There and Back Again: A Conure's Tail

[Sunnyclover]

Today was a good day! Finely did not bite me once (at least not a clear bite that I thought needed reprimanded to the floor). I hope this is a sign of improvement. I have changed some things about the way I was treating him such as; I did not make him step up if he didn't want to, when he didn't want to I just let him be and he would step up just seconds later once he noticed I was leaving the room and suddenly couldn't wait to step up. I waited for signs that he wanted to come to me (he's currently clipped from the pet store) before I went over to get him to cuddle. When I was cuddling and playing with him I didn't touch him as much or try to give him scratches unless he asked for them. When he started to play too roughly I told him "be gentle" and "no bite" and put an end to it so it wouldn't turn into a weird sudden aggressive or defensive biting situation which sometimes happens (I guess he gets scared in the middle of playing). I tried to have shorter interactions with him in general because I sometimes feel like he starts biting because he wants to go eat, drink or do something else and has no other way of telling me. To be fair I was not home all day so that probably helped. I am going to continue these methods, I hope it wasn't a fluke.
Ollie was so cute today. When my husband got home from work he leaped off his play stand with excitement. He never does that and it was so sweet, my husband was so excited about it too. I was a little jealous but as I was leaving to go get our dinner order my husband (Nick) took Ollie upstairs with him because I was leaving and I heard Ollie calling for me. That was sweet.
In other news, my chef event went really really really well! Everyone loved my dish. It was: Moraccan spiced meatballs, chickpea puree, roasted and raw cauliflower, parsley, olive oil and sumac. I will include a picture below and some pics from todays cuddles time!

 

[Carl_Power]

This is awsome news, seems like you guys had a great day and you are learning more and more about Finley. Im still learning things about mine after 8 months. They have such will power lol. In all honesty its Ollies fault haha for making you think all Parrots are so sweet and well behaved. Its huge progress it really is x

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

A conure necklace!



Jim

 

[Sunnyclover]

Finley was pretty good today and I think the floor time out method is working. He also seems less pissed off after he gets his time out on the floor and so I would recommend this method for biting to others at this point. He has a couple of time outs this morning and seemed to get his act together until about 4pm when I was about to take a shower and I took him in to get a steam but before that he was playing with his boxes toy and didn't want to stop so bit me to let me know his displeasure in the abrupt change in activities. At least I can understand this, I am not sure I would love getting interrupted from say...typing this post and dropped into another activity not of my choosing. Us humans should think of this kind of stuff and you'll understand your birds more. The thing is I had to take him with me to the bathroom or he would have screamed bloody murder for the next 20 minutes until I was done and he would have been very sad, too bad I can't tell him that! Anyways, not a bad day for little Finley and at the end of the day he even settled in for some much appreciated head scratches and niceties which is nice because nearing 7pm is one of his most bitey times. We call it "bite 'o' clock" at our house if that gives you any idea. So I put Finfin to bed at 7 and then I was free to spend time with Ollie from 7 to 8pm. I have carved out this hour for Ollie and I to spend together because life with Finley can sometimes cause me to let Ollie fall by the wayside (occasionally) because Fin is really demanding and this hour gives him his own uninterrupted and well deserved time with mommy and on weekends daddy too. Today we were able to enjoy a plate of Bucatini all'Amatriciana together (a nibble here and there for Ollie) and we all had a wonderful time. He was being exceptionally cute this evening and well he lived up to his nick name BBE! Here are some pics of the festivities!

Kind of a Lady and the Tramp moment.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Today Finley decided to be bipolar. One minute he's cute and cuddly the next minute he's biting for no reason. The word I'd use is cranky because he seemed to enjoy what was happening one second but then hated it the next. Weird. Well I put him on the floor about 5 times today starting from the minute he work up. Ugggg why Fin? Well at least I have Ollie! I could tell Ollie was getting disgruntled about all the attention given to Finley for his biting today and so I let him stay up 30 mins late tonight for some much deserved blanket time. He is such a happy little guy (if not a bit worried at times). He continues to make my heart melt daily. The green monster is also quite cute in a doofus big footed sort of way. When Finley is happy he's really happy!

In other news I tried a new smoothie place and it's amazing, after my workout tomorrow I'm going to pop down and see if they can make us a bird friendly kale and banana smoothie with unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk. Here are the videos I made today of the little ones!

[ame="https://youtu.be/OewyXeA9ZcI"]Ollie under blanket - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/B36FF3THg1Q"]Fin upside-down - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/uKlY0DZtN-c"]Special Finley - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Sunnyclover]

Finley is doing so much better today! Couldn't contain my excitement... we'll see if it's still there at the end of the day lol.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Finley only bit me 2 times today. Progress! Anyways the rest of the day went well with my 2 boys. There were workers who came to our house to install some light fixtures. As always Ollie acted like a gaurd dog and remained puffy and defensive randomly striking at passers by from my shoulder the whole time. Fin, as always, wouldn't notice if a space shuttle landed on our house and it burst into flames. He just kept looking at Ollie like "what's your problem, bro?" Lol. I tried to capture the moment as best I could!

 

[Inger]

Don’t tell Ollie, but he looks ridiculously cute all puffed up.


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[WilliamKenyon]

I have not added a picture of Finley yet so I thought I had better add one. Here is a pic of him in his favorite position on Mommy! haha.

nawwwww he's got such cute little feet!

 

[Sunnyclover]

!st of all those feets are not small, they are like way too giant for his body lol but thank you!

Finley's bite progress report: Only one floor time out for biting today. He had other close calls but just got warnings (I touch his beak with my finger and say "gentle beak, no bite" and he was calming down and seemed to listen. I think it's getting better and better!

A funny thing with Finley today. I was making a salad (you will see below) and his cage is kind of close to the counter in the kitchen. I got out the container of roasted and salted pistachios and I was making other preparations for the salad when I hear the pitter patter of large feet on the counter. I turn around to find Fin eating a roasted and salted pistachio (his fave is unsalted ones)!!!! Ugggggggg!!! So I quickly take it away and say "nono this is not for you, it's too salty!" and he looks at me like I am crazy and then stomps back to his cage, climbs right up and sits there in protest. I have seen a lot of things but never have I seen Finley go back to his cage on his own. The poor guy couldn't figure out what happened so I found his pistachios and offered him one, he made an inquisitive sound as if to say "didn't you just take this away?' and so I explained to him that the other ones were bad for birdies and these ones were good for birdies and he took it. He promptly dipped it in his water (maybe he thought it was salty?) and enjoyed it. I gave Ollie an apple so he didn't feel left out. The whole time this whole exchange was going on Ollie was in a fight with one of his toys, screaming at it, tossing it about, running to and fro. He is so cute when he does this especially since he never shows any of that kind of anger towards me or my eyes and fingers.
Alas, the salad was made, I turned in Six Feet Under and began to eat. Well someone was just staring at me and flapping his wings (ehem Fin) and waited until I looked at him and pooped telling me he would like to be picked up now. I was like "okay fine, I guess because you have been so good today". I had him on my shoulder for all of 5 seconds before he dove head first into my salad and retrieved a piece of pistachio lol. I took him out of my salad and let him chew on some kale for a bit and eat with me. After Finley had his fill I let Ollie have a turn eating my salad with me. Veggies were enjoyed by all and it was a good lunch and a good day.

PS. I hope I am allowed to repost these pics I post on this threat for POTM contests because it not I am in real trouble lol

Ollie says "A bite for me and a kiss for mommy!"

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I adore your "boys" what characters they are,and you are doing an amazing job with them!



Jim

 

[Sunnyclover]

Thank you Jim! I think you do a wonderful job with Amy (love his name and the story) and The Beebs.

Finley's daily bite report: 4 floor worthy times outs (ugggg?!). However, in at least 3 out of 4 of these bites had a clear reason. To me this is good, it means he isn't biting out of fear which is what was really scaring me about this whole thing anyways. I would HATE him to be scared of me. I would also like to add, since some of you might not know, Finley is not usually biting me hard enough to really hurt me but I am trying to break this habit before it snowballs into something worse.Fin is also not doing that thing where I go to get him to step up and he screams and backs up like he is deathly afraid of me anymore. He hasn't done that for about 3 days which is really good. I hated that...so in my mind I am still feeling we had a positive day with helpful interactions where I learned a lot about Finley and what is going on in that little doofy head of his.

We have had really really loud geese outside for the last couple of days and it has put poor Ollie on edge. He has taken to screaming at me when I try to move him somewhere besides the top of his cage, where he loves to watch and warn us about those darn geese...darn them! He does easily get over his annoyance of me moving him somewhere and turns into his angelic self so that is how I know for sure it's the geese that have him riled up. Of course if Ollie screams once Fin HAS to scream 3 times louder and 5 times as often lol. Ahhh little brothers, apparently you can't even warn mom about the geese (who do they think they are anyway?!) without him coping you.

Also, I put a new toy on outside in the back of Finley's cage because he was was always climbing down there and hanging upside down looking out the window and stomping around on his seed guard. It's a big hit! Sure enough he spends most of his on cage time back there playing with the toy and so when I glance at the cage area to see where the birds are I can't find Fin and I panic lol. Then I remember he is in the back of the cage playing with the toy. I couldn't let Finley have all the fun and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I had to have a go!

Here is a pic from today of Ollie standing guard on my shoulder waiting for an unsuspecting goose to somehow walk into the kitchen and a pic of Ollie taking a much needed goose guarding snack break. The poor thing takes on a lot of responsibilities but somebird has to do it!

 

[Carl_Power]

You can hire Ollie anytime for all your security needs x

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I must say Des..Ollie is surely a very handsome guy. I find his colors so bright and vibrant.
How are they when it comes to showers/baths?

Amy loves to shower with me. He'll stand on his perch stick,and I'll flip it so he hangs upside down,then he'll open his arms wide and shake them frantically,while poofing up his head and face and mumbling/yelling Amazon stuff lol.
Summertime when I shorten his sleeves on his arms,I'll put him on a low tree branch and use a mister and He'll do the arm/head thing.

Beebers,on the other hand,is allergic to water,or so he says


Jim

 

[Sunnyclover]

We'll Jim, at some point for this blog (if you would call it that) I'm going to do a complete shower video but until then I'll just link below the short video I made a couple of weeks ago.This video will better explain how they act and feel in the shower. Ollie and Finley both have a daily shower with me and sometimes if I shower twice I'll take them in for a steam while I shower again (we have a steam shower). Thank you for complementing Ollie and his colors! I'm especially proud of him featherwise because when I got him he was rather dull and had lots of blackening and stress marks on his feathers and it was hard for me to tell which were new and which were old and I feared he was getting stress bars on his adult feathers. I even took him to the vet about it. Luckily he DID eventually loose all of those gross feathers and now I know his feather health is on point. With Finley he has some stress marks but they blend in with him better because he is black naturally in his coloring. Can't wait until he gets his adult feathers. Also, Ollie had a slight tendency to barber his wing feathes (scared the crap out of me) but since getting his adult feathes in that has stopped. Thank goodness!
[ame="https://youtu.be/-MJfeZZBoFU"]Ollie and Finley in the shower - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Sunnyclover]

Daily Finley Biting Report: No biting today that warranted a timeout on the floor. Yay! Clearly some days he is moodier than others or some days I do the right things he likes and some days I don't. I am able to control the biting more now, luckily he has only bitten me hard a couple out of a hundred times.

In other news Ollie was a glutton for cuddles today! Just could not get enough. I have compiled a montage of my experiences today with Ollie.

As for Finley I had a different experience today... Imagine you wanted to eat a chocolate candy bar so you put your bird down on the bird stand. This is what he does every time after let's see...about 1 minute, Fin is like:

Really Finley?! Mommy just wants some chocolate... Oh no? Okay I guess I will just save that until after you go to sleep then...*looks at bird who just landed on her feet*

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Daily Finley Biting Report: No biting today that warranted a timeout on the floor. Yay! Clearly some days he is moodier than others or some days I do the right things he likes and some days I don't. I am able to control the biting more now, luckily he has only bitten me hard a couple out of a hundred times.

In other news Ollie was a glutton for cuddles today! Just could not get enough. I have compiled a montage of my experiences today with Ollie.

As for Finley I had a different experience today... Imagine you wanted to eat a chocolate candy bar so you put your bird down on the bird stand. This is what he does every time after let's see...about 1 minute, Fin is like:

Really Finley?! Mommy just wants some chocolate... Oh no? Okay I guess I will just save that until after you go to sleep then...*looks at bird who just landed on her feet*

LMAO You caught it/captioned it perfectly!




Jim

 

[Sunnyclover]

Fin Bite Report: Ugggg Today was a weekend and Daddy was home and Finley thought it was a great time to act up. On the floor 4 times for bites today and we weren't even home all day. I think that the change in environment with my husband home might have thrown off our progress. Finley also ditched me for his daddy several times which I did not appreciate one bit. But oh well...nice that Fin loves him too. I know I'm still his favorite because he screams bloddy murder if I leave the room even if my husband is there but not if my husband leaves the room. Oh well tomorrow I hope we can pick up on the progress or if not then Monday when my husband is back working.

At least I got to spend extra time with my "ride or die" Ollie. He is always always up for Mommy time. I often tell him "the world can't know how much I love you, Baby, because if it did it would explode and we'd all die" sort of morbid but it sounds cuter in person lol.

Ollie getting loves!

[ame="https://youtu.be/XNBzaivlikA"]Ollie gets tickles - YouTube[/ame]

Finley gets loves too...hope he doesn't bite my face off! Ollie makes an appearance also.

[ame="https://youtu.be/LE9mKogE3mQ"]Finley gets scratches - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Inger]

Ollie looks blissfully happy! So sweet.


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[Sunnyclover]

I'm worried. Ollie started preening Finley all of a sudden...like a lot. Previously Ollie would be really annoyed with him and walk away. Are they mates now instead of me?