Hello...i am desperately seeking some guidance and help. 2 weeks ago i brought home my 2 baby girls, 2 jenday conures who were born in august 2019. (I dont knownif they are girls for sure but i gave them girl names and so refer to them as the girls.)
While i was waiting for the breeder to ween them i joined other bird boards, read tons of articles online, paid for some training and educational info on how to care for birds. I read about conures in general, learned about their habits and playful nature, i watched you tube videos and tried to learn as much as i could. Then 2 weeks ago i went and picked up my babies. I fell so in love with them the moment i saw them. The breeder did a great job with them and after 2 weeks of having them i understand how much. So week one, i took the week off from work and spent a great deal of time with them. The breeder suggested somethings that was contrary to what some bird owners say but listened to his suggestion and things were great for a week. He called me hours after i picked them up to check and see how things were going. They were great. I bought the girls a flight cage 36" x 36" x 60" with 6 - 7 toys, a wicker hut, ladder and a few different perches. And i said i read that i should give them se space to let them get used to home and me before i tried to have them stepup. He suggested otherwise, that i should start quickly and not force them but put my finger in front of their chest and be persistent about having slthem step up. That was ok, they seemed to be ok with it and i would only have to move my hand around and follow them for several seconds before they finally would hop on. ... one more than the other. The one that would stepup, Pearle was very playful, rilled in ger back day 2, loved me calling her good girl and cuddling her up to me while giving her kisses. She adored me and loved me around her. Gracie wasnt and isnt as lovable as Pearle but she seemed to want me to hold her too. First week i would lay a sheet down and get a warm fuzzy blanket, and put the girls on the floor and they would come cuddle with me. They fell asleep on me or cuddled up to me 3 of the 1st 7 nights they were home. I did not want them to get used to me "putting" them to sleep in case i am not home in time every night. So things were great, bedtime around 8pm, covered their cage every night, up by about 8am every morning. Let them play on their cage for an hour before feeding, play again for a couple of hours. Leave home 3-5 hours a day in which i would put them back in their cage and back out to play when i got home. Fed them again about 6pm, play and bedtime 8-830pm. I would either hold them under my chin with a blanket covering them up then the cage, or just put in cage. They really were bonding and couldn't get enough of me. Its just me and my husband home and i read how social and good it is to have people around them so my 5 nieces and nephews were over a few days for a couple of hours (during their 1st week) to play with them, the girls seemed to realky kike having them around too.
Week 2 started with me having tongo back to work. So they are in the cage for 10 hours. I uncover them @7am and let them play on their cage until about 815. I then fill up their bowls and put them in the cage, i feed them seeds, nutricakes, raisins, leafy green ripped into pieces, apples, almonds, small pieces of fresh broccoli. I have to leave their food in the cage because i have to leave for work. I get home about 6pm, take them out of their cage, empty their food, refill with seeds and whole peanuts and they eat and play until bedtime. We are day 3 into the 2nd week and they will hardly come to me, tonight i had to out my thumb under Pearles belly and lift her to put in her cage, while Gracie climbed down the back of her cage which is up against a wall so u couldnt get her. Its like they dont know me anolymore and its breaking my heart.
A few things to note, and please please be kind. Try to remember i am a first time owner and i do love them and want them to be happy which is why i am desperately seeking advice. I KNOW i have done something wrong to make them act like this towards me but i dont know how to fix it. The things I have done were only done with their absolute best interest in mind and the absolute desire of wanting them to be happy and feel safe. I live in central Florida. This time of year its about 65-70 at night, up to 80-84 during the day, lowwe humidity than the summer and not super strong sun. The girls cafe is outside on my lenai. Lenai approx 1k square feet, all screened in with an 8' pricacy fence all ther way around. 50%of the lanai is uncover which makes temp about 3-5 degrees warmer than outside temp plus they are in a corner of ther undercovered part so 2 of the 4 walls of their cage are up against 2 solid walls. I read ideal temp for them is between 60-75 degrees, which is puzzling to me since i believe they are native to south america and other regions that are very warm, humid climates. Here is where i went wrong, i think. Two nights ago it went down to 50 and it was windy and chilly. I of course couldnt let them sleep outside so i brought them in and tried 2 or 3 different sleeping spaces, not of which made them comfortable - j out them in their travel cage (how i brought them home) and put them in the floor in one of my bathrooms but they seemed so afraid when i left the room after sitting with them for 30min to get them comfortable that i had to take them out of their and out of the cage which the absolutely hated. I got a perch and fastened it to a basket that i filled with blankets hoping they would hop on the perch and go to sleep, but that didn't work. So i picked them up and held them under my chin pacing back and forth trying to figure out where i could have them sleep. Again, they hated the travel cage and their big cage was too big tonfit thru the door. If course they were falling asleep but i couldn't sleep standing or sitting holding them. 12:30am they FINALLY fell asleep enough that I was able to transfer them feom my hands to the blanket filled basket, covered up with blankets and i headed to bed. I woke up at 7am, looked under covers and they were already awake and silent until i picked up the covers. Regular morning routine & workday routine after that to last night getting home around 6pm (which is already dark here that time if night), dumping daytime food from cage, giving fresh food and them sitting in top of cage falling asleep about 730. Had company and so they were awake until about 930, they were exhausted. Didnt want to come to me last night but i assumed it was because they were exhausted from night before. This morning they seemed ok, their cage is outside my bathroom window - my husbandade it so the window has a screen "door" that i can open and while i am getting dressed for worm they can hop in and out of the window to their cage, which they seemed happy ro do. Same work routine to getting home tonight and they not only dont want to step up, they dont even want me to touch them.
Please know that i love them! I am so worried that i have ruined m relationship with them before it even had a chance to start...and ruined what started out so great
What should i do?? Thank you in advance for your help!