Getting a green cheeked conure tomorrow!

[Lucyxo]

Hello!
I am getting a green cheeked conure tomorrow and I have been told that the owner has never had him on his hand but the bird (Carlos) does let him stroke him. Is there any way I can teach a conure like this one to be hand tame?

Thank you and nice to meet you all!

Lucy

 

[Dinosrawr]

Hello, welcome, and congratulations on your new addition! Green cheeks are the best... but of course, I'm biased

If there is a will, there is often a way. But it takes time, patience, and understanding your bird. It sounds like you will have to initially teach this bird how to step up on an object, such as a rope perch or a stick, and then work towards having the bird step up onto your hand.

If Carlos is able to be pet, then it sounds like he is accustomed to hands, but not to stepping up on them. This may be due to him not trusting hands as a "safe" place to perch - what often happens is conures will beak a hand before stepping up, and if it is a hard beak then an individual will remove their hand quickly and throw the bird off balance. If it doesn't seem stable or safe, then the bird will not want to be there.

It honestly all comes down to the bird understanding that hands are safe and that YOU will respect them with your hands. Birds will often communicate with us using their beaks when we fail to read their body language. Avery loves to be "held" by me, but not always pet. So what she does is raise one foot, fluff up, and give me a very contented look. I'll "cup" her in my hands, and basically keep her warm, and ask her if I can pet her. When I start stroking her head, she'll give me a gentle beak to tell me she isn't interested in being pet or preened, just being held. So I respect that, and often times I sit there for about 10 minutes or so just holding her and talking with her... it's her favourite interaction between us.

I highly recommend looking into Barbara Hiedenreich's Youtube videos and techniques on encouraging birds to enjoy handling

 

[Lucyxo]

Thank you for the brilliant answer. I am super excited to get him and I will look at the YouTube video you have mentioned. I have owned budgies and cockatiels before but never a conure so I am excited.