please help my sun conure has become crazy

[Taleah1989]

what about when he jumps off the cage onto the floor (he cant fly his wings were clipped b4 i got him) do i leave him there?? :S i usually pick him up and put him back on the cage as obviously no food water or toys on the floor...

[liz]

Myrtle used to jump off her cage before she grew her feathers back. She was still very much afraid of everything but would walk to me and climb my pants leg. Our first real touch was when I helped her get to my shoulder. I would keep her a while then walk back to her cage so she could get off without being touched. She realized that I was not going to grab her so she did it more often.

When Rambo jumps off we just check to see if he is okay and leave him alone to do what he wants. He will usually walk around for a while then climb on something.

[Taleah1989]

aw how adorable Achmed doesnt crawl up my legs cos i wear shorts a lot so he just slips off so i just pick him up....plus i have this weird thing with my feet i cant stand them being touched i go crazy so i make sure i pick him up otherwise ill give him a fright when i flintch. Last night he wouldnt go to bed so i kept him with me (dinner and dishes all 1 handed!) he finally went to bed at 830!!!! usually goes at 630 :S but i didnt have a cranky bum this morn so thats a plus!

[Polarn]

Polarn just scared the crap out of me, although i realized quick enough it was him and could resist moving. He just flew and landed on me for the first time (without me luring him with banana or nuts) and even then he only does it is i lay down... but a couple of hours ago I was sitting at the computer typing and he decided it would be good fun to fly down and land on my shoulder to play with my earrings. Dont really know how to deal with that, i mean personally I dont really care, if pulling my rings is fun for him and that makes him start to come to me that good, at the same time I dont want him todo that to someone else who might have normal earrings... I kidna got one whole in each ear with 2 rings tucked into and their of a decent thickness, so I get no sharp pulling sense when their dragged, i usually sit pulling them myself when I'm boored or thinking... so that might be where he got the idea their toys from, or its just that their shiny. anyways today he only stopped by for about a minute, maybe 2 to gently pull them and kinda pushed em a bit... so today i just let him do that for a short period of time, since I know reaching my hand towards him would make him fly off since he was already looking on the edge from just landing there... Anyways this was kinda off topic, well off from the original topic.

Sorry for Hijacking your thread

Hope you manage to overcome the behaviors and get back to the point you liked.

[liz]

I always let Myrtle or any other critter that was scared make the moves.

I got a 14 week old kitten from a hoarder. She was skinny and covered with fleas. I took her to the vet on my way home to make sure she did not hasve anything to pass to my other critters. I put her on the floor in the laundry room so she would know where to find the litter box. I didn't see her again for two days. I put food and water on top of the dryer so I knew she was eating. I waited. While I was sitting in the dining room she came to me. That was five years ago. Now she sleeps under my arm like a teddy bear.

Once Myrtle was able to fly is when I started pushing her. If I pushed too much she just flew away. It worked. We went from tickle tickle her feet to today I even tickled under her wing. I do leg kisses. When I kiss one she offers me the other too. When I tell her I'm going to kiss her body she holds still and I can kiss her all over.

While on my shoulder she plays with my hair and ear. She never bites but it gets sore from her fussing. I have to take my ear rings out or she will break them off.

[Terbear]

You are spoiling that poor baby so he is screaming for more and more attention. And you’re adapting your lifestyle to accommodate him to cease the screaming – so you’re hooked in a vicious cycle that needs to stop now if you’re ever going to have any quiet or sanity.
First, you establish the rules, if he is screaming, ignore it, he will soon learn that screaming gets him nowhere and will soon stop. When he is quiet go in and reward him with your attention. But the moment he starts screaming again, get out of sight quickly until he’s quiet - then return.
Having him in the shower is actually good for him, the humidity is good for their skin, but while you bathe, sit him on a perch or on the shower rod and talk quietly to him. If he starts screaming, ignore it, when he is quiet, talk quietly to him.

he screams at me so i pick him up n then he still screams....including right in my ear which caused me to give him a tap on the head and say NO!!!!

You looking for aggression? A tap no matter how slight is a great way to break his trust in your hand, cause fear and aggression. NEVER hit an animal.

When you’re busy doing dishes, set him on a perch, talk to him when he is quiet, if he gets down, pick him back up, and put him where he needs to be. If you notice he is getting fidgety, give him a treat and tell him he is good for staying there. He will soon learn that staying where you need him to be gets him rewarded. Ignore the bites, set him on his cage and walk away. When he does what you want him to – reward heavily with verbal and treat reinforces and ignore the bad. They learn what activities get them treats and what gets them ignored and they adapt their behavior accordingly.
He is your companion, not the focus of your life. Treat him as such. Teach him his boundaries, so you can peacefully coexist, not so you jump faster to serve him. This is a 2 year old in a tiny feathered body… tantrums are to be expected until you curb them. Sadly you have created the issues by giving in, it won’t stop until you take a stand.
And with any being - human or animal, you’ll have more love and respect from all who know where their boundaries are.

[liz]

Though you consider it your baby - don't let your life revolve around it. Just make room for it in your life.

Yes - you have to bird proof your house just like you would baby proof. I have to bird proof the floor for Rambo and bird proof everything else for Myrtle. (Life was easier with just a pedestrian but I would never take her flight from her. She is now a free spirit who is even social with new people in the house.)

Let it find a place in your normal daily routine. Don't change your routine for it.

[Taleah1989]

thanx for the advise guys, i just get to that point where the constant screaming drives me nuts! whether i ignore it or not! yesterday was hard he carried on all day and i had woken with a migrain so yes i didnt help when i didnt give him his usual morning cuddles just shoved sum fruit in changed the water and lyed on the couch but he did it all day! Later i gave him a nurse but he was SO nasty biting screaming carrying on so i told him no way and put him back in his cage and the screaming continued :S i had to actually leave the house i couldnt do it between my head and his screaming i was in tears.
Sometimes when hes being naughty and biting i try turn it into a game ill poke and tickle his belly where he cant actually reach my fingers and say tickle tickle in a cute voice he tends to go from screaming to a cute little squeek and joins in but when those nasty bites come into it where he wont let go and bites hard its back to the cage otherwise we r both going to end up very cranky!

[Taleah1989]

i also got some advise from others on here that (especially when he wants to lie on his back) when hes biting to try using toys like pegs cos they sort of reseble a finger and let him play with that instead. As cute as it is him lying on his back he MUST have my finger to latch on to and that can be pretty harsh drawing blood i usually try put his foot in the way so he has a play with his foot rather then bite me but im hoping his NEW CAGE (totally wrapped he even helped/supervised while i set it up) will help a bit hes got a stick with bark to pull at and ample amounts of toys. Bed time is still an issue he wont go to bed used to be 630 bed time now its not till 730/800 and thats with me forcing him off my hand onto the perch and covering him ova, otherwise he just holds on and runs back up my arm or grabs the top of the cage so i cant put him in but bed time is a must! and i can only cook and clean so much with 1 hand :S

[GlassOnion]

Yes, ignore that screaming! My cockatiel had a screaming problem when I got him a year ago, and it's now fixed.

I leave the room, Apple screams. I whistle back once or twice, and that's IT. I ignore it completely from then until he stops screaming.

Remember, it will get worse for a while before it gets better. It's important to keep lots of toys- chewing and foraging, so he has things to do in his cage