GoDiego

Gosh what a day I've had with senor Diego! OK, over the last few days he has had me running after him getting into things he shouldn't. But today, I have not stopped! He's now all tucked up in his cage for bed and I have to admit, I'm looking forward to having a sit down with a glass of wine. I'm giving him loads of distraction toys and he can now chomp through a string of macaroni pasta in 2 minutes flat, so am now searching the web for some more home made toy ideas that he can destroy. I've been giving him foraging toys, but at the moment he is just interested in the ones he can completely destroy but not really interested in what is inside of them. Is this normal for them to go through this stage at 6 months? Also does it pass? If not, then no problem I will just mentally prepare myself and stock up with more wine!

Great idea to make a thread about this Diego tends to only fly when there is something well worth a flight for. If I am sat on the sofa and he wants to join me, he will sit on his perch saying Hola for up to 10 minutes before he decides to fly to me. I've really been trying to promote his flying downstairs in our very large basement, but this is really hit and miss to whether he wants to play ball or not. When he does fly, he tends to fly low and straight, he does make some loops but they tend to be large rather than tight and only when he wants to land. Although I think he is beautiful when he flies, he's not the most elegant LOL. I'm sure Diego's next word is going to be Taxi! as I am his personal chauffeur. LOL

I love this thread and listening to everyone's pros and cons to clip or not. Recently I posted in the training section of the forum about Diego's flying worrying me as he was constantly hitting the patio doors. I was very close to getting Diego's wings clipped until I read through this thread. After I looked at why he was doing what he was doing and I also found out about their natural behaviour in the wild. Diego is an Amazon parrot and flies very differently to a Grey, Amazons like to fly in straight lines. After finding this out, I realised that the cage was a long way from the patio doors but in a direct line them, so was a natural flight path for him to head for them. I moved his cage nearer to the doors but next to them so now his flight path is to the other side of the room. I also have a large basement and instead of curbing his flying I now take in for some daily flying to practice and release some energy (Although some days he just sits there!) Since embracing his flying and working with his natural abilities, things have changed drastically. He very rarely flies now to the windows and seems much happier getting some exercise. I love Diego being flighted and I would feel like I was clipping his personality if I had his wings clipped. I'm not going to say it's easy to have a flighted bird in the house as I am always running around after him. But I never got Diego to just look pretty in the corner.

I think Judygram is correct that the main reason for Sun Conures needing to be re-homed is they were not expecting the noise level. But then I don't understand why people get parrots if they want to lead a quite life. Diego is always making some kind of noise and can get loud, but I love hearing him chattering in the background and share his excitement when he has something important to shout about. Actually there is nothing better then to have a good old scream with them when you have a bad day, I start singing really loudly (and badly!) it releases loads of tension and I always end up laughing at the scenario of the both of us and he always seems to enjoy it also.

So true, it astounds me everyday the things he does and how he communicates. We may not share the same human language but we seem to be able to understand each other without it. It reminds me sometimes of when 2 young children from different countries who do not speak the same language get on. They don't need to say anything in words, they just know!

I'm sure there will be more in the future, I'm always stumbling upon different birds and animals here in Spain.

I'm pretty new to the forum and nowhere near as experienced as some of the people here, but after seeing some of his posts it is pretty obvious to me to ignore his advice.

From what I was reading there are some states where it is illegal to have a Golden Conure, unless you have a license to be a registered breeder for them. I think this is to stop a high demand for these beautiful birds that people start poaching them to fill it.

Diego is now 6 months old, when we got him the breeder said he was fully weaned but I soon found out after a few days this was not quite true. I had to go back to giving him puréed food and he was always really fussy about the temperature, now he is eating everything but is still fussy with veggies and beans being cold.

Did he not say what the injection was for, or what it was that he was giving her?

I think Dan is right about finding another Avian vet. If he is this unacknowledged about such a common fact, I would not trust any medical advice from him. Feed him a good diet and look after him well, you will have many, many years together.

Oh my goodness! I've done nothing but running around after Diego today saying NO! I think he may be going through a terrible 6 months stage as he is into everything and anything! I'm starting to wonder if he's now doing things he knows he should not so that I come running. LOL

I was reading quite a lot about the Golden Conure when I was unsure what it was, they seem to be really lovely and lively birds to have. The only thing that I was unsure about was that they make a much higher pitch noise then most other parrots which has been described as pins being stabbed in your ears! LOL

I am a big believer in promoting and working alongside a parrots natural instinct, however letting them do whatever they want whenever they want for most people is not possible to live in harmony with each other. It may work for you, but if everyone followed your advice then there would be even more problem parrots in sanctuaries looking for new owners. I also think that how you want a parrot to behave in your own home is up to you, however, if you have an aggressive bird with strange people why take it out to the local shops? Looking the other way so you cannot see other peoples reactions is in my personal view irresponsible, don't forget not everyone likes birds and some even have a phobia of them. To have a large parrot flapping, screaming and dive bombing people would be pretty scary for most.

OK and the mystery bird is............................. (DRUMROLL) Kramer Amarillo (Spanish) so translated is a Yellow Ringneck Nothing too rare, but a beautiful bird non the less I got the beak colour wrong but then I did only see it when driving past LOL. Mystery solved, glad it was not an Amazon, it would have been too tempting!

Great to hear your fantastic update! Keep going with what you are doing, it's working.

Thanks everyone all your responses have been very helpful and I will be using the advice given by each of you. Ray P, unfortunately Diego is out of the cage for most of the day, however, I can get my boys to always give him treats when they pass his perch or when he stands by him to talk to him. I must admit, apart from when they help me do some training it does tend to always be me dishing out the treats. Jayd, what you have said about balance is so right and now that I have sat down and thought about it, it is actually my fault why Diego is acting like this. I have been quite protective of Diego since we have had him and I suppose a bit possessive of him (Like a mum with a new baby). I was so keen to build up a bond between Diego and myself, I have forgotten to include others into our circle. My husband is OK as he just goes and talks to Diego when he wants, but with my sons I am always saying, "It's best mummy does this for Diego".

I should have known that Diego would not like it. He won't even eat his breakfast and dinner at room temperature, if I warm it up he eats the lot! I'm thinking Diego is turning out to be a bit of a male diva! LOL

I live in Southern Spain

LOL I'm desperate to know also, I was going to have trip into town today but the car has a water leak and so am house bound Otherwise, I am going to try and find their telephone number to give them a call.

Hehe, Maybe you should think about changing his name to Dr Doolittle!

Many people who are out at work for most of the day own parrots and they do adept to being in the cage for longer periods. Just make sure that when you are home you spend even more quality time with him to make up for it. Or maybe consider turning a spare room (if you have one) into a bird room which he can be left out of the cage when your not there. Just make sure you completely bird proof it so that he is safe without being supervised. If this is not possible then foraging toys are a great idea and any toys that will keep him engrossed and occupied so the time goes quicker for him.

Hehe, how funny a grey that has a social network!!

Oh no, I hope it was not a yellow Amazon I don't know how I could resist it!!!!!! My friend did not have time to go to the shop yesterday, so hopefully she will be able to go today.

I kinda thought it was jealousy of the children that was making him act like this. Do you think I should take a step back for a few days and let the boys do most of the daily routine with Diego, i.e. giving him his food, changing his water, letting him out of the cage etc. ? Also should I concentrate on the boys doing most of the training (supervised) for a while as well?