Does our conure need a routine?

[FirstBird]

Kaleeko (2 month old cinnamon green cheek conure, female) has been with us for a couple of weeks now. I am a stay at home mom, so she is around people a lot (I'm home a lot). Lately, when I go to let her out during the day, she doesn't want to get out. She'll walk around or hunch down and bite when I ask her to step up. Does this mean she doesn't want as much attention during the day? I kept reading about how conures need tons of attention so I was trying to provide that. How much 'alone' time does she need during the day? Should I start doing things on a schedule, do conures appreciate that? My son can let her out and play with her in mornings, thenI will at noon, then you can again after school, and again before bed? Is that enough? Up until recently she only did a little nip, but her biting is getting harder (although it still doesn't hurt). She also seems to eat a lot. Should I keep both seed and the Zupreem fruit mix available all day?

 

[aliray]

I keep the food in the cage 24]7. Birds have a high metabolism and don't have the ability to go to the fridge or raid the cuppord like we do . In my opinion food and water should always be available.

 

[DannyA93]

I'm guessing she just doesn't want to be handled at that time. give her sometime and try again or what i did one time was when the bird didn't seem to want any attention i just left her and didn't give her none and made her come to me. that worked for me

 

[Sc0tt]

I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do or not as I'm new to conures, but I play with Casper as much as possible. I've rigged his cage (it's about 3 feet from the head of my bed) with a wooden ladder that connects his cage to my bed, and as I'm a college student I'm often in bed studying. Whenever I'm not in class or at work his cage is open, and he walks over and cuddles and plays with me or if he doesn't want to he plays with his toys/eats/preens/jokes around on his cage. I feel like the more time he has out of the cage, the better, but that's just my input on it.

 

[wenz2712]

I think all Birds need a routine to a certain extent!

My Zon knows when its his breakfast time and Dinner time! He also knows when it is Bedtime If I steer away from this routine, he gets very agitated

Also, I agree with aliray.. Make sure there is food in the Cage 24/7

 

[SandyBee]

Yep our birds like a routine.
My Zon actually goes in his cage, begs for his night time treat and also begs for his blanky now.
He wants his breakfast shortly after awakening, he wants his shoulder ride in the morning before breakfast and when I get home from work LOL Yes they crave routine.

Our little Brown head is the same way, she wants structure. She just goes to her perch that she likes to sleep on when it's her bedtime and nothing can get her out of that spot at this time. LOL

We also keep food in the cage 24/7

 

[momto3]

We try to have a routine with our birds and I have found that they do seem to like routine. For us, we developed a routine that we would be able to stick with most times. I work at home, but don't bring the birds out for long periods during the day because most days I can't. I usually eat lunch with them during the day; they are out for breakfast and then again in the evening.

Your bird might just be wanting to chill during the day--they definitely have times when they don't want to come out. I always bring our birds out whether they come out happily or not because I want them to know that I am in charge...however, if they come out and seem cranky, I put them back after a few minutes and a treat or a bit of scritching.