Bode and Ruby the Dancing Green Cheek Conures!

My mutation Green Cheek Conures love to dance and show off their tricks! They're on their shower perch in the bathroom. Bode is the Yellow-Sided with the dark head, Ruby the light-headed Pineapple. They are just over 1 year old and are awesome babies; we love them very much!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• green cheek conure
• dance
• show off
• parrot
• trick
• GCC
• Pineapple
• Yellow Sided

[missyjls]

my partner tried grabbing him and the bird bit him really hard twice and drew blood both times so now im afraid to try. i say good boy when he comes near my finger when i put it through the bars in his cage but he always stays about 4 inch away from me

[juliacritter]

@missyjls Mine have their moments, esp bc it's breeding season for them and they get territorial- once I was on my computer and Ruby climbed right up my chest and bit me hard on the lip, broke the skin and I just put her back in her cage and went and cried in the bathroom LOL. I guess my advice to you would be to do the toweling thing- if he doesn't wanna step up, towel him, and after being toweled a few times(most birds don't like it), he will prefer to step up instead. Buy a t-stand for him.

[juliacritter]

@missyjls Get him to trust you on the t-stand so he will step up without hesitation. Then work on having him step up from the top of his cage. Once he is doing that without hesitation, then work on having him step up from the cage without question. Their cage is their "turf" so to speak, so some birds will be very territorial especially if they feel that is all they have. Since this bird has trust issues, he will probably be more inclined to bite to protect his cage. As difficult as it sounds,

[juliacritter]

@missyjls try not to be afraid by picking him up- birds rely on body language and if they sense you are going to falter, they are afraid as well and he will be more likely to bite than if you are confident. When I first got Ruby she would try and bite me on occasion when I would pick her up, so I read in the book that in that instance, you have to approach the bird with confidence and scoop him up onto your hand without hesitation so it doesn't have the chance to bite you, as you are almost

[juliacritter]

@missyjls attempting to knock it off its perch. Or you can distract them with a toy and make them step up, either method works from my experience. If they bite when they are on your hand, do the "little earthquake"- lower your hand quickly to make him unsteady and he will forget all about biting you, and will try to stabilize himself instead. Gain his trust and take your time doing it, and you will have an awesome little friend! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask :-)

[juliacritter]

@missyjls You have to dedicate time to overcome what he has been through- be consistent with your feeding, handling times, training time, and bed time. Birds need like 12-14 hours of sleep a night and get grumpy if they're not getting it. Also, if they are not being fed a well-balanced diet, lacking proper nutrition can also cause behavior problems. It will take a lot of work and time to bring him around, but you can do it!

[juliacritter]

@missyjls Sounds like you have some challenges- since you are the third owner, you don't really know what the bird has been through or how others handled him. He may have been teased and taunted and that is why he is afraid of you. Try not to take it personal! He is just reacting from instinct, that "if it hurts you, avoid it!" It is difficult not taking their behavior personal, after all, you are trying to be as nice as possible to them, so it hurts more than physically when they bite.

[missyjls]

my bird is 6 month old and he has had two previous owners. they sold him to be due to unforseen work circumstances and they didnt have time for him. he gets scared when i put my hand into the cage and im getting quite upset because i really want to hold him.

[juliacritter]

@missyjls Gain his trust first, if he won't step up on your hand from his cage, then use a towel to remove him, take him into unfamiliar surroundings, and get him used to you then do step up training. Offer verbal praise when he does something good, and ignore him when he does something undesirable. Never punish by hitting, do not yell at him, and do not react if they bite you(they love drama, some birds are entertained by this and yelling reinforces bad behavior.) The book explains all this.