Post by aaron on May 16, 2016 10:09:26 GMT -5
Poki is beautiful, and those are fantastic photos! Welcome to both of you!
I can also attest to the fact that they don't all turn into monsters when they hit puberty. There's no question that things will become more complicated, and there will be new and more challenging behaviors for you to learn how to properly respond to, but they *usually* only turn into monsters when the wrong behaviors get reinforced. We are, of course, talking about hormones, however, so some birds will be worse than others... but generally speaking, if you handle everything properly, you should be okay. Things you can do to mitigate hormones-- make sure your bird is getting enough uninterrupted darkness each day (10-12 hours), make sure the bird is not stroked below the neck, and has no access to nest-like areas.
I can also attest to the fact that they don't all turn into monsters when they hit puberty. There's no question that things will become more complicated, and there will be new and more challenging behaviors for you to learn how to properly respond to, but they *usually* only turn into monsters when the wrong behaviors get reinforced. We are, of course, talking about hormones, however, so some birds will be worse than others... but generally speaking, if you handle everything properly, you should be okay. Things you can do to mitigate hormones-- make sure your bird is getting enough uninterrupted darkness each day (10-12 hours), make sure the bird is not stroked below the neck, and has no access to nest-like areas.
Just out of interest, how old is your conure? I love sun conures. I think they're beautiful and so playful! If we didn't live in a flat/my boyfriend wasn't quite so noise sensitive, I'd have gone for a conure, but now that I have Maya, I wouldn't change her for anything. I love her to pieces and am so glad we chose each other. Plus, even a quaker is pushing it a bit with the noise! Though the downstairs flat don't seem to mind at all (upstairs say they can't hear her), and you can't really hear her shout if you close the doors, so I just sit with her in a different room. I guess just do similar things with Poki that (if your conure is older) you did with your conure. Aaron's right, diet, daylight and avoiding nesting areas really helps. I try to give Maya twelve hours a night (it's a bit difficult sometimes as my time is erratic right now because I'm doing a masters degree), and I cover her cage at night with a breathable, specially designed bird cover, leaving a little of the front open to make sure it's ventilated.
