Is biting hard normal?

I am completely new at this and am still learning Caesar and trying to get habits and a routine formed. I work in a restaurant with smokers so I have to take a shower before I handle him for safety and anytime I walk away he starts talking. When I'm able to get him out after I've showered he's fine just wants to be on my shoulder chewing on my shirt but he's gotten to where if I want him to get on my hand he bites and it isn't the soft bite anymore. I'm not sure if he's wanting to be out longer or if he is agitated at me. Is this normal or am I being paranoid?

It's "normal", yes. But not exactly acceptable polite birdy behaviour in my books. If your conure isn't consistent with stepping up onto your hand or stick trained, then imo shoulders are off limits. The reason being is that Caesar is telling you, "NO. I want to be here, and you can't make me get off!" with that bite. Instead, you want, "Oh, I know that signal - it means if I step up I get rewarded!" - no bite, bird steps up and gets reward, and then you can place him where he needs to be.

To do this, you're going to have to set boundaries with him. No allowing him on the shoulder or crawling up to it until he is consistent with his training. When he is, then train him on your shoulder. If he's not consistent on your shoulder, then once again revoke those privileges until he is. It can be unwise to have a bird that isn't step-up trained to be on a shoulder because they can act out if they don't want to be taken down, and fingers aren't the only thing they can bite. You have quite a bit of sensitive flesh in the face area

So long story short - yes it's a normal reaction for an untrained bird, but it doesn't HAVE to be normal if you work on training him.

Ok I'll definitely try it. In your opinion what is the best way to train him? When I take him out just hand handle him then give him a treat when I put him back or also when he's out? Thanks for all your help!

Just my 2 cents.. figure out what small treat he is very fond of. My Sun likes lil pieces of walnut or pecan. He knows when I have them and knows the word "goody". Get him accustomed to the word and the treat then give them when he gets on your hand. I used that method to get Booger to go back to his cage. Now he will go back to his cage with enthusiasm when asked. He also now puts himself back to his cage with no treats around 9pm every nite.. and says "go nite nite". He learned the time and the words from me. Another thing you gotta be careful of is teaching them to bite. Example... my wife is very timid around birds, even small ones. When we first got Booger, (preowned) he had a bad habit of biting ears to get ya to roughhouse with him. I broke him of that easily by just covering my ear and giving a sharp lil "aak". He would then bite my hand and I would not move it. Behavior stopped completely. However.. when he would get on wifes shoulder and bite her ear she would reach back with open hands trying to push im away..and promplty get her hands attacked .. not a mean attack.. a play attack (which can still be tuff for her). So he learned that when he wanted to play with her.. simple.. BITE HER EAR.. My wife broke in to tears thinking Booger hated her. I told her how to stop him but she still instinctively would reach back trying to get him away from her ear. Finally it sank in.. she followed my instructions... would simply cover the ear and NOT mover her hand if he bit it as well. Several days have passed now.. her ear has not been bit again. Bottom line, lil birdies can learn fast and sometimes we teach them the wrong things if we do not try respond right to bad behavior. Now Booger will still bite the heck out of ya when you get close to his food or a toy he is playing with. That is instinctive behavior and can be tuff to break.. but just being aware and using good birdie manners yourself when dealing with them can avoid those bites from happening.

Thank you for the advice! I've only let him on my hand today and he's done wonderful. No bites except a couple that weren't hard just love bites I guess. I give him a treat every time it's time to go in his cage and only that treat then so he will come to expect that. We're both still learning each other and I just don't want to start any bad habits by him or me especially. I appreciate everything!

Great to see you making progress. On a side note.. dont be too worried about trace amounts of cigarette smoke on you or your clothes. That the least of your worries. Its more likely a bird gets health issues from improper or wrong foods in their diet. Another big no no is old "fresh foods" left in their cages....usually on the floor. Just stick with a healthy diet and a clean cage and you will find you lil bird is pretty darn tuff. In case you dont know this ... steer clear of avacado, chocolates, caffiene, and NO salty snacks. Salt can kill a bird in minutes. Good luck with your new family member.

Oh no not cigarette smoke but actual smokers you smoke meat in. I reek of BBQ when I get home haha. I wasn't aware of the no salt so that's great to know. I'm learning something new everyday and I appreciate letting me know that.

OHHHHHHHHHHH... smokers... lol.. gotcha... Well I smoke bbq too. 2 smokers in my back yard so I know that lingering perfume it leaves.. .. And no... that wont hurt them either...lil bird will just think mommy smells like a wood fire. Glad I was able to tell you something useful there. Yes there lil kidneys just cant handle salty food. Trace amounts are no biggie but a frito or a tater chip can actually kill them really quick. Long story short.. I lost a 20 year old "lap baby" cockatiel because someone put a couple fritos in her food bowl. She died in my hands shortly after. Glad to be of help..I wouldnt want to see you lose your baby like that.
And oh on a side note... the bitting behaviour you mentioned (when your bird was on your shoulder chewing your shirt).. that is instinctive. He is in "protect" mode.. like his is defending food or a toy. My sun does the same thing and has the same "shirt chewing" fetish. Put your hand near him his head goes down and he charges like a lil feather alligator. And like I said, instinctive behavior is the hardest to break them from doing. He's not just being stubborn or bossy. Also, if I simply snap my fingers Booger will go in to attack mode...going after my hand. ( I quit doing that)~ Booger will also attack my wifes purse.. the pattern on it is somewhat reptilian and he will seek it out and try to kill it if its within his sight. Easy fix.. hide the purse!.

That's great to know. My bf has a cupboard full of chips so now I know that isn't shareable food! I'm so sorry to hear about your bird. I haven't let Caesar on my shoulder again since he has been biting but he's tried to get up there a few times. I'm going to try in a couple weeks to let him back up there and if he bites again I guess another 2 weeks.

UPDATE!! Caesar was allowed on my shoulder tonight and hung out for a little bit then when it was time to come off he came off with no problem! Night and day from when we first brought him home! So excited for him and about him. He has become another member of the family an fits in perfectly. I couldn't be happier! Thanks to everyone for the advice and knowledge you shared!

I find Skittles likes to 'play nibble' and will occasionally treat my hand/finger like a chew toy but he is very gentle when he does it. So I let him.

He only bites me hard when he sense danger and I try to grab him or hold him. But even his hard bites of me are nothing compared to what he will do to strangers. I can't seem to remove him that's how strong a grip he gets on them. Which is why I cage him around strangers.

I wish he was better socialized, but my living situation doesn't provide me that luxury.

Lemon only bites hard when he's wrestling and gets too worked up. It's the cutest thing, and it doesn't actually hurt or break skin but there is the odd time where I think "wow, that's a bit harder than it should be". He understands "be nice" and "no" and will ease up on the pressure when told to. However, if he gets way too worked up sometimes the wrestling session has to end LOL. I really believe most conure bites are not aggression, but rather communication. Take my example, for instance...someone can easily confuse Lemon's bite for being aggressive when in fact he is just playing with you. Body language is another big thing to watch for as well and you will be able to tell the difference between play, communication, and actual biting. Good luck

Kalel said:

I really believe most conure bites are not aggression, but rather communication. Take my example, for instance...someone can easily confuse Lemon's bite for being aggressive when in fact he is just playing with you. Body language is another big thing to watch for as well and you will be able to tell the difference between play, communication, and actual biting. Good luck

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Yeah, I've found that to be true as well. It's pretty easy to know when your conure is actually biting you because he/she is mad or what not. Their body language is pretty telling.

Most of Skittles biting is 'play biting'.

Well I've learned with him now if he starts flapping his wings when I go to get him out to just let him be because he will bite. I usually give him 5 minutes then try again without problem. Everytime he bites now I just put him back on the play gym and walk away for a few minutes then return. But it has gotten better. Some days are worse then others but nothing compared to trying to get him off my shoulder.

That's good that things are getting better.

I find that most of the time if I stick my hand in Skittles cage, he will want 'scratchies' rather than come right out. Reason for that is I normally just open the top of his cage and put the perch up and he comes out on his own. He also goes in on his own at bedtime. Occasionally, I have to put him in, but he doesn't put up a fuss.

If I try to remove him from my shoulder with my hand/finger, he will likely bite me. So what I do is use hand & voice commands. If I want him to leave my shoulder I will point somewhere (one of his play areas) and say "go". He usually abides.

I find that Skittles is very responsive to hand/voice commands. Remarkably.