needy. They rarely experience them once they get older. Give it time & be patient & know that often times a bird is not the best choice of pet for a small child because of this reason.

 

[yflores]

Thank you everyone for the great advice . We are taking baby steps with our handsome jerk Noel lol .. I’m confident that he will come around slowly.

 

[yflores]

Update ! My daughter has been working so patiently with Noel and it’s amazing how far she has come with him /her … he is stepping up on command , and has even learned to jump in his lil travel birdy backpack