I'm starting to be convinced my conure just hates my guts...

So five years ago my grandparents bought me a green cheek conure, Corky, from Petsmart as a high school graduation gift. Don't know how old he was, but I always assumed he was only about a year old or so. For the first three years he was a absolute sweetie. Sure he had some bitey moments, but a firm "no" as I pushed into the bite pretty much made him stop, it was never a very big deal. If I tried picking him up and he didn't want too, he would just shuffle away to tell me no and he loved to sit with me for hours and have me pet him. Then...it went all down hill.

For the past two years he has been a monster. First it started out slow, he would be more bitey then usual and be grumpy and I figured it was just those dreaded teenage hormones I had read about kicking in, but it's been two years now and it's getting out of control. He will let everybody under the sun hold him and pet him, but if I try too? He attempts to take my hand off. He has moments where I'll be sitting on the floor and he comes over to me and paces, chirping at me like he's always done which means he wants me to pick him up. Yet if I pick him up, he puffs up and bites me so hard I bleed. I can't get absolutely anywhere near his cage anymore, it's a race to try and grab his food and water bowls before he gets to my hands to nail me. There are times I can pick him up and he's fine, and he'll be sitting on my shoulder or hand with no issue (though he won't let me pet him) and then out of the blue he will make this angry sound and bite me and I have to pry him off to get him to stop...to which he just bites me more until I can quickly put him in his cage. But does he do this to my friends and family when they visit? Not at all. They can carry him around and pet him no problem.

Just the other day he followed me into the bathroom, and kept chirping at me when I was getting ready to take a shower. So I picked him up and put him on top of the shower frame. He sat there fine, but when I got out I offered to let him down but he wouldn't step onto my hand. So I finished drying off, got dressed and offered my hand again for him to step down...what does he do? Launches himself off, lands on my chest, bites the crap out of my chest then when I used my hand to try and grab him he turned his head and gave me one heck of a nasty bite on the hand. I just dropped him at that point and I know it's terrible, but I was so frustrated that I walked out, closed the bathroom door and left him in there until I calmed down. After that he followed me around again begging me to pick him up. I finally gave in after about an hour or so and picked him up...and he puffed up and bit me.

I just don't know what to try anymore. Pushing into the bite doesn't work anymore, he just holds on. I've tried being silent when he bites, giving him a sharp no...nothing. I've tried walking away and ignoring him, I've tried talking to him softly to get him to calm down, I've tried using a dowel to pick him up but he absolutely refuses to step up on it, I've tried punishing him by putting him back in his cage when he bites, I've tried just giving him space when he's trying to be bitey and trying to wait till he calms down but he rarely does...I just don't know. It's to the point I barely let him out anymore, because then he either gets into something or goes somewhere that I can't get him away from without him pretty much attacking me or I can't get him back into the cage because he's being so aggressive. I love the little guy, but I'm really just starting to beleive he just doesn't like me and would just love to get the heck away from me and go home with one of my friends. Any help here? I've struggled for two years with this and I am getting absolutely no where with everything I try.

Sounds like he hit puberty and things digressed from there. The onset of hormones can make a bird aggressive (especially males) and if an owner is not expecting/aware of it, then they may not be prepared/know how to take steps right away to prevent the behaviors from spiraling. Sounds like that may be the case here (and don't take that as insulting, it's really really common for this to happen, and great that you've reached out for help before just giving up on him). I am not super familiar with conure behavior, but this is a good thread to start with on identifying the reason he's biting and what to do:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48616-types-biting-behavior-mods.html

Hopefull other owners of mature conures and our resident 'expert' Birdman666 sees this thread to give more situation-specific advice

Does anyone else live with you? MY GCC prefers my husband and "tolerates" me, to put it lightly. When she's with him, she runs away from me. She did bite me pretty hard once when I tried to take her from him.

Have you tried coaxing with treats? If you offer a piece of fruit or some seed when you try to get him, it may make him focus on that instead of going after you. I can get my GCC to go anywhere for a treat. (She is a piglet.)

I'm not insulted! He's my first bird and so my first time going through this, so I am kind of clueless regardless of all the research I've done online.

I don't live with anyone currently, I used to live with my parents but no longer. He isn't food motivated at all, it's a miracle to get him to eat anything at all.

Hang in there!

I have one word for you...gloves. Buy a pair of the thicker cotton ones and wear them every time you handle him or try to change his food/water. Let him nail them and get nowhere. No reaction to the bite, no pain no jumping. Get him used to you being the boss again. He's the boss right now and trust me he knows it. My male conure was a pill for awhile and he still doesn't care for fingers near his face. But a couple weeks of me picking him and and making him go here or there with me with no reaction to his biting made a world of difference. He's a different bird now. If he does bite me my reaction is swift and unceremonious. I grab him up fast and shove him back in his cage with a stern NO! And there he sits, away from me which he hates now. After some time I let him back out and he's fine again.

Another thing that helps is to establish a feeding station outside the cage. I made a pvc very small short stand and I set it in a clear plastic tub to catch the mess. On it I attached two bowls for food and water. I put treat type food in it that he doesn't have access to in his cage which makes it a particularly favorite spot. Here is a photo of the type of set up I have for him but with straight legs at the bottom because I can't bend pvc:
Feathersmart Large Bird Parrot Table Top Stand w Cups | eBay
I bought the feeding cups from that lady but you can take a pvc cap and drill a hole in it and turn it upside down and screw it in to the top pvc post to make a feeding cup, it's just not removable so you'd have to pick up the whole thing to wash the bowls unless you stick metal pet bowls inside them. Actually for a water bowl you'd have to find a metal pet bowl to fit inside one of the cups or else the pvc cap won't hold water. That feeding spot is his favorite thing in the world, keeps him busy and happy while outside the cage. I highly recommend making a spot like that. Feed fresh raspberries, white grapes (mine doesn't like red), seed food-anything you find he'll take to the most other than his main source of food.

The whole thing is very easy to clean, I dump out the waste in the tub into the garbage and rinse the tub out under hot water and everything comes right off with no work.

I tried gloves once, but I could always try again. He's very fearful of objects, last time I tried wearing gloves he would scream and thrash around to get away from my gloved hands. I tried them several times but it stressed him out so much I stopped, but I am willing to give it another try and see if I can get him used to them somehow. Things would be so much easier if he was food motivated, the little bugger.

corkyness said:

I tried gloves once, but I could always try again. He's very fearful of objects, last time I tried wearing gloves he would scream and thrash around to get away from my gloved hands. I tried them several times but it stressed him out so much I stopped, but I am willing to give it another try and see if I can get him used to them somehow. Things would be so much easier if he was food motivated, the little bugger.

Click to expand...

Is there anything he is motivated to work for? A reward doesn't *have* to be food. My amazon is kiss motivated I kid you not, he would prefer a kiss and praise in a high-pitched voice as a reward to some small treat. Is there anything Corky might be more motivated to work for than food? Some birds even like just verbal praise.

Yeah he won't like the gloves but I say I don't like getting bit to the bleeding point worse Trust me, he'll live through it just fine-whether he likes it or not is irrelevant if this is the only way he can be out of the cage without you getting hurt. I don't have to use them anymore, so it won't last. Which would be worse for him, being left in the cage all the time or even worse-rehomed because you guys can't get along? The gloves are the kinder option. He will begin to behave, you guys will get closer. Conures are such small birds that poop so much that them eating outside the cage shouldn't be an issue. They need to eat more often anyway. It just goes right through their small bodies.

I'd consider stick training him. I would not use gloves, a lot of birds are terrified of them and locking up a bird that's already being locked up a lot probably isn't a great idea.


I'd then start trick training him if there's anything you can lure him with.

I do like the idea of the gloves, but I believe stick training is a good thing nonetheless. Our bongo is a very opinionated GCC, very! He has grown very fond of the taste of blood and bone. If you are not Rose Mary, you will get hurt. By using the stick, I can be relaxed holding him, without reinforcing his chomping. Yes, there was that one time I woke him wrong and he proved he could still get me when he wants to- a bird hanging on to the bridge of your nose really, really hurts!
But, the stick. Helps build trust, and, if someone who is afraid of these little guys is the only one to keep your fid safe, hey you could be in the bathroom, stick training could save your bird's life.

Yes, we are starting to work with bongo's aggression. Am following so so much that is buried in this forum! Bongo actually stepped up on to my hand just the other day! I diverted his attention with a treat, then before he could say, what the hey! I calmly put him back down, praised him and walked away