Adopted a Blue Crown...Have questions...

[kiwi in NC]

Hi there...I just adopted a blue crown conure who I was told is about a year...the conditions he came from were TERRIBLE!! Even if I didn't want him, I would have brought him home anyway! I grew up with sun conures, cockatoos, an african grey, and I currently have a 16 year old cockatiel, so I do have a fair amount of bird experience...I have only had him now for a couple of days...He lets me handle him, and rub him, although I have had my fair share of bites...I tell him no, and will quake him on my hand if he won't let go, but so far the bites haven't been too terrible...He will bite easy at first, and get harder and harder....Does anyone else's blue crowns do this or get tempermental? Any suggestions on how to get over this (if ever)? I"m not sure of his previous life or how he was treated, and I know that he's in a new place, and may be testing his boundaries, but I have heard that blue crowns rarely bite, and tend to be social, so I wanted to get input on everyone else's BCC's. And I do know every bird is different, so no guarantees on how he will be....I hope with a little bit of work, I will have a nice bird that won't bite me so much! I'm not scared of the bites, which is hopefully going to help teach him....Overall he's been really nice so far....not too loud, and at least he will let me handle him...I am taking any and all suggestions on how you taught your birds not to bite...Also, he was never fed pellets, so he won't touch them....I am offering them at all times in his cage, and he's also getting fruits and veggies, but any suggestions on getting him to eat pellets? Thanks a lot!

[Ozzy's mom]

LOL Good luck! One thing I think you have going for you is that he is so young. Here's my story. I adopted a BCC from a rescue center when he was 20 years old. His name is Ozzy and I never changed it. For some reason the previous owner left no info about him and the center had him 4 months and couldn't adopt him out because he was sooo mean. He wouldn't be touched, handled, pet and no one could go near him or he would snap at them. I was warned to be careful as I passed his cage. But, go figure, he jumped off his cage onto my shoulder and that's where is is right now. I've had him 5 years now and it's been a long road to getting him to trust me. I swear he was raised on sunflower seeds all his life because he refused EVERYTHING else. He literally throws the pellets out of his cage and digs for the seed. He will not eat the larger things in parrot mix so I switched to tiel mix, but then all he would eat was the sunflower seeds. Then my vet said sunflower seeds can make birds mean, so I switched to parakeet mix. He eats that pretty well. He'll also eat grapefruit, oranges, apples and applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, pizza, bratwurst, cheese, sweet potatoes if I mix applesauce with it, regular potatoes, and just about any other people food that's not good for him like potato chips, doritos, crackers: if it's salty or sweet he'll eat it. Of course I don't give him that stuff. NO eggs, nuts, veggies (cooked or raw). He will tear up a piece of corn on the cob though. I've tried numerous birdie recipes--yuk! he says. So I got sneaky on him. I ground up his pellets to powder in the blender and mix it in his applesauce. hehe
On the brighter side, he's bonded to me very well. He still hates everyone else and will bite so I have to warn people not to put their hands near him. Except he does like one neighbor and my daughter--go figure. I call him my evil watch bird. And God save anyone who comes near me when he's near me. Sometimes he will situate himself between me and any stranger until he gets to know them anyway. He preens my face and hair and gives me kisses. He lets me preen his nasty pin feathers and rub his head and back. I can actually get a harness and leash on him with a bit of a battle--he hates that thing but behaves himself once it's on him. Not being afraid of the bites was key too. And believe me he drew plenty of blood! If I need to 'catch' him for some reason, like put him in his carrier, he runs and hides so I've learned to be sneaky and quicker than he is. And even though he fights me, he doesn't bite hard anymore. He just acts mean and vicious. I think we're a good match because I can be just as ornery as he is. I never lock him in his cage so he has free range of the house but he has his favorite places to be; my shoulder, his perch, on top of his cage, and a large plant hanger that looks like an old fashion bird cage. Just lately he's been coming into my bedroom at night to sleep with/on me. He knows several commands; step up, go to your cage, go to your perch, no bite, gimme kisses, no!, and when he wants to sit on my 'puter monitor, I tell him to turn around and he does. That's so he doesn't poo down the front of it. I have paper taped to the top so his poo doesn't go into it. He loves sitting on my shoulder to watch me play games on line.
I could go on but I won't. My advise is to take your time, give him freedom to explore, give him treats and he will settle down. There are some things that may not change, like Ozzy, so you may just have to deal with those.
Hope this helps
Beth and Ozzy

[ROYJOY]

you are very lucky, he lets you handle him from the get go. gaining that much trust is useually what takes forever, especialy with a bird from bad past conditions. you are familiar enough with birds, that i think you'll be fine with him. you know it takes time and it sounds like you are doing all the right things. my sun conure bites but no blood. i'm either getting used to it, or he's not bitting as hard any more.

[kiwi in NC]

I appreciate the replies and advice! Hope you all have a great weekend!