Conure Questions!

Skye

New member
Mar 7, 2014
65
0
Scottsdale, AZ
Parrots
Jenday Conure (Lola)
Hey everyone! So Lola has some mangled tail feathers still and although I've monitored her and haven't seen any over preening and also provided many things to keep her beak busy her tail feathers don't seem to be recuperating. I'm wondering they just wont look full again until she molts all her tail feathers and grows new ones. I've only had her a month and her feathers were frayed when I got her.

ALSO, she is moody! She want to be loved when she wants to be loved (She will sometimes rub her neck against mine and preen me) but other than that she is very into her cage. Is this normal or have we just not "bonded" yet? I hear of a lot of birds that like to spend the majority of their time outside of the cage but I'm guessing it is unique for every personality?
 
I'm not sure how old Lola is but if she's young, the mangled tail is quiet common. Young birds don't always take their tail into account when climbing and are a great deal clumsier. I've had a few birds, mostly cockatiels, who butchered their first set of tail feathers. It may also be caused by a perch that is too close to the cage bars and is rubbing her tail off. She is definitely still adjusting so give her time. The cage may be the only familiar thing she has right now and it's her security blanket. Once she is confident that outside the cage is a safe place she will probably be more of an explorer. The tail feathers will grow back as soon as the old messy feathers fall out. The fall out in a certain system depending on hours of lighting and what not. But it will happen eventually. Now would be the perfect time to do a treat test and find out what she likes so you can offer it to her and make friends. Just give her a bowl full of different foods and quietly observe what she picks first. This food may be one of her favorites. Good luck with her!
 
I agree with Pacoparrot- my two conures are over a year old and although they preen each other, they still fray up their tail feathers on a regular basis just from the playing they do! Sort of like kids that crawl around and play and pay no mind to the holes they're wearing out in their jeans.. they just keep playing haha.
 
Same with Sootie, she snags her tailfeathers all the time while she's practicing her acrobatics. As long as Lola isn't doing the damage intentionally (pulling feathers out or stripping them) then I think it's normal. Make sure that her perches are positioned high enough from the bottom of the cage that her tail will clear the bottom, particularly the one she sleeps on so that she's comfortable.

If she is not comfortable being out of her cage, maybe you could try having some playtime bringing some of her favorite toys or some new handtoys out and setting them beside you on the sofa or the bed and playing together. Have some treats handy (try slivered, blanched almonds) and let her see your hands playing with her toys, handing them to her and handing her treats. The more she gets used to being around your hands and around your body the more she'll trust you and be comfortable
 
My conure came with mangled tail feathers and she lost and regrew one, but it seems to be taking ages for the new one to finish growing in. Mine is molting too, so I hope she hurries and gets pretty new feathers too!
About her attitude . . . We have had ours two months now. She started out shy and warmed up to us about three days later so we could hold her. She was still a good bit shy kind of like you mentioned until last week. I had more time on my hands and I started spending more time with her and suddenly she became my best friend. She seems to need at least two hours a day of time out of the cage with one of us. I was not quite giving her that and I think it gave her an attitude.
 
Give her a really nice, soaking bath! That can temporarily help her feathers!


My conures prefer being on me than in their cage, but honestly, it would be nice if they were more independent sometimes! :p Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with them, but I do prefer going to the bathroom alone! (insert cat at door, meowing and/or sticking paws underneath door as well!) And it makes cage cleaning harder when I've got two birds glued to me that don't exactly get along! LOL They do go back to their cages to eat, though.


Perhaps you could try training Lola and rewarding her with food items?
 
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Thanks for the responses everyone! She is very young @pacoparrot, she is only 7-8 months. She has actually had two feathers break off since I've gotten her. The first time it happened I FREAKED out because it was hardly hanging on and I had read about blood feathers but now I know if it is that extreme and not already bleeding it is nothing to worry about. She doesn't trash her feathers in purpose I dont think. The vet said that she may have originally been over preening (before she came home with me) but from what I've seen she hasnt been doing anything self destructive. Lola lets me scratch her head and touch her feathers now but its always a struggle getting her out of the cage haha. @MonicaMc how does the bath soaking work? She takes baths on her own and i've attempted to help her take one in the bathroom sink but she is not a fan! haha
 
You might have to take her in the shower against her will and get her tail feathers soaking wet (unless you can do the same in the sink).

A lot of "feather issues" can be solved by a bath! What I mean by this is that many parrots feathers can appear disheveled and unkempt. A good soaking bath can help get the feathers back into shape because birds who bathe usually preen afterwards (or when they are nearly dry).


Here's a post that has two photos of a military macaw with messy feathers
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/37028-trucker-comes-live-us.html#post317188

These next posts shows the same macaw after a bath, and you can tell he already looks better!
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/37028-trucker-comes-live-us-2.html#post317471
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/37028-trucker-comes-live-us-2.html#post317613

(more pics throughout thread)




A molt will definitely help, but in the mean time, so will baths!
 
I agree about the tail feathers. Both my birds are quite 'hygeinic' and yet both tend to have mangled tail feathers. A lot of the time this is from rubbing their tail feathers against the cage or other objects when they are moving around.

Also, this is breeding and molting season for birds. Many are shedding their old coats and growing in new feathers. During molting season, birds tend to be much more moody and sensitive because they are growing in new feathers (and it's similar to 'teething' in toddlers, their feathers are very sensitive). Also, the age of your bird, chances are it is just going through or finishing up its first molt, so I wouldn't worry too much about the feather conditioning given that fact. Just keep an eye on it as you are doing. Good luck!
 

Most Reactions

Back
Top