There and Back Again: A Conure's Tail

[Sunnyclover]

@Inger No I haven't watched Riverdale. I'll check it out thanks! Oh Em Gee though...JTV the last episode of season 4 is to die die for. I watched it at 2am and I was so amped up afterwards I could barely sleep lol. Just something bto look forward to. ��

Today Finley was a total tragedy. He bit me every chance he got even when cuddling. He wants to cuddle but not be touched today I guess..what a weirdo. I think I'm going to give him a day to calm down tomorrow and be kinda hands off with him because he might need a break. More attention for Ollie my BBE! He of course was amazing except he screamed a lot today due to the geese outside and rain but that's not being naughty... he's just alerting me to danger...a lot of times.


Ollie!
[ame="https://youtu.be/N2L1ZGH1di0"]Ollie hops into his favorite spot! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Sunnyclover]

Today was a great birding day for us. Both birds birded well even if one of the birds gets scared and tried to bite me (ehem Finley). He clearly trusts me though..most of the time but sometimes he acts like he's never seen me before and freaks out. I am seriously beginning to suspect he may not be able to see out of one eye very well because that would explain a lot. I am also thinking that if someone else had bought Finley he would have been rehomed by now because he seriously has and has had a lot of issues and I am sooo happy we got him because no matter how much he bites or hurts himself or gets sick he's here forever in his forever home! I have decided to make the choice to stop punishing him for biting at all and just totally ignoring it for the most part and the last 3 days or so he has been a lot calmer. Things used to escalate and I would put him on the floor and sometimes he would bite me more because he knew I was going to put him on the floor and honestly it isn't worth it. I don't think something is quite right with him may it be a mental disability or physical and I think he has it hard enough as it is. He doesn't even bite hard enough to hurt me usually so I can totally just ignore it. I feel so sorry for the poor little guy.

In other news tomorrow my husband and I are going on a mini road trip with Ollie! We go to my husbands favorite wine shop that is an hour away then there is this wonderful Italian restaurant that lets Ollie sit with us inside at the table. I LOVE taking Ollie out to lunch and in the car. It's amazing and I am so excited. It will be nice to get some alone time with Ollie because honestly Finley gets a lot of the attention during the day because he is so "special". The best part about this is that we even have our babysitter who as a coincidence was coming over for some other reason but will be with Finley for a few hours while we are gone which is wonderful!

Here is a really special picture of Finley taken yesterday. He fell asleep on his back sucking on his toe in my lap....

 

[Sunnyclover]

If you are wondering what we were up to day here is a link to the thread I made in case someone missed it.

Ollie's day out! (Videos) - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

But before we left I spent some extra time with Finley and (even though he tried to bite me 5 seconds before this lol) he rolled onto his back and just melted my heart. I managed to get a short video...he is so endearing! How can he be seemingly scared of me one minute and so trusting the next...who knows? But wow...so darn cute. Enjoy!

[ame="https://youtu.be/wSws1Cau59Q"]Finley enjoying some mommy time - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Sunnyclover]

Today I decided to just do a redo with Finley. He seemed to be getting increasingly more agitated and aggressive towards me in the last week or so. I thought I'd just take it slow and rebuild trust (not sure if I lost it but what do I have to loose!) so started today with step up training and giving him a treat durring times I knew he'd be agitated and would normally bite me instead of stepping up. So far so good! I still was interacting with him plenty but just keeping my hands on sessions short and positive by not giving him time to get cranky or bored. I also made sure to talk sweety to him while he was in the tree stand or in his cage. I'm shocked at how well it's gone so far considering this morning before I started he tried to bite me about 6 times. I'll update with our progress.

Ollie was being a true gentleman today. He seemed to want to "just be with me" like he did when he was a baby. He curled into my neck for long periods of time and just seemed to soak up loves and pets like a sponge. It was really amazing! He's the BBE!

 

[Sunnyclover]

Wow...you would not believe the changes in young Finley so far. I am not sure why but the retraining seems to be totally working. I don't even feel like I am doing that much differently but maybe he is picking up on my new and cheerful attitude towards him also? Hmmm...

 

[wrench13]

Love this thread! Salty never ever cuddles but I dont expect that. I can cuddle vicariously on your thread!

 

[Sunnyclover]

Love this thread! Salty never ever cuddles but I dont expect that. I can cuddle vicariously on your thread!

Well I was thinking the same thing about your thread...love it! Because my guys don't do amazing tricks like Salty so I live vicariously through your thread with Salty's videos.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg! I thought I was making progress with Finley but I guess not. He's so bipolar, one minute he's on my shoulder getting scratches for 10 minutes straight and the next I can't even get him to step-up without trying to bite me. He seems scared of my hands now? But it's hard to tell because sometimes I can pet him on his cage top and he's fine with it and then sometimes he acts terrified of me trying to pet him and either runs away or screams and lunges. I just can't get a handle on his bipolar attitude...he loves me then he hates me and then he hates my hands and then he's getting scratches. One thing he isn't afraid of is my face...he never tries to bite face (so far) and always will give me a kiss unless he's really really pissed off. The frustration is very very high with this situation. I'm starting to think he might be one of those birds who just prefers not to be touched? But he sometimes loooves to cuddle (as shown in videos on this thread). I'm sooooo confused! Anyone with ANY advise would be extremely welcome.

As for Ollie, he is being a really good boy. We took the harness for another spin today and he seemed to enjoy being outside but also a bit scared because there were so many birds about. He was super calm while I was taking the harness off which was really great! The end of the harness time was positive and he got a pine nuts for his efforts. I might put Finley in the harness tomorrow and see if that takes him mind of being so bipolar...it might!

Here is a video from yesterday... enjoy!

[ame="https://youtu.be/wrlttoicL1Y"]Kisses - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Sunnyclover]

We have been gone for 2 days picking up my son from boarding school and had to leave the boys at home :-(. My baby/birdsitter came to the house to clean it and she put them to bed for me on Friday and came and woke them up for me on Saturday and gave them treats! When we got them up this morning Finley screamed for about 20 minutes straight which is really strange for him. I imagine he was saying "hey MOM! I didn't get to bite you AT ALL yesterday and you're my favorite person to bite, I am going to get you good today!" and he definitely bite me like 8 times in the following 30 minutes lol. I am sure he is pretty mad. Ollie of course was a bit pissed off but got over it quickly and settled in for some cuddles. Finley then decided to step up like nothing ever happened and happily for scratches on my shoulder for a while and that was totally positive interaction and I put him back on the tree afterwards to keep the interaction positive. I then decided to have several small interactions that turned out to be mostly positive which I am hoping will help. I am thinking about writing a long thread about Finley because things with him just keep getting weirder and weirder and then even weirder. Well anyways we are home now and the boys seem to have gotten over us being gone for 2 days (1 night) and I am very happy about that. My feathery babies! Also, we are thinking of getting a 3rd bird...dun dun duunnnnnnnnn

 

[Sunnyclover]

Today...Finley...was... WONDERFUL! I'm not really sure why he was so happy or wanted to hang out with me but it was so amazing because it makes me feel like I'm doing something right with him at least enough to where he does have days like this where he clearly wants his mommy all day. Let's be honest...the struggle is real with this bird but I try to wake up and treat everyday with him like a new day and treat him like he is the best bird in the world in hopes he will follow suit or take on my happy and loving attitude and today...he did. I know he'll probably back slide so I'm not going to be upset but this day gave me a huge boost. It reminds me why I do everything I do for him because he was just soooo happy today. I'm so excited to see him this happy and care free...my sweet baby boy! Ollie of course was a bit POed that I was mostly fawning all over Finley today but he got his full hour of cuddles today before bed and went to bed happy too. It was a wonderful day in the world of birding. I'm so happy!

This is a video of all 3 of us just having a silly time...some more silly than others.

[ame="https://youtu.be/ocLjRH0OMHI"]Busy busy birdies - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Inger]

Conure as earring - very clever! I see you have the “clip on” model. I’m sure you could get him to be a pierced version if you try. [emoji23]


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[Sunnyclover]

Inger! We have a conure necklace to complete the "look".

Today was another great day for Finley. He did bite me good once after he already stepped up (I just put him back and left the room and that seemed to set him straight). I am note sure why he does that after he steps up sometimes...weird. Anyways he was wonderful other than that one little moment. I was loving his cuteness and cheerful attitude today and we played and played and played! He has some fun in his box shown in the video below.

Ollie is being more cuddly than usual and a bit on edge. He almost bit me today which is really out of character but he only mouthed me after he realized he was about to bite he Mommy! On top of that he is being really really clingy and basically wants to live in my neck crevasse which is fine by me! I wonder if this is puberty? If so it's actually going in my favor lol. My son came home from boarding school 4 days ago so that might have something to do with it too. Oh well I will enjoy it while I can.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDjUzSHziY"]Finley and his box - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Inger]

The conure necklace is stunning! Might I suggest a Parrotlet fascinator to complete your look?

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[Sunnyclover]

Hmmm...maybe I should pick one up, a parrotlet would really bring the whole ensemble together.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Today was another great day for Finley. That makes 4 days in a row... I'm not really sure what changed but he no longer seems scared of me or bites me out of fear. He seems fully trusting now and he'll only bites me after he refused to step up and I keep asking him to or if I startled him and he will quickly realize it was me and act ashamed for biting. Also his biting is not hard at all anymore...just a bit of beaking really. I think Finley and I are over the hump! I actually didn't think this would happen and I was prepared for the worst and I had accepted it. I'm beyond happy about him and I can tell Finley is back to his happy doofus self too and life is good.
Those of you who don't think you can fix things with your bird please go back and read my struggles with Finley because it was hard with him and getting harder by the day. I don't know if it was hormones or me reprimanding him for biting and it scared him or just some random thing but you can fix it. You really can if you give it your all and you never give up on the precious little feathery life you took into your home because they need you to never give up on them and in turn they won't give up on you.

 

[Inger]

This is such great news!!


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[Sunnyclover]

I too was going to post something cute about my boys but I can't...I just can't bare the thought of what has happened to poor Nigel and his faithful human. My thoughts and hopes go out to him and his family.

 

[Sunnyclover]

I haven't really posted this week because honestly things with Finley have taken a turn for the worse and it's very depressing. I can barely get him from his cage to the shower or tree stand without him suddenly flaring his tale (after he already stepped up) and biting me for what I see as no reason, he sometimes does this even 2 or 3 minutes after he has stepped up. I am still trying to work with him and still trying to give him as much out of cage time as I can and I am still letting him be on my shoulder a bit here and there but he's become extremely unpredictable and I am at a real loss. I have been calmer than ever giving him no punishment except the occasional hand shake when he bites where he sometimes lands on the floor but there is no force involved. I really don't get it. He seems to want to be with me really bad and still contact calls me like crazy anytime I leave the room so that leads me to believe he is still bonded to me. He still flies off the tree and begs to be with me but when he gets there and we are sitting together he will suddenly start biting me but I have no idea why and believe me I have been paying attention to his every move and trying to analyze it as well as what I could be doing to cause this. He was doing so much better a week ago! I really really don't get it. Uggggggg!!!!

I will post about Ollie on another thread because we has a special outing just he and I.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Finley is still a bit touchy but his attitude has improved. Doesn't seem scared of me anymore. So weird... he's so weird. Ollie as you may know has had his fun time going out for ice cream with me and so I'm not going to post about that but rather blink the thread. http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/75551-ollie-mommy-get-ice-cream-pic-story.html Sorry I haven'tven't been posting as often, my son is home from boarding school for the summer and he is keeping me busy! Anyway here are some videos of us in the last few days. Hope you guys enjoy.

In this video Finley is a doggy birdie, so cute! He gets annoyed but the quickly forgives me and gives many kisses.
[ame="https://youtu.be/_5zvMyzuQ5U"]Finley the doggy - YouTube[/ame]

Finley helps me with my salad!
[ame="https://youtu.be/2R1iJneV5cU"]Findlay loves radicchio - YouTube[/ame]

I think I will post a couple more videos on a general thread for people who don't read our story.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

They seems to always enjoy tasting our stuff for us,huh?


Jim