New guy.....er, gal!

[LexS]

Hello all!

I'm new here - and the proud new owner of a Patagonian Conure! A dog owner all of my life, I'm also new to birds. Wow, how many times can I say 'new'?!

This looks like a great resource and place for support. So glad I found you guys, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions!

My Syd didn't have an easy start to life, but I'm committed to making the rest of it fantastic! I wrote up a bit of his story under my profile if you're interested. And...always the proud parent, here's my Syd....

[mmr]

welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

[jenseits]

Welcome to you and Syd the Fid! What a gorgeous bird (and great photograph). Thanks so much for taking on a rescue.

That first week of quiet you described is called "the honeymoon period"; that's when Syd wasn't quite sure what was going on and was just observing. Now he's feeling comfortable enough to start vocalizing. As you have learned, Patagonians can be LOUD! They can be trained not to scream as much, but keep in mind that all birds will vocalize sometimes, especially in the mornings and evenings.

You made an observation that training dogs is different than training Syd, and that's absolutely true. Parrots are a lot smarter than dogs, and they haven't been bred over centuries to be quite so eager to please like dogs. It's not that they can't be trained, it's just that they need to believe there's something in it for them. But once they understand that training = treats, watch out -- you'll be amazed how smart and creative they are.

Check out Melinda Johnson's book "Getting Started: Clicker Training for Birds" and the Bird Click group on Yahoo -- these are great training resources for parrot owners. I'm a huge fan, as clicker training has done wonders for my relationship with my rescue bird. (You can visit my blog to watch videos of Stewie doing all sorts of tricks, like fetching, putting a ball in a cup, putting coins in a piggy bank, etc)

Again, welcome! And we hope you'll share lots of stories and pictures!

[LexS]

Thanks for the welcome

Jen - Every animal I've ever had has been a rescue, I guess that was part of what made me reach out to this little guy who had it rough. Everyone deserves a happy home.

I can't thank you enough for your encouragement! And I'll certainly check out those links. Clicker training sounds great, I can't wait to give it a shot. We've established that my 'little chicken' (as I've lovingly nicknamed him ) will work pretty hard for a sunflower seed. We'll keep at it!