Any advice for a green cheek owner?

Hey,
I am new to these forums but not to birds. I work at a pet shop and I fell madly in love with this green cheek conure. One associate and I bonded with him a lot since October 2011. I finally bought him this month, a few weeks ago. In other words, we are familiar with each other.

When he was at the store, he was very nippy. I know green cheek conures are nippy by nature (especially when they are younger). I don't use negative reinforcement on him because I know that doesn't work but I have been trying very hard to work on his nippiness. So far, he has been doing great when he is on my finger. When he is on my shoulder he starts to chew on my shirt and then my ear (I have no piercings or jewelry). He can get pretty nasty then and I simply get him on my finger, put him on a chair, and walk a few feet away, ignoring him. He tweets his "I am sorry" tweet (at least I think that is what he means...) and I tell him to step up and he does at which point I praise him. Then, the process repeats. Now, I know this will take time. My concern is how he act in his cage.

In his cage, he refuses to step up. I need to use a pen to get him to step up and that only works half the time. I know he wants to come out because he puts out one wing or screams like crazy (I ignore it until he is quiet and then I reward him by letting him out when he is quiet). Anyways, I try to get him on the pen and he not only bites the pen but he goes after my hand holding the pen. He actively tries to go after me. When he is on top of his cage, he does the same thing, constantly running away from it. I tried putting duct tape on my finger and doing the same thing, but the result is still the same; he bites me as hard as he can. As I said, as soon as he does come out, he is fine. He eventually steps up on the pen but it is still difficult for him. I thought he just didn't like pens but I notice he always plays with them (I take it away from him and give him a piece of sugar cane when I see him do so).

Can anyone tell me where I am doing something right, wrong, or give advice?
Thanks,
Nick

My advice is this.....don't ever reach into his cage.....that is his turf and none of them like you on their turf. They can be on yours but you can't be on theirs. They are bipolar little critters. LOL

Just open the door and let him come out.....then he should step up. My Green cheek is always on my shoulder no matter where I am.....he flies to me. But he does not like for me to reach in his cage to get him even with a stick. He gets very angry.

When he tries to nip my ear I Say "NO" firmly and then "Be a good boy" in a sweet tone. Maybe that would work as well.
HOpe this helps

I would try getting him to step onto a perch or stick instead of the pen . They can be pretty territorial about their cages . I have a little rope perch on my GCC'S cage door on the inside( kinda bent in a u shape ) so when I open her cage in the morning she is sitting on it and ready to step onto my finger .
Good luck with your new baby : )

Thanks all!
I have a bendy rope toy for him along with a bunch of other stuff. He loves it. He is always rubbing his head on his rope toy. He flies to me often. If he is territorial then I will let him come to me. He always wants to be around me but I was concerned when he starts biting once my hand is in the cage. I also notice he runs to me whenever someone else is near. If my brother comes near me then he runs to the opposite side of my shoulder.

I hope everything else is good though. I have done a lot of research on conures and if I wasn't so into microbiology I would probably do something involving birds and bird behavior.

What dish gal said. Work at his pace and do not force him to step up when he's not ready.

lexx510 said:

What dish gal said. Work at his pace and do not force him to step up when he's not ready.

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I try not to put him in a situation where he might feel cornered like, I don't like to pursue him when he essentially chases me out of his cage. Usually what he does is go on top of his cage. Even then he is still a little more nippy. He flies to me and he is ok. Sometimes he will stand on his cage and yell to be picked up. Once he is quiet I come over to him but he gets nippy again. Is his yelling his way of saying "hey! Come here and look at me and talk to me!" Instead of "hey! Pick me up and play!"?

If he is on top of cage he probably feels dominant. Forrest can be really nippy on top. You might just let him have your shoulder and he might step on it. They like to go after hands.
Forrest's worst thing is his nippiness. He goes thru a stage of nippiness for 3 or 4 days and then he is gentle and sweet as pie for a few more. EXCEPT....when he sees me pour a cup of coffee he knows that means I am going to the fridge to get half and half and he literally hates that. He will fly to my shoulder and PINCH my neck then go down the arm to attack the half and half.
The best thing is to watch their body language....if they reach to bite turn away and wait for them to come to you. During his nippy days I turn away a lot. Then I THink he misses the attention and turns sweet again. You cannot force them, or they just get worse. They want everything on their terms. The more you try to get them to do something without biting they just get worse, so just walk away and soon he will be coming to you. Trust me he probably doesn't need help getting to you. LOL

Guapo has moments when he's very bossy around his cage and doesn't want my hand anywhere near him, I just leave the door open and leave the room for a minute then he comes out on his own and is ready to step up like the happiest little bird in the world.

Akraya said:

Guapo has moments when he's very bossy around his cage and doesn't want my hand anywhere near him, I just leave the door open and leave the room for a minute then he comes out on his own and is ready to step up like the happiest little bird in the world.

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This has been my approach as well, and it's been months since I've been bit.

I think it's important to understand that green cheeks will bite no matter how much you try to punish them for it. Besides, the amount of time it takes for you to lock them up for biting is too long of an interval for them to be able to associate the punishment with the undesired behavior. It will only lead to more emotional/behavioral problems in the future because the bird does not understand why it's being punished. They are free willed birds and we just have to come to terms with it. When we get past trying to control/manipulate their natural instincts, everyone will be much happier. It took me a while to realize this, but it's been smooth sailing ever since.

PS: Step up training does wonders, too. Instead of punishing for undesired behavior, reinforce/reward for desired behavior. If your green cheek learns that he/she gets a treat for stepping up, he/she will be more likely to step up than bite - since biting gets them nothing. But whatever you do, don't force them to step up. If they're not in the mood, try again later. If your bird doesn't trust you enough to step up yet, hang around their cage and just talk and sing to them. This will help them feel more comfortable in your presence.