New (and first) Nanday Conure! Help :)

[ccg]

Hello! My name is Colen and I am proud new Nanday owner! I have always been fascinated by parrots from a young age and have always really wanted one, but never thought I would do it. Well over the past few months I started doing my research on parrots in general, and decided I wanted to start off with a conure, more specifically a green cheeked conure. I had been watching local classified ads on kijiji and ended up posting a wanted add looking for local breeders. A local couple responded to my add stating they had a green cheek they no longer had time for and wanted me to come meet him. That weekend I drove down, as soon as I walked into the house and met “Jerry” I instantly new he was not a green cheeked conure, even though the owners were 100% positive he was. It was love at first site!. Unfortunely my girlfriend was not with me at the time, and it had been a long drive to make the trip twice, so I decided on the spot that I would be taking him home with me. Once home within 10 minutes searching online I determined I bought a Nanday! I believe I am at least Jerry’s 3rd and final owner. Jerry’s tag says he was born September 2005, I am not certain on the sex. He came with a very large cage, it is 4ft tall, 3ft wide, and 2.5 deep. I believe he was somewhat mistreated in the past, the previous owners told me to “hit” his cage when he was loud, to cover it if you didn’t want to listen to him, spray him if I had to, well you can see where this is going. It took Jerry no time at all to warm up to myself and Christine. The second day we had him I was giving his cage a good clean, as they clearly had not done so in what looked like years, he climbed up onto my arm while I was cleaning inside. He immediately came over to my cheek and put his beak up to me and started making kissing noises! We played for hours that day and he slept like a baby that night! It has now been 4 weeks and we love him more everyday! He hardly makes the loud screeching noise I read about, he only does this while taking his bathes, which seems to be his favorite thing in the world! He loves to dance to the radio, loves scratches all over, loves to dance and wrestle with your finger. We placed his cage in between our living room, dining room, and kitchen so he’s always in the middle of things. His wings have never been clipped, I have done a lot of reading on this topic and still not certain which route I am going to go. The only time he flys if he is going from myself to Christine, or from one of us back to his cage. My family recently came to visit and I was surprised to see that he let my parents and family handle him with no biting! He is a perfect little bird for us and will be a member of our family forever! My only real problem I have at this point is that he loves his sun flower seeds. That and he eats a lot of corn that is in his mix as well. I have picked up some different brands of pellets and he wont eat them. I have done a lot of reading and plan to wean him off the seeds for the most part, but this is obviously going to take time if hes been hooked on the suns for the past 5 years. I have also noticed he has some strange behavior. If I move my finer up and down real quick he starts to nod his head rapidly, and then back up onto my hand. This would appear that he is trying to mate?

Also in the past few days he has really bonded to me it seems. The other night he was on the couch and he ran across it to try and nip at Christine? He wont bite me even if I try. Has anyone has the same experience with a Nanday, or any conure and wish to share?

The thing I don't get is that he'll come up onto complete strangers and play with them and give kisses, but with Christine (my girlfriend, who we share a house with) he'll bite at etc. Is he jealous of her? Any advice, input or you opinions, experience etc with any Conure would be greatly appreciated!

[greencinacheeks]

First...Congrats on the NANDAY!!!! I had aone a few years back and LOVED him!!!

Originally Posted by ccg

If I move my finer up and down real quick he starts to nod his head rapidly, and then back up onto my hand. This would appear that he is trying to mate?

This could be remnants of old training habbits. like a movingg your finger up/down fast was a queue of some kind. I dont think it's breeding behavior though..hmm not sure...someone will come by with an answer most likely.

It appears that your little "guy' has bonded with you more than your GF. Do you do all the feeding/cleaning etc..? you should have her work with "him" a little more. Try to get the bond a little stronger for her and the birdie. Most birds will usually pick one "mate" to get attached to, but you can alll live in harmony!

You should slowly ween him off of sunflower seeds. and mix in (slowly) pellets, it takes time, but eventually he'll get the hang of it. and also make sure a majority of his diets is fresh fruits and veggies.

Hope this helps!!

~Nate

P.S. keep us posted

[ccg]

The reason I believe it is some sort of mating is that he backs up onto my hand and lays really low? Not sure what hes doing or why?

My GF occasionally cleans the cage but for the most part I am the one who cleans, wakes him up in the morning (removing the sheet from his cage), and feed him. Lately I'll let him out when Chrisinte is hugging me so hes more used to her being around, so far I cant say that its done any good but may help long term?

Getting him off seeds shouldn't be to hard as Ive done a lot of reading on this and in the long run I think we'll be ok!

Thanks again for the reply!

Colen.

Originally Posted by greencinacheeks

First...Congrats on the NANDAY!!!! I had aone a few years back and LOVED him!!!



This could be remnants of old training habbits. like a movingg your finger up/down fast was a queue of some kind. I dont think it's breeding behavior though..hmm not sure...someone will come by with an answer most likely.

It appears that your little "guy' has bonded with you more than your GF. Do you do all the feeding/cleaning etc..? you should have her work with "him" a little more. Try to get the bond a little stronger for her and the birdie. Most birds will usually pick one "mate" to get attached to, but you can alll live in harmony!

You should slowly ween him off of sunflower seeds. and mix in (slowly) pellets, it takes time, but eventually he'll get the hang of it. and also make sure a majority of his diets is fresh fruits and veggies.

Hope this helps!!

~Nate

P.S. keep us posted

[greencinacheeks]

is "he" backing up into you, trying rub his "special" place on you? if so that is a breeding thing. i would try to distract him when he does that, with toys, treats or even bring him into a different room.


Try to let your GF "wake" (feed etc..) him up every other day or so.

~N

[B CAMP]

I think it is a breeding thing,shoud be avoided I have three year old girl nandy thats just great.My girl sleeps in one of the birdy beds which she loves.She can be a little loud but so can i ha

[Monica]

When males masturbate, they usually rub their vents making a "swishing" with their tails (going back and forth). When females masturbate, they lower their bodies and back up to something putting their tails up a bit, maybe even their wings, and making chirping sounds...

My guess is that you've got a girl! And definitely a breeding thing. Have your girlfriend try feeding the nanday her favorite treats... and if she starts to masturbate put her on or in her cage or on a stand. Do not pet her anywhere other than on her head.

[ccg]

Thank you for the help everyone!

It looks like it is a breeding thing and I discourage it every time he (or now maybe a she) starts. So far so good!

[Monica]

I'm interested in seeing pictures of her cage setup.

I thought you may be interested in a few links as well...
How Not to be a Tease
The Birds and the Bees for Adults (Parrots, That Is!) - Pets
SPRING BEHAVIOR
Sexual Behavior in Company Parrots