Untouchable

[Boki]

Bit of background - when I got the 7 month rose front conure from a breeder, they advised me to hold the bird against my chest daily until the bird accepts me as the boss. It felt wrong and stopped after 3 days. Consensus here was I did the right thing.

7 months later and this conure still does not let me give her scritches of any kind even though she rubs her head against various objects of all kinds. Clearly she has an itch that needs rubbed.

Is this still a memory thing or does anyone have a conure that does not ever like to be touched? I thought the conures loved to be handled and given scritches all of the time. Not this one.

I can't imagine that I will ever be able to put a harness on her if she won't let me touch her at all. Or this still early to tell and I need to keep trying and wait until she comes around?

 

[Laurasea]

Every Parrot is a unique individual.
Using treats to shape behavior is all I can think of right now. Does she have a fear of hands?

 

[Scott]

I am not familiar with conures, but the advice given seems conditional. You were perceptive to abandon the chest-holding process as it likely was not well received. How likely this helped caused an aversion to touch is conjecture.

Might try a "reset" using a combination of techniques in this thread and rewarding baby steps with treats: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

 

[wrench13]

I'm glad you dropped the breeders advice, it seems very contradixtory to building trust. Its all about trust with a parrot. Scotts advce to try a re-set sounds about right and the use of favorite treats is spot on. Parrots are a long lived genus and usually behavioural changes take time, and patience, to implement.

If you can describe your typical daily interactions with your conure, members here might be able to give you some insight and hints at bonding with your little one.

 

[Jen5200]

Agree with everything said above. But I’ll also share that I do have one GCC that doesn’t love scritches. Tango loves to be with me, around me and on me. But Tango like scritches only on occasion and will bite if she doesn’t want them. I continue to have a good bond with Tango, she’ll fly to me when called and loves to ride around on me. But I do respect her lack of desire for touch (not to respect that, result = holey fingers). I can’t even imagine putting a harness on Tango....I’d probably lose a finger . Pak-o-bird carriers were made for birds like Tango who will never wear a harness lol. I loves my Tango-bird, and she loves me....just not the scritchy kind of love.

 

[Boki]

Thank you all for the quick responses. Loki is not afraid of hands. She is pretty well socialized and does not hesitate to jump on a complete stranger's hands when offered. She does this without treats being offered.

It is funny that she looks at my hands and sort of asking where her treat is?

I think I got a bird like Tango of Jen5200. She will hang on my shoulder and will tolerate scritches but then gives me the bite warning. She has never bitten me but does give a fake chomp sort of barely digging the skin. It feels like great communication at work.

Using a pak-o-bird carrier to walk around and visit neighbors feels wrong. There has to be another option. Heck I would rather use an elastic leg wrap than a pak-o-bird carrier. I am confident she won't fly off my shoulder because her wings are clipped. I expect this reply will result in all kinds of warnings but I do really listen to the body language of my very smart bird. I am hoping someone has relevant experience here.

 

[Jen5200]

I’ll be the predictable one and urge caution with taking her outside (I hate being negative and try really hard not to be). Even if she doesn’t fly and you know your bird - a wind gust, a fright...many things outside your control can lead to unfortunate circumstances. I say this because I volunteer at a rescue and hear from many people whose birds go missing in just those kind of circumstances. There...I’ve said it...and will cease my little diatribe. No negativity was intended, please don’t take it that way - I just care that Loki stays with you for a long time .