Please help I'm going crazy

[fijii]

Hi everybody,

I rescued a yellow sided green cheek conure back in May of this year. When I first got him home he was an evil little bird lol. He would bite us till we bled, didn't want anybody near him, and refused to ever leave his cage. With in a short time, I'd say about a month, we made a huge amount of progress. We got him to stop biting, and he hasn't bit us since. He also wants to come out of cage and he's out of cage most of the day until bed time. We also taught him to step up. The problem now is that the progress has stopped. When he comes out of his cage, he will only stand on top of the cage.. He will never actually leave his cage. When I move him away from his cage he either immediately flys back or just looks around every where trying to figure out how to get back to his cage and I can feel him shaking as he's standing on my finger. Now for the part that really drives me crazy, he screams constantly. If someone leaves the room, he screams. When were sleeping at 8am on the weekend, he screams. If he's locked in his cage, he screams. It's like he wants attention, but when we give it to him he just runs away.. We don't know what else to do, it's driving us crazy. Please give us some advice.

 

[Newbie GCC]

He wants to be part of the flock, but doesn't totally trust just yet. Is the cage in the main room where everyone hangs out and he can watch the activities? Does he have a tree stand or play stand where he can hang out away from his cage?
Just spending a lot of time in the same room will sometimes get them to venture away from the cage to see what you are doing. Baby steps.
Rhema likes to sit on a shelf and see what I am doing in the kitchen, but does not like being outside of the living room. I respect that and she is happy that she can just see what I am doing. When and if she ever wants to venture into the kitchen, she will.

 

[fijii]

Yes the cage is in the main living room with us. I put a stand right next to his cage and he won't even stand on that, I put him on it and he immediately flys back to his cage.

 

[fijii]

Once in a very great while, he will fly off his cage, get about 2 feet away and do an immediate U-turn back to his cage.

 

[wasabismom]

This is him not wanting to be alone. Put cage in your bedroom at night or a small sleeping cage in your room with you might help. Having multiple cages might work. Or having a small table top playstand. Hes screaming for you to come back its called a contact call. Birds are flock animals and don't spend much time alone in the wild. But it seems like he's bonding with you which is great.

 

[Newbie GCC]

His cage is his safe place. If he is close to the cage, he knows he has a safe place to go into in a hurry. It will take time, but he will get used to things. Sounds like he is as shy as my Rhema. Rhema has been with us for a year and a half and was very much the same way. Still prefers to be in the same room as her cage, but will venture off to play on her tree stand across the room now. Still will not get on the playstand I have on the coffee table, but I am okay with that. Occasionally will allow us to carry her into another room, but not for very long. She will make her advances in her own time. You have yours stepping up and that is a step we have not been able to get Rhema to do just yet. The trust is just not quite there yet.
Put his favorite treats on his playstand and then sit quietly. If he gets on it, don't make a fuss. Just act like it is totally normal and she will get used to exploring things.

 

[Aubrey]

This is him not wanting to be alone. Put cage in your bedroom at night or a small sleeping cage in your room with you might help. Having multiple cages might work. Or having a small table top playstand. Hes screaming for you to come back its called a contact call. Birds are flock animals and don't spend much time alone in the wild. But it seems like he's bonding with you which is great.

My pionus will contact call me if I'm out of sight (going to the bathroom, doing laundry, outside getting the mail, making the bed). Not saying this is the right thing to do, but I bring him with me everywhere and he's quiet as a church mouse

 

[msplantladi]

Yes its a trust issue. To start building that bond take out the food dish and start hand feeding through out the day-open the cage door and make him come to you-when he does this feed a food he likes.Don't feed through the cage bars. When you approach his cage chat calmly I usually will not leave a food dish in the cage at night-he needs to be alittle on the hungry side. The cage is his safe place-when that bond starts to form he will see that you can be trusted and the screaming will start getting less. He has to need something from you. Good luck

 

[fijii]

That sounds like a good idea, I'll try it. Should I hand feed him while he's in the cage or sit across the room with food and wait for him to fly over?

 

[Jennjenn]

I would get him to step up on my finger from his cage, hold onto a foot with my thumb, walk across the room and sit calmly with him as I'm holding onto his foot. When I'm seated, I would give him a treat. talk to him in a calm, soft, loving voice. Sit with him while giving him your full attention, for as long as he can stand it. Don't force him him to stay very long if he is struggling to get back to his cage. Maybe 30-40 seconds tops. Or if he bites, immediately return him to his cage without making any angry voice or gestures. Do this daily if possible, and you should notice he will become more and more comfortable being on your hand and away from his cage. And he will stay on your hand, away from his cage, for longer periods of time as the days go by. This will build trust. It will take Time and patience. Once he can stay with on your hand away from the cage, for long periods of time, then you can start placing him on a playpen or perch him on something away from the cage...and again, start with as much as he can handle and repeat daily. Whenever he is out of his cage, you MUST be sure his environment name to is safe...including all doors and windows are closed, turn off all fans, stoves, anything that could possibly harm him. Be ssure re all family members are aware he is out for f his cage and be aware of opening doors.

If you're in warm weather, try taking the bird to a sink and give him a shower. A bird shower is to have the water dripping from the faucet. Just a gentle drip. Do not use hot water. You can also use a heavy shallow bowl as a shallow tub. Do not allow the water level to go above his legs. Most birds enjoy a spray so he may enjoy this activity away from his cage.

 

[Calpurnia]

Everyone has given good advice about training/taming him so far but there was one thing I wanted to point out regarding the screaming. Make sure you aren't inadvertently rewarding him for screaming with your attention. Though it's true that you want to give him enough socialization a day you should try to only approach/praise him when he is quiet OR making more desirable noises. Otherwise you quickly teach him that screaming gets him attention.

 

[Monica]

I do wonder how he was trained in the beginning.

 

[metalstitcher]

Keeps us posted on how his progress is going

 

[slinky-kitty]

Best of luck! I am so glad he has found a wonderful home. All excellent advise I hope you make more progress!

 

[alshgs]

Good luck and let us know how it goes!