New bird advice?

[Tapew0rrm]

Hello!!!!
So, I've had birds in the past, but they weren't tame/ lived in an aviary and I didn't really interact with them very much. The aviary was my parents when I was a child, and when I had my last birds, I was very depressed and didn't take the best of care of them admittedly, and ended up giving them up for adoption for their own safety.

But, now that I have my Conure, I want to make sure he is the happiest bird I can make him, no matter what it takes. So, I thought asking for advice here would be a good idea, so I could get advice from people who already know what to do and can help me make sure he stays healthy I didn't go into it blindly of course, I did plenty of research before getting him to make sure that I would be able to take care of him, but naturally with any new pets, things aren't exactly going smoothly.

One of my main issues is my autism. I'm finding it very hard to properly read his body language, and it's making me really nervous that I'm going to do something wrong? If anyone has a general rundown of what body language I should really keep an eye out for, so I can be certain everything is okay, I would really appreciate it.

Arrow is 5 years old, semi-tame (I think?), and a very lovely boy. A lot quieter than I expected. I've had him for 4 days now, and already I adore him.

A few questions I have that I would really like answers for;

When I first adopted him, I was under the impression that he was a Green cheek, but I found out yesterday that he's actually a Black Capped Conure. Are there any differences in the species that I should know? I tried to look it up on Google, but I couldn't find very much.

In his old home, he apparently used to bathe daily, but as of right now he's not bathed himself at all outside of grooming himself. Should I be concerned? Is there any way I can help him?

Whenever he plays with his toys, he tends to scream a lot, is that normal? I'm a little concerned he's irritated or something. He does tend to eat & headbob and such after so I'm assuming he's very happy? But it's just worrying me.

I know that he's only been here for a few days, but he generally seems rather calm around me (No running away/aggression signs when I'm close to him, eating treats from my hands, sitting on the perch that's outside of his cage door, he has sat on my hand and knee at least once now, both on two different ocassions, shown curiosity when I'm cleaning his cage and sits by me chirping). However, he's only ventured out of his cage once to relax near the window, but since then he tends to hide on one perch in the corner of his cage. Is this normal? Should I do anything to help him relax? I'm very worried about him. The only time he leaves the perch is to play with his toys or eat, which I'm glad he's doing, I'm just worried since I know Conures are pretty curious by nature.

What type of toys are the best for him? I have shredding toys, and rope toys, and lots of natural perches which he loves biting, but the only toys he's shown interest in are bells. Is there a way to convince him to play with other toys too? Or is it alright for him to prefer just one toy?

I'm unsure if he knows the step-up command, but he has sat on my fingers once and relaxed there before. Would it benefit him to go over the command again just in case he doesn't know? Should I give him more time to get used to me before I try to teach him anything?

Currently, I'm feeding him lots of kale/sweetcorn/carrots/peas/pomegranate daily (less of the fruit obviously), as well as the seed diet he was on when I first got him. He seems to really prefer the fresh stuff to seed. But when should I start changing him over to pellets? Should I wait until he's more settled in?

Since he hasn't gotten used to me yet and I don't want to handle him too soon and ruin his trust, when is a good time to take him to the vets for the first check up? I dont want his beak/nails to get too long but I am so frightened of upsetting him. Are there any toys/snacks I can feed him to help keep his beak and nails short in the meantime?

Is there any way that I can play with him to gain his trust while he's still nervous of me? Anything I can do to help him feel safe?

He has nibbled me a few times, the only time he's really bit me enough to mark is when I was trying to move a new bowl into his cage and he really hated it, I'm pretty sure he's totally fine with me now, he's not shown any less trust of me from it, and I apologized and gave him some snacks when he'd seemed to calm down, was this a mistake?

How long should I expect his hormonal phases to be yearly? Is there any way I can help him through it and help him be more comfortable?
How do I keep him warm during the winter?

I want to get him a bigger cage. Is there any cages that you guys reccomend for Conures? I don't have a lot of money so I'm kind of budgeted to under £150, but I want the best for him.

Should I keep his cage open during the day to give him the option of coming out if he wants to? Or would that make him uncomfortable while he's settling in?

I know this is more of a "me" question then a "bird" question. But since they're very good at reading emotions- Will my borderline personality disorder effect him in any way? Will my mood changes and such scare him at all? I don't get angry around him, and try very hard to keep my moods stable and have been doing good at it so far, but I'm scared I'll upset him or confuse him when I have a moodswing that I can't control. What can I do to make him know that he's okay and safe even when I'm upset or having a bad day?

I'm sorry for the huge level of questions, just really really want him to feel okay and safe and happy, it's so important to me. I already love him so much, and I feel terrible for taking him away from his former family even though it was for his best interest. I hope you guys understand where I'm coming from. If there's anything that I didn't ask or didn't add that you think is important for me to know, I would love to hear what you have to say. I'm open to any help at all. <3

 

[SailBoat]

Welcome to Parrot Forum!!

Basics: Not all Parrots have specific Body Language that connects to specific Emotions and as a result can be difficult to read. At this point, you should be mindful of your Parrots actions as you approach. At this point, you are more interested in developing a comfort in your Parrot when you approach and/or around. This is best begun by sitting next to the cage and reading out-loud (in a comforting voice) with the goal of your Parrot being comfortable with you being around. At some point, your Parrot will become comfortable with your hands making adjustments to the cage, while adding food and water. At this point, you can begin working on step-up. Remember that your goal is to develop a bond with your Parrot.

 

[Tapew0rrm]

Welcome to Parrot Forum!!

Basics: Not all Parrots have specific Body Language that connects to specific Emotions and as a result can be difficult to read. At this point, you should be mindful of your Parrots actions as you approach. At this point, you are more interested in developing a comfort in your Parrot when you approach and/or around. This is best begun by sitting next to the cage and reading out-loud (in a comforting voice) with the goal of your Parrot being comfortable with you being around. At some point, your Parrot will become comfortable with your hands making adjustments to the cage, while adding food and water. At this point, you can begin working on step-up. Remember that your goal is to develop a bond with your Parrot.

Thank you so much for your help!!
I actually have been reading around the fourm all day which has been extremely helpful- I feel kind of bad for not knowing some of the stuff others have said when I first got him, but I'm fully prepared to take the best care of him as possible no matter what. I'll never give up on him, he comes first to me above everything now. I'm gonna do the best to make sure he's as happy as I can make him. Its a little difficult for me with bpd + autism to remember boundaries and that love for other creatures (or even other humans) isn't as intense and easy as it is for me, but for his sake I'm going to try really hard to focus on it. I really do just want the best for him. Tomorrow will be a fresh start for both of us- I'll take it nice and slow, make sure he feels comfortable with no pressure.

 

[KingaRoo]

Hi there! Welcome to the parrot forums.

I am the Caretaker of my bird, Kingsley. I got him a little over 2 months ago.

To answer a few of your questions:

-To my knowledge (I have a pineapple conure) the only difference between the different types of conures are their coloring (Sun conures being the exception those guys have lots of differences and get a bit bigger then our typical conures)

And the cage I got for kingsley was only 109 US Dollars through amazon. I will link it through here.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VSZVF8...VSZVF8Y&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.3RGMSJFY0M51M
GUESS WHAT THE CAGE IS NOW ONLY 99.99 USD

A downside to the cage i have is The doors are very small, hard to put perches and toys up especially on the back side without help from another person. But its a huge flight cage only for 109 dollars. It's very sturdy and Kingsley doesn't seem to have any problems with it. He can climb all over the walls and the ceiling effortlessly.

Also I would reccomend removing bells from the toys. Bells can become a safety hazard and green cheek conures can easily become overstimulated by lots of sound which would explain why hes so attatched to them.

And yeah, When I got Kingsley I was fully expecting him to be extremely loud but for 75% of the time he's relatively quiet. He's really only loud when I'm loud or when he wants attention. He matches my energy almost perfectly.

For more information on GCC behaviors I would reccomend going on youtube and watching these channels who have a lot of information about conures and cocatiels:
-BirdNerdSophie
-TheParrotTeacher

And one more thing, be careful about your cooking appliences and other appliences. Look out for PTFE and Teflon in the products you use and if you are looking to clean up after your bird a mixture of WhiteDistilled Vinegar and water usually does the trick. I cleaned up King's cage yesterday using it and it worked really well.

Anyways, Good luck! I am a relatively new bird owner as well so you are not alone.

 

[Tapew0rrm]

Hi there! Welcome to the parrot forums.

I am the Caretaker of my bird, Kingsley. I got him a little over 2 months ago.

To answer a few of your questions:

-To my knowledge (I have a pineapple conure) the only difference between the different types of conures are their coloring (Sun conures being the exception those guys have lots of differences and get a bit bigger then our typical conures)

And the cage I got for kingsley was only 109 US Dollars through amazon. I will link it through here.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VSZVF8...VSZVF8Y&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.3RGMSJFY0M51M
GUESS WHAT THE CAGE IS NOW ONLY 99.99 USD

A downside to the cage i have is The doors are very small, hard to put perches and toys up especially on the back side without help from another person. But its a huge flight cage only for 109 dollars. It's very sturdy and Kingsley doesn't seem to have any problems with it. He can climb all over the walls and the ceiling effortlessly.

Also I would reccomend removing bells from the toys. Bells can become a safety hazard and green cheek conures can easily become overstimulated by lots of sound which would explain why hes so attatched to them.

And yeah, When I got Kingsley I was fully expecting him to be extremely loud but for 75% of the time he's relatively quiet. He's really only loud when I'm loud or when he wants attention. He matches my energy almost perfectly.

For more information on GCC behaviors I would reccomend going on youtube and watching these channels who have a lot of information about conures and cocatiels:
-BirdNerdSophie
-TheParrotTeacher

And one more thing, be careful about your cooking appliences and other appliences. Look out for PTFE and Teflon in the products you use and if you are looking to clean up after your bird a mixture of WhiteDistilled Vinegar and water usually does the trick. I cleaned up King's cage yesterday using it and it worked really well.

Anyways, Good luck! I am a relatively new bird owner as well so you are not alone.

Thank you so much!! That's actually a similar cage to the one I've seen on UK amazon (if not the exact same cage haha), so I'll be certain to add it to my list and order it asap! And thank you so much for the bell info!! I had no idea that it could do that, will do it immediately!!! Hopefully he won't be too upset over it and will realise it's for his best interest. I feel I'm way too worried about upsetting him
I agree with the quietness thing! Arrow is exactly the same, his loud moods always seem to make me sooooo happy too, I feel like he was the best choice I made in my life, haha.
I actually already watch TheParrotTeacher! His videos were the first ones I watched with Conures in, and the first reason I fell in love with them.

I'm pretty sure my entire house is as bird safe as I could possibly make it-- I'm a little bit obsessive when it comes to the safety of my pets, so the second I was sure on getting a bird, I made certain anything that could be considered dangerous to them was out. Though, I'm still learning from every post I read here! I've also somewhat revised my own diet just incase he ends up accidentally eating any of my food, I would hate to make him sick, its my biggest fear.