Green Cheek cant make up his mind

[sammygirl]

I brought home a Green Cheek from Pollys Pets about a week ago. I had my eye on him for a MONTH. No one seemed to want him. He has a nice big cage, and in the mornings and at night i open it up and he sits on the cage door. But hes a bit "bipolar" if you will. Sometimes I can pet him, and other times he tries to chew on me. I dont have a very good way to reward his good behavior because he wont let me hand feed him. Its really stressful, because he even was good and climbed on my shoulder and let me walk around with him. But didnt wanna go back to te cage and he chewed on my neck. Please Help.

[Michael]

You need to learn to set boundaries and establish a routine.

[sammygirl]

Thank you for replying. But could you elaborate? What exactly do you mean by "set boundaries"

[Michael]

If you're uncomfortable with the parakeet being on your shoulder, don't let it on your shoulder. If it bites, then you don't do what it wants. Basically you have to set boundaries and the routine part about it is being consistent. Put the bird where you want it (say on your finger) and ignore any biting. Do this every day for a month and it will get used to the routine and just sit on your finger without biting.

[sammygirl]

Sorry hes actually a Green cheek conure. And he doesnt step up. when hes out of the cage I try and pet his head, sometimes he accepts and sometimes he doesnt. I always wear a jacket when working with him. And most of the time when I offer my arm for him to step up, he just chews on the sleeve. If it was my bare ams Id be pretty torn up by now. Does he just like chewing on the cotton? Or is he trying to say get away? He also likes nibbling on my hair on the rare occasion he accepts being picked up. And he knows the difference between glove and hand, he backs up when he sees the glove. And sorry, Im trying to give you the full picture.

[Michael]

Green Cheeked Parakeet, Pyrrhura molinae.

Intro to the basics of parrot taming/training.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

There are a lot of good resources on basic training/handling of pet birds. I suggest reading up, both on this forum and maybe get a good book or two, or check some out from the library. You need to learn about each other is part of it. When we first brought Scooter him, he would bite a lot. He also came from a pet store (not the best way to get a bird, actually) and I am pretty sure he was afraid if we put him back in his cage, he'd never get to come out again, so he would bit to avoid going back. Just by warning him ("It's time to go home") and making a big fuss of him when he did step down into the cage, he has improved a lot. Also, the cage DOES become home and it is hte bird's territory. Unless you are certain he wants to come out, let him come to you, don't invade his territory (unless there is an urgent need). And, they do need a lot of sleep -- 10-12 hours, they say. I find Scooter can be fairly grumpy and nippy when he first wakes up and when he is getting tired at night. And he is an EXTREMELY affectionate little bird who ALWAYS wants to be with us, but even he needs his alone time, he just doesn't seem to realize it.

[sammygirl]

Yeah, and him being there longer probably didnt help. My friend also said I need to change what fabric is on my arm because he is actually chewing on the cotton, and that really doesnt help at all. Any recomendations? Im gonna try target training again, load the clicker and see if i can show him the stick isnt scary. And I refuse to call my conure a parakeet. I have a parakeet and shes half his size. But how do i load the clicker if he wont accept treats from my hand?

[Michael]

A) They are both parakeets. There are 90+ species of parakeets and what you have is a Green Cheeked Parakeet.

B) You're going to have to find a treat that the parrot actually wants. There is two ways of doing that. Either take its food away for a while and offer treats when it is hungrier. Or find a food that it loves more than any other and never feed it in the cage and exclusively use it as a treat.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Michael is right about the definition, but it's not the common usage. Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: par·a·keet
Pronunciation: \ˈper-ə-ˌkēt, ˈpa-rə-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish & Middle French; Spanish periquito, from Middle French perroquet parrot
Date: 1581

: any of numerous usually small slender parrots with a long graduated tail

However, in colloquial usage we tend to say "parakeet" when we really mean "budgerigar". This is an English argument not a bird argument. A GCC isn't a budgie and I think we all agree on that!