Life With Charley

[Firebrand]

Charley is a 3 + year old sun conure. His first owner (Edith) purchased him at a Petco here in Ft Worth for $450 3 years ago. She passed away on 04-01-21 at the age of 92. Her husband is in the process of moving on and offered Charley to me free of charge with cage, food, toys and tips on daily to do's where food, water and cleaning his cage are concerned.
And.....I am drawn to him/Charley. He's very aggressive and will draw blood in a heart beat when you get within reach of his beak. So.....he's not sun conure user friendly by a long shot. Not long ago the husband got his face too close to Charley and wound up having his lip completely bitten through. He's broken the skin on me 8 times and 2 of those incidents to the point that I had blood dripping off my hands.
Still......I understand. Up until a week ago he'd been in an apartment for the last three years with a male tom cat, a male weenie dog and sometimes a female chihuahua/poodle mix. He was very quiet, rarely went outside of his cage when it was opened and for the most part, Charley was a.....background pet or a wallflower pet if you what I mean. I felt very sad for him, too.
In the here and now.....He's the only one outside of me that is around. I have a pleco, but that doesn't really count in terms of a predator or potential threat. And so, Charley is free to be himself without consequence or fear of anyone. Just now....he is a holy terror. I love him like no other but in the early going he's more like Dr. Charley and Mr Hyde than he is this beautiful little sun conure who makes the most adorable sounds.
I've been doing some research on him and one day at a time I'm determined to see him happy, joyous and as free as possible under the circumstances.

 

[Laurasea]

welcome to the forum, and thanks you for taking him on.

He definitely is adjusting, and it takes time to build trust. Im going to link a couple of my favorite articles for their insights into burds

This one link a lot, lots of good tips. I dont use clickers I say good birdie for the bridge, but dome people find them a good tool.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

This one has a couple of tips on bites i think
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Charley! Deep respect for your devotion and understanding his aggression. What do you know, if anything, of his relationship with Edith? Might be good to know as baseline for future expectations.

Some good tips for building trust and bonding: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

What sort of diet does Charley consume.

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you and Charlie! The biting is both out of fear, and, a learned response! You need to learn the triggers! This thread is worth reading over and over!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

 

[Firebrand]

welcome to the forum, and thanks you for taking him on.

He definitely is adjusting, and it takes time to build trust. Im going to link a couple of my favorite articles for their insights into burds

This one link a lot, lots of good tips. I dont use clickers I say good birdie for the bridge, but dome people find them a good tool.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

This one has a couple of tips on bites i think
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

Thank you Laura's. I read the tips/links you shared and there's a lot of good info provided I build on and use for the future with Charley. Of the 2 of us, I tend to see myself as a work in progress. For Charley it's probably more about patience on his part. I cherish him, though. Burds really enhance a person's life don't they? He's a real joy in my life.

 

[Firebrand]

Welcome to you and Charley! Deep respect for your devotion and understanding his aggression. What do you know, if anything, of his relationship with Edith? Might be good to know as baseline for future expectations.

Some good tips for building trust and bonding: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

What sort of diet does Charley consume.

Thanks for the info, Scott. To the best of my knowledge, Edith was only person who could reach inside Charley's cage and not be bitten. Charley and Edith had the type of relationship that I would think all people who have parots dream of or hope for. Along with that, I get the impression that Charley is more of a lady's bird than a man's bird. If you know what I mean. He's drawn to women which is understandable. I feel the same way, He has openly shown affection towards strangers/women in the past according to Edith's husband, but very much the opposite regarding anyone or anything of the male gender. It may be a "that's the way it is with guy/Charley in terms of his personality and make up, but then again too, I look at the fact that the last 3 years of his life which is basically the first 3 years of his life has been spent in the presence of a male tom cat and a male weenie dog both of whom are very vocal with all the barks and meows.
I've had Charley now for 11 days and he's much expressive where his vocal abilities go. He has a wide range of squaks, chirps, growls calls and sounds in general that the husband spoke of yesterday while visiting me. So......something is happening. The husband said "he's happier right now than I've ever seen him " . That gave me a boost of confidence.
His diet: I give him 2 small scoops of Premium Parrot Food/3-D, 2 small scoops of ZuPreem Fruit blend Flavor food for conures that are pellets, I guess, and I give him 4 red grapes that I dice up into small pieces. I feed him these foods in the morning around 6 am, change his water at that same time. I also put a couple of drops of a liquid multi vitamin called ecotrition in his water at the 6 am watering and then change his water around 6 pm.
When I get up in the morning I let him sleep until he begins stirring around/talking upon which I open the top of his cage to allow him to come out and explore or walk around. I don't lure him back into his cage and close it it until I go to bed which is usually 9-10 pm. I put a cloth over the top of his cage, turn off the lights , keep any noise at a minimum or completely off.
I live in a one bedroom apartment here on the north side of Ft. Worth and keep the temperature at a steady 72 degrees. I am a smoker/cigarettes too, but I either smoke outside or I smoke in the bathroom room with the door shut and bathroom window open and keep the door shut at all times so the cigarette smoke is kept at a minimum.
I've done a little stick training with him, but for the most part I try to put ladders , extensions and such around his cage up to 2-3 feet away so he can move around. I squeak him alot, too. My favorite one is woody woodpecker squeak...I'm pretty good at it, too. I do the **** a doodle do squeak and various other squeaks throughout the day as well. If I have to leave the apartment for something I let him have free reign to do as pleases. I shut closet doors, make sure nothing is out in open that could hurt him with the exception of electrical cords plugged in, but he's not much of a flyer just now and I'm not likely to change that routine. I let him spend about 16 hours outside of his cage each day.

 

[Firebrand]

Welcome to you and Charlie! The biting is both out of fear, and, a learned response! You need to learn the triggers! This thread is worth reading over and over!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Thank you Flboy, I'll check it out. I want to be good for Charley as much as I can.

 

[Scott]

I believe over time you can win Charley's trust with hands in/near cage with diligent work over time. Particularly with his freedom outside the cage for most of the day, might become a welcome refuge.

Many feeding philosophies, most of us agree some or all pellet diet + abundant fresh veggies/fruits best. Certain species require some component of seeds, others consume too much and develop overweight conditions including fatty liver disease. Please keep in mind Zupreem Fruit Blend is vitamin fortified; giving supplement ought be per avian vet direction for a diagnosed condition. Excess vitamins and minerals are simply excreted and may cause strain on kidneys.

Increasing fresh veggies/fruits will be beneficial, perhaps challenging. Parrots are flock eaters, might try the "chop" challenge: Prepare two bowls of ingredients, give one to Charley, begin eating from yours. Make "mmm" sounds, bob your head in delight. A few helpful threads! http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

Keep a very close watch on Charley's potential chewing in your absence. A non bird-proofed room offers many hazards including electrical cords, painted/wood surfaces, and potential metal ingestion from chewing window framing. Charley may appear trustworthy but over time might become adventurous.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. Patience is the key word with parrots. Their rate of acceptance to change is glacial in most cases, especially when compared to our quick monkey brains. Try to find out what is his very favorite treat and use that for training purposes only. He should be getting 10-12 hrs or quiet uninterrupted sleep per night. They thrive on routine.