New GCC head banging against my hand

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
He's about 2.5 yrs old, and I've had him for about a month. We are now friends, but bizarrely, has started almost shaking/banging his head against my finger and around my hand while he is out. He doesn't do it every day, but when it does he can do it repeatedly for minutes at a time. What is this?
 

clark_conure

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2017
3,923
Media
21
2,223
Minnesota
Parrots
A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
1) he want's to be scratched

2) he's a GCC and he does stuff for attention

3) he's awesome

4) he want's you to respond by doing something interesting to him

it's pretty much one of these four

My bird while sitting on my shoulder will push my head back with the top of his beak just because ...why not? Enjoy it!
 
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Amazing. Thank you! This is him in action:
[ame="https://youtu.be/pwx1sIurFOo"]https://youtu.be/pwx1sIurFOo[/ame]
 

clark_conure

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2017
3,923
Media
21
2,223
Minnesota
Parrots
A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
Video makes it so much easier....yes that is attention seeking behavior. Hear the clicks and the grunts...he is just trying to get your attention and play.
 

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
24
Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
that looks like regurgitating head bob. Means he loves you. Just be aware this is a sign that he sees you as a mate so you'll need to be a bit more careful when he gets hormonal as he could easily become frustrated you're not letting him do his thing with you

Also it could be an attention seeking thing especially if he was hand-reared. A lot of birds will keep the baby bob/hungry noise as a good way of attracting attention of their humans
 
Last edited:
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Ahhhh... just now he did it after jumping repeatedly from one leg to another. I will be mindful of the hormonal behaviour. Thank you!
 

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
24
Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
yeah I think it's best to have hormones in the back of your mind with a parrot, just so you cut down on encouraging it.

The more I hear the more it sounds like attention seeking to me, although I can't hear the video as am at work (very productive I am). Do you happen to know how he was reared? It would help shed some light at least for me if he was hand-reared. If parent reared then 100% regurgitation

I just noticed looks like you got a turquoise yellow-sided! you should get some more pictures/videos of him for us ;) such an adorable scamp
 
Last edited:
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
The strange thing about it is that he will start doing it while I'm stroking him! Such a weird fella. I'm his third owner, and he's only 2 and a half, so I have no idea about whether or not he was hand reared.
Oh wow!!! Having just done a quick google, he definitely is a Turquoise Yellow Sided! That explains a lot! Here are some more pics of him:
Full_Size_Render.jpg

IMG_3399.jpg

IMG_3404.jpg

IMG_3405.jpg

IMG_3408_JPG_copy.jpg

IMG_3409.jpg
 
Last edited:

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
24
Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
haha, I've got pretty good with identifying them. I find the turquoise so unique in their colouring

Woo diva birdy! That first picture is amazing, also say goodbye to your laptop keys. They're his now!

You never know. Some people will get rid of a bird as soon as they make a noise or touch their beak against you. I saw one person selling a conure because it stopped talking. It was kept in a finch cage with one perch and no toys so I'm not surprised it stopped talking, was probably brain-dead from boredom. I'm going to say he's hand-reared seeing how friendly he is despite having had more homes than years of life. He's obviously very sweet by nature considering how quickly he's fallen for you. You keep up the good work and make sure you're his last home! Otherwise the bird mafia will be after you haha!
 
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
He's very sweet though we are still working on the biting. At least now it's because I'm asking him to do something he doesn't want to. He won't be going anywhere else, he's just what I need. I love how much attention I get to give him and he still wants more.
Thank you for all your help!
 

clark_conure

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2017
3,923
Media
21
2,223
Minnesota
Parrots
A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
It could be regurgitation but I still think it's just attention seeking, I've seen my bird do the same thing to that one dick bird that lives inside our mirror and it's not because he's in love with him.
 
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #15
Last night and this morning Caesar has been doing this so so much, and bringing food back, with no provocation. I can't stroke him anymore without him doing it and he now does it just whenever he comes into contact with me. Do you think this is the hormones coming into play and should I be concerned about how much he's doing it?
 

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
24
Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
Last night and this morning Caesar has been doing this so so much, and bringing food back, with no provocation. I can't stroke him anymore without him doing it and he now does it just whenever he comes into contact with me. Do you think this is the hormones coming into play and should I be concerned about how much he's doing it?

does sound like hormones. If all he's doing is regurgitating and not being a screamy bitey monster then you're lucky! Just make sure he gets 12 hours for sleep time and just ignore his regurgitating, he will get the picture that you don't react to it soon enough. Being just over 2 this should be his worst set of hormones. I've not heard of a bird starving themselves with regurgitating, just keep an eye on it. If you happen to stroke down his back I'd stop that, it simulates a mate climbing up on them for some fun times. Solely neck scritches for the time being
 
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #17
He can be unpredictable in terms of biting, and I am bitten 5-6 times a day, but I've seen that as something that he will eventually grow out of- otherwise I'll need to buy shares in Elastoplast. I have been ignoring it so far so I'll continue to do so. I had occasionally stroked his back so I'll make sure not to do that any more. Thank you so much for all the advice! It is greatly appreciated!!
 

LordTriggs

New member
May 11, 2017
3,427
24
Surrey, UK
Parrots
Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
He can be unpredictable in terms of biting, and I am bitten 5-6 times a day, but I've seen that as something that he will eventually grow out of- otherwise I'll need to buy shares in Elastoplast. I have been ignoring it so far so I'll continue to do so. I had occasionally stroked his back so I'll make sure not to do that any more. Thank you so much for all the advice! It is greatly appreciated!!

he won't grow out of biting on his own. I'd say bite training is as close they get in terms to dogs and other animals at least in sentiment.

Any time he bites calmly pick him up, say "no" or "no biting" in a stern voice (no shouting) put him on the floor and ignore him for like a minute. They do need to learn that biting isn't nice and they get shunned if they bite, it's what happens in the wild. You seem to be good at keeping your cool with bites so that's good. I find when they're learning beak pressure to set your boundary at a point where it's more annoying than painful, that way he can get his point across to you without tearing you apart
 

Anansi

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Dec 18, 2013
22,301
4,211
Somerset,NJ
Parrots
Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
Yep, hormones appear to be in full swing. As has been said, avoid touching that might inadvertently be leading him on. No stroking the back, under the wings, down the length of the tail, or, obviously, in the area of his vent. Also strive for 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. In darkness. And cut down on the more sugary foods.

And as for the biting, LordTriggs is correct. You can't count on it stopping on it's own, and simply ignoring the bites isn't the answer. Here are some good links on the topic:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/58911-bird-bites-always-2.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
 
OP
Caesarbird

Caesarbird

New member
Aug 15, 2017
9
0
W. Sussex, UK
Parrots
Caesar (GCC)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #20
Okay. I will commence this bite training immediately. When he bites (properly, ignoring the gentlish 'no thanks' ones), about 50% of the time he doesn't immediately let go and any further hand contact puts him into full on rage mode and will therefore sustain additional bites. To get him to loose contact, if he doesn't upon being picked up, what would you suggest? I've tried blowing on him to no avail. The only thing that seems to work is a quiver, but that's not as possible once he's on the floor if he has got that *****y!

I will read all of the links. Thank you!
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top