brought my baby sun conure home

[Michael]

PM me or post the orig, I'll resize it for you.

[kaylayuh]

If you think he'll tolerate it, you can also take him in the shower with you. My conure goes crazy for bath time.

[Annne]

i sprayed him with water haha.. he didn't seem to mind too much.. i think he was more annoyed that he wanted to jump on me but couldn't because of the water spraying at him.
I haven't seen him preen himself since spraying tho :/

I also haven't been able to start training him. I've clicker trained my dog so i thought i'd clicker train sparx.. but he isn't interested in any food. I've tried sun flower seeds, safflower seeds.. he won't even go near millet spray and i've tried fruits and other seeds and things but he isn't interested.. all he wants to do is sit on my shoulder and nibble everything (ears, cheeks, entire face.. and fingers.. he loves putting fingers in his mouth)

and thanks to michael for fixing up my avatar!!!! It looks so much better!

[Michael]

Probably too young. He isn't familiar with those foods yet and considering he's been just weened, it's like the people have more interest in him eating than he does. I had the same issues with other birds. Just do informal taming/training for now like handling, step up, etc. Wait a month or two until he gets more settled down and has a definitive interest for treats. A good test is if you take him out and put him on a stand or some place and hold a treat at some distance. If he will walk a bit to get it, then he can be trained to walk to a target stick to get the treat. But if luring fails, training even more certainly will. Just give it some time.

[Annne]

ohh thanks, i had a feeling he was too young. He does fly to me when i call him.. his landing isn't always the best tho.. but at least i can use myself to lure him and get him better at flying for now.

also another question He has plenty of pin feathers around his neck and some in other places like his back. I never see him preen except for the odd nibble on his chest. Is this normal? or are they meant to preen more than this? I've sprayed him with water twice now and both times he hasn't preened after.. he just fluffs up a few times trying to shake the water off.

sorry about all the questions.. i've never had a bird before

[pchela]

How old is he?

If the pin feathers are long enough, you can preen them for him. They can't reach the ones on the back of their necks and on the heads so they usually rely on other birds to preen them for them. Just gently touch it at first to make sure it's not too sensitive to mess with - the bird will let you know! If it's fine, you can use your fingernail to gently pull of the waxy coating on the feather. Keep spraying him too. It helps with the pin feathers and is healthy for him. You can also fill a bowl or pie plate, something shallow, and try to teach him to bathe himself.

[Annne]

How old is he?

I don't know what his hatch date is but the breeder says he is 14 weeks old. Where he has a lot of pin feathers is where he used to have feathers covered in food. I've preened as much as he will let me.. it's pretty fun hahaha. I've also been able to get some hard formula off of him A few more baths and it should all be gone

[RudysMom]

Congrads what a cute little baby