Brought home a terrified aviary conure, did I make a mistake?

[lventer]

A few months ago I came across a listing for a 2yo male peach-fronted conure. He'd been in an aviary his whole life but for whatever reason had ended up being surrendered to a pet store, where he was being kept in an absolutely tiny "finch cage" with no toys, a bowl of sunflower seeds and a single dowel perch. I went to visit him and he was terrified, dead silent and cowering in the corner of the cage. I'd already been looking for a second conure for a while but hadn't even considered trying to take on a parent-reared bird, let alone one that was already traumatized, so I did some research and went back and forth for ages on whether to take him. Ended up talking myself out of it, thinking surely somebody would snatch such a beautiful bird up for their aviary, only to find out this week that he was still sitting there in that pet store months later. I drove back, talked the store owner into giving him to me at a huge discount and brought him home.

He's been here for a few days and I'm starting to worry I've made a massive mistake. Decent cages are a nightmare to find here, so he's currently in a 31.5" wide x 19.5" deep x 55" tall flight cage with some grapevine and sisal perches, partly covered with a towel so he can hide if he wants to. I wasn't sure if he even knew how to play with toys, so there's only a couple in the cage right now, which he's had a nosy at but doesn't seem too sure of. I've been giving him fresh bowls of chop with some seeds mixed in three times a day (luckily he seems to be a fan of veggies) since he only just tried eating his pellets this morning. Other than that, I've mostly just been ignoring him and going about my normal day.

I know it's going to take a lot of time and work to even get him to the point where he doesn't spook when I change his bowls, let alone handling him. But holy crap am I getting nervous. The only time he isn't screaming is when he's eating, preening after a bath or sleeping, which I personally don't mind but am worried will end up stressing my other conure out. And even though I got the biggest cage I could find, which is way bigger than what he's been in for the last couple months, he still doesn't seem to be adjusting to not being in an aviary. He spends literal hours pacing back and forth on one perch, crouching and fluttering his wings like he desperately wants to fly but doesn't have enough room. I'm trying to find a bigger cage but in the meantime it makes me physically ill seeing how scared and claustrophobic he must feel. And I obviously can't handle him, so I'm wary about letting him out to fly in case I need to towel him to get him back in and making him even more terrified.

Was it selfish of me to have taken him in the hopes of turning him into a pet? What if somebody had come along and bought him for their aviary where he'd previously been happy? If I can at least get him to a point where he reliably goes back to his cage when I need him to and isn't aggressive towards my other conure, then he can have free roam of the house whenever I'm home. But he might never adjust to being an indoor bird. It's still very early days but I'm just not sure I've done the right thing.

 

[LexBirds]

Hi! Patience is key. It's really hard, but in the end, it's worth it. Slowly bond with him, and do research, it's good that you're trying to give him the best life you can. It takes a while but he will adjust someday, good luck and welcome

 

[Shezbug]

Some aviary birds will never be happy being indoor birds no matter what you provide or do for them and some will transition quite well.

I think you are best to continue on as you have been with him and give it some time to see if he settles somewhat and starts to find some things to enjoy about the changes, once you have given the bird some time to adjust to the changes then maybe reassess how you feel the bird is coping in this new environment.
If you feel it is still terrified and life is not as pleasurable as it should be for him indoors then maybe you can start to look for someone who has an aviary that might be suitable to welcome him into.
The ability to flee from one side of an aviary to the other to stay away from humans is vastly different to the amount of space between human a bird that a cage can allow. It is likely that in an aviary setting he was always able to stay a great distance away from any humans entering to clean and feed which is not possible in a cage setting.

He may settle, he may not- wait and see and hope for the best but prepare for the worst is the best I can offer

 

[Pixiebeak]

congratulations!!!! I think it's awesome you went for it!!

Heck no you did not make a mistake! You a savior. There are lots of ways to enrich and provide a happy life even if never becomes hands on.

But these are such early days yet! You have no idea how far you two will go yet. It took me 6 minth with my pet store quaker who was terrified of hands, but friendly or st least interested to step up. It took a year before she cuddling. Now at 2 tesrs later the sweetest cuddling girl.

Because she was hands off at first, and I still wanted to have her out . Insetbuo tons of stuff attached to the outside of her cage, a plsybstsbd pushed up to her cage, and hanging perches above her cage. I worked on getting her to take a treat from a treat dish, then from me, then had her walk the length if cage to perches I tapped on to get treat. Then I set up everything as best I could for safety, and opened the door. ( you aren't there just yet ) she could fly pretty good but had been clipped at pet store. The first day out she didn't try to fly off. When it came time to put her up . I used my phrase " time to go back " tapped her perche in her cage door, showed her the treat, put the treat in her cage treat only dish and stepped away. It took some coaxing, some time, some getting behind her in her uncomfortable space zone so she moved forward and towards door. Lot if repeat phrase and praise. When she went in I so praised her and heaped treats on her. In few days she had it down pat!! To this day I just have to tap her cage door perch and tell her time to go back and she Flys over and climbs in. When we had fly offs in the begging of her being out but not tame, she would let me rescue and return to csfe some times, or I could herd her back to cage.

I had also previously trained my untamed hands off budgies to return to their cage when asked. I only offered millet in cage, and only right before I asked them to go back. I use the time to go back phrase with them as well. And I would get behind them point at cage and advance till the flew towards cage. Then I would stop and praise and wait. If the stopped I would gentle gerd again towards cage. Kept at it. When they finally landed in cage I praised and waited for them to go in. It took a lot of time and patience. But they really caught in fast as well. Maybe a week or so.

So its possible that you can work towards that as well. While you take the time needed to build trust and a relationship.

 

[Pixiebeak]

One of the most important things you can teach your bird is "good birdie " or a phrase that is praise. This is kinda like clicker training. And definitely clicker training might be of great help to you.

But to start with " Good Birdie " you are going to link that to all things positive to your bird, all of the positive or happy behaviors they do on their own. When the eat tell them good birdie! When they preen tell good birdie! When they take a drink, when they relax and start to nap, when they play with or chew on something , take a bath good birdie!! And definitely when they take a treat you have put in the treat only dish , or when yay take by hand! The phrase becomes linked associated with them feeling good. This becomes so useful when training, or teaching to go back to cage. I used it with every step mine took back towards cage door, and they understood this is good .
I even once came across an article on exactly this. Will look and link if I can.

This is a nice article, hopefully you get ideas from it. Like creating routine and ritual, pattern to music and offering a comfort feed of something warm before bedtime.

Stress Reduction for Companion Parrots – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

To put it bluntly, keeping companion parrots is similar to trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. The fact that they do as well as they do is testimony more to their adaptability than it is to our husbandry efforts.

lafeber.com

 

[Pixiebeak]

This shows how to work at being able to move closer to a fearful parrot. By reading and respect body language. In a lot of animal training/ work I've done we would work with the flight or fight distance and decreasing that. I don't remember that we ever had a terms for it, it was just so much a part of working with exotic and wildlife. It was so important to show them the respect and that we were paying attention to their body language. In times we had to approach them for food and cage stuff, we were very clear in our intentions, we always came toward the cage from the front, announced ourselves from a distance ( hello bird name) told them what we were going to do. We behaved in a very predictable way and they learned the routine.

So this is the closest video example of that I've come across.

 

[Pixiebeak]

I don't know how familiar you are with target training, and refreshing is always good. This is very good, it shows mistakes, the importance of first teaching the target stick touch correctly, the importance of taking breaks and just a few reps, even takes about luring vs target. Its called one day miracle, so for the rest of us all this isn't happening in one day.

While its another Bird tricks video, because I think they offer good videos. It doesn't mean I'm all in, always agreeing with everything they do or share. I'm human, I'm not going to agree with everything anybody does.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Ok i can offer more, and I'm respectful that there can be many ways to accomplish the same goal, or individual tweaking things to your style and your birds response. But I'm sharing stuff that I know works, and works with individuals of different backgrounds.

And I wanted to reassure you that this is way to early to stress over this birds ability to adapt to home life.
Remember long ago, parrots were wild caught ( horrible ) and many were able to become pet friendly. ( yeah plenty of horror stories and not going to focus on that) one of my friends still has a wild caught as adult African Grey parrot who became a loving companion.

So if it was me, I'd put off looking or thinking of sn aviary home for a year.

Its so important what you believe and the energy you bring to this. Ceasars the dog trainer always talks about energy. About picturing the succes in your mind. Of letting go of their back story and starting fresh.

So thus is me being your cheerleader.

 

[lventer]

Some aviary birds will never be happy being indoor birds no matter what you provide or do for them and some will transition quite well.

I think you are best to continue on as you have been with him and give it some time to see if he settles somewhat and starts to find some things to enjoy about the changes, once you have given the bird some time to adjust to the changes then maybe reassess how you feel the bird is coping in this new environment.
If you feel it is still terrified and life is not as pleasurable as it should be for him indoors then maybe you can start to look for someone who has an aviary that might be suitable to welcome him into.
The ability to flee from one side of an aviary to the other to stay away from humans is vastly different to the amount of space between human a bird that a cage can allow. It is likely that in an aviary setting he was always able to stay a great distance away from any humans entering to clean and feed which is not possible in a cage setting.

He may settle, he may not- wait and see and hope for the best but prepare for the worst is the best I can offer

I sooo hope it works out. I knew when I decided to take him that it wouldn't be anything like bringing my hand-raised conure home, who wanted to cuddle with me on day two. But it's still awful and shocking seeing how anxious the poor guy is. If he doesn't seem a little more comfortable over the next few weeks I'll look at finding him a good home with an aviary, and at least in the meantime he has much healthier food and some toys rather than being stuck in a cage he can't even open his wings in.

On a more positive note, he's started tentatively exploring the lower perches in his cage today and has realized he CAN fly from perch to perch, even though it's not very far. So hopefully he can get some of that pent up energy out rather than pacing constantly. He's also discovered the box of foot toys and has been throwing popsicle sticks around for the last ten minutes.

 

[lventer]

Ok i can offer more, and I'm respectful that there can be many ways to accomplish the same goal, or individual tweaking things to your style and your birds response. But I'm sharing stuff that I know works, and works with individuals of different backgrounds.

And I wanted to reassure you that this is way to early to stress over this birds ability to adapt to home life.
Remember long ago, parrots were wild caught ( horrible ) and many were able to become pet friendly. ( yeah plenty of horror stories and not going to focus on that) one of my friends still has a wild caught as adult African Grey parrot who became a loving companion.

So if it was me, I'd put off looking or thinking of sn aviary home for a year.

Its so important what you believe and the energy you bring to this. Ceasars the dog trainer always talks about energy. About picturing the succes in your mind. Of letting go of their back story and starting fresh.

So thus is me being your cheerleader.

Thank you for all the links and suggestions! I've done a lot of target training with my other conure but it's definitely going to be a while before I can even think about trying it with the PFC. Once he feels safer I'll start teaching him so I can let him out of the cage. Fingers crossed he realizes I'm not going to eat him soon.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Pictures?
And definitely you've made his life so much better already!

A pretty nice update already

 

[Parutti]

I have a rescue African Ringneck that, as far as we know of his history, was in a pet store with no handling for 9 months and then surrendered to a noisy, cramped rescue not long after he was purchased. He had been there for 3 months when I met him and nobody had shown interest in adopting him. He was terrified of people and was in a little budgie cage because he'd plucked his feathers and they were worried about him falling. This was him one of the first times I met him, when people were walking past the front of his cage:



He's now been home for 6 months and still wants nothing to do with being touched! But he trusts me. He is calm and happy when I'm nearby and talks to me while we eat dinner. He takes walnuts and pine nuts from my hands now which is amazing to me! I sometimes do think he'd be happiest in an aviary setting, with his personality (he adores talking to birds outside) but he wouldn't be eligible anyway.

Here's a more recent pic of him, content and curious and about to shred the dickens out of a toy lol





So my opinion about your conure - it may take a while for the two of you to develop a relationship, sure, but I absolutely guarantee your home is a better life than if he would have stayed at the store. Because 99% chance he would have been bought by someone who just thought he is pretty and he'd likely be in a back room covered in a little cage all day by now.

 

[lventer]

Thought I'd post an update for anyone who was interested: he's made progress! I'm still not 100% confident we're going to be able to make it work but I'm pretty happy with what we've managed in less than two weeks.

I spent the first few days just giving him space because he was so nervous, didn't even try to come near the cage or speak to him except for when I was changing bowls. Once he picked up on the idea that me coming over = fresh veggies, I tried feeding him a bit of chop on the end of a long wooden ladle before I put the bowl in his cage (he has food available 24/7 and I would let him approach me rather than putting the spoon near him, so it was all on his terms). Slowly worked up to holding the ladle in my palm until he got used to eating near my hand, then started feeding treats through the cage bars. He got comfortable taking treats from me pretty quickly and even started coming over when I was nearby or called his name, so I introduced the clicker and target stick. He's not quite got the hang of it but I can direct him in and out of the cage or onto a tree stand now, it just takes a bit of patience.

I'm not sure if it's because of the small cage he was in previously or some sort of balance issue, but he's VERY clumsy. I ended up having to redo his cage a couple days ago with way more perches and ladders than I'd normally put in because he just couldn't seem to climb the cage bars. Luckily he's a pretty nimble flyer so he manages to get around okay that way. I've noticed his nails are a little overgrown and possibly his beak (or at least, it looks longer than my other conure's), not sure if that's contributing.

The main thing I'm wary about right now is that he gets overstimulated really easily. If I have him out on a play stand and sit next to it he'll perch in front of me to listen to me talking to him and he's even tried preening my hair twice, but it very quickly turns into eye pinning at the sound of my voice and screaming if I leave him out for more than half an hour at a time. It doesn't seem to be a fear thing (??) since he gets close to my face by choice and doesn't lunge or get all ruffled up, but still obviously something I'm trying to avoid because it becomes A LOT harder to move him back into his cage once he's overwhelmed like that. And he still screams (and OMG he's loud) and paces in the cage fairly often. Less than those first couple days but I'm not quite sure how to settle him down without accidentally reinforcing it by giving him attention, which is what he seems to want... so any suggestions on that front would be very appreciated!

This was when I first met him in the shop and then just after bringing him home. His feathers are pretty ratty but I've been misting him every day which seems to be helping.

Annnnnd today, taking a nap after his lunch and giving me an hour of (blissful) silence.

 

[Dartman]

Just keep working with him at his pace and he'll eventually realize you're trustworthy and good things happen when you're around. Hopefully with positive reinforcement and time the screaming will lessen as he learns how things work and you won't abandon him.
It's can be a long term thing but so worth it when you reach a understanding and become friends.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Congratulations seems like a lot of great progress ! Yay! Taking treats by hand!

 

[cab124]

Wow, great progress!!

I was in the same situation several years back when I went into a pet store and saw a terrified green cheek conure sitting in a very small enclosure in a dark area of the store. Like you, I waited about two months for someone to take her. I would visit occasionally and felt really bad for her. Finally, I negotiated a lower price and took her home. I even bought her a flight cage similar to the one you have. This bird was a breeder bird, so was terrified of human hands.

I also felt regret at times, thinking that I bit off more than I could chew. But, slowly, over time, I began to win her trust. It took about three years before she would step up. I never forced her to do anything that she did not want to. Today, she is very bonded to me (probably too bonded) and loves to sit on my hand, and she is super cuddly, calm, and trusting. It took a LONG time, but it is VERY REWARDING if you have the patience.

For me, the keys were:

1. PATIENCE. Slow progress over time (years, not weeks or months)
2. Use food to your advantage. Parrots are very driven by food. Find out what your bird's favorite foods are and then be the bringer-of-yummy-treats! The bird won't be able to resist.
3. Never force the bird to do anything if you can help it. Try to allow it to choose to trust you.
4. Enjoy the reward of seeing a terrified creature turn into a trusting, appreciative little friend.

Because all birds are different, there is always the possibility of failure. Think through a plan B. A good aviary sounds like a good backup. But my bet is that you will be fine!!

Best of luck!!!!

 

[April]

Wow, great progress!!

I was in the same situation several years back when I went into a pet store and saw a terrified green cheek conure sitting in a very small enclosure in a dark area of the store. Like you, I waited about two months for someone to take her. I would visit occasionally and felt really bad for her. Finally, I negotiated a lower price and took her home. I even bought her a flight cage similar to the one you have. This bird was a breeder bird, so was terrified of human hands.

I also felt regret at times, thinking that I bit off more than I could chew. But, slowly, over time, I began to win her trust. It took about three years before she would step up. I never forced her to do anything that she did not want to. Today, she is very bonded to me (probably too bonded) and loves to sit on my hand, and she is super cuddly, calm, and trusting. It took a LONG time, but it is VERY REWARDING if you have the patience.

For me, the keys were:

1. PATIENCE. Slow progress over time (years, not weeks or months)
2. Use food to your advantage. Parrots are very driven by food. Find out what your bird's favorite foods are and then be the bringer-of-yummy-treats! The bird won't be able to resist.
3. Never force the bird to do anything if you can help it. Try to allow it to choose to trust you.
4. Enjoy the reward of seeing a terrified creature turn into a trusting, appreciative little friend.

Because all birds are different, there is always the possibility of failure. Think through a plan B. A good aviary sounds like a good backup. But my bet is that you will be fine!!

Best of luck!!!!

I'm so glad you commented! I fully intended to tag you when I first saw this thread but unfortunately got busy and totally forgot. Lovely to see you popping on

 

[cab124]

I'm so glad you commented! I fully intended to tag you when I first saw this thread but unfortunately got busy and totally forgot. Lovely to see you popping on

Thanks so much, April!!! Nice seeing you as well!! It's fun to check out the forums and see what people are talking about. Such an awesome community!!

 

[April]

Thanks so much, April!!! Nice seeing you as well!! It's fun to check out the forums and see what people are talking about. Such an awesome community!!

It really is! I adore AA so much its such an important place for me to be among like minded parrot loving individuals.

 

[lventer]

Wow, great progress!!

I was in the same situation several years back when I went into a pet store and saw a terrified green cheek conure sitting in a very small enclosure in a dark area of the store. Like you, I waited about two months for someone to take her. I would visit occasionally and felt really bad for her. Finally, I negotiated a lower price and took her home. I even bought her a flight cage similar to the one you have. This bird was a breeder bird, so was terrified of human hands.

I also felt regret at times, thinking that I bit off more than I could chew. But, slowly, over time, I began to win her trust. It took about three years before she would step up. I never forced her to do anything that she did not want to. Today, she is very bonded to me (probably too bonded) and loves to sit on my hand, and she is super cuddly, calm, and trusting. It took a LONG time, but it is VERY REWARDING if you have the patience.

For me, the keys were:

1. PATIENCE. Slow progress over time (years, not weeks or months)
2. Use food to your advantage. Parrots are very driven by food. Find out what your bird's favorite foods are and then be the bringer-of-yummy-treats! The bird won't be able to resist.
3. Never force the bird to do anything if you can help it. Try to allow it to choose to trust you.
4. Enjoy the reward of seeing a terrified creature turn into a trusting, appreciative little friend.

Because all birds are different, there is always the possibility of failure. Think through a plan B. A good aviary sounds like a good backup. But my bet is that you will be fine!!

Best of luck!!!!

Thank you for chiming in! I've spent the whole afternoon binge-reading your thread on Mango and it's honestly a massive relief seeing how similar your experiences were over those first couple weeks. I definitely have had a few moments since bringing him home that have made me go, "oh my GOD what did I do?!" But at the end of the day, he deserves a much better life than he was getting in that pet store and I'm going to at least try give it to him. And every time he makes even a tiny bit of progress I immediately forget all the worry and doubt.

Like today, he seemed anxious to come out so I tried to let him out onto the playstand. But then he just stood on the door of his cage and screeched so loud for so long I thought my ears were going to start bleeding. Put him back inside, went for a walk and then came back and decided to try showing him how to forage so he could keep his beak busy. Once he watched me pulling hidden seeds out of his toys I saw the lightbulb go on in his eyes and ten minutes later he was doing laps of the cage checking over every toy with a fine-tooth comb for treats. He didn't make so much as a peep or do his little anxious wing quivering dance for the entire afternoon, and then by the time he was starting to get rowdy again it was dinner time and then off to bed, so I haven't heard a scream since midday! My floor is covered in shredded balsa and scraps of cupcake liners but he's content and beak-grinding right now so I'm happy. I'm definitely going to have to stock up on toys though... he just about demolished one that usually takes my other bird a month to get through.