Need Help with Rescued Conure

[NamesCuddles]

A week ago, I rescued a 10 yo female Jenday Conure from a lady online. I was told she'd step up, was friendly, and preferred men. That, besides her age and gender, is all I was told. She refused to let me come over to meet the bird, which I found understandable given internet stranger, but I thought things would turn out fine as I saw photos of the bird on peoples shoulders. Upon opening the carrier when I brought her home she flew directly to her cage and wanted to be left alone. Great, I thought, she's settling herself in and this will go smoothly. Every day since then she has gotten progressively more aggressive. When I walk into the room she screams and fluffs up. If I'm within 5 feet of the cage she flies to the cage bars and bites, shaking back and forth before moving to the other side of the cage to do the same as thats the direction I walked. If I open the door to replace food and water, she screams and attempts to bite me. Today she managed to get me while I cleaned the cage, causing bleeding. I'm unsure of how to begin working with her on any level as none of her behavior is rewardable, as if she would let me reward her in the first place. I have no idea where to begin as everything I can find online doesn't address this level of aggression. Thanks in advance.

 

[Flboy]

This is really doable! Give it time! Your fid is terrified!

 

[Aerski]

I suggest looking here, this website worded it better than i could have said: https://www.thesprucepets.com/training-aggressive-birds-390281
One of my personal tips is to stay near her cage when you’re not busy, so she gets used to you. You can move her cage temporarily into where you stay the most (for me, the living room!) until the aggressive behavior is over. That technique worked for my green cheek, as when she came home with us, she was stressed out from being in a pet shop and weary of who we were. I’ve never seen one as aggressive as yours though, she probably wasn’t hand-raised. And as Flboy said, do give it time! Birds need a lot of time to settle in to a new home. Take things slow, if you move too fast while taking out or putting in your hand in the cage, she probably will take that as a threat and bite. If she does manage to somehow bite you, stay safe and put hydrogen peroxide on it if there’s bleeding, to attempt to remove some of the bacteria the bird may have. That’s all i have, i haven’t studied too much on the topic of conures with that much aggression, good luck!

 

[GaleriaGila]

THANK YOU for rescuing this bird!

Since you are so new, may I cover some basics that might be of interest?

I think you are wonderful... for taking this on, for persevering, for reaching out, and for caring.

I'm so glad you're here.


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Here's some reading on bonding for you.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com/2012...n-parrots.html


Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns. I don't know where you are, but here are some links. I only have USA info...
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.

What's the diet? That's critical for health. Too many are kept on seeds or other poor-nutrition things. They need veggies, legumes, grains... pellets are a good staple. Here's what I use.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Since you're new parront, I'll just drop a note about avoiding teflon pans, which are lethal to birds if even slightly overheated.

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I'm glad you found us.

 

[EllenD]

All new birds take quite a while to settle-in, especially if they came from a prior owner...usually at least months...But I have a feeling, if I'm being honest with you, that you were not exactly told the truth and this bird probably has not had much human contact at all...It's common, and I'm sorry. People lie to get rid of the bird...

That being said, it's completely doable, she is just absolutely terrified right now, doesn't know where she is, who you are, or why she's there...And she's most-likely not ever trusted a human before, at least not for a long time. She may have been locked inside that cage 24/7 for her entire life, never coming out. So this is going to take time, patience, and commitment from you...

I would start by simply sitting in a chair as close to her cage as you can get without her lunging at you or reacting, then just gently talk to her, read a book to her, etc. for at least 20-30 minutes a day, or for as long as you can, as often as you can. If you haven't done this already, please be sure to locate her cage in the MAIN ROOM of your house, meaning the room of your house where you and others spend most of your time when you are home, the room where the action is; usually this is the living room, family room, TV room, den, etc. Wherever you guys watch TV/Movies, read, talk, listen to the stereo, eat meals,
etc., as well as the room that visitors spend time when they come over. Simply being around her when she's inside of her cage as much as possible is going to help tremendously to tame her, lessen her anxiety, and make her feel safe, secure, and get used to you and people in-general. Her cage is her only "Territory" right now, her "Safe Space", and locating it in the room where the people in the house usually are and are going to be sitting near and walking past it all the time is going to help to socialize her overall, but also to make her feel like her "Safe Space", her cage, is safe in your presence. If she has in fact spent most of her life inside of that cage 24/7, which is why she's acting the way she is about it, then it's going to take a lot of socialization this way to make her feel safe about allowing anyone near it or near her while she's in it/on it, and also to make her feel okay about leaving it to come out and be away from it.That's how you start. Then you move the chair as close as she'll let you once a week or however long it takes for her to allow you to move it forward a foot. And that's where you start...

I guarantee that you're already giving her a better life than she's most-likely ever had before in captivity...

 

[T00tsyd]

Poor little sweetheart. She must be beside herself. You don't know if her trust was lost through bad treatment or she never had any to start with. The help on here is amazing and I'm sure there will be lots of it.

I do hope you manage to turn her around. I had Syd at 14 weeks and he was fairly balanced but there have been times when I have been really bothered. The guys here have always pulled me through with solid advice and humour. Keep us updated and my advice? Go so slow it seems like backwards!

 

[noodles123]

A bird within one setting is not the same bird once uprooted. It could take months. Be patient....birds are soooo slow and sensitive. It sometimes takes 1 person to make a bird feel okay around other people...that person isn't there now and his/her home is all new...Ellen's advice is very good.

 

[noodles123]

If the cage is open, does your bird actively attack, or is the aggression only when you approach/initiate? I wonder if you opened the cage door if he/she would come out or just continue defending the cage. If it is cage aggression, you will want to pair yourself with positives (treats etc)...but even a treat from a scary hand could be too much initially..Figure out what he/she likes (if you can). Otherwise...just hang out within eye-shot...maybe 6ft (reading etc...ignoring the bird)--that is, until a level of familiarity is established.