My wife's Conure won't stop biting me!

Hi fellow bird owners!

I've come here hoping to get some help with my Wife's naughty Conure named Wilbur.

Wilbur is very loving towards my wife and is usually very well behaved. We have been living together for 6 months and it's been hard for me adjusting to the bird being around 24/7

My main goal here is to be able to comfortably handle Wilbur like my wife can since I really do love him and I want to enjoy the pleasure of owning a bird.

Wilbur loves to bite my finger VERY hard. So hard that it breaks the skin and I start to bleed. I am unable to get him to step up off his cage.
He will usually step up to me when he is on the ground or a table but usually becomes almost excited by the presence of my finger. Showing it to him will make him start smashing his beak on the ground and start to bite everything around him (hard)

I feed him seeds every day and sometimes we even share fruit. Wilbur is definitely not scared of me (he is fine on my head or shoulder it's just getting him up there that is the dangerous part)

I've been told to stop a bird biting to walk away immediately . The problem with this is his bites are so hard that i can hardly bring myself to try anymore. Also sometimes when he bites me and i walk off he flys towards me (ironic i know)

Any help would be really appreciated

Many birds are territorial when you are both in their ... well ... territory.

My conure is an affectionate butterball, but I never offer my hand to him when he's on or in his cage or one one of his playgrounds or stand perches.
That's his territory.

To avoid a nip I always use the below perch linked below and the step-up command to move him to my shoulder, or back to his territory.
When removed from his territory he's reliably a sweetheart.

I like these 18" perches, a wooden dowel with crushed sea shells for a good grip.

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-BA...ocphy=9031087&hvtargid=pla-352723931217&psc=1

I can only speak from my experience here so hopefully it helps.
Remi came to us as a two- year old, cage aggressive and biting. So the past eight months with him have been a slow but steady process. In the beginning, we just let him be. We opened the cage so he could hang out on top and watch us, but later on started using a perch to try and get him to step up.
With time, he learned that being alone in the cage is not much fun and started showing more interest in hanging out with us. So, we started letting him step up on our hands. I am not gonna lie - the first few months my hands looked like I was opening oysters all day, lol. I had bites all over.
What really worked was this: he would be on his perch at the cage door showing interest in joining us, and I would come to him and put my finger slightly under his belly. Then he would try and put his right foot on it. At that same time, he would try and chomp on my finger as well because that's his instinct. Then I would say "no" and move my hand slightly. He would look a bit confused. Then I would try again putting my finger until he steps up with his left foot on it without biting. And then he would get a ride on the shoulder or treat or whatever he wanted to do.
So hopefully this process doesn't sound confusing but I find that it has worked for us the most.
The thing is that I find working with Remi is that he came with a "baggage" to our home. He wasn't a baby when we got him. So, we give him plenty of time to figure things out. Every day is a step forward. Every day, we try to read his mood. If he is not in a good mood, we let him be and rest on top of the cage munching on snacks and stuff. If he is in a good mood and willing to learn, we use that time to teach him things.

Hi!
Two issues, right off! You are a trespasser! And this has become a learned response! Both are fairly easy to minimize! Read and reread:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Why the double post?

Welllllllllllllllllllll...

My bird and my ol' man hate each other. We tried all sorts of stuff over the decades, but finally just gave up. Please do your best and see what progress you can make, but... friend, there is no disgrace in surrender. I have the Rb and my husband his bicycle.

Hello & welcome!

My Levi prefers me and he was afraid of my husband. I encouraged my husband to engage w/ him. Over time my husband started doing his own little things w/ Levi. First he started playing hide & seek w/ him and slowly added more things. I refer to it as their 'special' things & routines. Levi hears him before me & says "hey buddy" and I know my husband's home. After greeting me, he greets Levi, kisses his beak & than bows his head & Levi runs his beak over my husband's head. He wears a crew cut. It's pretty funny. Hubby showers every night when he gets home & Levi flys in the BR to hang out in there while he's showering.
He will allow my husband to transport him, however, my husband isn't fond of that b/c he doesn't trust he won't get bit. It's a work in progress.
In the evening he sometimes likes to perch on my husband's belly while he's reclining and watching TV. There is more they do together, but I believe you get the picture. I don't want to drone on unnecessarily.

I'm very happy to report they've come a long way.

Welcome to you.
Bites happen, and you are the new guy in town. Keep in mind this bird is as intelligent as a four year old kid, and very emotional creature. They can easily read your body language they communicate by pupil size , so the right mindset must be taken for all interaction. Patience is a must, birds can take a long time to change.....Bribe the heck out of him, safflower seeds are hit with most conures.

All great advice from the group so far.

Another tip that I will add:
Offer you hand in a fist for him to step onto and see how that goes.

Parrots seem to easily fall into patterns of behavior, so if he's gone for your fingers in the past - possibly for his own good reasons - it may just be a pattern that needs to be broken.