biting non flying conure

[camchick]

Hey guys

so my nan got a gorgeous female blue crowned conure just before Christmas. When she was first put in her cage she seemed happy enough and talked a little bit. Only when you go to go near her she bites or trries to bite anyone who will get close. We all thought she just needed time to settle in and get to know my nan a bit. But its been a few months and the biting is just as bad.

also, she has a perch on the top of her cage that she loves to stand on and watch the world go by. But she never leaves her perch and its an effort to get her to fl and exercise her wing's.

any help would be great guys. She was supposed to be a tame 2 yr old girl, but she seems very aggressive

 

[Stacykins]

Could be a lot of issues going on. Could be cage territorial, scared, unsure, and not as well tamed as you'd be told.

I'd suggest your Nan start stick training the bird. Meaning when you want to take the bird out of her cage or off her perch, you use a sturdy stick as opposed to your hand. That way, you don't get chomped on. Just lightly push the stick into the bird's tummy and say 'step up' or some other command. Always reward with a favorite treat when she steps onto the stick. Lots of praise and positivity is the key! Keep the training sessions short and sweet at first.

One problem with biting birds is that one a bird becomes a biter, it can be hard to pick them up not because of the bite, but because the bird knows you are afraid. If you are afraid of getting bitten each time you try and pick the bird up, your hand is going to be a jerky, unsteady perch and she knows that and won't want to step on it. It kinda turns into a circle of biting since she will use the bite to stop from getting picked up by an unsteady hand. The stick provides a steady, reliable perch to start building trust back up again.

Edited: The non flying bit isn't really an issue. My sun conure, though flighted, isn't big on flying. I am her means of transportation. She gets plenty of exercise playing and wrestling with her toys in her very large cage (I got her a cage that would be appropriate for a much larger bird, so it is spacious for a single small conure). In fact, she only flies if she is startled or if I set her on her play gym and then she decides she wants to be with me, so she'll launch into the air and come to me.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I have a cherry head conure which is aggressive as well he's tame but conures are a one person bird my conure was my moms bird so he is aggressive to everyone else even me I use a stick to get him out. sound like you have the same problem. :/

 

[Nambroth]

I have always found this to be a fantastic stepping stone resource for biting: http://www.rationalparrot.com/biting.html

 

[Stacykins]

I have a cherry head conure which is aggressive as well he's tame but conures are a one person bird my conure was my moms bird so he is aggressive to everyone else even me I use a stick to get him out. sound like you have the same problem.

Conures as a group don't tend to be one person birds. I've met many conures (including my own, hah) and they've all been very friendly and outgoing, even to strangers. I can hand my girl to any person and all she'll care about is getting her head scratched. I am sure some individuals bond only with one person, but it isn't a tendency of conures as a whole. Proper early socialization is important, too.

 

[OldGuy43]

Can't speak for Conure's, but my parrot was definitely a one person bird.

 

[yinepu]

my husband has a conure.. the girl we got it from insisted that the bird only loves women... well.. here it hates me with a passion and loves my husband to bits.. little bugger will come over to me.. just to bite me

our african grey loves my husband and me.. he hates strangers until he sees them on a daily basis for weeks on end.. then and only then (if they pass his inspection) will he even bother to give them the time of day

 

[quintinp]

I have a one person only quaker parrot, and that person is me. I am okay with it, mainly because I am the only person that in my house that has anything to do with him. Everybody else, accepts that he doesn't like anyone but me, so they don't try to push it with my "little man."

We also have another quaker parrot, but it has a splayed right leg, and he is my mothers parrot. I can hold him, and scratch him on his head or chin, and neck. He stays in my room, across the room from my parrot. He sure is a talker, but he is a little harder to get out of the cage than a parrot without the deformities. I still love him though. I plan to take them both when I move out.

 

[featherfinder]

I have 2 sun conures. The first one I got as a present for my BF and he was nippy at first till he got use to him. I had to use the stick method to take him out and get him use to me. Now he loves me and tolerates my BF. He can take him out of the cage but that is it. Anyone else he also bites. If you get to close he will run up and bite you and not let go. Then we got the second because of Sonny not liking my BF to much. Well Sammie loves him and he can do anything with him. Sammie will also go to other to other people and will let me scratch him if he is in a good mood but he will still bite if he doesnt want to be touched. So i think there is different levels of a "one person bird" and it all depends on the bird. Try the stick training and see what happens!

 

[mr.mc.]

Hey guys
so my nan got a gorgeous female blue crowned conure just before Christmas. When she was first put in her cage she seemed happy enough and talked a little bit. Only when you go to go near her she bites or trries to bite anyone who will get close. We all thought she just needed time to settle in and get to know my nan a bit. But its been a few months and the biting is just as bad.
also, she has a perch on the top of her cage that she loves to stand on and watch the world go by. But she never leaves her perch and its an effort to get her to fl and exercise her wing's.
any help would be great guys. She was supposed to be a tame 2 yr old girl, but she seems very aggressive

As manny of you know, I am an animal trainer,that specializes in birds.
If any of you have any questions for me, feel free to email me at [email protected]


As for you, try the technique called "the power pause". Conures Home Thease are good links for you. (click on them...... ALL OF YOU!)