baby GCC doesn't want to leave cage :(

[pikaPika]

i just brought home a new green cheek conure for 3 days now, and he doesn't seem to want to leave his cage. the first day and the beginning of the second day was fine(he came out of his cage),but now he just stays in there. he's fine with me petting him but when i try to get him to step up he either scuttles away or ignores my hand. what puzzles me is that he was fine with coming out at first

 

[SilverSage]

It will take him some time to settle in and feel safe. Just move at his pace and be patient


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[pikaPika]

now he is beginning to get a tad bit nippy though. he doesn't actually really bite, but threatens to now. is that normal? will he eventually get used to me?

 

[SilverSage]

He is nervous and he doesn't trust you yet. The only two ways he can show you he isn't comfortable is to move away from you, and if that doesn't work, to bite you. Please give him time to settle in and don't force him.


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[Sandy19]

I'm certainly no expert on bird behavior, but from having a baby Senegal for the past month I know that it doesn't like being forced to do anything. It lets me know when it wants to have contact. If she doesn't interact with me after calling her a few times I know it doesn't want to be bothered so I leave it alone.

Other times it will come over and step up right away. I also make sure I'm always making eye contact with the bird when I call her or put out my hand. That seems to help with it not nipping. It's like it sees my face and knows my hand is attached to me and not a predator.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your GCC! I'll post a few links to threads you may find helpful in transitioning your baby from a frightened and unsure bird to a confident and happy companion. It will take patience, love, and plenty of work!!

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

 

[LordFranzG]

Hello,

Based on my experience bringing home several birds of different ages, some very young when acquired and some a little older, every one of them regardless of their age needed time to adjust to their new environment/owner. What I normally do is for about 3 days, I would leave them alone, no close interaction aside from quietly changing their food and water. Then after that, while still no close (face to face) interaction, I would call their name or make a consistent whistle call every time I pass by their cage to acknowledge them and get them familiarize with my voice. Eventually, they will start getting excited everytime I'm in the room and that's when I start doing close interaction. From talking to them while changing their food and water to petting them to eventually doing step up.

However, different birds have different attitude and personality. Some older birds would never step up (especially those that have had previous owners that just left them in a cage with no physical interaction), but would still interact with you when you're around I.e talk, whistle, walk back and forth etc. in that case, leaving the door open and having a perch right at the door helps boost their confidence. But don't leave the door open unsupervised, interact with them verbally, move closer and closer until they are comfortable with you next to them.

In your case though you have a young conure so it shouldn't be hard getting their trust. ��

I hope this helps, and sorry for the novel! Haha

Franz