Pineapple Conure

Hello, After lots of research I bought a Pineapple Conure at 2 Months of age. We have had him for a month now and love him. How ever when he is out of cage he is full of life. Some times when you go to pick him up he doesn't want it and makes a mad noises and tries to bite you. But there are times when he is on the couch and he does this head bobbing and attacking motion like he going to go after you then walks forward and backwards like a boxer in the ring. Kinda funny. Seems like a puppy trying to play. Not sure if this is aggressive or he just being silly and playing.

Its not sick. I googled it and I keep getting answers about saliva and stuff. He is not sick. He is fine.

When was he to an avian vet last? Birds do have some saliva, but it usually isn't visible...


All birds will bite if you miss all of the other signals and push them. You say you know he doesn't want to be touched and then touch him/get bitten, but if you know that, why touch him? You don't want to give them practice biting, so unless it is essential, I'd really suggest avoiding getting bitten by looking for positive/ welcome cues from your parrot (rather than waiting for them to resort to biting to prove their point). Even if they don't end up biting, pushing to the point of them displaying signs of aggression, fear or irritation still harms trust and should be avoided. Babies are more forgiving and understanding than adults.

I know he is is still young but some mature sexually as early as 7 months.

Are you petting him places other than the head or neck? That is sexual for birds and is not good to start because even though he is still young, these expectations will stick. Is he getting 10 hours sleep in a quiet spaces on a set schedule? That is also essential to regulating mood and hormones as well as immune health.

If he has access to shadowy spaces like huts, tents, hammocks, drawers, boxes, tubes, under furniture, bedding etc remove this access. Snuggle hut are extremely common in stores but extremely dangerous for health, hormones and behavior. If he has one, get rid of it (not when he is looking) and know that they do not need a special sleep space. Providing access to "nesty" areas alters hormone production and behavior...At sexual maturity, all birds change...Just as a baby human is different from a 16 year old. He may not be sexually mature yet, but he will be, so you need to set him up for success now. You don't want him getting used to things that will be completely inappropriate in a matter of months when everything starts to be sexually relevant. EVEN in babies, these huts are very dangerous and frequently kill birds via entanglement, strangulation and crop blockages.

For birds who are sexually mature or going through puberty, couches are also notorious for triggering hormones, as they are shadowy to the bird and nest-like (lots of nooks and high sides etc...) You do not want to encourage this because even if what you are seeing is not hormonal now, it sets a precedent for what will be acceptable in the future. This may be playful now (like, practice for adulthood) but I would be cautious about encouraging it.

Our Conure did the same thing, especially when my husband comes around. We call it his attack mode. What that means is that we don't allow him to get aggressive and we keep the two of them apart. Also, Rin did that when he was younger, but now that he is 2 and maturing, he doesn't do it unless he is protecting my daughter (his person) from someone that he thinks is a threat.