Sun Conure Taming

[stanleyseah999]

Hi guys,

Recently added a sun conure to my family. As this wasn't a tame bird, i left it alone for about 3 weeks before making any contact.

Thing is, it plays with me and allows rubs and such off the stand.

However, I would always have to get it to step up onto a stick before transferring to my hand.

When its on the stand, it would lunge and bite at me no matter what. Off the stand, its as sweet as it could be.

Question is, would time and love change this or am I stuck with the transferring from stick all the time?

(Have no problems with my other larger birds)

 

[birdcrazy]

With time there's a good chance this behaviour can be modified. Sounds like your new sunny is a bit territorial. Some birds never grow out of this. If he is being sweet away from the cage, you really don't have much to worry about. However I know it can be frustrating when they get cage agressive. Just keep working with him. Sometimes you can use oven mits over your hands or gloves and start working with that as well.

 

[Spiritbird]

BirdC giving you good suggestions. Your Sun feels powerful on the stand vs. the cage. You may try a distraction of putting a treat in the beak just as you go to get him off of the stand. A busy beak may change his response. Good luck.

 

[parrotqueen]

Good advice here, I only have a question with one of the suggestions.

Birdcrazy, don't you think that he would be afraid of the oven mitt/glove? Birds in general normally don't tolerate change well. Maybe he would adjust with time, but it's still a worry.

 

[stanleyseah999]

guess so.

hmmm anyway, a little deviation from the original question...

what are the disadvantages of a bird being kept permanently on a stand? (ie not living in a cage at all)

cos in malaysia where i am, it seems that owners tend to favor letting their parrots stay their whole lives chained on stands.

 

[Chaos_1.0]

I would see it as mean to leave my parrot chained to a stand. My tiel and parakeets have cages but they can come and go whenever they please. I have a play net set up above the cages and they like to hang out of it. I even leave them out when I am at school (my mom and dad are here still) and they love being out of their cages. I know that they won't go any where and by tiel is flighted and so is one of the parakeets. They fly around the room but always end up on the play net.

 

[birdcrazy]

It just depends on the bird in my opinion.... if the gloves/mits seemed to stress him out more then by all means i wouldn't push it. I just keep a pair underneath Sidney's cage and when visitors are over and want to handle him I ask they put these on their hands, because although he's not viscious he is real testy with new people. It's saved alot of scrapes.