Sun Conure attack help!

I have a sun conure named Louie that's about 2 1/2 years old. Up until about 6 months ago, he was always very friendly with anybody that came over, males, females, strangers and all. Sometimes he would get territorial if one of my female friend's boyfriends was also over, he would puff up and do his little battle dance. We've never clipped his wings, but up until now his behavior hasn't been a problem...

Now all of a sudden in the last 6 months, anytime a male comes over, whether he's seen this person many times or only a few, and the friends always are calm and nice about and towards Louie to keep the vibes neutral with him, he attacks! Sometimes, he will be nice for a little bit then as soon as I look away he will lunge at someone's face. He's never caused more damage than a small drop of blood, and only does this with males. He instantly loves any female that comes over. (He loves my boyfriend and friend Nate as he does every female person, but hates my female friend's boyfriends). I try but I can't understand what's going on in my bird's head! I no longer let him out of his cage at all if I have friends over, and this is not how I want to keep it.

Please help! If anyone has had similar problems, and has suggestions on training to get him to stop attacking friends, I would SO GREATLY appreciate it....I don't know how to approach the training since I can't expose my friends to it to "try it out".

I believe this is due to hormones.

My female conure doesn't actually attack women but she sure flirts like crazy with almost all men.

Your little man is all grown up now & he is protecting his territory. I had the same problem with my very first 2 boys I ever owned.

Sun Conures are ever so sweet until they mature. With our two they had the run of the house when we were home & as soon as someone would come i would have to lock them away in their cage. My two would attack anyone who came through the door.

Even though Louie is a companion parrot he will never lose his wild instincts. He has a bond with you & your home as far as he is concerned is his nesting hollow & watch out everyone that comes close.

I am guessing that it is breeding season & Louie is just behaving as nature intended him to.

My friends kind of get a kick out of her trying to steal their husbands And of course it makes the guys feel good when I tell them my bird thinks you are good looking and she is flirting with you.

But, males are more likely in general to defend territory and their mates (or what he is seeing as potential mates in your female friends). So it is natural for him to run off the rivals (other men).

Though it also sounds from Pedro this might be a Sun behavior for both genders, and maybe is more related to just territory than mates.

I have the advantage of breeding Sun & I also witness/observe their behavior with their neighbours in the cage beside them. They become very aggressive during breeding season especially if i have the GCC'S beside them. It can sometimes be war.

In the wild young parrots form pair bonds that will sometimes last a life time. When they are mature & ready to breed they locate a suitable tree hollow. They will not allow intruding parrots into this territory for fear their nesting site will be stolen away from them. Their instinctive defending of their territory is important to their successful production of young.

With companion parrots the breeding territory will be the family home & they will defend it aggressively & drive away most intruders. The problem is nature has provided wild parrots & companion parrots with the same instincts. The disire to bond, mate & defend territory is just as strong in captive parrots as the wild parrots. Trouble is the handreared parrot tend to be confused when matured as to who to bond with. When this happens, nature's influence kicks in.

Territorial aggression with companion parrots is difficult to eliminate because they are driven by instinct.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge on this. Sad my little guy can't be let out with male friends anymore, but I suppose you can't change natural instincts. Thanks again!