Random aggression

I've only had my GCC Wheatley for a couple weeks, but the first few weeks he was doing great. He was bitey, but only because he was testing his surroundings, and he responded wonderfully to clicker training. He also loves cuddling and can never get enough scratches.

However, about a week ago he just started getting angry totally at random. He'll be sitting calmly on my hand but suddenly screams and bites with no change in environment, or he'll scream and run at me to attack me. We've been trying to narrow the causes down - at first we thought my boyfriend's shirts were upsetting him, then we thought maybe it was the new toys or the sound of water running, etc. We've been trying to keep a consistent routine. Sometimes he gets really fixated on something, mainly the kitchen sink or my boyfriend's hair, and that gets him into a bad mood.

He LOVES his clicker training sessions. He gets very excited when he sees the clicker come out. I've been training with him every day because that seems to calm him down. I reward him every time he goes back to the cage, but sometimes he's been biting for going back to the cage. So I know he's very trainable, I just don't know what's setting off this recent temper.

I'd really appreciate any advice!

It will be interesting to see what advice there is here. We also just purchased a Yellow Sided GCC and he's done the same thing a few times as well. Last night, for instance, he was sitting on my shoulder totally fine, all the sudden he started screaming, acting as if he'd been hurt and biting, he'll sort of flop on his side, hold out a wing, scramble with his feet, flinging his head all over trying to bite something, all the while screaming and if I try to pick him up he'll bite. (well, pinch pretty good) I hurried and grabbed him any way I could, moved him off my shoulder while he was screaming and biting at my hand and I quick put him down on the bed, quick enough to startle him and very sternly said..NO! BAD BOY!

He looked at me, quit, pouted for a moment and had no other issue all night. He's done this a few times since we've had him. At first we thought he was hurt, or maybe his toe was caught up and he was trying to move...but that was never the case, he just suddenly "flips out." Hahahaha! Silly bird!

He's our first Conure (3 months old on the 15th), our 2 Tiels have never acted out this way...maybe it's just a Conure thing...guess we'll be finding out.

Take care,

Toni

Toni, good to hear I'm not the only one. He's my first bird. He's been great at things like stepping up, letting me dry him after a bath, etc. We got him from a breeder and he's also 3 months old. The breeder let him sit on her shoulder a lot, but we're not allowing it yet because he gets grouchy when he's on our shoulders and will bite if we get our fingers near him. He needs to be grabbed with a towel in order to get him off. He seems to be holding a grudge about not being allowed on our shoulders. I'd like to teach him to let me get him on and off my shoulder, but I don't know how to!

He'll bite and attack us, so we put him in the cage since we figure he doesn't want to be with us, but then he gets upset and runs back and forth asking to be let out.

We know we're doing something wrong, just don't know what!

Oh yes, our Franklin is amazing, very cuddly, immediately comes to the cage door when we open it, kissing, eats his treats, loves his scratches and rubs, likes to lay on his back and play with his ball, burrow under blankets and sleep, and other then his random outburst that's happened like 3 times since we've had him,(almost 2 weeks) he's a total joy.

Last night was the first time I got stern with him and as I mentioned, we had no trouble with him the rest of the night. Maybe he's just so excited he can't contain all his emotions, so it comes out in a little excited 2 year old tantrum bliss fit! LOLOL!!

When he started doing it last night, he had only been out of his cage for like...mmm.m..maybe 10 minutes...my husband was watching, I said, What on earth is he is he doing? He was all tangled in my hair, my husband said, "He want's to cuddle on your neck and you're making him mad" and I just grabbed him and down to the bed he went, "NO!! BAD BOY!" He seriously looked at me, pouted, then ran back over to me and climbed back up into my lap. I put him on my finger and told him to "be a good boy." and he was.

Our little guy is so very social, we've never had to use a towel or cloth to pick him up, he willingly comes to us, chases us down and crawls all over us. He's a funny funny little guy.

Toni

I'm realizing that it's certain things setting Wheatley off. I normally let him sit on my lap and cuddle while he dried off after a bath, but he's been getting very cranky about that. He started attacking me pretty angrily after a bath the other day, and I grabbed him and put him on the table. Like magic he was gentle, playful, and cuddly again. I've clicker trained him to let me grab him from behind, which works great in a lot of situations, but when he gets fixated on something, even sunflower seeds can't get his attention! At first he would sit on the drying rack in the kitchen while I cut his fruits and veggies for dinner, but he also gets fixated on the sink and has random fits where he attacks anything nearby - the counter, a spoon, tupperware, etc. I give him baths every other day to make sure that his sink fixation isn't because he needs a bath, but he still seems focused on the sink even right after a bath. I'm not sure what to do to break his fixation on these things because he becomes obsessed!