What kind of conure is this?

[Mockinbirdiva]

Very interesting! The first thing that I thought was that these would definitely encourage nesting behavior, then I saw that you left the sides open. Very smart!! By the way, Miss Scarlette has BEAUTIFUL colors. Wow!!!!!!

I purchased a birdy bed from TC Feathers Aviary for Mango, which I keep sitting on the counter next to her cage so that she can get used to it. I hope she likes it when I eventually put it in her cage.

The boxes haven't encouraged any nesting behavior at all. They've been hanging up for three years now. Casey has been trying to lure her into that box the last couple of weeks when I let them all out. Mostly he and she will go under her paper to scuttle around. I tap on the cage, the bottom pan, peek and talk to them ... anything to make them come back out. No hiding is allowed, Casey is fairly aggressive towards me which is very normal behavior from a male that wants to protect a hen. And, he hates me because.... I'm the SEX POLICE!!!!

Miss Scarlette thanks you for the lovely compliment!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Hmmmmmm.......a little while ago, I saw Mango rubbing her vent on one of her perches while fluttering her wings and making mating sounds. OOOOOOH NOOOOOOO. Not another hormonal female. After years of intense female nesting behavior with Cosmo, including surgery for egg-binding, I hoped that I would never have to go through that again. It almost drove me insane!!!!

Do males exhibit that type of behavior as well, or only the females???

Astro regularly does this... I hear her all the time. She does it even when Rocket is hanging out on her cage. He ignores her and she ignores him. She is nine years old and has never laid an egg... fingers crossed she never does. She is never aggressive towards me either. I guess she just has to get her rub on every now and then.

Yes, yes, yes... all of my male conures rub on toys, the edge of the cage. I know who is doing what without having to look. They each have their own individual sounds of mating. There are a couple of toys I will never touch again...

 

[cab124]

Thanks Craig. I know we all desire a companion bird that will be fond of us and tolerate handling and eventually form a bond in where we and the bird both enjoy companionship. It's truly special to have a bird that enjoys the human touch and for those I share my home with I am in awe of how much they enjoy our interactions. I had to learn to accept my role with Lola and hope that some day there would be a turn around but never expected it. I've lived with her temperamental ways and lunging at me to bite. I'm grateful for every moment she allows me to scratch her head now. But, she will still lunge at me even after I scratch her head. Go figure. She's a bird, always will be, I'll love her anyway. For years I've told her "Lola, if you ever die, I'm going to pet the crap out of you!" I'm so glad I have those moments now... heart warming!

Yes, I understand what you are saying. At the same time, everyone I talk within the forums has multiple birds with at least one that is a good pet. Imagine having only one bird, and that bird wants to be left alone. Not easy, especially after 21 years with a wonderful companion Pionus!! At some point, I may just break down and get another hand-raised Pionus as a companion bird. Either way, I will continue to take care of Mango as best I can.

I did call the breeder and let her know about that issue with Lola having the bacteria. She needed to know for the rest of her flock. My suspicions for how she got that was from when I visited and saw her washing fresh shrimp in her sink. It was the same area she used for preparing formula to feed Lola and one other amazon baby.. which I had also bought for someone else. Both birds had to be treated with antibiotics. It's especially important to keep the areas clean where you do any food or water preparation for your birds to avoid any contamination. I don't fault her terribly. I didn't point that day out to her so as not to put her on the defense. I have worked as a surgical assistant so I was pretty observant at her house though she was clean every where else. She normally would not sell to the public or invite anyone to her aviary as most don't. I met her after having met her sister in a store I worked in and we got around to talking about birds because I took birds to work with me. Her sister explained to me it would be a while before I could talk to her about any babies because she had suffered three brain aneurysms and was on the mend. It was two months later before I met this breeder and she had plenty of difficulties in thinking and would tire easily while talking. I think her judgement in cleanliness was compromised from her health issue. She did offer to take her back to treat her but I opted to do it myself and know that it was done properly.

I just wanted to share that it took this long for me to build some trust with her to show you there can be a silver lining in friendship with a bird.

I REALLY find stories like this encouraging because it gives me hope that Mango might someday come out of her shell. I also appreciate the reminder to keep it clean!!!!!

 

[cab124]

I'm the SEX POLICE!!!!

FUNNY!!!!! That was definitely good for a chuckle. Poor Casey!!!

 

[cab124]

Yes, yes, yes... all of my male conures rub on toys, the edge of the cage. I know who is doing what without having to look. They each have their own individual sounds of mating. There are a couple of toys I will never touch again...

hehehe....FUNNY!!!! Sounds like you are running a parrot red-light district!!!!!

Well, if both males and females do this, then I guess it isn't much of a clue about Mango's sex. Bummer! I hope Mango does not try to lay an egg because she gets no calcium in her diet. If she keeps eating seeds only, she never will. In fact, I am starting to wonder if she is getting enough food because she only eats seeds and Avi-cakes, and I don't give her a lot of seeds.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Yes, I understand what you are saying. At the same time, everyone I talk within the forums has multiple birds with at least one that is a good pet. Imagine having only one bird, and that bird wants to be left alone. Not easy, especially after 21 years with a wonderful companion Pionus!! At some point, I may just break down and get another hand-raised Pionus as a companion bird. Either way, I will continue to take care of Mango as best I can.



I REALLY find stories like this encouraging because it gives me hope that Mango might someday come out of her shell. I also appreciate the reminder to keep it clean!!!!!

Yes Craig, I can imagine. I have had but just one bird in the past.. for ten years. His name was Simon, a crimson rosella that came to live with me when he was 13 weeks old. He was not a touchable bird but did learn to whistle the theme song to Mayberry and could spend time out of his cage. He was beautiful and easy to please... that was enough for me. He passed away way too young seventeen years ago. It would be extremely hard for me to say no if another came available, but eight birds for me is quite a handful. Keep working at it with Mango, you are doing a great job so far. It will pay off in the long run.

 

[cab124]

I actually think that she is a bit of a prima dona and she wants things her way.

You nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

hehehe....FUNNY!!!! Sounds like you are running a parrot red-light district!!!!!

Well, if both males and females do this, then I guess it isn't much of a clue about Mango's sex. Bummer! I hope Mango does not try to lay an egg because she gets no calcium in her diet. If she keeps eating seeds only, she never will. In fact, I am starting to wonder if she is getting enough food because she only eats seeds and Avi-cakes, and I don't give her a lot of seeds.

Yep... when I hear any of the boys from the other room I always say ''Oh Gawd... so and so is screwing his toy again.."

Do you remove her seeds and just keep pellets available for her? I wonder if you could try mashing some sweet potato and crushing some pellets and mixing them with cooked mashed apple and offer that on a plate for her... maybe sprinkle a tiny bit of seed on top? We all try to find the magic way to get better food into our birds... trial and error!

 

[cab124]

Yes Craig, I can imagine. I have had but just one bird in the past.. for ten years. His name was Simon, a crimson rosella that came to live with me when he was 13 weeks old. He was not a touchable bird but did learn to whistle the theme song to Mayberry and could spend time out of his cage. He was beautiful and easy to please... that was enough for me. He passed away way too young seventeen years ago. It would be extremely hard for me to say no if another came available, but eight birds for me is quite a handful. Keep working at it with Mango, you are doing a great job so far. It will pay off in the long run.

View attachment 289567

Wow, that bird is so beautiful. I am so sorry to hear about your losing him early. That is always sad.

Thank you for the encouragement. You are awesome!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

hehehe....FUNNY!!!! Sounds like you are running a parrot red-light district!!!!!

Well, if both males and females do this, then I guess it isn't much of a clue about Mango's sex. Bummer! I hope Mango does not try to lay an egg because she gets no calcium in her diet. If she keeps eating seeds only, she never will. In fact, I am starting to wonder if she is getting enough food because she only eats seeds and Avi-cakes, and I don't give her a lot of seeds.

My instincts tell me Mango is a female. Rubbing on a perch is more "female-ish" Males can be much more forward in attitude. My boys like to hold onto a hanging toy with one foot while they mate with it. I have also seen Rocket hold on to a toy with one foot while he rubbed on the perch.

 

[cab124]

My instincts tell me Mango is a female. Rubbing on a perch is more "female-ish" Males can be much more forward in attitude. My boys like to hold onto a hanging toy with one foot while they mate with it. I have also seen Rocket hold on to a toy with one foot while he rubbed on the perch.

No dignity, huh?

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

No dignity, huh?

Nope. None whatsoever.... I've had green cheeks go to town mating in front of me while I was cleaning cages. Not one shred of dignity.

 

[panurg]

Hey Craig! I finally got to keep reading your thread again.

I saw that you said you don’t want to try getting a second bird for now, but...

I wanted to tell you a story about my two greenies, maybe it will give you some ideas.

I bought my first one at a petco, she was friendly right away (I was shooting for this on the first place). We went through a tough stage when she was nipping me hard in the beginning, but still flying after me if I would leave the room, but eventually this stage went away, at least for now (knock on wood). She is a Velcro bird by now, it’s hard to keep her away from me

After maybe 5 months into having her, I started to getting really concerned about leaving her along while I’m at work, so I started thinking of getting a second bird. Same problem as you, not much space, but I decided to do it for her. However, I took a risk that most people here would probably say a no-no to do. I went to another petco, a closer one, and found a pineapple green cheek that adored me right away, they could not take her off of me at the store during me second visit Then I brought my first bird to that store, after agreeing with the workers, to meet this new birdie. I wasn’t expecting much, but I took a risk and let them interact a bit right there, and right away they were not fighting, so I had hope for them. So I bought this second bird, went through this process of quaranteening it, while she was also getting more attached to me, and then i started putting them together, and it worked, again knock on wood! They have been leaving in one cage for a few months already. They do have their bullying moments, my first Bird can be a bit agressive around food, but mostly they like each other.

That all said, I agree with the other member who was suggesting you to get a second bird, and maybe you could take the same risk as I did, and try introducing your bird at the store to some other one. Petco has quite a few ones that are very people friendly right away, and they have 30 days return policy just in case too, no questions asked. And if the outcome is good, you and Mango will both benefit, you can find a bird that will like you right away, like mine did, so you will have a bird to interact with, and Mango hopefully will like that bird too and will have a companion. Also, if the new bird shows Mango that you can be loved and you are not scary, it can help with your progress with Mango too. I would just keep them separate for a few weeks in the beginning for quaranteening and bonding (with you) purposes.

I hope this helps, and I really really wish you to become very good friends with Mango. These birds are amazing, and they are worth all the work one puts in them!

Lena

 

[panurg]

Also, maybe you could research parrot rescues around you, they might have some friendly green cheeks, even better than buying. And they might allow you to get one and see how it is working out. I really think though that if you are getting a second bird, you should get one that first likes YOU very much, so you don’t feel sad seeing yet another bird being afraid of you. And when they love you, it is such a heart melting experience every time when they show it, ohh

 

[cab124]

Hey Craig! I finally got to keep reading your thread again.

I saw that you said you don’t want to try getting a second bird for now, but...

I wanted to tell you a story about my two greenies, maybe it will give you some ideas.

I bought my first one at a petco, she was friendly right away (I was shooting for this on the first place). We went through a tough stage when she was nipping me hard in the beginning, but still flying after me if I would leave the room, but eventually this stage went away, at least for now (knock on wood). She is a Velcro bird by now, it’s hard to keep her away from me

After maybe 5 months into having her, I started to getting really concerned about leaving her along while I’m at work, so I started thinking of getting a second bird. Same problem as you, not much space, but I decided to do it for her. However, I took a risk that most people here would probably say a no-no to do. I went to another petco, a closer one, and found a pineapple green cheek that adored me right away, they could not take her off of me at the store during me second visit Then I brought my first bird to that store, after agreeing with the workers, to meet this new birdie. I wasn’t expecting much, but I took a risk and let them interact a bit right there, and right away they were not fighting, so I had hope for them. So I bought this second bird, went through this process of quaranteening it, while she was also getting more attached to me, and then i started putting them together, and it worked, again knock on wood! They have been leaving in one cage for a few months already. They do have their bullying moments, my first Bird can be a bit agressive around food, but mostly they like each other.

That all said, I agree with the other member who was suggesting you to get a second bird, and maybe you could take the same risk as I did, and try introducing your bird at the store to some other one. Petco has quite a few ones that are very people friendly right away, and they have 30 days return policy just in case too, no questions asked. And if the outcome is good, you and Mango will both benefit, you can find a bird that will like you right away, like mine did, so you will have a bird to interact with, and Mango hopefully will like that bird too and will have a companion. Also, if the new bird shows Mango that you can be loved and you are not scary, it can help with your progress with Mango too. I would just keep them separate for a few weeks in the beginning for quaranteening and bonding (with you) purposes.

I hope this helps, and I really really wish you to become very good friends with Mango. These birds are amazing, and they are worth all the work one puts in them!

Lena

Thank you so, so much for sharing your experience with me. It is very interesting that you have been able to keep both birds in the same cage!!! That is encouraging. At the same time, some of the discussions that I have seen seem to indicate that you have to observe them very closely because the situation can change very quickly where one of them becomes very aggressing toward the other, even after sharing a cage for a long time. I hope that in your case, they are friends for life!!!!

If Mango never learns to be content with just me, then I will likely do the same thing that you did. I am glad to know about your experience for reference. Please keep me posted about how things progress.

Amazingly, Mango woke up feeling very happy today! I am not sure why, but she is acting like a different bird!!!! She is very animated, running around her cage, bathing, and making LOTS of noise. She was being so loud at one point that I started to worry that she might disturb the neighbors. She has never acted this way or been this loud before. I have no idea what she was trying to communicate. Maybe she was just enjoying being vocal!

She is also showing a lot of interest in me. She watches every move I make, and sometimes calls when I leave the room. Last night while I was sitting on the couch, she came over and stuck her head out of the cage looking directly at me as though she wanted to come over to where I was. I called to her, but she just sat there staring, and looking like she wanted to fly over. It almost appears that she is experiencing a lot of tension inside: she wants to come to me, but she is still afraid to do so. It seems like this might be a little battle going on inside of her.

Her head is still visibly covered with lots of pin feathers. She must be VERY uncomfortable. When she bathes, she sticks her head completely under water (and makes a huge mess - water everywhere).

Thanks once again for your encouraging story. What are your birds names? Do you know their sexes and ages? I would love to see a few pictures!!!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Great that Mango is having a good day. I wonder if when you were sitting on the couch and it looked like she wanted to come over to you if you held your arm out while holding a treat if she would have done that. Don't know. Maybe it would have scared her, though. Do you have a t-stick or dowel that she can jump up on? You should take a video of happy Mango.

Maybe she knew that it was the weekend and you would be home more?

Sometimes keeping birds in the same cage works and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it works at first and then at some point in the future the birds decided they don't want to be caged together any more and that leads to problems. It's difficult to predict this. It's nice that @panurg birds get a long well with one another. I wouldn't risk taking Mango to the pet store and exposing her to other birds because you don't know if they are carrying some kind of illness. Just better to be safe than sorry, IMO. The only way I would consider doing that would be if the birds were vet checked and the store could show me proof that they have a clean bill of health.

 

[cab124]

I wonder if when you were sitting on the couch and it looked like she wanted to come over to you if you held your arm out while holding a treat if she would have done that.

I am hoping that eventually, she will. She really looked like she was thinking about it. Very cool!!!

Do you have a t-stick or dowel that she can jump up on?

I use her small wooden ladders and she almost always steps up when I offer one of them to her. I have always been amazed by this. I remember the first time that I offered the ladder to her when she was on top of her cage shortly after I adopted her. She assumed a very humble posture and slowly stepped onto the ladder and I could not believe that she actually did it!! It was so endearing, and the first moment when I really began to appreciate her personality.

You should take a video of happy Mango.

I would love to but most of the time she freezes as soon as the camera starts rolling. She is just like the singing frog from the old Looney Tunes cartoons. hehe.

How is my little buddy, Spee doing????? Give him a scritch for me!!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

I am hoping that eventually, she will. She really looked like she was thinking about it. Very cool!!!

I use her small wooden ladders and she almost always steps up when I offer one of them to her. I have always been amazed by this. I remember the first time that I offered the ladder to her when she was on top of her cage shortly after I adopted her. She assumed a very humble posture and slowly stepped onto the ladder and I could not believe that she actually did it!! It was so endearing, and the first moment when I really began to appreciate her personality.

I would love to but most of the time she freezes as soon as the camera starts rolling. She is just like the singing frog from the old Looney Tunes cartoons. hehe.

How is my little buddy, Spee doing????? Give him a scritch for me!!!

I don't know that singing frog. I will have to check that out. She really is doing well. Hope both you and Mango enjoyed the day.
Spee is OK. Just slowing down a lot with age. I watched "Star Trek Beyond" today and he wasn't really interested. I think he likes the older versions of ST better. I gave him a scritch on the head for you. Wish you could give one to Mango for me. Maybe some day.

 

[cab124]

You don't know the singing frog????? It's a classic!!!! Take the next 6 minutes and check it out.

I give you, the singing frog

 

[iamwhoiam]

That was funny but also sad. I see what you mean regarding the Singing Frog = Mango.
Several of my birds will talk in front of me but then shut down in front of other people so then people don't believe me.
My mom didn't believe that Spee could talk until one day she was over here and Spee and my Dusky Conure, Jaden, wouldn't shut up.
They were talking so much that my mom said they were giving her a headache. I think they were just excited to see my mom.