Our pineapple conure we adopted 2 months ago .
He is 5 yrs old. Has only talked once. He eats well and seems fine. He plays with his toys but he flys around the cage when I try to take him out. When he finally comes out he is ok with me . We know he can talk but don’t know what the problem is. Hope you can help. Thank you
Hi Lydia,
He probably needs more time to settle in. He was in a home for 5 years and then suddenly moved to another home. Possibly he was in a pet store in between. You didn’t mention his full history. But each time a bird gets a new home, they have an adjustment period. It is different for each bird, but generally will take several months or longer. Before you worry about talking, you need to address the handling issue. If you have to chase him around the cage each time, you are not gaining his trust. Bird vocalize to communicate and right now he doesn’t trust you enough to want to communicate.
If he can fly, it would help at first to have a professional clip his wings – a vet or the pet shop can help. This makes him easier to work with during the initial training period and the feathers will grow back. Please review the link below – it will take you to a page with links for taming and training and helping your new bird settle in. Take time to read these and then start working slowly with him to earn his trust. When he is comfortable in his new home and comfortable with the humans, then he will be more vocal.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
