New Owner

[Frankie53]

Hi All my name is Steve and on Tuesday I purchased my first ever Jenday conure which is 3and a half months old but has had no training wht so ever so am looking for some advice on how to start training him
Steve

 

[itzjbean]

Congratulations on your new Jenday! A Jenday was one of my first parrots and he was the best!

Was he hand-fed? If he is, he should be coming to you somewhat tame, will let you handle him, etc. But that isn't always the case. Your job now as a new owner is to 1.) gain his trust and 2.) start training him using positive reinforcement (if you step up, I'll give you a treat) including 'step up' training, bite-pressure training, target training, flight recall. All of these you can look up on youtube and find helpful tutorials.

here is also a great link I suggest to read for any new owners...

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust


Good luck with your Jenday!! Any more questions just ask!

 

[Frankie53]

He is Avery raised but I keep talking to him and he seems to be calming down. He will now let me put my hand in with flapping around so looks promising

 

[GaleriaGila]

Sounds like you have a great little brd with wonderful temperament!

Welcome. Glad you found us.

Please just keep enjoying reading peoples' stories here and take your time. You're building a relationship that may very well last a long time!

 

[Frankie53]

what food do you recommend as the parrot mix I have seems to have a lot of sunflower seeds in

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome - it sounds like you are making great progress already! What’s your Jenday’s name?

Food recommendations - there’s lots of great threads on diet and a variety of methods and preferences, but I’ll share what I prefer for my conures. My 3 have pellets in their cage at all times - Zupreem natural, TOPS and Zupreem fruit blend (if they’re having a picky day). They each prefer a different pellet, but will eat each other’s if they think that they’re stealing it LOL. Mine also eat chop (chopped veggies, cooked whole grains and fruit) for the morning and evening meals. They also get a bit of seed (no sunflower) as an evening snack some days. There’s lots of preferences for feeding a healthy diet, and it somewhat depends on what your bird likes as well.... they don’t all like the same things unfortunately (my 3 all have different preferences for pellets, so I get to keep multiple kinds....sigh). Feel free to ask lots of questions, you’ll get all kinds of ideas for diet

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

For diet, I feed three different pellets to my flock - TOPs, Harrison’s, and Roudybush. I mix the pellets together in their food bowls and they have the mix in their cages at all times. I also feed chop, a mix of finely ground veggies (I usually put carrots, broccoli, peppers, celery, and mixed greens in mine), whole leaves of lettuce for variety, the occasional piece of fruit for Kermit (my other birds don’t like fruit), and whole grains such as quinoa and rice. I only give them seeds as rewards during training - that way, they stay motivated as they have something to look forward to. When taming and building trust, go at the bird’s pace - remember, this bird was aviary raised and is not used to people yet.

 

[Frankie53]

Thanks for the advice my jendays name is Frankie and he seems to be getting used to us rather quickly

 

[Carl_Power]

Thats awsome. Keep it up x

 

[Frankie53]

morning all
Frankie keeps sitting on his perch with his wings slightly raised is there any significance to this

 

[DoubleTake]

Is he eating well is he making any noises? He could wanting some formula. At 3 and half months that's a little early to be fully weaned for some birds. I know when i hand fed my sun conures took about 4 to 4 and half months. But 3 and half months isn't unheard of.

 

[Carl_Power]

Id agree with the above. Xander was exactly 3 months old when I got him and he did the same. I would just hand feed him fruit and veggies. You can use this to your advantage and hand feed him yourself, he will think your his mummy and it will make you guys bond much faster. They love being hand fed young. Xander would make me do it a few times a day until he was ready to eat like a big birdy. Its how we broke through the trust barrier. If he is sleeping ok ect and eating his normal food, veggies, fruit then hand feed him that, he may just miss it or want you to do it. If he isn't eating his food at all then you might need to try some formula x

 

[Tami2]

Hi Frankie53,

Welcome & Congratulations!!

My Levi likes, Harrisons, Tops & Higgins Intune Pellets. I mix them all together to give him a variety of flavors.

Here are some links to check out -

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


http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/449-toxic-list-our-birds.html

Best of luck & post pictures please. We love images

 

[Squeekmouse]

You're getting some excellent advice here. I feed my Yoda Harrison's fine pellets. I highly recommend moving Frankie to a pellet diet, there's some good threads on how to do that but in a nutshell, start by mixing in pellets with whatever he currently eats, add a little at first, and gradually add more pellets and less of his old feed when he starts eating the pellets.
Here's a good thread: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Harrison's, Tops, Roudybush, and Zupreem natural are all excellent choices. Avoid anything with artificial coloring as those can make Frankie's poop turn strange colors which makes it harder to tell when something bad is happening to your bird.

Reserve the seeds as something he gets only from you, to help encourage him to trust you and think you are a source of joy and treats and good things. Be patient, be gentle, don't yell or use negative reinforcement. If he bites, put him on the ground and walk away. If he really doesn't want to be held or touch, give him space.

Eventually you will end up like the rest of us, with a bird who is permanently attached to you and won't even let you go to the bathroom without trying to follow you. It's a truly wonderful thing!!!

 

[Squeekmouse]

Lol! I see Tami beat me to the punch... Great minds think alike, she already included my link, and then some.