Older conure training difficulty

[Monkeybuttorama]

I have two 6-7 year old green cheeks which I have had for about 2 years now. I inherited them from my mother, who got them as babies but never handled them. Since they came home with me, I have been trying to acclimate them to me, but I am having major difficulty.

The problem I have is that they aren't at all warming up to me. Sure I can sometimes give them treats (assuming it's not something new, and assuming I stand there for 5-10 min - every time so they can decide it's worth it. I've been doing this almost daily since they came home with me, I interact with them, talk to them, rotate toys, etc. so it's not like I'm never around the cage, and they are in my living room, so they see me constantly)

One is significantly more adventuresome, and will about half the time take treats, the other almost never does, no matter what it is. I was hoping that if I taught one, the other would follow, but this does not seem to be the case, or perhaps is not the case because I cannot get any consistency..

They do not come out of their cage, please don't suggest that as an option... it's not... I would *like* them to come out, but as of right now, if they do come out, I have to put them back in by hand, which scares the bejesus out of them, and causes them to bite (draw blood bite - which they otherwise never do)

Am I majorly missing something about getting them just to take things from me?

They are in a 4x3x2 cage, highest point is below my shoulder (4ft) nest box for whatever (they just play in it, for now) They have plenty of space, and don't seem aggressive at all.. Skittish, perhaps, but not aggressive. They have ample room to stretch wings, and even fly around the cage a little, because of how I set it up. Because they are un-handle-able, they are both un-clipped. I doubt I could even get them in a transport cage to get them to a vet if I had to...

I've read the targeting training thing, and I'd love to do it, but if they won't consistently accept a reward, how are you supposed to train?

Any help in the matter would be greatly appreciated; I'm quite frustrated, and a bit sad that I don't have better interaction with them, especially since they are still fairly young.

[marie83]

Right first things first, forget all about the wing clipping. It is not good for parrots, emotionally or physically, neither will it help them to trust you. The best way to earn their trust is by giving them the choice to get away. If they dont have the choice they will automatically bite when you get too near (for examply when you try to put them back in their cage)

Why don't you want them out the cage? Is it because you don't feel in control when they are out or will it always be that you don't want them out? If its tempoary whilst you tame them then thats fine but if you plan to never let them out I suggest you get over it pretty quickly or rehome them as birds need time out.

Second thing is to remove the nest box, right now it might not be stimulating them but it will, when its their breeding season it will encourage their hormones which can drive their aggression levels (think really really bad moodswings) This isn't a good thing for you or them.

Third thing is, green cheeks do tend to be nippy birds anyway by default. It can be trained out of them but for now you will need to get used to being bitten and ignore any bites you get (I agree it does hurt and can bleed but act like it never happened so you dont encourage the behaviour). You will also need to learn to read their body language so you can tell when they are getting aggitated and hopefully prevent them feeling the need to bite in the first place.

Fourth thing is you are doing exactly the right thing by sitting outside the cage offering treats and talking to them gently. Letting them come to you is also the best way to do it. Now you should be able to help speed things along by 2 things, dont include their favorite treat at any other time, only use it for training. Take their food out of the cage a few hours before training so they are hungry. Both of these things lead to more motivated birds and are not cruel, the birds will not starve.

This is turning in to an essay now so I'm going to leave things there. If you have any questions just ask us and when you get them coming up to you successfully most times, post back and we will help you with the next step.

Keep us updated

[friend2parrots]

you've already gotten some great advice, i just wanted to add a few comments -

it might be helpful to get another cage, and house them separately side by side, where they can see each other. just until the initial taming and training is over. this will help the bird you are working with devote its attention to you. GCCs can fight over food sometimes, and if you are training the two of them together at the same time, they may fight over the treats, and hence get distracted from what they need to learn. after they are tamed and trained, they can be housed together again.

totally agree about removing the nest box. there should be no box like enclosure in their cages. it may encourage unwanted egg laying.

good luck - i'm sure your two GCCs will tame down nicely. don't be worried that they are already 6 or 7 and haven't been handled. GCCs are so smart and naturally friendly that these two birdies will soon become your best friends!

[Andromeda]

it might be helpful to get another cage, and house them separately side by side, where they can see each other. just until the initial taming and training is over. this will help the bird you are working with devote its attention to you. GCCs can fight over food sometimes, and if you are training the two of them together at the same time, they may fight over the treats, and hence get distracted from what they need to learn. after they are tamed and trained, they can be housed together again.

This is really good advice. You can train an older bird that is not used to handling but if you are trying to train older birds who are not used to handling that are also bonded to and housed with other birds it's going to be difficult if not impossible just because "wild" birds housed together tend to stay wild.

They will both need to take treats reliably from you before you can train anything else and if they won't do that, that's step one. Just spending time sitting near them and offering treats is the place to start, as you are already doing.

Try to determine the best treats by offering a variety of small things (fruits, millet, nuts) first thing in the morning before you give them any other food and take note of what they eat first, second, third, etc. and you'll know where to start.

After that, as Marie said, make sure they are motivated (hungry) by either training first thing in the morning before they get their food or removing food for a few hours (up to 6 hours) prior to training.

Training older birds that are bonded to each other will be difficult but with time and patience you will make progress and they will learn to trust you and become more tame!