"Rehomed" bird

[HeartHaze]

For those of you who don't know Rio's story, here it is viewtopic.php?f=25&t=12644

To summarize what's written there... Got Rio from a breeder when he was a baby, but after a few months I lost him. After 5 years, I found him again, but he forgot me already.

After a few weeks with him, he's now comfortable with me around his cage. He eats from my hand (palm and fingers, and whether my hand is in or out of his cage), and licks/plays with my fingers. When I'm home, he also calls for me like Quincy . He also knows target training, but still not as good as Quincy. Even if he's comfortable with me, he is still afraid of my hands when I try to touch him or make him step-up.

I have been showing him how I play, handle, and train with Quincy. When Quincy's out of the cage he looks eager to come out. When I do recall with Quincy, and when Quincy flies to me, he shrieks (don't know if he wants to come out and fly also or if he's attached to Quincy already).

Some people have told me that I should try bringing Rio out of his cage to train him how to step up, so I tried to do this. I bring Quincy out first then later he also goes out on his own. Did this three times already (always supervised by me). He flies to me when I have a bowl of mixed seed (1/2 tsp for both of them NOT each) or when Quincy flies to me. When I try to target train him into stepping up on me he doesn't budge. This is really a problem when I try to get him inside his cage. He flies away, and I grab him. He bites, but not hard. I don't think that letting him out of his cage is a good idea right now. I'm afraid that he might develop more fear towards my hands. Worst case scenario, me.

I noticed that he really likes Quincy. During the time I've let them out of their cages, he would follow Quincy anywhere to the point Quincy would get soooooo annoyed he would fly to places he is afraid to go just to get away from him (funny for me lol and maybe I'm a little jealous of Quincy. HAHA). Quincy doesn't get aggressive towards him to my surprise. He is aggressive towards some people in the house. Quincy also preens Rio (loves it so much), but Quincy doesn't like to be preened. So yeah, in short, they are getting along just fine I think, and of course with my supervision.

With these in mind, how do you think I'll proceed in this situation, specifically, Rio stepping up and my relationship with him? I've read other threads, posts, and articles, but I'm still afraid I might do something wrong.

Sorry for the long post. I have a knack for being too detailed

[Wolf]

Detail is good, it helps a lot. I would begin target training in the cage including step up.

[Pajarita]

But didn't you just recoverd Rio a couple of weeks ago or am I wrong? Because, if I am right, I would concentrate on rebonding with him and bringing him up to a good healthy state (I am usre he was not fed right all these years) and not training. Once he bonds with you, he will step up on his own. People think that they need to teach a parrot to step up but that's only true of birds that did not imprint to humans, the ones that did don't need to learn it, they do it on their own. Sounds to me as if Rio is a male and Quincy a female because, usually, the males pursue the females the way you described.

[HeartHaze]

Sorry for the late reply. Rarely use my laptop. I'm on my phone most of the time, and it's so hard to write something from there :p

Thanks for the replies. The only training I do with him is target training. He isn't afraid of me anymore and he calls for me. He flies to me too. Only problem is his fear of hands. I am not rushing him to do any hard training, because I know it might just backfire.

Some people have suggested that I let him go out of his cage, so he could have exercise and bond with me more. Those three times I let him out, he would fly to me and follow me (but he follows Quincy more ), but it was a problem getting him back inside the cage, because he was afraid of hands. Because of this, I stopped letting him out. Now, I'm just bonding with him and target training him from his cage. He now places 1 foot on my hand when I target train him.

As for the diet, it amazes me how Rio loves a variety of food more than Quincy given the fact that Rio was fed solely sunflower seeds )

For their sexes, this is my guess too. We will be moving to a different home in the next few months. When we've settled, I would probably try to have them DNA sexed.

Thanks again

[Wolf]

I am glad that you are doing well with Quincy and Rio. It is a little surprising that Rio is taking so well to fresh foods, if he was only getting sunflower seed.
Have you made any progress with the person who had Rio? How is his bird doing? Does he seem to be a good person?

[Pajarita]

Not surprising, actually. Conures love produce and he must be craving them after five whole years of nothing but seeds, the poor thing.

Try not putting any seeds in his cage the entire day, letting him out one hour before sunset and putting some seeds in the cage. He will, most likely, go into it on his own.

[liz]

I did not do the back round reading on Rio. It is a miracle that you got him back.

I am 64 and only know by my experiences with ferrels (and I never could spell) that I have tamed, wildlife that I rehabbed and what the other members of this forum have taught me. Almost every little critter in this house was a rescue of some sort. All come with their own personalities and back rounds. The worst was Myrtle who shivered when I even looked at her and now she is physically attached to me most of the day.

Think of Rio as your kid that was kidnapped and had experiences in the 5 years that he cannot talk about. You would never grab a scared kid. You would not confine him to one room. You would give him as much freedom as possible to investigate his surroundings. You would call them by name and talk to them softly without putting all your attention on them.

Myrtle was growing he flight feathers back long before I could touch her with my hands (I could touch her with my face). She would test her wings by jumping off the top of her cage and landing on the floor. She then needed help to get back up there so she would walk to me and climb up with out me touching her. Once on my shoulder I would walk her back to the cage.

It has been a long time and I still can't touch the top of her head or her back unless she is under my hair.

[HeartHaze]

Wolf- the person had now thrown away the dirty old cage and replaced it with a new one. He also stopped placing the bird outside I'm not able to stop by and talk with them for long periods, but we do pass by to say hi and ask if he and the bird is doing well. He said his children are loving the bird

Pajarita- I haven't been giving him seeds for his meals. The only time I give him seeds is when I target train him. For now, I'm still not confident enough to let him out. Maybe after a few more weeks. I open his cage though and talk to him while he preens my arm

Liz- makes me wonder what has happened to Myrtle in the past that made her scared just by looking at her but it's really great that she ended up with you, with someone who could understand her well.
Started taking care of birds when I was 15-ish and now I'm 21. I have yet to know more and to build more experience in taking care of them. Thank you for your input

[Wolf]

Thank you for the update, I really do appreciate hearing how you and your birds are doing. I don't want to sound disrespectful or to make less of the relationship between you and your birds, but If I don't ask about this other person and the bird that you got for him I never hear about the other bird and how it is doing, That is why I ask. I am here because I care about these birds and that one is also on my list of birds that I care about.

[HeartHaze]

I understand, so it's fine

After a few months, we will be moving, so I also want to try and educate them as much as possible. It's really nice that they've been listening to my suggestions