Is Time Out the best option?

[222Gomez]

Hey folks!
I have an (approximately) 7 month old green cheek conure that I recently adopted. He was being rehomed because he was living with an Indian ringneck who was being very aggressive towards him and the family was worried he’d be hurt.

He’s a great little guy. He’s nippy and demanding but no more than you’d expect from a young conure. He handles nicely and understands basic commands, allows you to pick him up in every way and scratch him.
BUT, I’ve been noticing that the longer he is out of the cage he starts to get more and more worked up. When I first get him out of his cage he’s very mellow and content to just sit on my shoulder while o do dishes or clean, and hang out or have some scratches. But after about an hour out of the cage he gets increasingly agitated, nippy, and cranky. My response to this has been to put him away and give him some time to cool off, and this seems to work pretty well.

My worry is this; will this make him start to resent his cage? I don’t want to put him in his cage as a punishment, I want him to see it as a safe space for him to play and be comfortable when we aren’t around. My house is very small and I don’t have enough space for a separate “time out” cage. Is there a better alternative to deal with this escalating behavior or is what I’m doing okay?
thanks for any input!

 

[Xoetix]

Instead of putting him away fully, maybe try a play stand? That way he can still have his out time, but learn that overexcitement means no attention/touch.

 

[Wardy]

He is a lovely little guy does he have a name ?

BUT, I’ve been noticing that the longer he is out of the cage he starts to get more and more worked up.

This is pretty typical of a conure the cause is one of two things they are bored or they are over excited.

I try and offer as much out of cage activity as possible for my two i have a couple of java tree's, perches above there cages and loads of foot toys on top of there cages and lots of foraging activity about to occupy them both.

here is a great link for foraging ideas for your guy

Foraging Toy Thread for Small Beaks

I'd like to start this to show the different foraging toys ideas I've had for small beaks. I've often been frustrated by the lack of puzzle foraging toys for smaller parrots, so I've often made my own or adapted ones for bigger beaks. This is the Caitec Cage Mounted Buffet Ball. It's meant...

forums.avianavenue.com

When over excited just put him down on a bird safe area tell him to calm down if he is biting tell him NO biting he may fly straight back to you put him back down again and repeat.

Time out is never a good idea but you are doing great

The greatest distraction for a conure is food a Nutriberrie is a long enough distraction to calm either of my two down if they are full on...

 

[Sparkles99]