New bird owner with a few questions.

[BriansAWildDowner]

I was very recently (just last Friday) given a 4 year old green cheek conure by a friend of a friend who was going to be traveling a lot and couldn't give him the attention he needed.

Friday night we get along pretty well. Saturday morning was rough and he bit me quite a bit, BUT by the end of the day he was my best friend and was riding around on my shoulder, playing with my glasses, stepping up when asked, getting on top of my head and grooming my hair etc. Then on Sunday morning I accidentally startled him with the coffee grinder, bumped in to his cage, and later I tried to give him a spray bottle shower which he really didn't like. Now he's been acting frightened of me since then. He's also decided that he likes my girlfriend way more than me, which was the opposite on Saturday.

So, I realize it's still really soon and I shouldn't expect a whole lot, but it's really frustrating since he loved me so much on Saturday evening. My girlfriend was practically raised by parrots and has been coaching me in how to handle him, but we're not really sure how long we should expect it to take for him to get settled in his new place and start trusting me.

Also, his previous owner told me that he had a problem with feather picking until she got him a forage feeder. I haven't noticed him picking any feathers but he does stand on his tail feathers and shred them. His tail looks pretty beaten up. I'm not sure if that's a problem that should be dealt with or if it's just a thing he does.

Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Birdlover11]

Don't try to forcefully spray bottle him, try getting him a birdie bath so he can bathe when he likes. Spraying him when he doesn't like it can cause stress . Feather shredding isn't normal either, the reason he stopped when the previous owner got him the forager because feather picking is a sign of boredom . Look at toys online , toys that make him use that smart mind. I have seen forage wheels that conures LOVE. The reason he is more attached to your girlfriend is as you said has more experience with birds so don't take it personally. Feed him nutri berries from your hand and fruit so you can build more trust with him. Head scratches work too

 

[Birdlover11]

I looked online for you and found some really cool stuff from dr foster and smith and my safe bird store .

PTNI12003 Party Ball Hanging 4" by Nature's Instinct - FORAGING TOYS

FM741 Fun Max Crinkle Paper Box LARGE *NEW* - FORAGING TOYS

Ball of Fun Foraging Toy | Foraging Toys for Birds from DrsFosterSmith.com

Foraging Wheel Foraging Toy | Foraging Toys for Birds from DrsFosterSmith.com

 

[BriansAWildDowner]

Thanks, I think I'll get him one of those wheels and some other toys as well.

I am able to feed him bananas, safflower seeds and sunflower seeds by hand, but he just grabs them and then runs away to eat them.

The second day I had him I saw him taking a bath in his water dish, so I started putting out a pie pan full of water and he enjoys taking baths in that.

 

[BoomBoom]

Good advice from Birdlover. Besides boredom, feather picking can be due to dry skin / itchiness. Try to feed him more vitamin A rich fuites/veggies and add humidity to your home.

 

[Birdlover11]

Your making good progress , took my budgies a MONTH to use the bath ( they were smelly balls of fluff) . The hand training is good too , don't worry just be persistent !

 

[TeenageBirdMom]

Green cheeks are super smart, friendly, sweet and sociable!!
They need LOTS of attention. Especially if you only have one bird. I sugguest that you have him out of his cage whenever you are home to prevent feather picking as well as lots of toys and fresh fruits and veggies are critical to have!!!
Also a well mixed diet! My conure gets a mix of roudy bush pellets for optimal nutrition, with kaylor of colorado conure and lovebird mix (which has all sorts of little goodies in it like dried banana and peppers etc, and kaytee cockatiel sized mix. Along with fruits and veggies!!
Oh and make sure you do your research on the type of fruit and veggies you give him!! There are so many toxic foods for birds that you may never think of!
Good luck with your new little friend! Conures, in my opinion, are one of the best birds to own!

 

[BriansAWildDowner]

First on my agenda is to get him a nicer and bigger cage. I'll likely be taking care of that this weekend. His previous owner didn't keep him in a cage at all, she built this really impressive indoor tree for him. I feel bad about not being able to provide him with something like that. He also definitely needs some more toys for when I'm at work.

I think I made some progress with him today. I was trying to interact with him and accidentally startled him so he ended up on the floor. When he was down there I was able to pick him up and put him on my shoulder. I took him back to my bedroom and opened the blinds and we stayed there for quite awhile with him barking at people and animals he saw going by. He'd occasionally kiss my cheek and at one point put his head down and was ALMOST going let me scritch his head before he changed his mind.

Unfortunately as soon as I got him back to the living room he went to his little play area and immediately went back to acting afraid of me.

TeenageBirdMom, when you feed your conure do you mix all those together or have them in separate places?