questions

[sweetie&meli]

Q). My bird is stick trained, but *hates* to perch on my finger or hand. What do I do about this?

A). You have two choices, one using the perch, and the other using a training towel. Holding the stick on which the bird is perched, slowly tip one end of the perch up, so that it's higher than the other. A bird will instinctively go to the highest perch, and this would be your hand. Drop the perch away once the bird is on your hand. The bird might jump off when it feels the skin of your hand. Then there is the training towel. Get a neutral colored towel (white, beige, etc.). Put the towel on the floor, and the bird on the towel. Gradually bring the corners of the towel up until the bird is enclosed. This may take a while, a week or two, or maybe even just ten minutes. If it gets to the point where your bird is calm about this, reach under the towel, and place the bird's feet on your finger/hand/arm. Once the bird is perching, drop the towel's sides down. The bird may stay on or hop off. Keep working until you get results. Once again, be consistent and patient.

Q.) I'd like to teach my bird to talk. How do I do that?

A. Some breeds talk better than others, and even that can vary by individuals. Greys are supposed to be the best talkers. Start with something simple like "Hello" and just repeat it to the bird. Once again, consistency and patience is the key. Once the bird picks up a few simple words, it may very well start learning on its own. There are also CD's and tapes with phrases on them. It's a good idea to teach your bird its phone number and address in case it escapes or gets stolen.

Q. Can I teach my bird to be quiet?

A. All birds need some time to mouth off, but constant screaming is a problem. But you simply cannot punish a bird for doing what comes naturally. First, think about when the bird screams. Is it in the morning and at night? This is normal and natural. Is the bird near a loud TV or stereo or a window that has bustle and hustle going on outside? Or is the bird in place where it can hear but not see things that are going on around it? Did you forget to feed the bird? Did you forget to water the bird? I'd scream too, if I was hungry! Try moving the cage. Never yell at the bird, this is a reward of sorts for it. If the bird is screaming in its cage, try covering it for about five minutes. It should quiet down. Remove the bird when it's quiet. Try to provide more toys for the bird if left alone frequently. Reinforce positive behavior. This can be hard to do...we're more inclined to notice bad behavior than good. Each bird is unique and may require a different approach to remedy its screaming. You can consult with a animal behaviorist to help in really bad cases.

Q. Can I teach my bird tricks?

A. Yes. Once again, ability and inclination varies by individuals. Cockatoos seem to be the best at physical tricks. Tricks are taught by gradual conditioning towards the desired behavior. There are books and videos on how to teach a bird to perform tricks. One such book is published by Parrot Mountain.

I HOPE THIS HELPS SOME BURD LOVERS :!: :!:

[Freedom_Mango]

How long does it usually take for a conure to talk?

[Monica]

That really depends on the bird.... but not all birds will talk.

I have two conures, the mitred talks but the cherry head doesn't. Both are rehomes, and I got them around the same age (Charlie - mitred when he was 12 / Noel - cherry head when she was 11, give or take a few years). Noel is believed to be female, Charlie believed to be male. Charlie came here talking however, and likes to pick up words of his choosing.

[Freedom_Mango]

Is it possible for a conure to learn a word in one day? Because we are thinking my conure is saying hello and we just started teaching him today.

[Monica]

Most definitely! But he could have also learned it before.

[Freedom_Mango]

How do you stop a conure from biting?

[rochelle]

I'd love to know the trick to get my conure to stop biting too. I've only had him 2 weeks so we're still getting to know each other but....I get so confused by his behavior. He acts like he wants to fly to me when I talk to him but when I go offer my finger for him to step up...sometimes he'll step up and sometimes he'll try to nip me. Other times, he'll step up all right but after he's on my hand he'll FREAK OUT and start biting me real hard. I dont get it! Why does he seem to want to be close to me but then he goes Psycho?! I cant see that anything has scared him!

*confused *