Petey Blog

Petey is a helpful bird, he likes to do his part around the house.

Comments:
otilius : My seeing eye dog doesn't wanna do that... ;)
jan : Funny. Almost wants me to trade my dogs for a bird.
rickyvaldez : petey sucks....
blueyes : Always the helpful one :)
Tweety : Hi, this is my first time to your site. I would love to be in contact with you. As I posted in another photo I have a sun conure and she is a blessing. LOUD but I'v really enjoyed having her, just need some help. If you could I would really appreciate it. Petey is a BEAUTIFUL conure.
Cass : Where's Petey gone? There hasn't been an update in a while...I hope he's OK.
moirana : I found your blog when I was checking on conures and their motivation to bathe (seems like Petey does not show any hesitation at all). Valo is a baby green cheek conure and the cutest little feathery guy I ever came across (of course, petey is very very close). But he's not too thrilled about water... I was wondering if you moviatee Petey to bathe?! moirana@gmx.net
pete : What equipment are you using for your shots? They are awesome. Quetzal, my gold cap conure, says,"woot quack" to Petey. Pjejtjejr.gjrjajbjkjo (at gmail.com) remove the letter j's. Anti-spyder.
robby101 : Hey, petey looks like a really cool bird, i have a few cockatiels and was thinking about getting a sun conure. If you have any helpful hints please e-mail me.

People have asked if Petey will let people pick him up. Petey is a very social bird, and is in fact spoiled with attention. He uses his beak only as a tool to help him climb up you or keep from falling off you. The only time he will not step up on your finger from inside his cage is when he is tired or you are new to him, but even then he most likely will step up on your finger. If he is with someone he knows, he will gladly be passed around the room to new people. Right now he is tickling the back of my neck and ears. He is also randomly pulling out small hair he finds that are out of place.

Previously we had no means to quickly give Petey positive reinforcement. He already is a pretty well trained bird; he steps up on anyone's finger just about every time except in the evenings. But we would like to see if he can do more advanced activities. He loves banana chips, but he takes quite some time to finish them. To help with his training, we needed something that he would work to get, and could also finish eating it quickly. We found out that he goes crazy for dried papaya bits. At first he did not have much interest in them, but soon we found him climbing out of his open cage to get the bits left on top of his cage. The brand we used was made by Kaytee and named Healthy Toppings. We had experimented with another Kaytee treat, Yogurt Tropical Mix, but Petey has no interest in those yet. I would recommend that you don't give up too quickly when testing a treat with your bird. I have read that Conures and other parrots may benefit from seeing other birds or even humans eat a food before they have much interest in it.

Comments:
Charlotte : I love your parrot Petey! Is it a sun conure? I have a Meyer's Parrot who is ugly. xD

Petey is now a year old, but he is still a baby. In the photo, Petey is working his beak on an 8 in 1 UltraCare(TM) Mineral Treat, hopefully it will help trim his beak. So far the calcium wafer toys seem to work best on his beak though. Also while at the store picked up a feather tether, or basically a leash, expect to see progress (or lack of) in the next couple posts.

Comments:
Mike : I hate peety.