Silly question time

[Sambeana]

So this is a really silly question I feel but I honestly am at a loss- what can I do to play with and interact with my new conure? We are still working on step up and now that he's more comfortable his cage is open all the time and I work with him throughout the day calling him to me and having him step up from one side of his cage to the next but I have no idea what else to do with him. If he is on my hand too long he goes up my arm to my shoulder and on my head and I really don't want him up there until he is poop trained. I got him a play gym but so far he isn't that interested in it. I'm still not completely comfortable handling him (my first parrot) and I'm just at a loss as to what to do besides step up. He doesn't seem interested in foraging toys at all and I feel so bad I want to engage him and am just not sure what to do now... thanks in advance

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

You can try singing to him, or even just reading. You can dance, you can play peek a boo.

 

[Motherof'tiels]

Even though im not experienced with conures, i can tell you one thing. It takes patience! If you just got him, then take some time for him to listen to your voice. Talk with your conure. Or even play calming music. Some birds have different tastes in types of toys. What kinds of forging toys are you giving him? About the climbing onto your head thing. Sorry to break the news but you eventually will get pooped on. If you have an opportunity to get closer to your bird take it If he climbs in your face it means he trusts you and wants to spend time with you (for my bird at least) And thats completely fine if you arent comfortable with handling. It takes time getting used to it but dont give up! Try offering different types of treats (leafy greens, fruits, berries, veggies, nuts, seeds) to see what he likes best and feed it to him from your hand.

 

[Fritzgerald16]

Clicker training! There is a ton of videos and a forum here all about it

 

[SirTango]

How old is your baby bird? When I got Tango he was super enthusiastic about spending time with me. I didn't want him to be on my shoulder for a little while as I heard it can cause problems later, so I persistently took him off of my shoulder when he managed to get there without being invited. You have to be VERY consistant and VERY patient with them. Given enough time they will learn most things. As time has gone by I have found that he feels safer on my shoulder and has never presented a bite when I try to take him off so I let him sit there all he wants.

I hate to be "that person" but potty training doesn't always work.Not saying it doesn't work or won't work for you but I tried for months and months to train Tango to poop on cue but what happened instead was he learned how to say "poop". At least he learned something, I suppose, and it is HILARIOUS when he says "poop" when I sit on the toilet!! Instead of having a potty trained bird I have a littler s**t talker and a roll of toilet paper in every room for the accidents.

 

[Parakeet88]

I had (and still have) the same problem with my new GCC. I had always wanted a conure but I finally got him home and then was completely lost and even depressed. I didn't know what to do with him. I've had him a few months now and things are better. Just give it time, you'll figure out what he likes and you'll start to understand him and his personality.

One thing I've found to do together is toy making. I've recently started making toys for my birds and my GCC Ben loves to "help".

I also like to make him tiny food lol I've made him banana pancakes and spaghetti squash. I love finding tiny "Ben sized" things and taking pictures of him.

It will also take time to figure out what kinds of toys he likes. Ben likes to chew but he also loves toys that he can move and toys that make noise. He really likes toys with chains, he likes to flail them around and make the chains bang together. It took him a while to start playing with his toys, only recently I've noticed some of his toys are really beat up. Start off with easy foraging toys. One of the first foraging toys I tried with Ben was this cup. He loved it and now has some different variations instead of just the one cup, I'll post them below. Start with something easy so he can learn how to forage. He doesn't even need specific toys for foraging, I stick treats all over bens cage to keep him busy. He loves when I stick dried chili peppers through the chain links in his toys.

Just be patient and eventually you and your bird will get more comfortable with each other. Good luck and have fun with your new buddy!

Here are the cup toys Ben really likes



And here's some pictures of Ben with his tiny food

 

[Laced]

Not a silly question at all! I felt/ still feel the same way sometimes. Hes so different from any other pet I've ever had its like learning a whole new language. And I'm not naturally a talkative person, so just sitting in the room talking to him still feels super awkward. I started just reading aloud many things I do on the computer or kinda tell him what im doing in my game. Mine takes awhile to warm up to most toys I've tried to give him, hes had one on the top of his cage for a month and hes just now started playing with/destroying it. One thing he liked right away was a simple drinking straw, especially likes the kind with the bendy parts. I've also tried making him some things out of paper, starting with the little treat ball from this video..

which i spent ages trying to make and he put immediately into his water dish.. and left.. but so far the biggest winner is just a thin strip of paper with 2-3 beads threaded on to it, making sure the papers just thick enough so the beads dont move freely and he spends quite awhile trying to take them off.

 

[Parakeet88]

Speaking of paper, Laced just reminded me....CRINKLY PAPER! All of my birds (parakeets, bourkes, GCC) LOVE crinkly paper! Sometimes I just fill bens cups with crinkly paper and he still goes crazy tearing all of it out. You could even just place some crinkly paper over your birds food dish and it could become an easy first foraging experience.

 

[finchly]

I read this forum aloud. Then I comment aloud on it in an excited tone. I also stick them on my shoulder (no need to wait, poop washes out, or if it dries a little it can be carefully lifted upward and leaves no mess). Whoever's on my shoulder rides around while I clean the cages, refill and replace food dishes, etc. I talk the whole time about what I'm doing or seeing. "Look at Torrie! She wishes she were up here like you!"

For play, I keep a basket of toy parts like bitty bagels, beads, paper shreds, and foot toys. I play in it or stir it around, taking one out and examining. Usually the bird takes the lead and grabs it. Sometimes he'll initiate the game, like taking the toy from me which turns into either "give" and hand it back and forth, or "keepaway" (where I say give me that! And pretend to grab it.) Sometimes I let them see me drop a treat in among the toys. Sometimes I lay out a few toys and ask which one, and if he doesn't choose one I start picking them up and playing wiht them, and he then plays too.

A couple of them like to beak wrestle. One LOVES that. I crawl with my fingers very slowly and he puts his beak down and the monster (my 2 fingers) grabs his beak gently and wrestles it. He puts it down there again and again for that game.

Target training is da bomb, and you can do almost anything once they get it. It really is a way of bonding with them. Even my ones who are not target trained play the Perch game. I tap a perch and they fly to it (and get a reward, like a bit of millet that I hide behind my back). Then another perch, reward with millet again. They all like this game and they know the word Perch -- another "game" that makes it easy to move them around if you need to.

You can see that I should be preparing the house for a major remodel and instead I hang out in the bird room.

 

[Lwalker]

It is important to teach/encourage him to play on his own too. My GCCs are not big on foraging toys either but they love when I stuff this cheap hay trough (rabbit section in Petsmart) and hang it ouside their cage.keeps them busy for ages.

 

[Sambeana]

Oh my goodness thank you SO MUCH everyone!! SO many wonderful ideas I can't wait to try them all with my new buddy! So far this morning we've danced, I sang to him, played peekaboo, and reminded myself it's only been a week and to give it time thank you again it feels so good to have support in this new relationship!!!

 

[finchly]

Good! And you will invent new games, or he will, as you go along.

 

[sylven]

Clicker training! There is a ton of videos and a forum here all about it

link please ? just bought this & responding well

 

[expressmailtome]

link please ? just bought this & responding well

Barbara Heidenreich, the owner of Good Bird Inc., makes great videos about clicker training birds. She also has videos on YouTube about clicker training. Here is a link to her website: Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books .

 

[sylven]

thanks

 

[KirstinStanley]

We are in the same boat as you Sambeana we got our first conure about 3 weeks ago and we are training him not to bite out hands. At this point he understands step up and he is trusting us more and more by wanting to climb on us. I am still not 100 per cent with my hands with my bird either but I know I will eventually get over that fear. So far my husband is comfortable putting his hands near Tiki. He does stop as soon as we say ow but I heard these things take so much time! I am trying to teach Tiki the word dance and bob my head up and down and so far he does it for a short period. I also like to try and play tug of war with Tiki with paper towel. It's definitely a learning experience!