Where did I go wrong?

[Scuttle]

Ok, I'm having a bit of problem. For many years I have been wanting a parrot as a companion, so a few weeks ago I went to go buy my new pet. Mistake no.1: I decided on a a 2-year-old Green Cheeked Conure at a local Pet supermarket, and he seemed very nice. Whenever I came to the store, he climb up to the top of his cage to see me. He would sit on my finger, But he would also bite. I understood that all parrots will bite eventually. I felt so bad for the poor thing, in his tiny cage with only one toy, no attention, and his feathers were chewed , so a few days later we bought him for a modest price. I had a nice spacious cage with plenty of perches and toys set up for him.I was so excited to finally bring home a parrot. And he was a nice bird, always wanting to be out of his cage and sit on my shoulder. But he is extremely offensive puffing up whenever my parents come near him. He's a one person bird, once he even bit my Dad hard on the ear when I went to hug him. He also never plays with any toys I give him except paper strips, so he always needs my attention or else he'll start screeching and chewing his feathers. He also hates fingers, and never goes anywhere except on my shoulder. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be what your first bird feels like, but neither of my parents are fond of him and I don't know what to do. I love him for the adorable little spunk ball that he is, but I'm afraid my parents are going to kick him out the door and I may never be able to get a new bird until I graduate from college! Please help

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Welcome to the forums Scuttle,

It sounds like you are facing the common realities of parrot ownership. Much can certainly be done to build a happy and healthy relationship with a bird but it takes a good bit of time and a lot more work.

In regards to biting your dad's ear let me see if I got the picture right: the bird was on your shoulder, you went to hug your dad, and if he could bite his ear then the bird must have been BETWEEN your head and your dad's as you came together? Frankly I could hardly blame him for biting. If that's how it went then I cannot put this gently: that was not smart at all.

I suspect that with a bit of training that you and your new bird could build a happy healthy relationship and he may even warm up to the rest of your family - or at least he would be okay with them around. It will take a bit of training though, and only a little bit of that would be for the bird - much of it would be for you. Owning parrots is much more challenging and much more work than owning other pets, but if you ask anyone here they will also agree that it is more rewarding.

If you are willing and able to commit to learning and being flexible to build a good relationship with the new GCC we'll all be glad to help.

To get started some of the basics would be good: have you had him checked out by a vet? What does he eat? Does he interact well with you if no one else is around? How much time do you spend with him? And how much interaction with other members of the household is there: is he in a room that is his or his/yours or is he in a family/living room that other people commonly walk through? Lastly, how much are your parents or other members of the household willing or able to commit to building a relationship with the little guy - or are they more interested in just staying out of his way and not getting bit?

GCCs often make great family birds, and in general they are not prone to one-person-syndrome as some other birds, but if yours is a own person bird it'll fall on you to make sure he doesn't get opportunities to attack anyone else. My Auggie is a one person bird; perhaps he could get used to someone else in time but as it is now he will attack anyone but me who comes in the house. So... if anyone else is going to come in the house I make sure he is in his cage.