• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Pictures House of the Rising Suns

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob

So I posted about how I was getting sun conures and then how they turned out to be less tame than I was hoping upon arrival. I have been working with them everyday on taking treats from my fingers and just trying to build up positive experiences with them.

Unfortunately I did have to clip their wings for the time being because they weren't flying safely around my house and it was starting to interest my two younger dogs. And one thing I don't want to do is bring any interest to birds with two young dogs in the house. If they are anything like Charlie when their wings grow back (Which should be soon) they will be smarter fliers and I will have time to manage the environment better.

They are coming along pretty well. Still not happy to step up but one is more willing than the other. They take pinenuts and pieces of cheerios from my fingers no problem and even have gone as far as to "feel" my skin with their beaks and jump up on my hand for a moment or two. I'm excited to see how tame they become because I really would like to harness train them so I could have more than one bird to take out on walks.

Now about them being a young pair. Right now I don't really see them being too bonded to each other to be interested in me. If it becomes an issue than I have a solution. Charlie lives with my dad most of the the time unless he is on vacation. I could just send one of them over to his house. My dad is able to offer a bit more freedom to his birds due to a lack of predatory pets.

Anyways I hope you enjoy the pictures. They are doing well and I hope soon I can take some nice pictures of them on me.
 

Lady Jane

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/25/12
Messages
26,570
Location
Maryland
Real Name
Dianne
Remove the dogs when these birds are out of the cage. Its better to make your room safe than to make your bird safe by cutting off their healthy flying.
 

Lady Jane

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/25/12
Messages
26,570
Location
Maryland
Real Name
Dianne
Unfortunately I did have to clip their wings for the time being because they weren't flying safely around my house and it was starting to interest my two younger dogs.


If you do not have your dogs in the room where your birds are out of the cage it would not have been necessary to cut the birds flight feathers. Now these birds are totally dependent upon you. If one of the dogs gets to them, there is no way for them to escape. It is my opinion that one should make the room safe for the birds first and not the birds safe for the room.
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
Well personally I clip my birds wings. Didn't realize that this group was against it. I will just stop posting here I guess.
 

SandraK

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
3/21/11
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Palm Coast, FL. Carioca'55 when RJ was in GB.
Real Name
Sandra
I wouldn't say the whole group is against it. Wing clipping depends on the person just as free flying outside depends on the person.

Personally, I don't clip my birds wings unless somebirdy is getting particularly obnoxious or is attacking. My sun Tikki is sometimes given a show clip because he has a tendency to fly at and bite visiting women (DILs, friends). But I don't have any predatory pets. And even with a show clip Tik can fly - it takes more effort which also means we hear him coming.

Lady Jane's trying to look out for your fids safety. I'd suggest that the dogs be kept in a different room while your fids are out to avoid any mortal accidents. If one of your fids gets spooked and jumps off their cage, one of the dogs might get to it first. One bit on the dog's nose and you might be short a bird. There've been too many similar scenarios to not make someone leery. Just my :2cents:.

Your suns are really beautiful. I didn't realize that young suns had so much green on them since Tikki was about 8 years old when we adopted him. Do they have names yet or are you waiting to see what their personalities are like? Any idea of their sexes? If yours are anything like Tik, you have a pair of strong willed fids there with beaks to match when it comes to chewing (or biting). We give Tik our empty Keurig coffee boxes and he loves shredding them at the bottom of his playstand.

I'd love to see more pix of them.
 

Roxhum

Walking the driveway
Joined
6/2/18
Messages
214
Don’t stop posting. I think people are just concerned for your birds safety and everyone has an opinion, even if you didn’t ask for advice. It is just an opinion. I learned almost immediately that if I truly want advice to research articles and websites of professional trainers and behaviorsist. Even then make your own decisions because not all trainers share the same philosophy. I was almost ready to return my conure because when I questioned about the bird being on me too much and too cuddly the opinion was to suck it up, that is the way of conures and I should have researched first. I had done my research and with further research I determined that my new conure was insecure being new to my home and me returning back to work after being off the first days of getting him. I also learned ways to encourage more independence and I got used to having a bird using me as a toy/tree LOL
I think you are being thoughtful with the training of your birds. I too have dogs. One dog is a bit too interested so if I can’t be right there with them she gets crated or put outside. I also train and reward the dogs for ignoring the bird.
Good luck with your beauties. I am itching to get a sun but worry about the noise.
 

SandraK

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
3/21/11
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Palm Coast, FL. Carioca'55 when RJ was in GB.
Real Name
Sandra
Don’t stop posting. I think people are just concerned for your birds safety and everyone has an opinion, even if you didn’t ask for advice. It is just an opinion. I learned almost immediately that if I truly want advice to research articles and websites of professional trainers and behaviorsist. Even then make your own decisions because not all trainers share the same philosophy. I was almost ready to return my conure because when I questioned about the bird being on me too much and too cuddly the opinion was to suck it up, that is the way of conures and I should have researched first. I had done my research and with further research I determined that my new conure was insecure being new to my home and me returning back to work after being off the first days of getting him. I also learned ways to encourage more independence and I got used to having a bird using me as a toy/tree LOL
I think you are being thoughtful with the training of your birds. I too have dogs. One dog is a bit too interested so if I can’t be right there with them she gets crated or put outside. I also train and reward the dogs for ignoring the bird.
Good luck with your beauties. I am itching to get a sun but worry about the noise.
Plus even with all the research, it's like having a baby and doing everything according to what Dr. Spock said. Only to find out that the child you have isn't doing anything the way the books tells you. Birds have their own personalities which throw a wrench into the research.
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
Just an update. Both of them are coming along. Instead of me having to bring the treats to them while they are out on top of their cage I can just put my hand on the edge of the cage and they will both come over and take a bite. I have only been bitten maybe twice in the past few days and that's progress considering how bad it was in the beginning. They are still nervous when I am not holding still but I'm hoping to get them up into my bedroom a few times this to work on being more comfortable with my whole body. I noticed that they are getting a little better at stepping up as well. It's still a major work in progress but I am seeing improvement.
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
I just want to clarify that my 3 dogs are not allowed in either of my bird rooms nor are they particularly interested in any of my birds. What I was originally trying to say is that by flying away from me and not being able to be caught they pose a danger to themselves. Charlie and Darwin are both flighted and they have no problem staying out of the kitchen and away from the dogs with a little help from me. These two were pushing their luck by getting past my "blanket curtain" that I was using to keep them in their room which leads out into the kitchen. Now I don't condone mixing dogs and birds but I am confident that I can call my dogs off a bird that lands on the ground regardless of their intentions. However when there are two of them flying around in circles that's a lot more interesting to chase. None of my birds are in danger and I can assure you that both of the suns will earn their wings back by the next time they moult. They are such strong fliers that they can still get from their cage to the tree stand and all the way over to Charlie's cage just fine. Everyone here is munching on baby kale and blueberries tonight. I hope this helps clear things up a little.
 

BrianB

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
2/22/17
Messages
1,780
Well personally I clip my birds wings. Didn't realize that this group was against it. I will just stop posting here I guess.
There are various points of view about it and you'll find some who disagree politely, and some that will shove their opinion at you as if it is the only one that matters. It is what it is. You have to do what works best for your birds, in your situation. I have one bird that flew into a sliding glass door a few times and I clipped her for her own safety. The feathers have grown back, but now she stays away from the door. I have another bird that's old and plucks himself. I want his flight feathers intact so that if something happens, he has a chance to land safely, or get away. I think you'll find that as long as your birds are happy and well taken care of, that's all most people are really concerned with. Your son conures are beautiful. Please keep sharing pictures of them.
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
Glad to hear you are doing well with them. I’m sure everyone// dogs and birds will settle down.

I’m jealous. You have 2 bird rooms
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
I’m jealous. You have 2 bird rooms
Well that's because I don't like to mix big beaks with little beaks. Darwin's room is where my computer desk is and his cage is right next to it. Then there are double doors that separate him from the smaller birds. I get nervous about them landing on Darwin's cage because he gets upset and I don't need him hurting anyone. If I ever got another bird that was Darwin sized or bigger he or she would go in Darwin's room.
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
I understand that! I have the 2 caiques in our office. All the other birds in a bird room. The 2 aren’t that m uch bigger but they are extremely energetic.
 

SandraK

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avian Angel
Joined
3/21/11
Messages
1,000,000
Location
Palm Coast, FL. Carioca'55 when RJ was in GB.
Real Name
Sandra
I just want to clarify that my 3 dogs are not allowed in either of my bird rooms nor are they particularly interested in any of my birds. What I was originally trying to say is that by flying away from me and not being able to be caught they pose a danger to themselves. Charlie and Darwin are both flighted and they have no problem staying out of the kitchen and away from the dogs with a little help from me. These two were pushing their luck by getting past my "blanket curtain" that I was using to keep them in their room which leads out into the kitchen. Now I don't condone mixing dogs and birds but I am confident that I can call my dogs off a bird that lands on the ground regardless of their intentions. However when there are two of them flying around in circles that's a lot more interesting to chase. None of my birds are in danger and I can assure you that both of the suns will earn their wings back by the next time they moult. They are such strong fliers that they can still get from their cage to the tree stand and all the way over to Charlie's cage just fine. Everyone here is munching on baby kale and blueberries tonight. I hope this helps clear things up a little.
Yes, that cleared up a lot for me. TY. And please keep posting pix of your fids as they grow into the more yellow & red colours.
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
Tonight I came home and gave something a shot that someone suggested on a facebook group. To try giving them some formula on a spoon. Nope. They didn't want the spoon anywhere near them. I tried a syringe and they didn't want any part of that either. So back to treats. I gave them a few pine nuts as per usual.

They sway back and forth when you first open the cage but they take the treat once they realize it's in between my fingers. I talked to them a little bit. Even sang them a song while I gave them some other kinds of food. They like the bigger sized fruitblend pellets I have left over from when I watched my neighbors bird. So I gave them a few of them.

They are not comfortable stepping up onto a perch and they are definitely afraid to step up. I would say I am getting bitten enough to draw blood at least twice a day. Some of these bites are because they get out of the cage and I eventually have to get them back in. I don't grab them. That's a bad idea for me. I usually try to get them to step up. Most of the time it ends in me getting bitten a few times even if they do step up. The other bites are the unfair ones. When I'm just holding still and giving them a chance to approach my hands and they choose to run up and start chewing on me until the skin is peeling.

I just put my hand on a perch and held it still for about 8 minutes. At one point one of them came over and started biting my knuckle pretty bad but I just help still and kept letting him know verbally that he was hurting me and he eventually lost interest. I noticed after a while the one with more green on his head started to play with one of the toys so I gently handed him the end part with the leather cord. He was happy to chew on it as long as I held still.

The oranger one didn't want me handing him pieces of toys. I figured I'd stop before something traumatic happened because I've been told to end our sessions on a good note. Which is hard considering they are so easy to frighten.

I will get more pictures. Right now I don't have many because I prefer to photography my birds outside of their cages. Hopefully we will be there soon.
 

darwinparrot

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/12/17
Messages
66
Real Name
Jacob
So I just wanted to update everyone! The two sun conure babies eventually came around to people. They needed to be separated in order to be pets. I was planning on keeping them here but my one cousin fell in love with the greener on so it made sense to send him home with her since she just lost a really old cockatiel. And after greenie went home the remaining baby went to my aunt. I think it is awesome to have so many bird lovers in my family.
 
Top