Help with an aggressive new conure?

Izumi

New member
Jan 24, 2013
1
0
Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I just bought our first conure (a 6 month old pineapple green cheek) last week, and she's been acting particularly aggressive. The pet store workers kept talking about how sweet she was, and she definitely seemed like it on the first day. Since the second day, however, she's been frequently biting hard, and sometimes screaming and biting simultaneously. Of course, I'm sure coming to a new home can be stressful.

She has several pin feathers around her neck, so I've been wondering if she could be molting, which might account for her bad temper. However, we haven't noticed many lost feathers in her cage.

Additionally, we already have a cockatiel. The new conure is kept in a separate room in order to quarantine her, but unfortunately the two birds can hear each other, so they are aware of the other's presence. This has led to our cockatiel acting moody and a little withdrawn.

The pet store (PetCo) gave us 14 days to return her if it didn't work out, and my boyfriend is leaning toward doing that. I'd like to try to make things better, but I'm not sure how much can improve in only a week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for making the conure feel more at-home? Or to stop the biting? We've been firmly telling her "No," which only works sometimes. She seems very healthy and the store workers assured us she wasn't sick, so we've also been thinking about introducing her to our cockatiel, to see if that helps her feel more comfortable.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 

Grenage

Member
Jun 1, 2012
306
5
Portsmouth, UK.
Parrots
Aizen: YS-GCC
If it's any consolation, I went through the same thing. For the first couple of days, he was very sweet; then came the pain! pecking, some screeching. It all died down, but I can tell you that it probably is not going to happen in 14 days. A month or (or three), is a much more realistic estimate.
 

JerseyWendy

New member
Jul 20, 2012
20,995
24
Hi, and welcome to the Forum. :)

I would NOT introduce your new baby to your cockatiel UNTIL you have her fully checked by an Avian vet. I am not saying your conure is sick, all I'm saying is have her vetted so that you have piece of mind there are NO underlying health problems, especially communicable diseases. I recommend having all new birds vetted for that matter.

She is most likely still stressed from being in a new environment. New sights, new sounds, new everything. The bites may be because she is just nervous and unsure of her new surroundings, and giving her ONLY a week is not fair to her at all. :(

She deserves a chance at happines and stability, and most importantly a chance to be loved unconditionally. :)
 

cdog

New member
Feb 20, 2012
1,489
0
Newbury Park, CA
Parrots
Sully-2 year old cinnamon and Bella-3 year old normal
breeding pair of gcc, Scooter & BeeBee-Sully and Bella's normal son's, Rosey- Bella and Sully's cinnamon daughter, Ella & Sunny-American budgies
Welcome to the forum.
As said, it will take a while for your green cheek to get comfortable with her new surroundings. Another reason for her screaming is most likely your cockatiel in the next room, they are talking to each other. My green cheeks were separated and screamed for each other constantly until I moved them to the same room, now I have six quiet green cheeks in my bedroom.
 

Remy

New member
Jul 13, 2011
1,905
1
California
Parrots
Darcy (Golden-Collared Macaw), Puck (Caique - RIP)
It can take weeks to months for a bird to get used to a new home. She's probably freaked out because she doesn't know why she's in this new place, or what's going on with her life! It's not like you can tell her "I'm adopting you now, so this is your new home" and have her understand exactly what you mean.

Give her space when she indicates she doesn't want to be handled, but you give her verbal affection as long as she acts willing. It will go a long way to building trust.
 

LoveMyParrots

New member
Dec 29, 2012
890
Media
4
3
Melbourne, Australia
Parrots
Ozzie - alexandrine parakeet
That is pretty normal and common in parrots.

When I got Ozzie my alexandrine, for the first 2 days, he was really sweet, would let you pet him, hold him, etc. But about 3 days later, he became very aggressive and will bite really hard. Now that I had him for 7 weeks, he hasn't bite for about the past 2 week. Your conure is the same, she is just really scared. I would be stressed if I was in a different environment, different sound, different smell, no one speaks your language, and some strangers will keep coming up your cage and staring at you.

The reason she is bitting is out of fear. Give her a little bit of time. It will usually take about a few weeks until most parrot will start to trust you. After about 2-3 weeks, you can start target and trick training your parrot. It will help to build a stronger bond, so the parrot won't be fearful of you.

But try not to give up on her, she will starts to warm up on you if you give her the time and space :)
 

MonicaMc

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2012
7,960
Media
2
43
Parrots
Mitred Conure - Charlie 1994;
Cockatiel - Casey 2001;
Wild Caught ARN - Sylphie 2013
Just because a bird bites does not make them aggressive.

Birds bite for a multitude of reasons beyond aggression, and the sooner you can figure out why the bird is biting, the sooner you can work on correcting the behavior.

An aggressive bite is when the bird goes out of his or her way to purposely attack you.

A fear bite is when you try to handle the bird, and the bird, afraid, tries to escape.

There's also the "No" bite, where you ask a bird to do a specific behavior (i.e. step up) and either the bird doesn't feel like doing it or the bird doesn't understand the command, which results in the bird becoming uncomfortable.

There's the excitement bite where the bird may be playing with something and your flesh gets in the way. The bird may either be upset that you interrupted him/her, or the bird, so excited, unintentionally caused harm.

Or the startled bite, where the bird becomes startled and feels the need to bite onto something.

And the exploratory bite. The bird, exploring his/her surroundings, or your body, and using their beak to check the different hardness of items and may unintentionally bite.



Green cheeks, by nature, are very nippy birds, however, if you know how to work with them, bites and nips can be kept to a minimum. It requires learning how to communicate with them in positive ways and to avoid the bite by not putting the bird in a situation that will result in a bite. Their body language and actions are so much different than cockatiels are, so don't try to interact with a conure as if it's a cockatiel.
 

MarciaLove

New member
Jan 4, 2012
1,274
1
USA Georgia
Parrots
Sugar the Blue Crown Conure♂, Merlin the Camelot Macaw♂
I agree with JerseyWendy and Remy it takes time and also don't say no when she bites just ignore it any reaction you give her will make her want to do it more I would leave her in the cage just talking to her from outside it for a few days then try to handle her ignoring her bites they are most likely just out of fear. Also I NEVER EVER buy a bird form petco or petsmart, their birds are usually not well socialized, have health problems, and are overpriced I don't trust those pet shops when it comes to buying a bird (or any pet) from them.
 

Kokihi

New member
Aug 11, 2010
205
0
Santa Barbara county, California
Parrots
One Green Cheek Conure: Tori
I had this big long thing written out, then I scrolled up and read what MonicaMc said.
...yeah...that.

I've noticed that my green cheek likes to explore with his beak, and sometimes doens't realize when he's biting too hard. He also gets pretty moody when he's got pin feathers, so that may be something that is agitating your bird.

I'd say just give it time. Spend time with your new bird without trying to touch it at all so it can get comfortable with you. Get it comfortable with your hands before trying to handle it...that kind of thing.
 

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