Nanday Conure:

Nanday Conure Parrot

Nanday Conures are excellent birds however they can come with a few behavior problems.  Common problems include biting and screaming however feather plucking can occur as well. Behavior problems generally occur for one of two major reasons.

Either there is something missing from the Nanday Conure's environment or the behavior has been unintentionally encouraged by the owner.  Let’s explain- Unintentionally encouraging unwanted behaviors. This can occur quite by accident.  Imagine walking into the room and your Nanday Conure Parrot lets out a scream. Maybe you react by yelling at them or maybe you react by walking over to their cage and letting them out.  Which reaction is the correct behavior?

Neither.  Both reactions can actually cause the screaming to become a habit.  Walking over to the cage and letting the Nanday out tells them that they get what they want when they scream.  The reaction essentially trains the Nanday Conure Parrot to scream if they want out of their cage.

Yelling at them gives them attention and to many parrots some attention is better than no attention at all – even if it is negative attention.  Additionally, any dramatic response like yelling at them, throwing water and so on is a good way to make the Nanday become aggressive.  Aggression begets aggression. 

The solution is a two step process.  The first step is to change your reactions to the unwanted behavior by not reacting at all.  The second step is to train and reward different behaviors.  If your Nanday screams when they want out of the cage reward them and let them out when they stop screaming.  Establish a routine each day so they know when they can expect to be outside of the cage and when they can expect to return to their cage.

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Something missing from the Nanday Conure’s environment. 

Biting, screaming and feather plucking are commonly caused by something missing from the bird’s environment.  Here are a few of the possibilities. 

Not enough sleep.  Believe it or not, Nanday Conure’s need a lot of sleep.  We’re talking about 10 hours a night.  Good quality sleep is important to the health and development of your Conure.  If they don’t get the sleep they need, they’ll become grumpy. 

Because a Nanday doesn’t have the tools to say “Hey, I’m tired and I want to be left alone today,” they’ll bite or scream instead.  Solution…make sure your Nanday Conure gets plenty of quality sleep each night in a quiet, dark location.

Not enough quality nutrients.  Ever see the move Super Size Me where the guy ate McDonalds for weeks on end?  The end result was pretty ugly.  He was very sick and very unhappy.  That’s what a poor diet and lack of nutrients will do.  The same holds true for birds including the Nanday Conure. 

An optimal diet will include organic pellets as the base and daily fresh fruits and vegetables.  Organic produce is optimal however fruits and veggies that are washed thoroughly and peeled will also be free from pesticides.  A healthy diet will help a Nanday feel great each and every day. See Nanday Conure Care for more diet information.

Not enough time outside of the cage.  Nanday Conures need plenty of exercises and time outside of their cage.  They’re intelligent birds so as long as the owner is home to keep an eye on them, they’ll be safe.  This exercise and socialization is important because a Nanday wants to feel like part of the family and they can’t really do that from inside their cage.  They want to interact with owners and family members.  Additionally, they need the exercise. 

Not enough to do inside the cage.  Boredom is a true cause of aggression and feather plucking.  Imagine not being able to leave a room all day and not being given anything to do while you’re in that room.  A Nanday Conure that has plenty of toys in their cage will be a much happier Conure.  Nandays enjoy toys to chew, toys that allow them to climb, toys that present a puzzle, and toys that make noise or are brightly colored. 

If biting, screaming, or feather plucking behaviors do show up in your Nanday Conure one of the best ways to eliminate the behavior, is to spend time training your Nanday each and every day. 

Nandays are intelligent birds who generally respond to training quite well.  Even so, patience, love, and understanding are required of a Nanday Conure owner.  Training not only helps to eliminate behaviors, regular training will prevent unwanted behaviors from occurring.