Sun Conures

Recently I have been getting some questions from my subscribers in regards to the best way to get their parrots out of their cage without being bitten. The most recent was a nice young lady with a Sun Conure. Every time she would put her hand into the cage her Sun Conure would go crazy and thrash about until she removed her hand from the cage completely.

All she wanted was a friendly little bird that loved her and wanted to be around her. I think this is a common problem that many parrot owners probably run into so I'll share my thoughts and a possible solution below!

One of the worst ways to get a Sun Conure to come out of his cage is by luring it with a food treat. And unfortunately this is what first comes to mind for most people. It may work for some birds, but all it does is rely on your bird being hungry enough to overcome a potentially drastic level of fear involved with coming out of a safe secure cage, and into an unknown environment.

I've seen lots of people actually train their Sun Conures to STOP trusting them by using the luring method.

Because what normally happens if a bird will come out of its cage for a food treat is the owner gets so stinkin' excited that the darn bird finally made it out of its cage, that they practically pounce on the poor thing, snatch at it with their hands, or force it to step up -- totally breaking any form of trust developed.

They feel like now that the bird is out, it must want to step up and play with me.

BZZZZ ERRRR WRONG!

You've got to start thinking about it from your bird's perspective.

For a Sun Conure that is scared to come out of its cage, just getting it out the door of its cage is a HUGE accomplishment. It shows that you did something right in providing a reward worthy of your sun coming out. You've accomplished the first step; good for you.

But that does NOT mean your Sun Conure is going to be comfortable stepping up onto your hand, or letting your scary fingers pet him. And if you try, he'll probably bite you, or scurry away from you as fast as possible. Thus proving to your bird that it REALLY was right to be scared to come out and face the scary world, making it that much more difficult to get the bird out of its cage the next time you try.

It's a downward spiral.

If you do decide to stick a treat outside of your birds' cage to lure him out, be OK with just getting the bird to come out on its own. Don't reach for him; let him learn that being outside can be fun, and not a scary event, full of groping fingers.

But BEWARE! This is the same technique my parents initially used to get my Blue and Gold Macaw Tiko to come out of his cage when I was a kid. And all it did was make Tiko not want to come out of his cage unless there was food. Or if he did want out, he certainly didn't want to come out to us, he just wanted to come out if we weren't around.

So the only way he would come out is if we opened the cage door and then left the room :-(

That's NOT what you want!

What you do want is a Sun Conure that you can open up the door to its cage, call him over to your hand, and have him cheerfully step up onto it to come out.

And using food as a LURE is NOT the best way to train this behavior.

The better way is to 'Target' train your Sun Conure!

Target training is a technique I teach in our Taming, Training & Tricks program, including fully diagrammed instructions on how to use this technique to train the step up from inside a cage. Target training teaches a bird, no matter how aggressive, to touch the end of a stick, and eventually waddle, climb or even fly to wherever that stick is pointing.

The bird learns that touching the end of the stick always gets it a reward, and by using this technique, I've taught all my birds to come when I call them by pointing this 'Target' stick to my hand, thus getting the birds to walk over to my hand and step up. For more information on target training you can sign up for our free newsletter on our Sun Conure Page.

The Sun Conure is an adorable bird. They are active, lively, and oh so playfully bold! They are accomplished performers who love fun and a variety of activities. Sun Conures love to be trained to do tricks for their owners. It's also common for their "play" to get a little too verbal with excessive loud screeching. Rest assured this problem is common and easily fixed using our creative training techniques.

FIRST THE BASICS

This may seem like the basics but, making sure his home and surroundings are the best they can be is a key to successful training. Just like you and I, birds that don't eat well, and sleep poorly tend to get downright cranky and take it out on you! A biting parrot is a crabby parrot.

A COMFY CAGE

One key to a happy bird is a comfy cage. Make sure there aren't too many birds in one cage and there are plenty of perches. No crowding! There should be food bowls to go around, and terrific toys with plenty of room to play, play, play!

FOOD, FABULOUS FOOD

If you want your bird to be a darling choose good food. It's not only healthy, it's mood food! A better more varied diet will help his mood and aggression. The diet should include organic pellets, fresh fruits, and lots of veggies. Yum! your bird will be healthy and raring to go!

SWEET BIRD DREAMS

Your parrot needs 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep during the night in a dark room to feel his best. This is especially important during the spring and summer when Spring Fever brings on seasonal mating issues.

If screeching is still a problem after you've made sure your Sun Conure has a happy home, a good diet and plenty of sleep it's time to zero in with creative solutions to nix his loud screeching.

POSITIVE TRAINING THAT WORKS!

If screeching is still a problem after you've made sure your Sun Conure has a happy home, a good diet and plenty of sleep it's time to zero in with creative solutions to nix his loud screeching.

My training systems focus on the art of positive reinforcement. Punishment does not work for birds. Every bird's natural instinct is to take flight when in danger. To work with you he's got to feel safe and trusting.

END SCREECHING FOR GOOD!

This is normal behavior depending on their age, the season, and maturity level. When your Sun Conures sexually mature, they automatically will start showing more bad behavior. While normal, these behaviors can't be tolerated and allowed to escalate. A Sun Conure is an extremely active bird. They need to be supplied with lots of toys and lots of play time, or else they can become very loud and screechy.

CREATIVE TIPS TO END SCREECHING:

Sun Conure Play Time!-Often times a Conure who has behavior problems like screaming they just need to have more play, filled with lots of interesting things to do.

Great Toys For Sun Conures- Make sure your Conure has lots of toys! They need lots of playtime and a great variety of toys to keep them happy.

Window to the World- My parents placed the birds in a room with a window so that the birds could see the people during the day. Come bedtime, they shut off the light and close the blinds over the window. When they scream you simply shut off the light and close the blinds. They quickly learn to stop screaming.

Fun Foraging for Sun Conures- Create a foraging environment for your bird. Routinely hide things like food and toys provides your bird a chance to explore. They love it! I like to hide stuff in the play tree, like a peanut, in order to stimulate my birds. It keeps him busy for hours.