I love him, but he's too clingy

[3alya]

My sun conure Kiki is now 7 months old and he's now molting and moody. For the past 4 months he's been always with me and we really bonded. I wake up at 6 and sit with him until 9 or 10 when I go to university, then i come back at 2 and sit with him the whole day.
First thing is that since he started molting, he has become very moody. I know he feels uncomfortable, so it's not really a big deal.
The real problem .. well not really a problem, more like an issues- is that he is too clingy. He never steps off of me. Never. If i put a toy or food somewhere for him to busy himself with, he will try to pull it back on me -my shoulders or lap or whatever. And if he couldn't he will simply ignore it and come back to his perch: me. He really hates it when i'm busy with something like my laptop or phone. For example he tries to attack my fingers while i type or text.
Usually, he sleeps on my chest for an hour then we go outside when the weather is more tolerable. However, now that he is moulting, he bites a lot. It is annoying, and a little bit scary, to have a clingy bird that might bite with no warning. No more shoulder rides for Kiki!
I don't know if his moodiness could be controlled; I give him daily baths to ease the itchiness.
Now the clinginess I really do want to control. I want him to learn to play on his own and move around, for the sake of his health if nothing else.

[3alya]

Also, I am trying to get him to fly although i got him already clipped. He does not like it, and i think he is a little bit afraid. He really does not move much, I am starting to doubt the playfulness of sun conures.

[Wolf]

You are the mom or parent so it is you job to teach the young how to play especially with toys and the way to do this is to play with tem yourself in front of him. They are very much like human babies and children in that they are not born knowing how to eat or drink or play or how to get along with others, they must be taught these things just as a human child would.

[Pajarita]

Yes, you can try teaching it to be more independent but, I might as well tell you that it might never happen. Parrots are meant to be surrounded by other parrots 24/7/365 from birth to death. It's the way nature made them so been alone, to them, is terribly stressful and scary. Some birds, as they get older (yours is too young), kind of resign themselves to having not so good a life and learn to spend time by themselves but some don't and these are the ones that scream when left alone. It's not misbehaving, it's a call for help - not their failure but ours because we decided to make a pet out of an animal that needs company 24 hours a day (and 'company' for them means their body touching ours) when none of us can provide it. I am not scolding you, I am stating a fact. I cannot do it either and I don't even work or go to school or anything! But even people who don't work have, on occasion, circumstances that would prohibit our spending all day long with them (I've been spending all day long in a hospital for 11 days now because my daughter Lara has a staph infection which required hospitalization).

Your bird is young and insecure so he wants to be on you all the time. It's normal and not anything you can (or should) do much about. People will give you all kinds of advice to 'teach' him to be more independent but, in truth, I doubt any of it will work and leave his spirit and your relationship still in good standing. It's like trying to teach a child not to need his parents... you might be able to do it but it won't have a good long-term effect on the child's psyque. Now, your bird will get more self-assured as he matures but it will take a year and maybe even two for this to happen because, unfortunately, your decision to clip him made things worse as birds that cannot fly feel more insecure than the ones that do (and you would too if you were all by yourself living in a household of giant aliens and had your legs tied together so you cannot run away from danger).

Just be patient and start by putting a table stand right next to you, so close to your arm that it's actually touching and, every now and then, put a treat on the farthest end of the perch on the stand. Don't push him to go, just put it there and do your own stuff and wait to see if he would willingly go for it. It might not happen the first day or even the second but, if you don't push him and just wait, it will. And, when he goes for it every time, it will be the first step toward his perching there on his own.

[3alya]

I actually noticed that whenever i show interest in a toy, he does too, so that’s what i’ll be working on now.
Pajarita I hope your daughter gets well soon! I feel like I’ve been needlessly complaining about my baby hehe. I enjoy having him around, just not when he’s in his biting mood, but anyways his biting is not that painful and i can live with it.
It wasn’t my choice to have his wings clipped, that’s how i got him. He was 3 months old, so he never had the chance to try flying before, and now he is too uncomfortable. Now that he is moulting, i can expect hi flight feathers to grow back right? I got him a harness and i’m trying (unsuccessfully) to get him used to it more, so that i can take him out when he’s able to fly.
Just now something new happened. He LOVES oranges, but i don’t give him much since i read it’s too acidic. But today i did, and as i was peeling the orange, my little cousin started crying so i got a little busy with her and put the orange beside me on the chair. Kiki got down and started chewing on it and drinking the juice, and when i sat back he didn’t climb back on but went on eating the orange.
I don’t want to sound as though i don’t like him being with me. Truth is, when i went to Qatar for 4 days i missed him a lot. It has become a habit for me to check on him before i recline while sitting or something, and i keep on doing that even if i am not carrying him

[Pajarita]

Oh, I don't think that oranges are too acidic. I've read people saying so but my birds get a citrus once a week -usually oranges but, sometimes, tangerines and even red grapefruits- and they are all fine. And see? it worked! He went for the orange on his own! It's just a matter of waiting until he is a bit older and more self-assured and everything will work out.

[SageandBritt]

Sounds like a sun conure to me! Haha a sun conure was my first bird and I had him since I was 8. They are just super loving little guys. It's one of the perks really. Try to enjoy it (:

As far as biting though, you should try to put a stop to that behavior before it gets out of control. My sun conure was a biter (to anyone but me). I was young and didn't know what to to about it and probably made it worse. Don't make my mistake! It can complicate life having a biter around.

[liz]

I didn't know they liked oranges until Myrtle tried to steal one. She had holes in it so I just put it on their play patio. Rambo helped Myrtle and they pealed the orange completely before biting out chunks.