Petey Blog

Petey is able to fly pretty well now, but his ability to fly is a double edged sword. On one hand he gets quite a bit more exercise and seems very happy. But on the other, he can get in to more trouble than before. Although he only flies between people and his perches, even that can be a nuisance as he does not like to be left behind. Even if you just want to sit on the couch a few feet from his perch without him for a moment. Then there are the obvious arguments against flighted birds. They can have fatal accidents with windows, fans, or other hazards. They can also get loose and lost, although this can happen even with clipped birds too. Some people report that birds also become less social and more independent. Petey does not seem to be any less social or independent than before, in fact other than flying back to the people he is used to when handed off to a stranger, he is more social now that he can fly back to us. I guess the big question has not been answered yet.

Comments:
Pete : Glad to see Petey back! Fantastic pictures. Quetzal says, "Hello".

Petey has found one more food that he will get excited for, Lafeber Tropical Fruit Nutri-Berries. The bag explains it can be used as a complete diet for your bird, but Petey has just been eating them in addition to his regular diet. He not only likes the papaya, pineapple, mango and bananas in the food, but he really seems to like the berry shape. At first all he was interested in was breaking them apart; however, he quickly he realized what he was dropping. The description says the shape minimizes wasted food, and claims that 96% of it is eaten. Maybe it just takes some practice because Petey does drop quite a bit of it as he breaks it apart. He has gotten noticeably better at eating them in the past week though.

Comments:
Jade : Petey looks like a Sun Conure...is he? I had one a long time ago. Best pet I've ever had! I'm trying to talk current hubby into getting me another one (the last one died a horrible death and it's taken me 10 years to get over it!)! First time here, I am sure you can tell! Good luck in the battle! :-) I'm off to explore more! I adore Petey!
Carina : Just wanted to say, that Petey is soooo cute!! I have a couple of red-rumped parakeets, but they are afraid of hands and rather shy at all, but also cute. :-)
stewie bird : I think the 96% eaten thing is a marketing ploy. Stewie drops at least a third of his NutriBerries (probably because he knows there's tons more where those came from. spoiled little bird)

Here is a overview photo of Petey's cage. He used to like being on top of it quite a bit, but now he likes to be on people more. His cage is quite large for a parrot of his size. Petey likes to pose for the camera, he is trying to be funny for April Fool's Day.

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

Whenever Petey sees his mirror image, he barely takes notice of it and loses interest quickly. I've read that birds can become obsessive of their own mirror images if given a mirror toy in their cage. Some cases say that the birds will start to feed their mirror image, even groom it. Mirrors used to be a popular toy for birds, but new opinions are beginning to question its effect of the bird's social behavior. Either way, Petey seems quite content without a mirror and I would suggest avoiding mirrors if your bird is already social with you and other people. The photo with this post is of Petey perched on a food bowl above his cage, it was taken a while ago. He seems to prefer being up there less now, he likes being in his cage to eat or sleep, on his perch in the living room when people are in there, or being on people when he's awake.

Petey enjoys water quite a bit, if he isn't given an opportunity to take a formal bath, he just hops in one of his water bowls. More water ends up outside his cage than on him though. Currently, I use Ultra Care Bird Bath Spray from Eight in One on him and it seems to work pretty well, definitely better than water alone.

Comments:
Alejandro : Did you cut his wings? :?
mike : petey is probably the coolest bird ever, if they dont like it talk to chas he will want to box them
anlempert : awww such a cutie pie

Petey has been quite active lately, if people are in the house, he likes to be out with them. He becomes quite irritated if they leave the room. People say Sun Conures need their alone time, even if they are affectionate, but Petey doesn't seem to like being out of the social circle unless it is past his bedtime. He doesn't mind being alone though, as long as he is not aware that anyone is home.

This is Petey, he is a Sun Conure (Aratinga solstitialis). He was hatched on March 2, 2005. I got him in December after doing extensive research. It was between Petey and an African Grey, but the African Grey was sold at the time. Petey is a quite active and social bird. Overall besides waking up early, most of the house gets along with him very well.