Any Bird Owners ..???

wingnut4772

I just got a new bird. A Sunday Conure. I used to have Cockatiels (heh heh ..I said Cockatiels:D ) but this is the first parrot-ish bird I have. He does not want to come out of his cage and bites me almost every time I take him out. He doesn't bite terribly hard (yet) but I am struggling trying not to be afraid of him biting me. I take him out anyway because I don't want him to learn that if he bites me, he gets his way and gets to stay in the cage. When I have him out, he does ok. Any advice from fellow bird owners?

Demiurge

Aren't you a cop? You're going to have to flip that bird.

wingnut4772

Yes...but I am not that tough sometimes with the little warm blooded creatures. Maybe I can Taser him...he he.

bobman1235

Ugh, I hate birds. Must be the Italian in me, it's bad luck to have them in the house.

Seriously, all they do is make noise. Useless.

marker

Wear some leather gloves so it does not hurt you. Conures have just the perfect sized beak to break into the skin and be very painful when they bite.

Once you get it out of the cage, if it still tries to bite, shake your finger or hand up and down violently and rapidly, but not so much so that it will throw the bird off. Just enough to shake it up a little. The bird is actually very intelligent and will quickly figure out that if there is an "earthquake" every time it tries to bite, it will stop trying to bite.

Some birds like that are actually OK once you get them away from their cage.

Just give it time and show patience, and sooner or later it will warm up to you.

wingnut4772

Do you think he will warm up? Do birds actually have that capability?

Demiurge

Only if you put it in the oven.

wingnut4772

He keeps biting me and that may happen. He is not noisy by the way. Surprisingly quiet.

marker

wingnut4772 wrote:

Do you think he will warm up? Do birds actually have that capability?

Yes, I adopted a big military macaw who borderline hated me at first. He would run from me in his cage and bite me when I got my hands or fingers close to it to try to get it to step up. And you have not experienced pain till you have been bitten by a big macaw!:eek:

Once, he got sick and I had to fight him twice every day for about a month to give him his medication with a syringe, and now it's just as sweet as can be. I don't really know for sure if it's a male or female as there is now way to tell on militarys short of a dna sex test, but it will actually preen my eyebrows and eyelashes now, and I trust it enough to let it.

I wouldn't take money for it now, although i am the only one it likes. He still hates everyone else!:p

wingnut4772

I just fought with him again to take him out. I had to chase him all around the cage. Once I got him out and away from it though, he was fine and just settled down and let me pet him. He really does make it a traumatizing event to take him out though. I hope that he eventually catches on and realizes that it's ok to come out of the cage. I guess I will try to be patient. Thanks for the help. I would hate to gt bit by a Macaw!:eek: That's gotta hurt.

marker

wingnut4772 wrote:

I just fought with him again to take him out. I had to chase him all around the cage. Once I got him out and away from it though, he was fine and just settled down and let me pet him. He really does make it a traumatizing event to take him out though. I hope that he eventually catches on and realizes that it's ok to come out of the cage. I guess I will try to be patient. Thanks for the help. I would hate to gt bit by a Macaw!:eek: That's gotta hurt.

That's what I thought, that he would prolly be ok once you get him away from the cage.

That is home to him, and he feels both safe and defensive about it.

Just leave the door open and let him come out on his own. Entice him with a treat, and just spend some time sitting beside the cage too and interact that way.

He will prolly be alright in time once he gets used to you.

wingnut4772

I think I will be waiting a long time for him to come out on his own at this rate but I will try it. I don't think my little Rat Terriers are helping matters either. I don't think he cares for them:p

schwarcw

I had a paraket for years. He hated me and the family at first, always bit you when you took him out off the cage. After a month or so, he became very friendly. He learned to mimick words and tunes. We let him out of the cage and he would quickly fly to my shoulder and start to talk in my ear and nibble on my shirt. He was wonderful! Great pets, very personable and friendly. If you have more than one bird, they will bond with each other and not be as friendly. Birds are very social by nature and will form strong bonds with humans. I was always amazed how intelligent this bird was. Much smarter than many animals with much larger brains. Good luck! What's your bird's name?

wingnut4772

His name is George. I hope that he warms up like your bird.