Biting...help!

I have a sun conure named Beaker.

I rescued Beaker when he was around one. Beaker is around 2 to 2-1/2 years old now. When I first got Beaker he lived me with me and my now ex wife, where he spent 100% of the time with me, since the ex hates birds in general.

Since my divorce, I moved out of my home and have been staying with family for the past year now. I was worried Beaker might not adjust well to 5 people in a home now, but he loves it and loves the attention he gets by all. He is very social and enjoys company. He still knows when it's me when I come home just by walking into the house with uttering a word and he begins his screeching waiting to see me. We have an extremely close bond. He always looks for me first and when I'm home, he wants to exclusively spend time with me, and only me. He loves being out of his cage and watching everything I do be it from washing dishes, working on my computer, etc while sitting on my shoulder/head, tucked under my beard and peaking out, or under my shirt and sticking his head out of my collar or sleeve. He's quite a character and cuddle bug so to say.

Recently the past 2-3 months he's been biting me and only me. And they are full on bites where he draws blood every time. My fingers have bite marks all over them and sometimes he will even bite me under my shirt or on my neck under my beard.

Things I notice that trigger him biting me are:

Trying to get him to step up off of me, or having to gently pick him up when he gets stubborn and digs in with his claws

When I hold anything, be it from a pen, video game controller, fork, food, etc

When I fold laundry...he hates that and will rush toward the laundry and try to bite garments and if he can't then its me before I can react

Giving him treats at times

Petting him

Getting him to step up from flat surfaces like a desk.

BUT HE WONT BITE ANYONE ELSE!! So I'm wondering...what gives and whats up with his recent hostility towards me? When he does bite, I will blow in his face, give him a gentle pat with a finger on his head saying "no bite" or I will put him in his cage but that leads to him screaming bloody murder for hours...

I do reward him verbally, with treats, and with affection when he does things well without biting.

Any ideas on how to curb or stop this behavior? He was never like this. I've been trying to figure out what triggered the biting, and I need to do something about it. I can't have my fingers looking they went through a wood chipper and covered in bandages everyday because people start to ask weird questions lol.

ANY help/advice would be appreciated!

My Yoda sometimes gets crabby, bitey and aggressive with a lot of those same behaviors. It seems to happen when he hasn't gotten enough sleep. Conures should have between 10 and 12 hours of night time (dark room or covered cage), undisturbed. If they don't get this, they can get hormonal and aggressive.

Whether or not that's what's happening for Beaker, you definitely need to work on bite training. Obviously, that's easier said than done. I am still (and constantly) working on this with Yoda also, but at least I'm lucky enough that he doesn't ever draw blood.

This thread has great info and suggestions on Bite Pressure training:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

This thread has lots of good info and suggestions on biting in general:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Sounds like you are doing the right things regarding the positive reinforcement. You may need to add in some negative reinforcement in the form of time-out. In the wild when parrots get too aggressive with their flock and they hurt someone in their flock, that parrot is shunned. The injured parrot squawks in distress and then leaves the offending parrot to go play elsewhere. The offending parrot soon regrets their behavior and rejoins the flock, either learning the lesson or getting a repeat of the consequence.

So you should do the same as a parrot. When he bites, shout in distress (NO! or OUCH!), and put Beaker down. On the floor or perch or nearest surface. (NOT his cage). Walk away 10 feet or so. Let HIM come back to you. When he does, if he is no longer aggressive he gets rewarded and praised. If he bites again, repeat. If you have to repeat this more than a couple of times in a row, he needs some time to calm down in his cage. Try again after 10 or 15 minutes.

In general, try to avoid things that cause him to bite, use a perch to pick him up. If he keeps biting when he is under your shirt, no more under the shirt time for him until he changes his behavior.

Good luck!!!

I wholeheartedly agree with the advice above that when he bites that is when you should put him down or in his cage for a time-out. Biting birds in a wild flock get shunned and kicked off to the ground until the message sinks in and they are allowed to rejoin the flock.

My guess at why he's biting.... it's hormone season!! Many members go through similar situations where their normally loving birds get nippy and are generally left alone to settle down and are handled less. It is just something you have to manage and work around.

Although I am very new as a GCC parent, I will offer some advice to my guys biting. He is 13 weeks old and extremely tame and sweet. In the p.m., however, he gets somewhat "aggressive". He flaps his wings, bites my hand and squawks.

Not sure if this is just the cranks or if he is hungry...but I do give him a time-out when this happens. I KNOW that he'd rather be with me than in his cage.

Example- When I put him in his cage and stay in the room he runs up and down his cage chirping to get out. If I leave the room he quiets down and either eats or plays.
So, when the biting happens, I say "No, time-out", put him in his cage and STAY in the room. He, of course wants out, so after about 5 minutes, I take him out.

Many times, he turns into his old sweet self. A couple times he actually snuggled up to my neck as to say "I'm sorry".

But when he gets aggressive around bed time, he doesn't calm down much so I just leave him alone.

If your guy LOVES his cage, more than being out, then this may not work as he might bite so you WILL put him back.
Whatever way you try, be consistent and patient.

Good stuff to think about, above.

It can be a complex issue, huh? Yep. Good for you, for reaching out and being open-minded.

Concerning the hormones... my ideas on lighting...
Ever since the Rickeybird hit sexual maturity at about 3-4 years of age, I've had to manage his hormones! If kept on too steady a long day, and too much light, he stayed "in the mood" (aggressive, even louder than usual, pleasuring himself on my neck ) year round. If I keep him on a natural light schedule... up with dawn, down with dusk, year around... THEN he's only a little monster rooster from July to September). He has his own room, so I can do that easily.

Two and 1/2. Yep, you buddy is going through a difficult phase! Give him space and time! Study the thread given, http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html.
Also do a search on MonicaMC+hormonal

Sounds like you and Beaker have a beautiful bond. I agree with the others that it's his puberty time and this spring has been a hard one as far as hormones go. I too have a bitey little fellow who is otherwise sweet and clings to me. It will pass and do put him on the floor or the back of a chair when he bites and turn your back to him. It really does help!

Thank you all for the helpful links/resources and personal experiences.

I think to start off I will put Beaker down on the floor (he dislikes being on the floor 95% of the time) after he bites me I always say "NO" or "NO BITE" soon as he bites.

He's also molting and preening a lot so I assume spring and hormones have something to do with his behavior, but he was also biting in the fall/winter but not as frequently or hard.

Beaker only likes to be in his cage when I put him away to sleep in the evening. He dislikes being in his cage when anyone is home and wants out and will screech bloody murder for hours. He usually comes out of his cage when I get home and stays with me. He's not a fan of being on top of his cages playground and will only be on someone else's shoulder or hand only if I am around so he can retreat back to me when he's had enough. He doesn't quiet down even if I leave out of his site. He's too smart for his own good.

I guess I also might be guilty of not giving Beaker 10 - 12 hours of sleep. Living with 4 other people there is a lot of noise and commotion when my folks get up around 5:30am. I usually uncover him around 8:30am when I leave for work. His cage can only fit by a window, which I open the shades up for him since he likes to bask in the sunlight. Since my divorce my life has been a bit more hectic and I usually don't get home until 5:30 to sometimes 7:30/8pm in which I take him out of his cage and interact and give him the attention he needs. He joins me from being with me paying bills online and job/apartment hunting to sitting on the couch watching tv or gaming. I usually put him back in his cage around 10pm. I do catch him sleeping during the day when the house is quiet in his hanging tent I have for him that he enjoys very much. I know his environment isn't ideal as it was before when we lived at my house and he was kept in my home office where I would be able to close the door to keep noise down to a minimum other than a radio I'd turn on for him, and to also keep a dog and cat out. Hopefully things will change for the both of us when I can find/afford a new home for the two of us.

Thank you again everyone. Greatly appreciated.

the time out method is a proven method. And it doesn't take long.

Just wanted to provide a quick update from all the help you all gave me. I've been using the technique of putting Beaker on the floor after he bites and ignoring him for a few minutes despite him trying to climb up my leg which he can because I wear shorts lol, but he is getting the concept that when he bites, he will be put down and ignored. The biting isn't as frequent and I'm sure it will slow done with more time. He is also listening to the cue I'm giving him when I say "NO BITE" when he opens his beak and looks like he is ready to bite.

Again I thank you all for the helpful tips and insight.

That's SOOOOOOOO good to hear!!!! I love it!!!

My problem with Yoda lately is that he's getting better and better at flying now that I have let his flight feathers grow out. So when he bites, if I try to put him on the floor he flies out of my hand and back to my shoulder even before his little feet can hit touch the ground. Clever little goober!!! Even so, he does seem to get the message that biting means I will try to get away from him, so he does better.

Sometimes when he's really worked up and excited, the best thing that works is to just speak softly, move slowly, and calm him down.

Anyway, thanks for the update! Glad to hear it's going well!