CockatooCarl

Welcome to the forum! Great to have another bird lover from the GTA. Your green-cheek conure sounds adorable — what's their personality like?

Dealt with this for months. What finally worked was changing how I approach the cage and just being really patient. They come around eventually.

You're clearly a caring bird owner — the fact you're asking for help shows that. Your bird is lucky to have you.

Revisiting this thread because I have more info now. After talking to my vet, they confirmed exactly what people here said. This community knows their stuff.

Great question! So in my experience with budgie, this usually comes down to a few things. First, stuffing paper towel rolls with treats for foraging. Second, make sure they're getting enough sleep — 12 hours of uninterrupted dark sleep is crucial. And third, pay attention to jealousy of a new person, pet, or even object in the home because that was a huge factor for my Pistachio. Hope that helps!

I struggled with this too until I started stuffing paper towel rolls with treats for foraging. Now it's like a completely different bird.

Nice to meet you! Always great to connect with fellow bird owners. You're going to fit right in here!

My Biscuit went through a phase like this around 15 years. I was terrified but it passed. Birds are weird sometimes lol.

Okay but counterpoint — what about birds that are the complete opposite? My budgie breaks every rule lol.

Noticed a small red bump on my parrotlet's foot. Could this be bumblefoot? I have varied perch sizes but maybe not enough natural wood. What should I do? Is this a vet emergency or can I treat at home?

I've tried a bunch of brands and Hagen Tropican is hands down the best value. My Noodle devours it.

My Bean went through a phase like this around 10 years. I was terrified but it passed. Birds are weird sometimes lol.

So I had this exact problem about a year ago. Let me share what I learned. The key thing is getting a kitchen scale and weighing them weekly to track health. A lot of people also recommend rotating toys weekly so they always have something "new". My avian vet in downtown Toronto also suggested checking for stress from loud noises like construction which can sometimes be an underlying factor. Good luck — feel free to DM me if you have questions!

Can we start a support group for this? Because SAME.

What does their diet look like? Sometimes these things are diet-related.

I'd suggest trying adding a full-spectrum Arcadia UV light near the cage. My avian vet recommended it and it made a huge difference.

This reminds me of when I first got Captain. I was so overwhelmed but looking back, those early days were actually really special. The bond building phase is tough but beautiful.

Now that it's warming up, I want to take my cockatiel outside in Guelph but I'm terrified of them flying away. Do you use a harness? A travel cage on the patio? Have you done any recall training? I want Charlie to enjoy fresh air and sunshine safely.

There's a great little shop in Leslieville that specializes in parrot supplies. Way better selection than the big chains.

What worked for me was adding a full-spectrum Arcadia UV light near the cage. Took about a week but my pionus responded really well to it.