What kind of conure is this?

[cab124]

What treats have you tried so far?

Dried corn, safflower seeds, and sunflower seeds. She likes all of these, but not enough to be lured to come out of her comfort zone in any way.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Dried corn, safflower seeds, and sunflower seeds. She likes all of these, but not enough to be lured to come out of her comfort zone in any way.

How about some other goodies such as cashew pieces (I use roasted and unsalted), Avicakes, Lafeber popcorn or regular popcorn not buttered and unsalted? With the cashews and regular popcorn you could eat those along with her.

 

[Lady Jane]

Just now reading the entire thread. A true group effort. The store has shipping information and is required to write the leg band information. You still may be able to read it. Should be in a binder kept in the office.

 

[Begone]

Here are my advices.

Mango really wanted nothing to do with me. She continues to be scared to death of me and watches every move I make, staying as far away from me as possible.

First, respect that. She is afraid, and the only one to change that is her, not you at the moment.

She won't take any treats from my hands in the cage and now appears to be afraid to take treats from my hands outside the cage as well.

If she is scared to death of you, what are you hands doing inside or outside her cage?

No idea why she has regressed. She is just as afraid of me now as she was on the day I brought her home despite all of my efforts to show her that I am not a threat to her.

I understand why she is afraid, never ever try to interact with a bird that is afraid of you. That is the worst thing you can do.

When I leave the room, she will sometimes come out and sit on the public perch. When I enter the room, she usually moves to her covered, private perch. She still does the death dance when I speak to her or look at her.

And here you have the second worst thing to do. Never look at them or even worse, look them in their eyes.
We have predators eyes, that are telling them to run away.

She is spending almost all of her time when I am around hiding on her high perch in the covered part of the cage. Any time that I look at her or talk to her, I am greeted with the dance of death.

And now, do you understand what you are telling her?
When I see her cage I found it to open, she needs more "safe places" and a lot more toys and perches.
It is very important that her cage is hers. When she is in their she should always be left alone. Of course you can clean it, but allowed her to be out when you do it.
When she finds out that the cage is her safety zone she will fell more comfortable when you is around.

Not much I can do.

But yes, their is. But at the moment to give her food and treats are not right.

So now what to do?
You can be in the same room as her, but don't interact with her. And when you see that something you do, make her nervous, stop that.
This first goal should only be that she accepts that you are in the same room as her. Never look at her and absolute never in her eyes.
You can try to sing or whistle to her or just doing some things that can get her interested in you. Like playing with toys, eating with your mouth open so it sounds, e.t.c.

And it is great that she is allowed out, so continue doing that.
When you see that she isn't afraid of you anymore, continue taking it slow.
No hands near her and no interaction. But you can place some treats near her so she sees it and then back away.
If you go this slow she will be happy everytime you enter the room, and will soon be wanting some interactions with you.
She will come to you when she is ready, it can take time because their is some damage done already, but good for you they can be repaired.

 

[cab124]

Here are my advices.

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide input. As you can see, I have never tamed a parrot before, so I am probably making mistakes. Everyone has been so generous with advice and I am VERY, VERY grateful for that.

First, respect that. She is afraid, and the only one to change that is her, not you at the moment.

Yes, I really do want to respect her right to choose when she may be ready to interact. That is why I NEVER make her do something that she does not want to do. When she communicates fear, I always back off.

If she is scared to death of you, what are you hands doing inside or outside her cage?

Well, you have to understand that different people offer different advice. Some people that I have talked to at work told me this could be good. If it is a mistake I definitely won't do it anymore! Also, there are times when she does seem to want me to feed her through the bars. For example, last night she surprised me by coming down and sitting next to me while I was sitting near her cage. I could tell that she wanted me to feed her, so I grabbed some Nurti-Berries and started putting them up to the bars and she came right over and took them from my fingertips. I think that this is good interaction when it happens.

I understand why she is afraid, never ever try to interact with a bird that is afraid of you. That is the worst thing you can do.

I did not know this. I will back off on this. Thank you!

And here you have the second worst thing to do. Never look at them or even worse, look them in their eyes.
We have predators eyes, that are telling them to run away.

Yes, someone else mentioned something like this as well. I will back off on looking at her. However, at the same time, I have had other people tell me that when you look at a bird with eyes that are caring, etc., the birds can sense this and it tends to help. So, there are times when there is conflicting advice and I am not sure what is best!! Believe me, I really am trying to do my best. I genuinely want to help this little bird.

And now, do you understand what you are telling her?
When I see her cage I found it to open, she needs more "safe places" and a lot more toys and perches.
It is very important that her cage is hers. When she is in their she should always be left alone. Of course you can clean it, but allowed her to be out when you do it.
When she finds out that the cage is her safety zone she will fell more comfortable when you is around.

I am not able to add more items to her cage because she is scared to death of everything. In fact, I have removed items that she is afraid of. There are some branches in her cage that really need to be cleaned, but I am not sure how I could ever remove them without freaking her out! I have tried setting the items near her cage so that she could get used to them like I used to do for Cosmo, but that hasn't worked for Mango.

Earlier in this thread, there was a discussion about whether or not I should let her out of her cage. Some people advised yes, and some advised no and that I should be more patient. At that time, I decided to heed that advice and not let her out yet because it could result in my having to catch her, which would be a huge step backward. However, I can't help but wonder how being free to come out of the cage might affect her confidence.

Today, I moved her cage into my bedroom right next to my computer desk and let her sit next to me as I did some work. After a little while, I opened up the cage door and then continued working. She showed immediate interest in the open door and came over to investigate. It was a touching moment for me to see her sticking her head out the door for the very first time and seeing the world directly, rather than through a set of bars. I decided to just leave the door open to see what she would do. After a minute or two, she went back up onto her main perch and proceeded to yell at me. It was as if she was scolding me, "close that door and move my cage back!" (she has a very distinctive call that she does when she seems to be scolding me for doing something that she does not like). However, she kept coming down to inspect the door and stick her head out, each time going back up to her perch. She was clearly VERY interested in the open door and seemed to be considering coming out. I am SO CONFLICTED over this because I want her to experience being out of her cage (which would allow me to clean and add some new toys), but I know that if I have to catch her to return her to the cage, it will be very bad. Eventually, I closed the door.

I was thinking of trying the open door again tomorrow. Any thoughts???? I feel like an idiot. I just don't know the best things to do!!!!!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Have you checked out?
http://www.goodbirdinc and Welcome to BehaviorWorks.org
Barbara Heidenreich and Susan Friedman are well known animal behaviorists.
You might find some additional helpful advice on their websites or perhaps you can send each of them an email.
I don't believe you should stop interacting with her, just let her guide you. If you are eating something that is bird safe then share that with her while you are eating. Place it where she will take it from and if she comes down towards you then hold that food through the bars. She may not be scolding you, she may just be calling to you. Place new toys outside of the cage so she can see them and interact with them so she can see that they are safe. Show her that the toys are fun and interesting. Just don't force things. A few of my birds are afraid of new toys, too, and I will show those toys to them and after a while place them in the cage. They may not start playing with them immediately but after a while (days or even weeks) they will.

 

[cab124]

Just now reading the entire thread. A true group effort. The store has shipping information and is required to write the leg band information. You still may be able to read it. Should be in a binder kept in the office.

I can't believe you read the entire thread!!!

YES!!! It truly has been a group effort. I can't overstate how awesome the contributors to this thread have been. I can't imagine trying to do something like this without their help. VERY GRATEFUL!!!

I suspect that the store has the breeder information along with the information about Mango, but they are not willing to share it. But Mango is wearing two bands, a green one and a red one, and each has numbers and letters on it. I am hoping that someday I will be able to read them (if Mango ever lets me read them) and then do some research to find out who the breeder was and any other info I can find. I would love to know her hatch date!! But right now, its a mystery.

 

[cab124]

How about some other goodies such as cashew pieces (I use roasted and unsalted), Avicakes, Lafeber popcorn or regular popcorn not buttered and unsalted? With the cashews and regular popcorn you could eat those along with her.

Yes, I have tried unsalted cashews but she won't touch them. I will try the other treats that you mentioned and let you know if she will eat them. THANKS!!

 

[cab124]

I am sitting at the island right now responding to messages in this thread, and Mango just came down to sit next to me!!!! I have been speaking to her in a soft voice without making eye contact (which feels very weird).

I am trying to figure out how I might be able to clean her cage, and wash some of the poop off of her branches and ladders, etc. while she is in the cage without freaking her out. I am also trying to decide if I should open the cage door again for a while today. She really seemed to respond to this yesterday. I was thinking that maybe I could mount a perch on the outside of the cage right next to the door to see if she might come out and sit on it.

I'll bet there are a lot of people who would ask me why I am expending so much effort trying to befriend a bird. In all honesty, though, this has become very interesting to me! The challenge of winning the trust of an extremely timid, scared little bird is very difficult, but I also suspect can be very rewarding. Also, it really breaks my heart to see such an amazing little creature that was designed to be in a bond with others, sit lonely day after day. It's so sad!!

 

[cab124]

If she is scared to death of you, what are you hands doing inside or outside her cage?

I also forgot to mention that she is currently in a roomy flight cage which requires me to put my hands into the cage to access her food and water bowls.

 

[cab124]

Here is a short video of the go-away-leave-me-alone-death-dance. Sorry about the quality, but this is the way the iPhone does video through cage bars!!

Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

 

[RawPasta]

I had to skip a few posts from today, but I've been following. I just wanted to say, maybe try the lafeber popcorn. My SUPER picky nanday won't go near new things. He attacks or runs away. I offered him the popcorn and it's his new favorite treat. I lovethe way it smells, too. When he was in the hospital, it was the only thing we could get him to try after his stitches because he couldn't hold his food. Might be worth picking a bag up.

 

[cab124]

I had to skip a few posts from today, but I've been following. I just wanted to say, maybe try the lafeber popcorn. My SUPER picky nanday won't go near new things. He attacks or runs away. I offered him the popcorn and it's his new favorite treat. I lovethe way it smells, too. When he was in the hospital, it was the only thing we could get him to try after his stitches because he couldn't hold his food. Might be worth picking a bag up.

Thank you so much for the tip. Yes, I will pick some up and let you know how it goes!

 

[faislaq]

Is that her only high perch? Can you add another high perch on this side of the cage so she can come over to you but still be up high?

 

[cab124]

Is that her only high perch? Can you add another high perch on this side of the cage so she can come over to you but still be up high?

Great idea! I didn't think of that.

 

[tka]

It sounds like she's curious about you - this is great! Any time she is curious, reward her in ways that won't scare her - perhaps gently talk or sing to her without making eye contact. Ambient attention is very good for them and is indirect enough to be non-threatening to a nervous bird. Something that might help is playing with bird toys yourself before hanging them up: first of all, you playing and fiddling with something is interesting, and it may reassure her that the toy isn't a parrot-eating monster.

I would be inclined to put a little bowl by the door that you could drop a snack into to encourage her to approach the door.

Can we see a photo of your cage layout? We may be able to advise you in perch placement. Birds will seek out the highest point, so I would have two perches at about the same height, one at the front and one at the back of the cage. Having them at the same height means that both will be seen as safe places to perch and she won't feel she has to make a choice between being safe and hanging out with you.

 

[zoo mom]

I couldn't watch the video on my phone. I will try again later from my computer.

Could you get food and water dishes that hook or clamp on and put them on the door or on either side of the door so you don't have to reach in or at least not reach in very far.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Could only watch part of video and then it wouldn't work any more. Tried again a few times and it won't load at all.
Looked like there is still a cover on the back of the cage, correct? Have you tried removing it?

 

[cab124]

It sounds like she's curious about you - this is great! Any time she is curious, reward her in ways that won't scare her - perhaps gently talk or sing to her without making eye contact. Ambient attention is very good for them and is indirect enough to be non-threatening to a nervous bird. Something that might help is playing with bird toys yourself before hanging them up: first of all, you playing and fiddling with something is interesting, and it may reassure her that the toy isn't a parrot-eating monster.

I would be inclined to put a little bowl by the door that you could drop a snack into to encourage her to approach the door.

Can we see a photo of your cage layout? We may be able to advise you in perch placement. Birds will seek out the highest point, so I would have two perches at about the same height, one at the front and one at the back of the cage. Having them at the same height means that both will be seen as safe places to perch and she won't feel she has to make a choice between being safe and hanging out with you.

Yes, I will try to do the things you are saying. I have not looked directly at her for two days now. I am very interested in seeing what effect this might have.

Wow, so nice of you to offer a look at the cage layout. I will sketch out the current layout and post it soon. It would be great to get some feedback. I am certain that what I have right now is not good, but I have no idea how I will be able to make any changes while she is in the cage.

 

[camelotshadow]

Don't know if thats a death dance. They sometimes pace when they want to come out.

Mixed signals?

Rio likes safflower seeds thats about it.