Taming Neglected Conure

[Espadas]

Awww this makes me happy!! I had a dove that I hand raised and she passed away this last summer. I miss her to pieces, but wanted to get a new one. My boyfriend finally agrees, and he was happy to see I looked at rescues before considering buying.

How long did it take Roscoe to warm up to you?

Sorry to hear about your dove. I've never had one but thought that someday I would. They seem like very gentle and soothing creatures.

It took Rosco about a year before he would step up for me. It probably would have been sooner but he and Tootsie developed a bond and Rosco is the jealous type. Even now, over 5 years later, he still feels the need to 'protect' Tootsie from me. So I'll reach up to scratch her, he will lunge and sometimes nip at me then I'll waggle my finger at him and sometimes give him a gentle poke if he nipped a little too hard. I have a feeling that when Tootsie is no longer with us (hopefully many years from now) that Rosco will become a lot friendlier and seek closer contact. But we have a good understanding between us. And he makes me laugh more than Tootsie and Sidney (the Senegal Parrot) combined. He is a genuine character.

I can tell he likes me better than my boyfriend, but I also spend more time with him and I was told he didn't like men very much, but I think this is because he's had a bad experience. It sounds like he's starting to mimic my laugh, but is it too soon for that? I haven't even had him for a week yet. He also barks when you ask him what a dog says, and I was on the phone with a friend and she said he may just like my laugh and bark because he wants to hear it. (Really hoping that's the case.)

Should I be concerned about him rubbing his beak on the cage? It's pretty frequent.

 

[JamesC]

You might want to have your boyfriend actively give positive association. Have him feed the bird the majority of the treats & such. Talk to him a lot. There is a strong possibility that he would dislike your boyfriend enough to attack and bite him. Especially if he bonds with you, considers you his mate and defends you like Rosco does with Tootsie. Though not the strongest bite among parrots he could bite hard enough to hurt and draw blood. I'd rather get bitten 10 times by Rosco rather than once by Sidney. He may be smaller but dang is his beak strong!

A mimic is good. I think Rosco first started with his favorite "Whatchyadoin?" at about 3 months. I would not consider less than a week too soon. Especially if he likes you and wants to get your attention. In my experience, Blue Crowns are clever. He is already learning about you, how you do things and what you say. I could put good money on it that whenever you are in sight, he is keeping an eye on you. And he might be starting to contact call when you go out of sight.

Don't be concerned about rubbing his beak like that. It is an instinctual thing to keep their beaks in condition. If he does not have any, I would recommend getting him some natural wood perches, maybe a cement type perch and a mineral block of some kind. More variety is better. Good wood & natural leather toys to chew on too. Tootsie's favorite is to rub her beak on a cement perch. It almost looks like it should be fingernails on a chalk board uncomfortable. Her beak ends up rough and scratched on the sides. But it is good for her. Blue Crowns can get a long and thin taper on the tip of the beak if they don't condition it enough. Tootsie used to be less enthused about maintaining her beak and it got too long and occasionally I'd find that I could easily snap the tip off with my fingers. Different perches in her home and she started maintaining it a lot better.

Thinking of the cage your bird is in and perches. Does it have rope or natural wood? A lot of people keep the perfectly round wooden dowels that come with cages. Those things are murder on a parrot's feet. It can cause them to become arthritic after a long time of always being in the same position. Tootsie had dowels when I first got her. My brother didn't realize any better. And honestly, I didn't either at that time. But a lot of reading on the internet and an earlier bird forum I belonged too set me straight on that. Still, her feet are not the best. But a lot of that was injury sometime in her past, a bad vet who broke a toe during an exam and just plain age.

 

[Espadas]

You might want to have your boyfriend actively give positive association. Have him feed the bird the majority of the treats & such. Talk to him a lot. There is a strong possibility that he would dislike your boyfriend enough to attack and bite him. Especially if he bonds with you, considers you his mate and defends you like Rosco does with Tootsie. Though not the strongest bite among parrots he could bite hard enough to hurt and draw blood. I'd rather get bitten 10 times by Rosco rather than once by Sidney. He may be smaller but dang is his beak strong!

A mimic is good. I think Rosco first started with his favorite "Whatchyadoin?" at about 3 months. I would not consider less than a week too soon. Especially if he likes you and wants to get your attention. In my experience, Blue Crowns are clever. He is already learning about you, how you do things and what you say. I could put good money on it that whenever you are in sight, he is keeping an eye on you. And he might be starting to contact call when you go out of sight.

Don't be concerned about rubbing his beak like that. It is an instinctual thing to keep their beaks in condition. If he does not have any, I would recommend getting him some natural wood perches, maybe a cement type perch and a mineral block of some kind. More variety is better. Good wood & natural leather toys to chew on too. Tootsie's favorite is to rub her beak on a cement perch. It almost looks like it should be fingernails on a chalk board uncomfortable. Her beak ends up rough and scratched on the sides. But it is good for her. Blue Crowns can get a long and thin taper on the tip of the beak if they don't condition it enough. Tootsie used to be less enthused about maintaining her beak and it got too long and occasionally I'd find that I could easily snap the tip off with my fingers. Different perches in her home and she started maintaining it a lot better.

Thinking of the cage your bird is in and perches. Does it have rope or natural wood? A lot of people keep the perfectly round wooden dowels that come with cages. Those things are murder on a parrot's feet. It can cause them to become arthritic after a long time of always being in the same position. Tootsie had dowels when I first got her. My brother didn't realize any better. And honestly, I didn't either at that time. But a lot of reading on the internet and an earlier bird forum I belonged too set me straight on that. Still, her feet are not the best. But a lot of that was injury sometime in her past, a bad vet who broke a toe during an exam and just plain age.

Thanks! He has one rope perch and two prostetic wood perches (one thick and he other thin) inside the cage, and the perch on top of the cage is a thick wooden standard perch with what looks like sand paper wrapped around it. I just want to make sure he isn't hurting himself.

He will let my boyfriend feed him, but apparently when I'm around he's getting nippy. I noticed he was doing a crouch when my boyfriend walked in, and at first he seemed to be ok with him, but I spend more time with him than Eric does. I had Eric try to feed him and he tried to bite. I offered the same treat and he took it.

He was calling after me the first day when I would leave the room, but now he's giving me looks if he thinks I'm walking toward the door. I think we are almost ready to start step up training, but I'm not sure what signs to look for that he's ready for more physical interaction other than trying it and risking a finger (or arm... I'm a tiny lady...).

 

[JamesC]

A good trick for step up training. Hold the treat behind your finger so that he will have to step up to get to it. If he is not comfortable yet, he probably won't. He might grab your finger and put a bit of pressure on it. Both mine do it. It might be a little uncomfortable but does not really hurt. If he does bite too hard, take the treat away and flat out ignore him for a little bit. He will want your attention and removing it is a good way to teach him that you found the bite unacceptable. He will learn. Just don't make a big fuss cause he might think that was fun and do it again to get the same reaction.