New Parrot, questions

[Rejuvenation]

Hello everyone,

A few things started out on the wrong foot with my parrot...
I have a friend who kept parrots for many years here in Israel and I relied on his judgement and advice throughout the process of getting a parrot(this is my first parrot, mind).

So... a bit of the story.
My fiance and I live in an apartment, and we both work full time... suffice to say that we leave early and return at the evening.
I looked for a parrot that could handle this life style, and my friend recommended a Green Cheek since they were relatively quiet and not as... complex, as some of the bigger parrots who are more prone to behavior issues.

6 days ago, that friend and I went a local market where they sell bird supplies... and out of the blue, he points out yellow sided conures his friend is selling... hand raised, cute as heck... and my friend told me that these are not that common here and at the price he managed to get... well... I was convinced- I originally intended to get a parrot only after our 5 day vacation next week but that's how things rolled(I am willing to accept that I may have been irresponsible).

Now... Shrek(that's his name) is missing one nail(which I saw immediately) and when we looked at him, without allowing me a single moment to consider, the seller clipped one of his wings.

Bad start...

Through it all... Shrek is adorable. He allowed me to pet him and feed from my hand on the get go(though he was spooked)... and now he freely lets me pet him, feed him, and just now he managed to glide from his cage to my seat(no mean feat) for the first time... I guess it means I'm not that bad as far as he is concerned.

A couple of questions, and any advice you are willing to share, please:

1- He bites... well, not really... it's more of a pinch since he never ever drew blood and it's not that painful. He won't "step up"... he does allow me from time to time to pick him up and place him on my finger as a perch, but he won't step up.

2- The fact that he was clipped means that that's it? he's screwed up somewhat? I am not eager to repeat the process and I wish to try and allow him to re-grow his feathers... but are there permanent ramafications?

3- He is bat-sh*t scared from his toys... how can I get him to be less spooked?

4- Will the 5 days in which he'll have to be in his cage next week ruin whatever bond we made over the past week?

5- He makes a bit of noise... not horrific, but when he really starts shrieking it's a bit of a problem. I try to ignore him when he makes those sounds... but it's difficult when it's 6-7 AM and we have neighbors to consider.

6- How do I get him into play mode? I mean... he either moves around in his cage, or on me... but never really plays.

Here are pics... I was told he's roughly 3 months old









Any advice would really be appreciated.

[marie83]

Sooo cute

Ok Ignore the bites, these little devil birds (I love the really) will quickly learn to manipulates their owners if you react in any way. These birds are quite persistant though but they will get bored when they realise nothing happens.
As for stepping up, you may need to lure him onto your finger with a treat to start with or start with target training and use that to get him to step up.

The wing clip isn't good , do you know if they let him learn to fly before you got him? I can only imagine they didn't. There isn't alot you can do about it really until they grow out but you will be able to help teach him to fly if he doesn't take to it himself. In the meantime take extra care to learn his body language so you know when he is scared/going to bite etc so you don't make these things worse.

As for the toys you may need to introduce the objects more slowly. put them at a distance he isn't bothered about and over time move them closer. Whenever he freaks out move them back for a while then try again. Once he allows them up close let him see you play with them and hide treats in them to encourage playtime.

Those 5 days wont help but it wont ruin things either, if anything it will get him used to the fact that sometimes your not about.

Either cover his cage so no light gets in or get blackouts for the room so he doesn't know when it is daytime. This should stop the early moring screams. Screams at any other time of day should be ignored, only interact with him when he is quiet and don't go back into the room if he is screaming. Its much easier to prevent a screaming issue than fix one.

[cml]

when we looked at him, without allowing me a single moment to consider, the seller clipped one of his wings.

...

2- The fact that he was clipped means that that's it? he's screwed up somewhat? I am not eager to repeat the process and I wish to try and allow him to re-grow his feathers... but are there permanent ramafications?

As much as I disapprove of clipping, you need to clip the other wing. Having only one wing clipped will screw up his balance and is potentially very dangerous!
After clipping that other wing, I suggest you let them both grow out !

Here's a good read:
http://trainedparrot.com/Clipping/

He's adorable btw =)!

5- He makes a bit of noise... not horrific, but when he really starts shrieking it's a bit of a problem. I try to ignore him when he makes those sounds... but it's difficult when it's 6-7 AM and we have neighbors to consider.

Do what Marie said, either cover his cage with a black sheet or black out the room with really good blinds. I use really good blinds that block out all light from outside and timers for all lights in our birdroom/office. That way I can control our two parrots day rythm.

[Rejuvenation]

Must I clip the other wing? I am REALLY not fond of the procedure.
We're very careful with him, is he truly in that much of a risk?

Thank you for the compliments... he's sleeping right now.

[liz]

Clip the other wing for his muscle sake. He is out of balance.

Put him on the floor where he can't fall and get hurt. He may try to fly so let him. He can't get high enough to hurt himself. Put the toys around him at a distance. If he is interested he will walk to them.

What is called biting is not always biting. The next time he does it notice if his tough is touching you. They don't have finger tips to feel with.

Above all remember that he is a baby. You are new to him and he is in a new world away from everthing he has ever known.

[cml]

Must I clip the other wing? I am REALLY not fond of the procedure.
We're very careful with him, is he truly in that much of a risk?

Thank you for the compliments... he's sleeping right now.

I get you, I really hate it as well. Clipping sucks and takes away what makes a bird a bird.

I'm fairly sure that you should do the other wing as well though, I think yourselvs can be careful enough, but with that unbalanced clip, he will probably be able to fly a little, but steer a lot to the side crashing into things. Its great that you want to get him flighted but since they took away your choice, I think the best thing is to make the clip even, then let it grow out !
(Someone confirm that I am right =)?)

[liz]

You are right!!!!

[marie83]

I agree the clip needs to be even on both sides. Even when not in flight birds use their wings to keep their balance sometimes. He may not injure himself or crash if he does try to fly, although he might, but he will end up with a much weaker side and a stronger side which isn't really a good thing.
Imagine if you just used one side of your body to do all your daily tasks? People are usually naturally stronger on one side than the other and favour their strongest side but if you never used your weaker side you would eventually end up with no end of problems. Birds are a bit different because they are more compact but I still think it is important to keep them as physically balanced as possible.

[LPolliard]

Clip both wings.

[Rejuvenation]

I will, the moment I can get someone a bit more experienced to do it.
I'm not comfortable enough to do it on my own with supervision even though I understand the principle.