Hi all!
I'm new here and have owned a little Green Cheek named Juju for a couple years now. She's incredibly aggressive (biter) and I'm hoping some of you might be able to offer some tips for training to make her a little more handleable.
First some backstory for Juju: I got her a few years ago (I don't remember the actual date now) from a breeder in Georgia. The breeder left her in a situation where she was over-preened by the other birds in the cage with her when she was still a little baby. I have a feeling this is the source of her aggression and possible neuroses as I've never fully been able to train her out of her bad habits no matter how hard I try.
Juju was always fine with me, but other people including my brother and mother could not handle her bare-handed without being bitten apart. She really went after them and got them good to the point where they were afraid to handle her. I was always able to handle her with no problem, so I tried to socialize her with my family to try and train her out of her bad habits. It was coming along slowly, but then I moved out of state. I had to leave her with my family for the better part of about 5-6 months while I got settled and found a place that would allow me to have a bird. Once I did, my mom shipped her to me via plane; however, in that period of time she was not handled or socialized very much due to my family's fear of her biting. She had regressed pretty badly when I got her after the time of separation.
When I got her (now in Seattle) and she was under my primary care again, she was back to being handled regularly; however, at this point her aggression was out of control. I could no longer handle her without gloves even though I was the only one that could handle her previously. She bites, hard enough to draw blood and hangs on, and no matter how much I socialize her or try to work her through it it doesn't seem to make a difference. At times I thought it might be making a difference, she would go a week or two without having a "biting episode," but then she would go right back to it like she forgot all the progress in a second. These episodes were seemingly unprovoked, I can't figure out any common factors that causes her random bouts of aggression.
Sorry for the long post! That brings me to the present. I would truly love to get Juju back to the point where at least one person can handle her. I feel very bad for her because she doesn't get to get out of her cage as much as she used to due to the fact that she's aggressive with everyone in the vicinity when she's allowed free roam. I live in a studio apartment currently so I can't keep her out by herself in a room.
I'm just hoping for any advice from some experienced conure-owners that might be familiar with this behavior and how I can best approach it. I have no intention of giving her away, I want to get her through this and provide the best life I can for her, she is my family. It breaks my heart that she can't be out and sociable as much as she used to and I know that she wants to, because she loves to hang out on people (until she flips out and bites for no reason).
Does anyone have any advice or experience in this? I really appreciate your time! I'm sure poor little Juju will too.
I'm new here and have owned a little Green Cheek named Juju for a couple years now. She's incredibly aggressive (biter) and I'm hoping some of you might be able to offer some tips for training to make her a little more handleable.
First some backstory for Juju: I got her a few years ago (I don't remember the actual date now) from a breeder in Georgia. The breeder left her in a situation where she was over-preened by the other birds in the cage with her when she was still a little baby. I have a feeling this is the source of her aggression and possible neuroses as I've never fully been able to train her out of her bad habits no matter how hard I try.
Juju was always fine with me, but other people including my brother and mother could not handle her bare-handed without being bitten apart. She really went after them and got them good to the point where they were afraid to handle her. I was always able to handle her with no problem, so I tried to socialize her with my family to try and train her out of her bad habits. It was coming along slowly, but then I moved out of state. I had to leave her with my family for the better part of about 5-6 months while I got settled and found a place that would allow me to have a bird. Once I did, my mom shipped her to me via plane; however, in that period of time she was not handled or socialized very much due to my family's fear of her biting. She had regressed pretty badly when I got her after the time of separation.
When I got her (now in Seattle) and she was under my primary care again, she was back to being handled regularly; however, at this point her aggression was out of control. I could no longer handle her without gloves even though I was the only one that could handle her previously. She bites, hard enough to draw blood and hangs on, and no matter how much I socialize her or try to work her through it it doesn't seem to make a difference. At times I thought it might be making a difference, she would go a week or two without having a "biting episode," but then she would go right back to it like she forgot all the progress in a second. These episodes were seemingly unprovoked, I can't figure out any common factors that causes her random bouts of aggression.
Sorry for the long post! That brings me to the present. I would truly love to get Juju back to the point where at least one person can handle her. I feel very bad for her because she doesn't get to get out of her cage as much as she used to due to the fact that she's aggressive with everyone in the vicinity when she's allowed free roam. I live in a studio apartment currently so I can't keep her out by herself in a room.
I'm just hoping for any advice from some experienced conure-owners that might be familiar with this behavior and how I can best approach it. I have no intention of giving her away, I want to get her through this and provide the best life I can for her, she is my family. It breaks my heart that she can't be out and sociable as much as she used to and I know that she wants to, because she loves to hang out on people (until she flips out and bites for no reason).
Does anyone have any advice or experience in this? I really appreciate your time! I'm sure poor little Juju will too.
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