Aggressive Pineapple Conure

Hi, I've been looking for some help on how to get my pineapple conure to stop biting, and to hopefully get an idea of why she's biting in the first place. There was another thread about biting conures, I however feel I need to be very specific with my case, as I haven't found tips on stopping biting that relate very well to my birds behavior. Sorry that it's a bit of a read here, I just wanted to be thorough about how her behavior began and has changed, since my family and I are completely new to owning a conure and would like some advice from more experienced bird owners.

So some backstory to my conure CeCe(Connie Conure). We got her from Petco in July, and at the time she was six months old. We were a little surprised at how old she was, since most birds seem to be sold much younger than that. We were told that she was sold once before to someone, who after buying her, went to another pet store and bought another bird. This didn't go very well and CeCe apparently became more aggressive and tried to be dominant over the other bird. The person brought her back to the store and they said that she was there since.

Now from that first day, before we even bought her, we were allowed to hold her, and even holding her that first time she started nipping a little bit. Not really aggressively or very hard, but would grab and hold on. She is a very smart bird though, and very beautiful. She definitely has her own personality and she is hilarious to watch with all of the various tricks that she does. So we got her, knowing that she nipped some.

The first couple of days seemed to go by pretty good. We've heard that most birds need space to get used to their new environment when you first get them. Well not her. She was begging to come out and play! She was cuddling into our hair the first night home. I thought things were great.

It was about several days in that she started biting a bit harder and more aggressively. I was a bit surprised by her change in behavior when the first couple of days she was so loving and excited. As time went on she became more and more aggressive. My dad has actually gotten her to stop biting him partly, usually by shaking his hand that she's on and biting, causing her to lose her balance a bit and she'll let go. When she also starts to bite his neck, he leans his head into her, making her scooch over and away from his neck. These methods have proved pretty effective for him, though she does still get a good chomp here and there on him if she's particularly aggressive. He has very tough skin though, so it usually doesn't hurt him like it hurts me and my sisters since we have much softer skin than him.

It does seem though that I've gotten her to like me a bit. If I put my hand over her back, she leans right back into it and snuggles in, while also letting me scratch her sometimes. She's actually very picky about how people scratch her and seems to prefer to scratch herself how she likes it with a toy, and even her own foot. So it feels like an accomplishment that she seems to trust me this much. It doesn't seem to stop her from biting me though. We've let her wings grow out and she absolutely loves flying around my dad's room where she stays, since we also have a cat. My dad's room is pretty much her domain. She'll do laps around his room and be having a blast. Sometimes when I walk into his room and she's out, she'll fly right over to me. Good, right? Well sometimes what follows is a bite to my hand. I also don't like having her on my shoulder because she'll reach over and bite my neck too. She pretty much bites anything that she can grab. Even a spot, like my arm where the skin is more taught and doesn't have as easy of a purchase, she still is able to get bites in. I'll admit to being guilty of also giving reactions here and there. Sometimes she bites hard enough it's difficult not to make some type of noise of complaint. And the thing is that she even seems to get spiteful. Sometimes when I pry her beak off, and tell her a firm "No", she'll get more aggressive and start biting harder and faster. When she gets like this I put her in her cage for a time out, covering it up and everyone ignores her for about fifteen minutes. She doesn't seem to like it, even sounds like she starts throwing little fits in her cage. I've taken her out afterwards before though, and almost right after taking her back out, I received another bite.

I should also probably add in that she can't stand my two sisters. They can't come into my dad's room when she's out because she'll fly and attack them. She once got my oldest sister on the cheek by hopping from my dad's shoulder to hers when they were sitting next to each other. Another time she got my other sister on the neck in a similar way. Whenever they come into the room and she's in her cage, she becomes very defensive and even launches at the front of the cage from the top perch. This is normal though, right? I've heard that parrots tend to be one person birds, and she's obviously picked my dad, who thankfully she was originally intended for, and slightly me. Others that they don't like I've heard they'll attack.

She'll also do what looks like a strut on her top perch to people, even me and my dad, as if she's saying, "this is MY territory". It actually looks quite funny the way that she puffs her little chest out and puts her head back while walking along the perch forward and back. But does this have something to do with her behavioral issues?

I really want to get an understanding behind why she's acting like this. We told the Petco employees about her aggressiveness and they seemed pretty surprised. One woman employee said that she would walk around the store with CeCe on her shoulder and it was never a problem. They did say that she did start biting more at some point, but not to the extent that she is with us. This is all just very foreign and new to us, the world of parrots. Our last bird was a cockatiel and we had him for almost eight years before he passed away from a stroke. He was always a very calm and loving bird. Me and my dad built up his trust and love for eight years, so now it feels like we've started back at square one, and in a completely new ball field than our first bird.

I feel like CeCe has so much potential to be a great bird despite these issues. She really is very beautiful, funny, smart, and loving(when she's in the mood). I really want to get a grasp on this and find out how to fix it. I would very much appreciate any advice. Thank you.

If I were dealing with your situation, I would have the bird's wings clipped and do what it sounds like your dad is doing. If the bird starts to bite, then rotate your finger quickly to throw it off balance. If she bites on your shoulder or arm, remove her as soon as it happens. With the wings clipped she won't be attacking you at will (which is what I understand from your post). Saying no and getting angry are probably not going to do much and will just frustrate you. I think the key in these situations is to break the pattern of behavior, which removing the bird from your shoulder or arm and throwing her slightly off balance accomplishes. As for why she's doing it, it's hard to tell. But regardless of why I would still do what I suggest.

Hi! I think I was the one who wrote the more recent inquiry. I have since figured out (kinda) what my bird's triggers are. I agree with all the advice given. Trimming wings I think would help, but please let a knowledgeable person do it, so the bird isn't injured. Effective deterrents: when CeCe starts to bite, move her quickly from your right index finger to your left, back & forth several times until she is focused more on trying to hang on & maintain her balance than taking a hunk of flesh. Also, it apparently sends a message to the bird that you are the one in charge. That funny walk/march you described is an aggressive posture. Your birdie is feeling threatened. When my Connie does that, I just give her some space & time to chill. I think these birds can be overwhelmed by too much noise & activity. When my little nephew & niece visit, Connie does her dance. I try to place her in a quieter area of the room, so that she can still see what's going on & feel like she's part of the action without feeling like she's in danger. I have "potty trained" Connie; her way of letting me know that it is time to let her down so that she can do her business is to nip me on the ear. At first I thought she was just being randomly mean until I learned that if I didn't pay attention, I'd end up with poop on my clothes. So finding the trigger for the bite is important-- although there is not always an explanation as to WHY something upsets the bird, finding the cause of the bite can prevent the effect of biting. For example, I noticed that one of the times Connie would run down from my shoulder & attack my hand was when I charged my phone. At first I couldn't see the connection; it just seemed like sometimes she decided she hated the phone. My newest theory is that the phone CORD is the thing she feels threatened by ( a nasty snake?). I now know that trying to charge the phone when Connie is on me is NOT a good idea. The attacking of the sisters: hmmmmm.... Connie has attacked one of my daughters. Potential "reasons": My daughter goes away to college, so Connie doesn't "know" her as well & has to readjust to her constant presence when daughter visits? Connie is trying to establish her primacy? The worst bite came when I forgot she was on my shoulder, & my daughter hugged me. Maybe Connie feared that my daughter was going to hit her; maybe she wanted to establish that, "This is MY Mama! Go away!" At any rate, my daughter now fears/ loathes Connie, & Connie is smart enough to sense it. What I have found in my experience with a LOT of animals is that if you are calm around them, don't show fear, & don't make sudden movements (like jerking your hand away quickly or running away before anything has happened), the creature will be calm & will not be frightened of or threatened by you. Maybe CeCe is responding to your sisters for one if those reasons? Again, that's where you have to play Sherlock Holmes. As concerns petting, I think almost ALL conures love to have their little cheeks and the top of the head scratched. Try that. Good luck!

Those are good points about the noisiness of the environment. I think a lot of noise and activity tend to stimulate many parrots, which leads naturally to a greater chance of biting.