We got a Green cheek conure about 2 months ago, I was told that hes about 2 years old. We got him from an owner that only used him to breed him. When we first got him he wasn't friendly at all and would bite if you came near him. It took about a month, but now he doesn't bite at all and we have taught him to step up. The second month he has not made anymore progress at all, he would prefer to be alone and doesn't like coming out of his cage. If I get him out of his cage, he immediately fly's back to it. I bought him a nice big cage with lots of toys but he doesn't even really play with them, he normally just sits on his perch or eats. I have tried everything I can think of to get him to want to spend time with us, but he just doesn't want to. We have tried to coax him with treats, but he normally wont take them, and if he does he just grabs it and runs away. I dont know what to do.
Conure doesnt like us please help
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MonicaMc
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That's a chance you take when getting a breeder bird.
I would not recommend forcing him out of his cage.
Any time you walk by his cage, drop a treat into his cage. If he'll take it from your hand, even better! If not, that's ok! This simple act will teach him to look forward to your presence.
If it's ok to leave his cage door open while you are home, then allow him to come out of the cage. If he does, and you walk by, drop a treat! Don't ask anything of him, just give him a treat that he only gets when you walk by or are near.
The main thing is, you need to give it time. Teach him to enjoy your presence. Removing him out of the cage against his will is doing the opposite of what you desire!
You can also try target training him while he's at the cage. That is, teach him to reach for an object for a reward. If he looks at it, reward him. If he moves his head towards it, reward him. If he takes a step towards it, reward him. Small, baby steps.
As far as toys go, you might need to get him interested in toys by stuffing the toys with treats and/or food! If he accidentally touches a toy, give him a reward! He may not understand at first, but the more times he accidentally touches a toy and gets rewarded for it, the more he'll do it until it clicks. Then you can shape playing with toys!
I would not recommend forcing him out of his cage.
Any time you walk by his cage, drop a treat into his cage. If he'll take it from your hand, even better! If not, that's ok! This simple act will teach him to look forward to your presence.
If it's ok to leave his cage door open while you are home, then allow him to come out of the cage. If he does, and you walk by, drop a treat! Don't ask anything of him, just give him a treat that he only gets when you walk by or are near.
The main thing is, you need to give it time. Teach him to enjoy your presence. Removing him out of the cage against his will is doing the opposite of what you desire!
You can also try target training him while he's at the cage. That is, teach him to reach for an object for a reward. If he looks at it, reward him. If he moves his head towards it, reward him. If he takes a step towards it, reward him. Small, baby steps.
As far as toys go, you might need to get him interested in toys by stuffing the toys with treats and/or food! If he accidentally touches a toy, give him a reward! He may not understand at first, but the more times he accidentally touches a toy and gets rewarded for it, the more he'll do it until it clicks. Then you can shape playing with toys!
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The main reason i got him was because he was a breeder bird and i felt bad for him. Sometimes he will step up on my finger and let me bring him out of his cage, but the furthest he wants to go is on top of his cage. If i take him away from his cage, he just stares around trying to figure out how to get back to his cage. Is it possible to make him more social and loving even though he was a breeder bird?
Did you not read the above? You are getting excellent advice.
patience, time and treats. Don't force anything, work at the birds pace. You said you felt bad for him, well he is in a much better home now, even if nothing goes any further. He steps up once in awhile? Give him a treat when he does, and put him on his cage top. Show him that being with you means he can trust to go to his comfort place.
It might take months, or years, but slowly , with small steps, I think he will come around, you sound like your heart is in a good place. Put yourself in his place. Big scary person who keeps trying to take me out of my safe place... why should I go with it. Oh here is a good treat...understand?
patience, time and treats. Don't force anything, work at the birds pace. You said you felt bad for him, well he is in a much better home now, even if nothing goes any further. He steps up once in awhile? Give him a treat when he does, and put him on his cage top. Show him that being with you means he can trust to go to his comfort place.
It might take months, or years, but slowly , with small steps, I think he will come around, you sound like your heart is in a good place. Put yourself in his place. Big scary person who keeps trying to take me out of my safe place... why should I go with it. Oh here is a good treat...understand?
I have several breeder birds that we have been able to tame down. My conures love pine nuts and safflowers as treats. I think its wonderful you took in this little guy and I wish you luck in taming him.
Pine nuts, half of one at a time. Pieces of walnuts, small ones. Salty would change my transmission for a pine nut.
brolie
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- Apr 7, 2015
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I got a jenday conure a little over a year ago and it wasn't until just recently we showed real progress and he's letting me pet him... patience is extremely important...
with gus i would stroke his little head once and say "good boy" and then slowly let him learn that i wasn't going to hurt him.. (he came from a home where he wasn't treated properly).. he will only go away from his cage if he's on my shoulder and even then he's a bit jumpy when there are loud noises (like a door closing and what not) but each time he has a positive experience, even for 1 second, it helps build the trust and love and all of that...
even though it took a while for him to let me touch him, it was totally worth the wait
with gus i would stroke his little head once and say "good boy" and then slowly let him learn that i wasn't going to hurt him.. (he came from a home where he wasn't treated properly).. he will only go away from his cage if he's on my shoulder and even then he's a bit jumpy when there are loud noises (like a door closing and what not) but each time he has a positive experience, even for 1 second, it helps build the trust and love and all of that...
even though it took a while for him to let me touch him, it was totally worth the wait
Allee
Well-known member
I think it's wonderful you gave a loving new home to a breeder bird. To me it sounds like you've made amazing progress in a relatively short time. I wouldn't be too discouraged just yet, he may have just reached a temporary plateau, he's probably comfortable with his new situation, he may not be quite ready for a lot of human interaction just yet. I would give him more time to process everything and continue to offer treats. I think before too long he will be seeking more attention. My flock likes pumpkin seeds or a small piece of dry fruit. Some birds respond well to music, or try reading aloud or just talking to your bird from a comfortable distance.
snowflake311
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My black capped loves safflower seeds more then anything. That's his treat cheap and easy but messy.
That's awesome you have given him a good retirement home. He might be lonely did he have a mate before he went to live with you? Life as a pet can be very different. 2 month is not very long. He has made some good progress so far I am sure with even more time he will come out of his shell.
Nothing worth having comes easy. The love of a bird is one of the .
That's awesome you have given him a good retirement home. He might be lonely did he have a mate before he went to live with you? Life as a pet can be very different. 2 month is not very long. He has made some good progress so far I am sure with even more time he will come out of his shell.
Nothing worth having comes easy. The love of a bird is one of the .
- Mar 11, 2016
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I would balance the advice given already with a little different advice.
Sometimes you just have to get the bird to have a new experience before they can learn to like it.
So you have to balance "being patient" with "showing the bird something new." I adopted a Blue Crown Conure on Saturday. I already have a Blue Crown, so from day 1 I just started doing the same thing with both birds.
New bird didn't want to step up. I used a glove to protect my hand and I got the bird to step up on the glove. (The bird is 16 years old and was well handled previously) After a few times the bird decided it liked my hand better than the glove. It was a quick study.
I take the birds to the shower in the morning for a quick bath. So I took the new bird along with the other birds. Getting the hang of getting a quick bath took the new bird 3 days. (not bad)
While I agree in being patient and treating the bird with a lot of respect and caring, I also want to introduce the new bird to new experiences. This honeymoon period can be a good time for that since the bird is new to everything.
Get the bird away from its cage. Out of the room and out of sight of the cage. Use a play stand in another room. It's ok to get a bird out of their comfort zone for a little while. Without the comfort of the cage the bird will depend more on you to make it feel safe.
Even my giant Harlequin Macaw is different away from his cage and he is a very confident bird.
Get the bird to try new things. Be the parent.
Chris Dooley
Sometimes you just have to get the bird to have a new experience before they can learn to like it.
So you have to balance "being patient" with "showing the bird something new." I adopted a Blue Crown Conure on Saturday. I already have a Blue Crown, so from day 1 I just started doing the same thing with both birds.
New bird didn't want to step up. I used a glove to protect my hand and I got the bird to step up on the glove. (The bird is 16 years old and was well handled previously) After a few times the bird decided it liked my hand better than the glove. It was a quick study.
I take the birds to the shower in the morning for a quick bath. So I took the new bird along with the other birds. Getting the hang of getting a quick bath took the new bird 3 days. (not bad)
While I agree in being patient and treating the bird with a lot of respect and caring, I also want to introduce the new bird to new experiences. This honeymoon period can be a good time for that since the bird is new to everything.
Get the bird away from its cage. Out of the room and out of sight of the cage. Use a play stand in another room. It's ok to get a bird out of their comfort zone for a little while. Without the comfort of the cage the bird will depend more on you to make it feel safe.
Even my giant Harlequin Macaw is different away from his cage and he is a very confident bird.
Get the bird to try new things. Be the parent.
Chris Dooley
Chelsie
New member
I have a green cheek and he LOVE grapes the purple ones. You can also try Kale, they seem to love it even over the fruit sometimes. I got mine when he was 8 weeks old and it took him about 2 months to really start playing. The key with any bird breeder or not is Patience. They are very sensitive creatures. Even if he won't ever want to be out of his cage he will at least learn to trust you if you don't force him. It can take a long time to teach something and a second to lose trust. Just send good vibes and relax all shall come with time.
MonicaMc
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Breeder birds unfortunately don't always make good pets.
If he doesn't like leaving his cage, then don't make him!!! But you can make the outside of his cage more fun! Attach some perches and toys to the outside of his cage so he can have fun being out of the cage!
And if the cage isn't too big or cumbersome, then move the cage around the house! That way, he can still enjoy your company while still feeling secure in his cage. The more comfortable he becomes with you and his environment, the more he may be willing to leave the safety of his cage. Over time, he can learn to enjoy being around you, regardless if he's in or on his cage, or in a completely different room!
If you use ChrisDooley's technique, then you may always have cage problems with him! He may be fine away from the cage, but getting him away from the cage *will* be a hassle, and this is *NOT* good!
Please, read this thread!
http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/36663-long-overdue-intro-jayde-red-throated-conure.html
