Taming a shy conure

[karfonr]

So yesterday I got a 6 month old Cinnamon Turquoise Conure. I found the owner on craigslist and they were super nice, they just didn't have time to take care of the bird anymore. He/she isn't hand tamed and bit me pretty hard when trying to put them in their new clean cage. This morning they were a lot better and I stayed by the cage all day doing my homework and giving it treats when it would come over. I even cleaned out a spray bottle and gave it a bath and he/she seemed to enjoy it. It'll let me sit right by it and will even lick my finger but once I go in the cage is hides in the corner.

I know taming a bird takes a while but i'm wondering if their is anything more I can do to help him/her trust me. I've had a few birds in the past but they've all been hand tamed so this is very new to me. I would hate to do something wrong since i've wanted a conure for years.

 

[weco]

I don't know how your room is set up, but I think that doing just what you've been doing is your best approach.....the key is trust & letting the bird come out of its cage on its own...offer it treats, but try not to stick your hand in its cage...some birds are afraid of hands & because they feel safe in their cage, they often shy away from hands or even become cage protective/aggressive when you put your hand in their cage uninvited.....

While you're doing your homework, gently talking to it will show it you're not a threat...then towards evening, when the sun's going down, close your room door & just leave the cage door open and let it come out on its own.....if it shies away from your hand when you want it to go back in the cage, wait 'til dark, turn out your lights & you'll be able to pick it up, but be prepared to possibly get bitten.....

Time, patience & gently talking to it is the key.....

There are also some decent training videos on YouTube, that you may want to watch.....

 

[KOZKO]

I agree take it slow and keep doing as you are (treats for good behavior are the best). I had a wonderful black masked lovebird that never really liked me going into his cage (I bled a lot in the begining trying to rush things), but got much better with time and treats (still would bite if not in the mood, but after he climbed out on his own (a minute after the door was open) he was great!
My new sun conure is almost 8 months old (we got him about 3.5 months old) and wants out so bad it's crazy - wherever he's at in there when the door opens it's mad rush to either my finger or his own direction - he's out! He loves being out and with us! Also, the conure is out from morning unit bed (my wife works from home) so to me he/she is just more social. Good luck! Oh yea - cuddling and head scratching - the conure loves when you scratch his "hard too reach" place and I try to mimick preening him with my fingers which seems to be increasing the trust factor.

 

[SolarEclipse]

What I'm doing with my parakeet (this applies to biting tho but it might help) is holding the millet (or any treat) in my hand and used my other hand to encourage step up. When she did, I treated her right away you must get you timing on rewarding down. If he/she won't step up simply feed him/her treats and maybe prompt him/her to step up into your hand while eating the treat. Yes, it will take time, but it will create an amazing bond with your bird. He/she will do tricks and allow you to pet. It's a really cool experience! Hope this helps

 

[Mavis]

Hello,

I agree with what everybody else is saying about taking it slow and at your birds pace and sounds to me like you are doing really good already, if he is sitting by you and letting you mist him. He is getting used to you and his new home.

Is you chair at a slightly lower level then his position in the cage, when you sit there and do your homework, talk to him too, even sing to him (if you dare!) you can do slow eye closes and also kind of half open eye lids when you look at him too. He will soon settle into his new environment and with you. He is taking it all in.

Just gently gently, slowly slowly at his pace. Has he favourite foods? Mine lives pomegranate!

Would love to see a photo of him : >

The hand thing, mine : Percy was in pet shop for over 2 years and was really frightened of hands and pretty much everything and anything, he had almost shut down really! There are things in time when he is more settled to try with him to get him more used to hands, THEY ARE SCAREY. Imagine if you were him, that big scarey hand with waggly fingers and stuff, when I look at at birds their wings almost look like arms behind their backs, very different to us, almost vulnerable really. Though the beak does a lot of the talking!

For now you could keep doing what you are doing and maybe slowly some days sit a bit closer to the cage, sometimes when cleaning out the cage, just leave the hand in there at the bottom out of the way or just at the door nit blocking in, just in an inoffensive way, leave the hand slow and calm to sit there for a minute if that.

As weco said, when you feel its a good time leave his cage doors open and sit and carry on doing your normal thing, one day he will come out and slowly explore and time by time eventually he will come to you. Mine loves music and he found favourite songs and was driven to come out with some of the them and sing and shout his head off : )

The real hand training will come once he is more settled and sits on or with you out of the cage. It will all just grow.

All the best to you and your birdie : >

 

[veimar]

My gcc baby was very shy when we got him, and it only took about a month to get him to become tame. Make sure to spend A LOT of time with him - talk, play, show him parrot videos (they actually really helped me!), let him spend plenty of time out of cage. Teach him to step up (you can use a pencil first if he bites). Take him out of the cage when you clean it - I always clean cages when the birds are outside.

 

[karfonr]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up opening the cage and he hung out on the top watching me at my desk. He kept wanting me to come over but then would get scared if I did. To my surprise he tried flying over to me but then got scared cause he has his wings clipped and I ended up grabbing him. He hung out in my hair for awhile then when I tried putting him back in his cage he flew to my easel and there I was able to actually get him to come up on my finger.

 

[freyaclare]

That is so heartening to hear that he is coming out of his shell and he is really interested in you and obviously wants to trust you. I hope you have a long and happy life together!

 

[Jessie]

One thing I thought was really helpful for me was reading to my bird. I love to read so it wasn't really that big of a deal to have to read aloud. I found that the more I read to him the better he got used to me. While I read, every time he would come close to me in the cage I would give him a small treat. Now when he sees me holding a book he comes right over and he actually lets me hold him without getting bitten.