Got a parrot that enjoys guitar.

[Rockguy475]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

Well dude I thought the same thing. I have pics of "Sherbet" on my shoulder getting lost in my hair. It's a Yellow sided Green Cheek Conure and would give me kisses so gently on my closed lip. This bird is almost 4 years old now and has been going Through a biting faze. First it was on a step up coming out of the cage very unusual as he/she was so ready to step up and come out to play It drew blood and developed a pretty good blood blister. Then the unthinkable on my shoulder and out of nowhere bite me on the ear, again drawing blood. Sure not the kind of damage a larger Parrot could inflict, but it got my attention. So for now I am using a dowel for setups and the shoulder is off limits until I sort this out. I am sure this is just growing pains So you are judging just from your personal experience and not from credible authors and perhaps other Parrot owners? I don't find my my reference to these books ridiculous and my war wounds to boot.

I get what you are saying. I have been doing tons of online research myself. Seems while you can generalize parrot species to certain traits, just like guitars, it comes down to each individual bird. From what I have read Conures, especially Sun Conures, get LOUD. Funny thing is mine is almost completely quiet besides the occassional chirp. I was worried so took him to the vet and she said nothing was wrong and to consider myself lucky.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

Well dude I thought the same thing. I have pics of "Sherbet" on my shoulder getting lost in my hair. It's a Yellow sided Green Cheek Conure and would give me kisses so gently on my closed lip. This bird is almost 4 years old now and has been going Through a biting faze. First it was on a step up coming out of the cage very unusual as he/she was so ready to step up and come out to play It drew blood and developed a pretty good blood blister. Then the unthinkable on my shoulder and out of nowhere bite me on the ear, again drawing blood. Sure not the kind of damage a larger Parrot could inflict, but it got my attention. So for now I am using a dowel for setups and the shoulder is off limits until I sort this out. I am sure this is just growing pains So you are judging just from your personal experience and not from credible authors and perhaps other Parrot owners? I don't find my my reference to these books ridiculous and my war wounds to boot.

Hmmm. Maybe some bird soup is in order.

[Mickey_C]

The problem with the Sun Conure will be when he STOPS playing. Trust me on that one... mine goes bananas when I stop, and she can wake the dead.

Originally Posted by whitecloud

Well dude I thought the same thing. I have pics of "Sherbet" on my shoulder getting lost in my hair. It's a Yellow sided Green Cheek Conure and would give me kisses so gently on my closed lip. This bird is almost 4 years old now and has been going Through a biting faze. First it was on a step up coming out of the cage very unusual as he/she was so ready to step up and come out to play It drew blood and developed a pretty good blood blister. Then the unthinkable on my shoulder and out of nowhere bite me on the ear, again drawing blood. Sure not the kind of damage a larger Parrot could inflict, but it got my attention. So for now I am using a dowel for setups and the shoulder is off limits until I sort this out. I am sure this is just growing pains So you are judging just from your personal experience and not from credible authors and perhaps other Parrot owners? I don't find my my reference to these books ridiculous and my war wounds to boot.

What we learned from our uber-experienced avian-veterinarian and from assisting at the bird rescue:

stop with the snuggles; it's mating ritual

The trick is to learn how to have entertaining fun with them that uses their brains but doesn't establish mating ritual. Snuggling with them isn't good, it can cause issues like that.. she could suddenly misinterpret a dangly ear as an intruder or problem. You are entering into bird relationship territory and putting the bird on an equal footing with you.

Teach her tricks instead, make her work for snacks and use her brain. She'll be a better bird, and you'll get bit less. Not saying she can't perch once in a while - it's okay if they're not doing grooming. If the bird starts grooming - get her back to her perch and do something else with her pronto.

Not surprisingly, the bird rescue here is filled with parrots that people made a mating bond with and found out they couldn't take the heat.

That is what we learned.

Our sun conure had become an absolute pest having bonded with our 13 year old. It was bad, bad, bad and we were all getting bit, finally her too, to the point of drawing blood. We honestly didn't know and thought the behavior was cute at first not knowing what we were signing up for.

[whitecloud]

Originally Posted by Mickey_C

The problem with the Sun Conure will be when he STOPS playing. Trust me on that one... mine goes bananas when I stop, and she can wake the dead.



What we learned from our uber-experienced avian-veterinarian and from assisting at the bird rescue:

stop with the snuggles; it's mating ritual

The trick is to learn how to have entertaining fun with them that uses their brains but doesn't establish mating ritual. Snuggling with them isn't good, it can cause issues like that.. she could suddenly misinterpret a dangly ear as an intruder or problem. You are entering into bird relationship territory and putting the bird on an equal footing with you.

Teach her tricks instead, make her work for snacks and use her brain. She'll be a better bird, and you'll get bit less. Not saying she can't perch once in a while - it's okay if they're not doing grooming. If the bird starts grooming - get her back to her perch and do something else with her pronto.

Not surprisingly, the bird rescue here is filled with parrots that people made a mating bond with and found out they couldn't take the heat.

That is what we learned.

Our sun conure had become an absolute pest having bonded with our 13 year old. It was bad, bad, bad and we were all getting bit, finally her too, to the point of drawing blood. We honestly didn't know and thought the behavior was cute at first not knowing what we were signing up for.

sage advice. I am aware of the "mating ritual" and can tell what's going on as Sherbet went through a faze of trying to masturbate on me. I re-directed the bird. When I let both Birds out ("Chill") is the other and is a Cockateil. I cover the couch with a sheet, bring out a homemade perch and lots of toys, then watch the tube. I have to be careful what is on the TV, so nothing loud and for sure no gunfire. I sing, talk or whistle and engaged them with various objects and for quite some time it seems like Sherbet doesn't see me as a Mate like what was going on awhile back. I think I can point to some possible causes for Sherbet's recent change in behavior. Things got a little hectic around my place and a lot of new faces. So my theory is He(I think Sherbet is a male) felt somewhat insecure. More noise and some that stopped by for recording were intoxicated. Well I put a kabosh on that and won't allow those scenarios to occur again. I can see that old look in Sherbet's eye that things are back to normal, however I am a little gun-shy and will still use the dowel for step up's a little longer, then with confidence put my finger right up to him quickly for a proper step up. Thing is these birds aren't far removed from the wild. Domestication hasn't occurred, so one can't expect behavior that dogs and cats exhibit. Thanks for you reply, some think little birds won't get dominant or can cause some pain. That said I sure love these beautiful little creatures.