Biting Conure. How to stop? UPDATE!!!

[featherfinder]

Yes i read over it and found it very helpful. He likes yogurt drops the best it seems and he will take treats threw the cage from us when we put them there and is not afraid of our hands gloved or not al long as he is in his cage. he will usually stick his beak out and want us to rub it and he will let us do that but then after a min and only sometimes will turn and bite. I am not use to dealing with caged birds like this so this is a completly new experence for me so nothing you say will afend me so please feel free to speak your mind because i really dont have any clue wat i am doing because i am new. I have ducks so that is wat i am use to lol. She is so afraid to get bit that i am having to help and she is just as new as i am. And from wat i understand he has never hand another home besides the pet store and the people there didnt want to work with him because he was so mean. It just seems like no matter where he is all he wants is to be back in his cage and be left alone.

 

[Nambroth]

Quote:
I think that is pretty normal! His cage is 'safe' and it sounds like it's all he's ever known. I think time is the key with him.

Parrots are social and intelligent critters, but highly individualistic; he may always be standoffish, or he may turn into a snuggly thing! It's really hard to say. The best thing is patience, consistent training, and letting him adjust. Green cheeks are known to be 'nippy'.. that is, they have a habit of testing everything with their beaks. They are not necessarily trying to be mean-- again, it's just what he's been taught to do (not on purpose)! Think of it like this, if you are a young child, and people are doing things to you that you dislike. You tell them no. You frown. They don't listen! So you hit them. Suddenly they back off. Later, the same thing happens. You frown, and say no. You might cross your arms, or stomp your feet. These people don't seem to understand these clues that you are unhappy with what they are doing! So you hit them. Again, they back off. Hey... it seems like hitting people makes them stop doing the things you dislike. Soon, as a child, you learn that hitting people is okay and the only way to get them to listen to you! You don't have a mom or dad to tell you that it's wrong. Just people's reactions. So you hit and hit and it becomes habit. Those people have trained you to hit them as a reaction!
While a parrot is obviously not a human child, they tend to react in the same way.

The analogy is that you speak different languages. The conure can learn a bit of ours- it can learn commands through training such as "step up"- it gets rewarded for doing what we want and so it is more likely to do it. In the same turn, we have to learn some of the parrots body language, which is like learning a foreign language! It can be very subtle-- as subtle as the feathers on the head lifting just a little. To another parrot this clearly says "I am irritated, don't touch", but to a human we just don't see it or even think it's cute. We miss the warning, and bam! We get bit for 'no reason' and it makes us mad or offended or sad. It just takes time to learn these things, but please don't be frustrated! The fact that you are here looking for help shows that you both care for the bird and want to have a good relationship with it.

That means a lot!!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I typed up a huuge, long post about dominance training (which I don't even believe works as people interpret it, including in dogs) versus trust based training, but it got eaten by a frozen screen. It was kind of a wall of text anyway. XD. Dominance techniques are great for a quick fix, but you risk escalating aggression or causing a mental shut down (animals, including humans, actually are not able to take in and process new information when stressed), and behaviors may return after a while, where as trust based training usually takes longer, but lasts longer with fewer risks. A big mistake people make with trust based training, is when they set no boundaries, and mistake it as being a situation where you are merely a treat dispenser. There is a lot of good advice here, and I wish you the best. Thank you for helping your friend out with what is a situation that is unpleasant (being bit). From what I've read though, it sounds like this bird has the capacity to be a wonderful pet with a lot of patience and work.

 

[featherfinder]

Quote:
I think that is pretty normal! His cage is 'safe' and it sounds like it's all he's ever known. I think time is the key with him.

Parrots are social and intelligent critters, but highly individualistic; he may always be standoffish, or he may turn into a snuggly thing! It's really hard to say. The best thing is patience, consistent training, and letting him adjust. Green cheeks are known to be 'nippy'.. that is, they have a habit of testing everything with their beaks. They are not necessarily trying to be mean-- again, it's just what he's been taught to do (not on purpose)! Think of it like this, if you are a young child, and people are doing things to you that you dislike. You tell them no. You frown. They don't listen! So you hit them. Suddenly they back off. Later, the same thing happens. You frown, and say no. You might cross your arms, or stomp your feet. These people don't seem to understand these clues that you are unhappy with what they are doing! So you hit them. Again, they back off. Hey... it seems like hitting people makes them stop doing the things you dislike. Soon, as a child, you learn that hitting people is okay and the only way to get them to listen to you! You don't have a mom or dad to tell you that it's wrong. Just people's reactions. So you hit and hit and it becomes habit. Those people have trained you to hit them as a reaction!
While a parrot is obviously not a human child, they tend to react in the same way.

The analogy is that you speak different languages. The conure can learn a bit of ours- it can learn commands through training such as "step up"- it gets rewarded for doing what we want and so it is more likely to do it. In the same turn, we have to learn some of the parrots body language, which is like learning a foreign language! It can be very subtle-- as subtle as the feathers on the head lifting just a little. To another parrot this clearly says "I am irritated, don't touch", but to a human we just don't see it or even think it's cute. We miss the warning, and bam! We get bit for 'no reason' and it makes us mad or offended or sad. It just takes time to learn these things, but please don't be frustrated! The fact that you are here looking for help shows that you both care for the bird and want to have a good relationship with it.

That means a lot!!

Comparing it to a child like that i think is spot on and you make a very good point. I am trying my best for this bird and would like it to be trainable but i would like her to be the one training it over me cause after it is her bird but she is to afraid to do anything with him right now. I do not have the time to devote to this bird to properly train him because i do have a full time job and when im at home im taking care of my ducks and keeping them friendly. (they are inside ducks

) She talked last night of maybe getting rid of him but i dont think it is right to get rid of a pet just because you expect them to come pre trained or be able to train them in one day because she knew he was a biter when she got him. I will try some of the things mentioned on here tonight and see if he warms up any more and if i can get jenny to actually work with him. Thanks for all the advise on training so now lets see if it works

 

[Nambroth]

Good luck! I understand... I don't think I'd be comfortable or have the time to train someone else's bird, either. Can you direct her here to read, or print some of this info out for her? I don't know your friend and I am not trying to judge her, but I hope she will give the conure some more time and be willing to work with him. Parrots are a big responsibility, especially since that species can live 30+ years!

 

[featherfinder]

I told her about BYC because i am always posting in the duck section and saw about the caged bird section but she said she didnt want to sign up becuause she only had this one question and asked me to post it for her but as it turns out im the one putting all the info to use lol. Every night that i have been over there i have been pulling this up and showing her so she has read everything i have. just afraid of the bite. If she ends up not wanting him i will probably take him and work with him wat i can till i can find him a better home with someone with more time.

 

[mlward]

I'm not sure how long your friend has had this conure, but time, patience and trust-building will work best. I have 2 macaws and an umbrellla cockatoo and 2 of these birds came to me as adults from other homes due to death and illness. The cockatoo absolutely hated me and loved my son (even though he was deaf and never communicated with the bird); he would try to bite me every chance he got. This didn't change for a few months until I moved with him from AZ to NY. Ever since the drive out, he's a different bird. Loves me & everyone else. Weird. Now, the military macaw took much longer. He hadn't been handled in at least a year due to his beloved owner being bedridden. He had a red irritated throat from second hand cigarette smoke and he had been chewing his feet. He was not trimmed and was left to go in and out of his cage as he pleased and never shut in. The first time I saw him, he bit my daughter but seemed to need us, so we rescued him. Several months of offering treats, talking gently to him and working on step-up with a perch, oh, and lots of baths. He came from a smoker's home and it took several baths before the smell was out of his poor feathers. Eventually, he allowed me to pet his head and after several months (if not a year!), I could allow him to step onto my arm and go for walks or "help" with household chores. It was a long road, but worth it. He is now even more lovable than my mini macaw I purchased as a baby.

So, in my opinion, your friend just needs to be patient and let the bird decide when it's ready for closer contact.

 

[featherfinder]

She has had him for maybe a week. She bought him on impulse without even looking around at other maybe already friendly birds. This isent the first time she has pulled a stunt like this and the regreted it or wanted someone else to deal with it for her. But when it comes to animals im always the one to help her threw it. Just this time she picked the one thing that requires the most attention and i cant help as much as it needs it. But i wont let it be neglected either.

 

[featherfinder]

She has chose to sell him because of him needing so much attention. Im am taking care of him now till he gets a new home. Anyone in Flordia want to buy a green cheek conure?

 

[TwoCrows]

You know, this is a very sad story. And I am not directing this toward you Featherfinder, or anyone in particular. I DO comend you for taking care of this bird. But all too often, people impulse buy animals. And of course many times don't meet up to their expectations and the animal is cast aside. Owning an animal is for life. If you take on the responsiblity, you should do the right thing and keep that animal the rest of its days, no matter it's personality. Work with it. People need to do more research in how to best take care of these animals that they purchase so they know what they are getting into. They eventually grow out of their tiny cuteness and can grow up to be monsters, or worse yet abused.

And ESPECIALLY with birds. They are very intelligent creatures and don't understand the changing of the flock mentality. Going from different homes, over and over. Hence the biting, feather plucking and nuerotic behavior that some of them can develop. And some of these birds can live so long, out living their owners.

Well I just wanted to get this off my chest as I have been following this post and Featherfinder, I really hope you can find this little guy a good home. And you know, if you can't, you might look into a bird sanctuary that might take care of him if you can't find someone who would be interested in working with him and taking care of him the rest of his days.

Thanks....Leyla