NewBirdParent

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 joining an online support group for blue and gold macaw owners. My avian vet in North York also suggested checking for a subtle environmental change you might not even notice which can sometimes be an underlying factor. Good luck — feel free to DM me if you have questions!

Hey welcome! You'll love this community. Feel free to ask anything, everyone here is super helpful!

I've done a ton of research on this because my sun conure had the same issue. Here's what I learned: the most common cause is stress from loud noises like construction. What worked for us was spending at minimum 2 hours of supervised out-of-cage time daily. I also started reading "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich and noticed improvement within a week. It's a process but it gets better.

Great thread! For me it's my conure — wouldn't trade Coco for the world.

My advice would be keeping a super consistent daily routine — birds thrive on predictability. Went through the same thing with my blue and gold macaw last year.

Love this question! My cockatoo Tango would definitely have something to say about this 😂

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

Want to replace the dowel perches that came with my zebra finch's cage. Where do you source natural wood perches in the GTA? Any safe woods I can collect from outside? What about rope perches — safe or not?

Don't worry, this is super common with sun conure. You're doing great!

I know how stressful this can be. Just know you're not alone and most of us have been through something similar.

So I had this exact problem about a year ago. Let me share what I learned. The key thing is playing music during the day — my bird loves calm acoustic guitar. A lot of people also recommend setting up a webcam so I could check on them during the day. My avian vet in North York also suggested checking for the cage being in a high-traffic or drafty location which can sometimes be an underlying factor. Good luck — feel free to DM me if you have questions!

I remember when my Pionus went through this phase. I was so worried but my vet said it's actually really common.

Welcome to the club! My parrotlet trained ME in the first week. They're way smarter than they let on.

I showed this post to my bird and they looked at me with zero remorse. They know what they're doing.

Welcome to the club! My Indian Ringneck trained ME in the first week. They're way smarter than they let on.

Which avian vet do you go to? I'm looking for a good one near Newmarket.

Is this a new behavior or has it always been like this? Context might help figure it out.

It took me a while to figure this out with my bird too. Don't be too hard on yourself — you're learning!

The Toronto Humane Society sometimes has birds available for adoption too. Worth checking if you're in the downtown area.