bonding??

[hutcho]

I have a sun conure and im wondering is it normal for them to bond with just one person or do they normally bond with the entire family?

Thanks

 

[Psittaciformes]

I'd say they tend to bond or prefer one person, doesn't mean others can't handle them though. They're pair bonded birds

 

[OneHorseRanch]

My daughter originally bought Sheldon. But Sheldon became a bit aggressive with her so I bought the bird from her. SHeldon is almost two and he actually will let her handle him now. She's become really patient and persistent. Nice to see that at least I can pass Sheldon off to her if I need to check something on the stove or outside. He definitely doesnt like my husband.

 

[Robin]

When we had Robin, he was my son's bird but he spent all day with me so he became my bird. However, my husband would come home from work and he would go to him for the evening. When they hit the age of two, they prefer one person. Braxy is a whole new can of worms!

 

[Birdman666]

There are essentially three types of parrots. Pair bond birds. Flock birds. And solitary feeders.

Solitary feeders are things like rock pebblers. They are super independent, with little or no flock structure. It's an every man for himself situation, but there are safety in numbers. So they are in the vicinity of each other, but they only get together for breeding purposes. Once the breeding is done, and the chicks hatch... wham, bam, thank you m'am... "My work here is done. You're on your own."

Flock birds would be things like cockatoos, budgies, african greys, tiels, and eckies. They live in large tightly knit flocks, with lots and lots of flock structure, especially CAGS and Toos... which helps to explain why the absence of this flock structure, or sudden loss of it, can trigger stress, anxiety and plucking disorders... Flock birds do not mate for life, and take multiple partners.

Macaws, amazons and CONURES are all pair bond birds. In the wild you see them in flocks of about 30-40 birds, but they are almost always flying two by two... they generally take one mate. They mate for life. They become almost inseparable with that other bird.

In captivity, they tend to form that same pair bond with a person. Which is why socialization with people other than that person becomes so important. You're not going to break that bond. BUT if that one person is the only person that ever handles that bird, then it can quickly progress to a point where that is the only person who CAN handle that bird. You can get biting and behavior problems...

This is especially true if that bird is a severe macaw.

Socialization with other people reduces these behaviors. They still have their favorite person, but they will go to anyone and interact with anyone who treats them nice...

I know I answered more than you asked but this subject comes up a lot, not just with conures, so now I can just point to this post...

I have a fairly extrordinary story about a sun conure pair bond, that I'll post fairly soon, I just need a little more free time to write it.

 

[Psittaciformes]

Since you brought it up now Mark, is plucking and self mutilation more common in flock birds then?

 

[Birdman666]

Since you brought it up now Mark, is plucking and self mutilation more common in flock birds then?

Psychological plucking, yes. It's primarily flock birds.

Pair bond birds occasionally do it with grief and stress. But it's less common.

There are physiological causes for plucking that are just universal.

And there are species specific (Eckies for example) dietary/hormonal problems that can trigger plucking...

Plucking is a difficult thing.

 

[Psittaciformes]

Interesting, it's more complicated than I thought, definitely gonna read more about it, thank you!

 

[Christinenc2000]

Birds that Pluck break my heart !

 

[Birdman666]

Interesting, it's more complicated than I thought, definitely gonna read more about it, thank you!

There have been quite a number of studies that have shown a relationship between birds who were force weaned and not allowed to fledge properly, and plucking disorders...

Not allowing them to abundance wean triggers abandonment issues... In the wild, it means the parent is going to leave them to die! So, yeah, you might have some psychological stress/issues with that one, if you were a baby bird!

Fledging properly is the key to a young bird's development, coordination, physical strength, and confident. If not allowed to do this, he falls behind other birds. He's different. He can't do what they do. He's perpetually "the runt." And other birds pick up on the lack of confidence and pick on him as well...

So those are factors in the psychological development of plucking disorders.

Then when you add to that the fact that Toos and CAGS live in flocks of 100+ birds, where they have constant companionship, stimulation, and comfort... something we just can't give them in captivity...

Then throw in the human caused components of neglect, and isolation.

You have a plucker on your hands. Reversing that one is hard!

Physiological plucking is easy. Guess right. Change the diet. Figure out the allergy or toxin. Don't expose the bird to the trigger anymore.

 

[hutcho]

Thanks everyone! My Jim will happily cuddle up to my mum, step dad and fiancé but as soon as i walk in the room he'll scream once and jump off whoever hes on and waddle/climb over to me for cuddles, he follows me through the house, even to the bathroom lol! Just wanted to make sure this type of behaviour wont lead to him being aggressive at other people in the future.