Question about my conure

way2scary4u

New member
Mar 19, 2014
9
0
Parrots
Pineapple conure
Hi guys, so I brought home mu feathered friend about a week ago. He was very friendly when we brought her home and even came out of the cage the next day. Now here is my problem. She has been very nippy for the past couple of days. She wont let me touch her but she comes out the cage and is fine as long as I don't touch her. she was open with touching before but now that has changed. How do i get her to stop biting me when i touch her? I need to start doing step up training as soon a possible.
 

SoCalWendy

New member
Jun 29, 2013
1,571
0
Kihei, Hawaii
Parrots
None at the moment
She is biting you because she doesn't want you to touch her. Biting is usually a last resort. I am sure she showed you with her body language that she didn't want to be handle. They do this by moving away from you first. So you need to pay attention and respect her space for the time being because she is nervous about her new surroundings. Give her time to settle in, and don't rush it.
 

witchbaby

Member
Feb 4, 2014
551
2
Virginia
Parrots
cinnamon turquoise gcc - luna,
pineapple gcc - drago,
galah/rose breasted cockatoo - merlin,
timneh african grey - jasper,
pied cockatiel - picasso,
blue & gold macaw - mia
How old is she? Is she full-on biting or just being beaky? A lot of babies will go through a stage where they test their beaks on everything, chew your fingers, etc. They don't know their own strength and it's not done out of aggression. Puberty and hormones will also bring out a nippy stage.

As wendy mentioned, if it's an aggressive bite then you need to pay attention to what she's trying to tell you and respect her boundaries. A week is still pretty early and she may need time to settle in and warm up to you. You can open her cage to let her come out and explore if she's up for it, sit with her and talk softly to her, offer her treats, etc, but don't try to handle her just yet. Let her go at her own pace. She will come to you when she's ready.
 

KiwiPlusUs1025

New member
Feb 23, 2014
101
0
South Florida
Parrots
Yellow Side Green Check Conure
My Kiwi (GCC) is 10 months old and she has gone through many different stages and repeated stages. She was the same way, she was not nippy the first few days, but after about a week she would bit us so hard that we would have bruising. Personally, I learned the hard way, I stressed and cried a few times. My husband would tell me it takes time and not to stress. I learned to be patience and give her time to get to know us and trust us. I don't want to jinx us but she has been so sweet and willing to do whatever we "ask" of her. Hope it gets better :)
 
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way2scary4u

New member
Mar 19, 2014
9
0
Parrots
Pineapple conure
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She is definitely not being aggressive as she is not showing any of signs of aggression. She is young, 7 months old. She just pecks and then if i leave my finger there, she will go harder and harder.
 

SoCalWendy

New member
Jun 29, 2013
1,571
0
Kihei, Hawaii
Parrots
None at the moment
Trust me 7 months is not too young to receive a hard nasty bite. My P'let is just a lil thing and can bite very hard enough to draw blood even at 7 months. They will bite hardwhen they are scared and when you are pushing too hard.
 

veimar

New member
Feb 5, 2014
1,150
4
Chicago, IL
Parrots
gcc Parry; lovebird Coco; 3 budgies (Tesla, Franky and Cesar); cockatiel Murzik, red rump parakeet girl Onyx
When I got Parry from the pet store 2 months ago he was pretty slow to get used to us, and I didn't touch him much for the first week. Maybe your baby was first very timid and allowed you to do whatever you wanted, but now she is trying to set the boundaries. Parry is VERY beaky, but he almost NEVER really bites (it happened just a few times and even that wasn't too bad - no blood or bruising). What I did I very firmly discouraged him from harder biting - I made an upset and angry face and scolded him in quiet, almost hissing voice when he started biting too hard. Believe it or not, it really worked with him! As far as I noticed parrots are very attentive to our facial expression and voice emotion, and I don't believe they would really want us to be upset or angry. I talk to him a LOT when I'm at home, and the scolding sounds very different from my usual talking. So I hope he understood he was doing something wrong and tried not to do that. He doesn't bite even when I do something he completely hates like drying him with a towel or wiping his beak - he would just scream miserably. :)
I'm a novice with parrots, but since I had similar situation I would just back off a bit and let her be comfortable where she is now. The trust doesn't come in just a few days - it takes some time to build up.
 

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