Conures are GuardBirds by Nature

[Flboy]

A common thread, ' My little darling becomes hostile whenever someone comes into the house and attacks!'
At least with GCC's and Suns, they are protecting the flock! Their own size is not an issue to them!
My JoJo was very aggressive in the beginning and I wanted everyone to love him the way I did!
So, for over a month, whenever anyone came over, JoJo was put in his cage ahead of time, and treated. You walk into my house, pick up a treat and bring it to 'the bird'! When we have company now, JoJo is a real clown, dancing and doing his entire vocabulary for everyone!
After a bit, I will ask everyone if it is OK to take JoJo out to greet them. I then lock all the doors, and bring him to center stage for a short while.

Actually, I think it is wrong to not have him confined when someone comes over! Some folks panic when a bird flies to them and can easily hurt the little guy! Also, your parrot will pick up on this fear and most likely discern it as a danger! --And protect the flock!

 

[israel_gcc]

Very good advice!

It's not fair to either the parrot or the guest to let that kind of thing happen. Even the most sympathetic of people has trouble controlling their reaction when something sharp and angry is attacking their face - and that can be deadly to a bird, like you say.

The responsibility to prevent this is 100% on the owner - not the parrot or the guest.

 

[SailBoat]

So clearly, our household needs to add a GCC or a Sun to protect ourselves, since our Amazon is currently playing to anyone that comes into our home; Please take me home from these cruel people that keep feeding this Med Stuff!

How are these guys with Wild Turkey and Canada Goose, will either of them run them off?

All kidding aside, that is great information and a sound way to get them to see visitors as a source of good things!

Thanks!

 

[snowflake311]

Nice info. My little guy loves new people. He finds them very interesting and loves to be out around them. He will guard his cage from my husband and daughter but I can do whatever I want.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

This is totally Skittles. I have tried the treat thing and it doesn't work with Skittles . Skitty will go nuts when people come over. I can go over and put my hand near his cage (or in it) to show him hands are safe and he's fine with me, doesn't bite or nothing- but if someone else does it, he freaks out. I've tried having them give him treats and he won't take them. I thought maybe it meant he wasn't hungry or didn't want a treat- but if I took that same kind of treat and offered it to him- he'd take it as long as it wasn't the same one that person had. It had to be a 'new' one.

 

[wrench13]

Burglars have no chance here. Between Tinker and Salty , anyone who comes within 30 feet of the house are given fair warning that SOMETHING is home. Some weird kind a screaming/barking/howling THING. Best try the next house. But, once your in the actual house, Tinker will lick your hand, show you where the dog treats are, and Salty will just laugh. I am thinking of putting up a Beware of Gargoyle sign.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

After seeing 'Psycho' YEARS ago, I was never able to shower without shutting and locking the door. This was a pain because the bathroom fan wasn't venting enough to curb my asthma from triggering from the excess steam. Even with the door locked, I was always double-checking to make sure Norman or Jason wasn't on the other side.

Then I got Skittles. Now I can shower freely without ever having to shut the door or double-check. He will actually stand guard while I shower.

Only thing I worry about is that given he is free-flighted, what if I fall and can't get back up or the police/emt's need to come get me and he is out of his cage. He'll never let them near me.

Guess I just better hope I can put him back in his cage before I pass out.

 

[Taprock]

I'm in total agreement. We call Ziggy our conure our watch bird. We haven't had indoor issues with visitors but he keeps track of outdoors. He lets us know if someone is driving up our drive even before the dogs do. I didn't realize they had such good hearing! The dogs have actually learned to take their cues from him. Ziggy also looks out over our back yard and field behind. He alerted my son that there was a fox after my chickens. He also does the same alert for Eagles, Hawkes and crows that are out back. If Ziggy screams you check outside before you ignore him.

 

[jaxyk]

Ours are the same - very cautious when new people come over, but will always take a treat. They are more suspicious of boys, and Kermit loves blonde women, so we're sunk if a blonde female burglar ever breaks in. Usually if we introduce them to our friends, Kermit will always give me a look, like, 'are you sure?' and I'll nod, then he'll nod, and it's all fine - he usually dances for them. And if they're out on their 'tree' (platforms, perches, and dowels) and someone is coming up to the house, they will jump on the windowsill and bang on the window with their beaks. Amazing little guys