New Conure

[diegoconure]

G'day everybody
Am after some training advice for our new Sun Conure "Diego"
He was bought as an early x-mas gift for our youngest son who simply adores parrots. The bird is approximately 2.5 yrs old and we were assured that he had been hand raised and was friendly, which he is, but only to females (my wife and daughter). Myself and two sons cannot get near him, which is very hard for the youngest boy, who the bird was bought for.
He is also very aggressive when it comes to his cage. He will let you put your hand in the cage if you have some apple , and will even let you feed him when he sits on top of his cage. Aside from that he looks ready to attack anybody who is not female. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GaleriaGila]

Oooooooh! Exciting!
It's so very early!
Right now, your tiny darling is actually doing very well, better than many/most!
My "darling" is a little Genghis Conure, so I'll shy away from giving much advice, but do stay tuned. Many knowledgeable people here. While you're waiting for personal advice, the SEARCH tab above can give you some great reading...
Welcome!

 

[Flboy]

A quick question, Xmas- what does the X mean?

 

[MonicaMc]

X-mas aka Christmas


diegoconure, I would suggest you start working on target training Diego. Decide on an object that you would use as a target (knitting needle, chopstick, empty pen case, etc) and figure out Diego's favorite treats. Is it apple? Nuts? Sunflower seeds? Dried fruits? If you can, try to figure out 3-5 of his favorite treats to keep things interesting!

Once you have those down, then show Diego the target (in a none-threatening way). If he looks at it, reward, repeat. If he moves his head towards it, reward, repeat. If he takes a step towards it, reward, repeat. Etc. You can keep this up until he targets all around the inside of his cage, then the outside of his cage and away from it.

He does not need to physically touch the target in order to be target trained.


You and your sons may never have a close relationship with Diego, but with training, it could be quite possible for everyone in the family to have some sort of relationship with Diego that does not involve a lot of biting or aggression.

 

[LordTriggs]

time and patience

how would you feel if a skyscraper sized monster took you from your home and began trying to poke and prod you? He just needs time to open up, remember you haven't bought a dog or anything like that. This animal is beyond intelligent and needs to be trained differently. If you haven't already get reading up on everything you can about bird behavior and what-not.

As for only going to women it's very possible something happened to that bird in their life to give them reason for not liking men or to prefer women. You have to earn his trust