PTSD Green Check Conure

[Tman007]

I have a GCC and here are some things that I do. Wolf is right he wants more time with you, start by giving him treats when he is just sitting outside the cage, then hold a treat so that he has to step up to get it. Mine guy Andy is still a little nippy. But not that much since I have been giving him his time.

[Tman007]

Sorry I didn't finish I hit submit instead of save. This is what he likes to do. Is lay in my hand, He's likes me to rub his neck when he is laying on his back. The more time you spend with him will help. Also so you said the cage is by a window. You may not realize it but at night how much light comes through the window? cars that go by sounds that he may be afraid of. Sometimes the littlest sound that you may not think is nothing is something to them. Try covering him up at night and see if that might help also. Just trying to give you a few ideas

[Mookies]

This is because he doesn't really want to go back in the cage. He really doesn't get enough time out of the cage as he should really get 3 to 4 hours a day at a minimum with one hour of it being one on one with you. Although he wants to be out with you it appears to me that he has not been adequately socialized as this species of parrot is known for wanting nothing more than to hang on to you and get petted and cuddle, their favorite spot being on your shoulder at the base of your neck. This behavior has led to them being affectionately called Velcro birds.
I feed my birds whole grains and fruits and vegetables in the morning and reserve the seed mix for their evening meal. This is because doing it this way encourages them to eat more fruits and vegetables and the seed mix being higher in both fat and proteins lasts them through the night better.
It is my opinion that if he had more one on one time as well as free time out of his cage that the screaming would pretty much become a thing of the past. I would also keep him to a solar light schedule.

Last time I had him on my neck, he took a chunk out of it.

Edit: Also he doesn't WANT to be held. I can't grab him like my other birds. My other 3 birds are cuddle monsters and always sit on my shoulder / chest when I'm in bed. Benny just gets mad and doesn't want to do anything.

He literally doesn't want anyone to hold him. He hisses all the time when I come up to the cage, or anyone for that matter. He scares everyone because we're afraid he is going to bite, and he bites extremely hard.

He likes to be out, but when it's time to go back inside he gets all puffy and hissy.

I used to have a lot more time, but I am in school full time and I work. I don't even have an hour to myself.

[Wolf]

I realize how difficult this all is and even with just one bird there is simply not enough time in the day especially when one must work and go to school on top of that.
Everything that we have said thus far is true and at some point need to be addressed and corrected for the birds sake. But as we go back and forth and more of Benney's story unfolds we, get closer to the underlying issue that is causing him to react in the manner that he does.
What I am seeing at this point in his story is pure unmitigated terror. He wants to have the attention, and indeed, he craves it as it is hardwired into his nature, but he is so traumatized, and fearful that he can't get there on his own.
Try to look at it from his perspective and only with the information that you have given to us, write it down, without our responses if you must. What I see is that Benny was terrorized before he came to you. I see you trying to reach out to him using what you know, especially what has worked in the past with your other birds. But nothing helps for any length of time. You finally come here and ask for help and most of what you get you have tried before, maybe not all of it but a good part of it.
Now, as Benny's tale progresses, I get a familiar sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I am getting the familiar rushes of anger, anger at those who did this to him in the first place and anger at myself for not seeing sooner.
I only have two animals in my keeping that have not been through this type of abuse before they came to me. The rest of them were driven to the brink of insanity. The mildest of them has taken over a year to begin to act normally and the rest are still having bouts of memory that they can't quite get past. It is a long road to recovery and it takes time.
First of all try to find a quieter spot for him to be where he can still get natural light. Keep working on getting him on a good diet. The rest is mainly an investment of time,I know that this is a commodity that is at a premium, but he needs it. Luckily you can do this in 15 minute sessions. It would be best to do 4 sessions per day but if two is all you can do it will just take longer to work.
I want you to pay special attention to what Benny does when you begin to approach his cage and just as soon as he starts to move away in his cage or reacts poorly stop and take 1 step back and do not move any closer to him during this session. Now all I want you to do is to talk to him, be sure to include lots of words of praise for him. I usually talk about what I want the relationship between us to be like and things that I would like to be able to do with them. It sounds real and honest to them and because of this it also helps to reassure them. At the end of the session say good bye and walk away. Do this exactly each session, it is vital to success that you stop your approach at the first signs of discomfort on Benny's part. You can not succeed if you try to push things faster, you can only progress as fast as Benny can. I can't say how long it will take but eventually you will make it to his cage without any reaction from him.
When this happens then you will go to the front of his cage, remember to approach slowly. From there you just continue to talk to him, but now you bring along three or four treats for him and since he has a partner in his cage the same for her. You will offer these treats randomly throughout the session, and if the female is the more receptive offer her treat first and his right after. If he takes the treat fine, if not just place it so that he can still get it when he want it. Never leave with a treat that you have offered to them. Once Benny successfully takes the treats from you calmly through three complete sessions then you progress to opening the cage door and the treats are offered directly from your fingers. When Benny takes these treats from you for three sessions, in a calm manner, then and only then you can begin to target train him and get things going on more familiar ground.
This all may sound trivial to you, but this is basic taming and its sole purpose is to reassure Benny and to begin to gain his trust, which after what he has been through is not an easy task for either of you. Each tiny step, each time he remains calm with you is a major accomplishment for him. It is not an easy thing to come back from where he is now, some birds never make it back. But from what I am seeing Benny is fighting and trying to act like he knows that he should but the fear is there blocking the way and creates too much conflict between what has occurred to him and his natural nature. Be calm and be patient with him, his mind is in a fragile state.

[Mookies]

It's seriously depressing for my girlfriend and I to watch how he behaves. Our other three birds we got at such a young age and they learned to snuggle and cuddle. Benny was yelled at, I'm sure of. And his owner used to spray him with a water bottle, so whenever I'm cleaning the house he gets spooked a little. He has such spunk and the most personality out of all the birds.

I've been giving him more treats lately, and we do praise him for stepping up and dancing (He dances and whistles). I got him a new toy, and I notice him chewing on it (he doesn't really play with toys, he just gnaws on them).

I just hope he eventually warms up. He really is sweet, but completely traumatized. I feel like Mamas helps him cope through his time, because he loves her to death and is always snuggling her neck.

[Wolf]

I understand and it is distressing to me to hear about it. All of my birds except the parrotlet and dove that just arrived were heavily traumatized and abused by previous owners. It is a hard road to walk and as difficult as it is for us it is nowhere as difficult as it is for the bird. Their minds were just not designed to have to deal with the things that humans do to them.
Spraying with a spray bottle isn't always a bad thing, it kind of depends on the bird, some like it others don't. My Grey and my Amazon both love it and refuse to take a bath in any other manner. My Senegal prefers to bathe in a dish and the verdict is still out on the parrotlet although it doesn't seem to mind a spray bath, I just bought it a really neat bird bath that hangs on the outside of the cage. I prefer that they use a bird bath but will work with their preferences.
Kiki, my Senegal is really the big one on toys, she just loves them. However her form of playing with a toy results it its total destruction in less than 24 hours. The Grey prefers newspaper, the Amazon doesn't play with her toys very much at all and the parrotlet likes small cardboard boxes best.

[Pajarita]

If he has a wife, he is, most likely, 'protecting' her when he bites. Male GCCs are VERY protective of their ladies and would take exception to anybody paying them attention. Having said that, as long as the affection displayed at the hen is not blatant, he won't mind. But you can't treat a GCC hen that is mated to a male the same way that you would treat a 'regular' pet bird because, as far as he is concerned, she no longer belongs to you, she belongs to him - and, if you continue treating her as a beloved pet, he will not accept it. Keeping them to a strict solar schedule helps because, during the winter, they are not hormonal at all and there is no 'hard edge' to their love. But GCCs all need hours and hours of out of cage and this cannot happen at night, either.

[Tman007]

How is Benny doing?, From one GCC owner to another, GCC love to chew on toys that's what they do best. Also so they like the toys that have the paper inside and pull it out. I have ones that look like popsicles sticks, he loves to just chew them up. I also have the small plastic cat balls that have a little bell inside. I hand them to him and he will throw them at me. Also I will lay them on the cage floor and I can hear him throwing them around when I am not near him. I will tell you this target training will also help it will give him something to do with you. If you have a perch you can teach him to turn around on the perch. I have mine turning around on his perch and targeting from one end of the perch to the other. and also he is starting to lie down on my hand when I ask him to. When I work with my other conure he will sit on his perch and can't wait for his turn. I am just trying to give you a few ideas. Don't Give up, it will work out. All the best good luck.