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Question:

November 22, 2023

Conure wants to explore


I have a hand fed1 and a half year old male green cheek Conure, he recently (about three weeks ago) flew away, we were lucky enough to retrieve him safely but now it appears to have lost interest in his cage and toys, we started bringing him downstairs more and he starts to fly away to the other pets (cats and a dog who all dislike him) when he flys to a dangerous place he doesn’t want move and bites anyone who tries to get him down, we usually use a rag or towel to safely capture him but it has been making him more frustrated to be moved, he has been making impatient screams and rarely says his favorite phrase- “peek a boo” unless a cat is nearby for him to get their attention, he has been making angry screams and is becoming more protective of his food, no doesn’t trust me the same and when I try to get him out of his cage he may come to me until I take him out of my room (then he flies away) or bites me, he wants new people and places to see, he also has this new chewing habit, he chews EVERYTHING! Plants, the wall, any paper, clothes, hair, even the Nintendo switch, he spits everything out, I’ve tried giving him more cardboard, paper, and chew toys in his cage, and redirecting him with a small box to chew instead of the wall- sometimes it works but on most occasions he tries to bite me. I’m not sure if this is a hormonal phase or if he’s really lost trust and interest in me, and I can’t find any tips this situation, how can I give him a safe environment to play in and regain his trust?


Answer:

Hi,

These are challenging little birds and there is a lot involved with their behavior. The good news is that we will be presenting a free webinar next month, specifically on the Green Cheeked Conure! This will be very important for you to watch, and you may want to follow up with the speaker afterwards. But at the very least I urge you to watch this webinar. If you can’t view live, all of our webinars are available on YouTube afterwards. You have a lot going on here and it’s more than I can even try to cover. But meanwhile, please check out our links on behavior and training, and then of course the webinar. The speaker is an expert in these little birds!

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Teaching Your Bird

Translating Parrot: The Challenges of the Green-cheeked Conure

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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