Help Spoiled Jenday!

[JCM]

Hi All, I'm new to this site. We got a Jenday conure for Christmas as an addition to our family. He/she is the cutest little thing and LOVES attention and affection. We don't know if it's a he or she but I'm just going to refer to it as "he". We give him sooo much attention. When we are home, he gets to ride around on our shoulder the entire time... for hours and then when we are sitting still he will snuggle under our necks and take naps, etc. he gets scratched, played with on his back (he loves that), we give him healthy treats (although he refuses and fresh fruit or veggies he will eat dried and nuts), we let him take showers with us, he has a perch to sit on in the same room say if I am cleaning or getting ready to leave... We give hime all the attention we can... BUT... as soon as I put him on his cage or in his cage or if I leave the room for a few seconds, he starts throwing fits of screaming. We have tried "time outs" by covering his cage until he quiets down but sometimes he won't quite down and will scream for 30 minutes straight before he quiets down but when I go to uncover him he starts again. We think he has gotten so spolied that he is throwing fits now when he has to be off of us or away from us. It's getting to where he climbs down off his perch in order to get to us now. He's always gotta be "on someone" as I like to joke. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop this screaming? I cannot ALWAYS have him ON ME. There are times when I need to clean house or do laundry or sometimes I just want a break from the poops! He gets plenty of attention but it just seems like it is NEVER enough.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Oh boy. U can try playing with him and his toys at his cage or play area and then try traching him to entertain himself by making sure he has lots of fun toys and perches, bells, foraging opportunities. You might need to teach him how much fi he can have with that stuff. Also, you might want to get him a play gym or even a freestanding perch for floor pr tabletop so you can have him nearby at times, but not on you.

Lots of folks recommend clicker training. I have no ezperience with it.

 

[JCM]

Thank you for replying! We do have tons of toys in his cage that he uses (a lot) when we are away. He loves to tear them apart. He gets spray millet and that will keep him busy for a bit. It seems as though if I'm in the other room being quiet as a mouse, he quiets down, but if he knows we are close, or can hear us outside or in the other room, he just wants to be with us. I guess it's a good sign that he has bonded very close with us and sees us as his flock... but it's a little extreme at times. He has no interest in toys when we are home, LOL, he just wants to snuggle with us or play under the cover or let us groom him or ride around on someone's shoulder, haha. He has US trained that's for sure. I guess eventually we will figure it out. We are considering getting him a friend after we talk to the vet and do more research but for now I guess we'll just get by, haha

 

[Abigal7]

Wannabeparrot is giving good advice. I would try to get him a playstand, teach him to forage and make shreddable toys. Bear in mind in the wild these type of birds are never alone so you have to teach them this new aspect and set up a schedule and be consistent.

 

[goalerjones]

One thing that I noticed with my little guy is his desire to be on my shoulder was greater that his desire to eat or drink water. We also have "fits" too, but what I have done is to put him in his cage and close it. I will also put it next to where I am so he can be near but not on us.