Almost 2 year and Marvin has completely changed!

[susana]

It has been almost 2 years since I first bought my Green Cheek Conure, Marvin.
He was too young for me to take home, so I visited him twice a week up until I took him home.
Our relationship has been incredible up until about around 5-6 months ago.
Up until this point Marvin would lay on his back and let me rub his tummy, pick him up wherever and whenever. He would hang out on a persh in the bathroom while I showered. I taught him a few words, "Good boy Marvin," "You a good boy Marvin?". He would attempt to fly off his cage and would peck at my bedroom door. He was always with me. Even days I wasn't as available, I was still able to hold him until bed, etc. Also, I taught him to ring a bell for a treat! We played with little jingly toys and rolled around balls, and he chased them around! Also, his cage is usually opened and has a whole fun play area a top his cage.

A few things that happened in the interim between when it was great and how it is now...bad!
I clipped his wings. I never had done it before, but I was a bit strapped for cash and thought this was a small way to save. I regret it. I wasn't rough, but he had always had it done at the place I purchased him. He had already begin randomly biting me here and there, I think this added to it. At the point where he had been bitting me the most, I flicked him! I know...please don't judge. I was so shocked and was bleeding, that my reaction was to do something, anything!

Now...He fluffs up whenever I even walk close to the cage. To touch him is a joke, he bites terribly. I can't pick him up at all. I can't play with him. He wont come "up" as he used to. Also, he hides in his cage from me sometimes or sort of runs to his little fluffy bed area that has a covering. Most interestingly, he rings bells and bangs all sorts of things when I attempt to get near him.

I have been since then bringing the cage with me to whatever room I'm in to keep him near. Sometimes he walks off and tosses the ball around a bit. But I still can't touch him at all and he seems very distance...terribly distant. He's plain mean. I cried myself to sleep once. I love my bird. I've spent so much money and time trying to be the best caregiver and owner and I'm sorry for whatever I've done wrong to him, I just want it to be as it used to. I don't know how to communicate that to him. I love you Marvin

Please help, I don't know what to do.

[Pajarita]

Well, there are two things going on here. There is his age and there is the resentment from your reaction to his bite. I would guess (I don't have enough info) that he started acting up because of his coming of age. Parrots, like people, change when they become adults. They become more assertive and know what they want, where and how and, sometimes, owners don't 'catch' on the subtle signs they give us. I am not blaming you, it's not easy to read them when you have no experience. We think like mammals who live in a hierarchical society and birds are completely different from us in the way they see things and the way they react. One example would be his biting you, your flicking him and his deep resentment and mistrust of you now. If you had a dog, and the dog had snapped at you and you had given the dog a small slap, the dog would not resent you for the simple reason that dogs are hard-wired to accept leadership. But parrots don't have leaders, alphas or bosses. They are all equal. And, when we establish a deep bond with one, we are, without knowing it, agreeing to a set of avian rules we know nothing about. And, when we break the rules, we loose their trust in us. He regarded himself as your mate or a bond similar to this (it's not easy been the ONLY object of their affections) and, when he was letting you know something was bothering him, you reacted with violence instead of understanding and, worst of all, you did not 'fix' what was making him unhappy. That's why he is reacting this way now. You betrayed his trust and broke the bond.

Thankfully for us, parrot are usually very forgiving. They don't forget because they have looooong memories, but they do forgive. So now you have to start from square one.

Let him come out of his cage on his own and allow him to go back to it on his own, too. This is very easy when you don't free-feed the protein food because all you have to do is put his dinner seeds in the cup when the sun is setting (no artificial lights should be on) and he will go into his cage to eat and sleep the night away. Keep him company but only on his terms. Watch him carefully and observe how he reacts to different approaches (singing, dancing, giving him treats, etc) but don't ask him for anything for the next two weeks. Just let him be himself without any demands. Then start target training. But do very short sessions (not more than 15 minutes) and do them after breakfast and before dinner (these are the times of the day that they are most receptive to interaction). Keep him to a strict solar schedule to avoid sexual frustration and feed him lots of fruits and leafy greens in the morning (GCCs are mostly fruit eaters so they require little protein -pellets, seeds or nuts).

Be patient, be consistent, be loving and he will go back to been your sweet little boy. But, please, reconsider clipping him. It's not only very unhealthy for them (their respiratory system atrophies without flight), it's also unkind (how would you like not to be able to walk for the rest of your life?).

[susana]

Thank you so much for all of this. What hours do you feel are the best light scehdule? Also,iI completely agree about the clipping. A vet in training had mentioned that its so dangerous if I don't. He did try flying out my house door once. Someone opened the door n he. B lined it from the the second floor! But I always felt it wasn't right. I just had received professional advice and thought they knew more than me, why question. Thank you for this assistance. I really care about him and didn't mean to be this way towards him.

[Pajarita]

I have been doing this for a long time and have had to deal with lots of birds that were aggressive (including 4 GCCs), chronic layers and pluckers (as well as a couple of self-mutilators) all these problems were solved when their endocrine system got back 'on track' with the solar schedule so I am a firm believer of it. It's actually very easy to do although it takes a lot of planning on the owner's part because it constantly changes as the days get longer or shorter with the different seasons. It's just a matter of having the bird in a room where there are unobstructed windows (without curtains, shades or blinds) and not turning on the artificial lights until the sky is completely lit or after the sun is halfway down to setting. Another thing I recommend is having a good quality (CRI 94+ and Ktemp closest to 5500 but never over) full spectrum light - and, if you can manage a second light fixture for UV lights (these will not only make it better for the bird in terms of vision which, in turn, improves appetite and self-reliance, they will also help him to produce serotonin, the happy hormone, and dopamine, the reward hormone).

[susana]

Wow that's really interesting. Ok I will make sure to do all of that. So no on and off lights. As natural as possible, with some extra uv with the natural light. I will get to this.

Can I further ask, what exactly is target training and how does it work?

[Pajarita]

Target training is when you first teach a bird to concentrate on an object (the target) and you keep on adding from there. Michael, the Parrot Wizard and owner of this site, is the super expert on this and he has not only online tutorials right here but also a book that explains everything on detail. The system is not only for the bird to learn to do things on command but also for the human to learn how to properly train the bird (which is not the same as training a dog).

[susana]

I didn't realize that was the name of that sort of training, seems very obvious to me now! It seems thing are very slowly getting better. I keep the cage with me when I'm seated on one room for a long time and get walks off to get close to me. He's actually doing it as we speak as I'm giving the phone attention. I am absolutely thrilled. Still nippy but I'm not reacting, I'm simply stopping what I'm doing and dealing with the situation. Thank you so much for your help!!!!!!!!

[pukeko]

I agree with Parjarita, but just thought I would mention my experience with my maroon-belly's terrible twos. She spent two years (2-4) changing her favorite person every week, day or five minutes, being incredibly possessive of them and nippy to all despite our best efforts. Some special targets got the miniature dinosaur treatment, so be sure to ensure the safety of your friends and family during this period, and do not put up with unkind guests who think triggering an attack is funny. Flight training will help to fight the Velcro-bird effect, and can be special time for the current favorite and the bird (no hated ones present to be attacked, please!) This was long before this forum, so we didn't know about the awesome tools you have been given, especially target training and protein reduction during breeding season. Today she is a sweet 14 year old who is trustworthy with kids and men, and only requires extra special introductions with some women. She has also been loyal in her affections for the past decade to her special cadre of chosen ones.

I don't have any extra advice to give on the flick aside from what Parjarita has already said - just start building the trust between you again. Don't take things for granted about the previous baby-tameness and trust, you really have to earn it this time. It can be fun, though, and deepen the taming if you follow the process building from non-contact interactions through little steps to safe, non-sexual cuddles and clever tricks! I feel that the trainer gets a deeper understanding of the bird's tameness, character and preferences in many things when they follow Michael's methods, compared to the relative smooth sailing of needy, cuddly babyhood where the bird's preferences can be covered up by their absolute need for your company, and their extreme tolerance.

Good luck, and be patient while implementing all of the advice you have been given! At worst it will be over in a couple of years.

[jparrothead]

I wanted to thank everyone for this thread. I am in the ga-ga stage with my 4-month old Green Cheek Conure, and I literally cannot believe how well behaved s/he is--steps up from day one, very friendly, loves to cuddle up, and has not shrieked, squawed or made any offensive noise in the week I have known and worked with this bird.

I found this thread in part because I was wondering how things can go bad and if they WERE to go bad, could they turn around. The advice here is very promising.

I really appreciate you sharing your story, and hope that things improve for you and Marvin. If they do, and you have any wisdom to share about it, I for one would love to hear it.

[Pajarita]

Enjoy the babyhood while it lasts because, inevitably, they grow up into adolescents and they are as difficult as the human ones -LOL