Newbie - Improperly weaned?

[strikerall]

I purchased a Nanday Conure in November, actually "Max" was a birthday present. He was purchased from Pet Smart. He was born 4/16/2012. New to owning this type of bird, we purchased the seed that the store suggested which has sunflower seed. After reading books, I found out sunflower seed is bad.

Is it ok to give sunflower seed if mixed in with other seed?

Also he flings out a lot of the seed and looks for things he likes. I have also tried different pellets, veggies and fruit. We throw all of it out untouched. He will try a few bites of whatever I'm eating, but just flings it and makes a mess. Do I need to revert back to baby foods? And what does that process involve?

He squawks constantly unless when he is eating. I try to pick him up when he is quiet, but then he squawks continuously while I'm holding him, he also tries to suckle on fingers and does the baby bob. We did have issues with him biting, but he has gotten better with that, but still bites if we do something that he doesn't like, such as taking him off the shoulder and putting him on the cage. It makes it really difficult to find a time to try to teach him anything, when all he does is squawk. I work all day, so I only have time at night to work with him. I have tried to teach him "step up" to advert the biting or nipping but when I put him on my finger, he just swarms to my shoulder, I can' t say fly because he is clipped.

He has lots of toys, and does not play with any of them. I still rotate them. How do I get him active?

He also seems to sleep a lot even though we put him to bed at 8PM, and he gets up about 6:30AM

I think he was improperly weaned based on his eating, balance, and head bobbing.

What steps do I need to do to get a well behaved bird?

I have read books, searched online, but nothing seems to help. He was seen by an avian vet, but they said he was healthy. I think he is too skinny.

 

[Greenwing]

If he is Hungry he will squak a lot. .. If in fact he isnt completely weaned that could be an issue.. Check his breast bone.. See if it feel meaty on either side... Offer him Cheerios and anything he likes and eats and doesnt need to shell...make sure he is eating and gaining weight... Birds that are not weaned correctly will not know what to eat or how to eat and if hungry enough will start eating seeds without shelling them..then you will have a bigger problem..

If your not familiar with there care and as a new bird I would recommend you take him to an avian vet for a check up...

Are you sure about the birthday?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

You want to be feeding him pellets, the best brand at petsmart is zupreem natural and roudybush if your store carries it. The best pellets are Harrison's which can be bought at most bird specialty stores and avian vets, and Totally organics which some bird stores carry. Both can be ordered online.Also make a chop mix, I made this and brought it in to the store and all the birds loved it. You can make it in bulk and freeze it in little bags. Be careful if you decide to hand feed him, hand feeding formula is very rich. A good alternative is offering vegetable mash.

I use to work at petsmart, the birds are adorable but they do not have the best upbringing and the moment they are weaned they are shipped off to a store, were they sometimes revert back and need hand feeding.

 

[secuono]

If he was hatched 4/16/2012, how can a year old bird not be weaned??
Am I missing something?
And what is the reverting back to needing hand feeding?

 

[MarciaLove]

first off I dont think he isnt weaned he is a year old most Nandays wean at 2 months old. Also Nandy conures along with Sun conures are the loudest birds! they squawk just for the fun of it. As for throwing the food around yep that is unfortunately normal for birds bought at a petstore chain like petco, petsmart. the people running those stores know nothing about birds usually!!! And the birds in there are often sick, mean, and never have I seen one that eats what it should! It really needs to eat pellets and fresh fruits and veggies some birds mainly ones bought at those petstores wont eat them so just keep trying giving him pellets and fruits/veggies it will not be fast and it will be expensive you will throw out a lot of food!! so sorry it wont be fun but keep trying and eventually he will eat them good luck! Also the chop mix idea is great!!!!

 

[Greenwing]

Are we sure of the hatch date?? I have personaly never owned a Conure.. But my father did and I have to tell you the time I spent with it ..it was a pretty quite bird..

 

[Featheredsamurai]

first off I dont think he isnt weaned he is a year old most Nandays wean at 2 months old. Also Nandy conures along with Sun conures are the loudest birds! they squawk just for the fun of it. As for throwing the food around yep that is unfortunately normal for birds bought at a petstore chain like petco, petsmart. the people running those stores know nothing about birds usually!!! And the birds in there are often sick, mean, and never have I seen one that eats what it should! It really needs to eat pellets and fresh fruits and veggies some birds mainly ones bought at those petstores wont eat them so just keep trying giving him pellets and fruits/veggies it will not be fast and it will be expensive you will throw out a lot of food!! so sorry it wont be fun but keep trying and eventually he will eat them good luck! Also the chop mix idea is great!!!!

It sucks, I use to bring in chop mix all the time for the birds at the store I worked at but when some corporate employees changed(the one's who check the store to make sure it it running smoothly) I was no longer allowed to do so because it wasn't policy

If he was hatched 4/16/2012, how can a year old bird not be weaned??
Am I missing something?
And what is the reverting back to needing hand feeding?

Often when birds are force weaned they will revert when in a stressful enviroment, such as being moved to a store with a bunch of new people. We once had a GCC at the store who was very unhappy, plucking his tail, and very unhappy. It turned out he wasn't finished weaning and needed to be hand fed more.

 

[MarciaLove]

it is very sad Copperarabian! I offer to bring organic fresh veggies and fruits all the time and inform them how to care better for ALL their animals they never listen

 

[strikerall]

Thanks for all the help and tips. I brought Max to the vet to be on the safe side. Out of 1 to 9, he is at level 4 1/2 for weight, the vet said he is a little on the low side but nothing to be concerned about. I will definitely use the tip for freezing veggies. I want to be able to offer him lot but it seemed like I was throwing a lot of stuff out by the end of the week. At least having the opportunity to freeze it, will help. I'm going to check out clicker training to help with daily training. The vet also gave me samples of nutribites, and also said to set up foraging things in his cage. I will keep everyone updated with our progress.

 

[strikerall]

Max taking the opportunity to try to get into my mouth. He has gotten better