Sun Conure Suddenly Doesn't Like my Kids

JenD · Apr 13, 2011

Hi All! I'm new to this forum and was hoping for some advice.

My husband and I recently adopted a 2 year old Sun Conure, who has not been DNA sexed, but I will refer to him as a he.

Anyhow he's been with us for about 2 weeks now. He came from a single couple. He's incredibly loving to me and likes my husband, however recently has become aggressive towards my 5 and 7 year old son and daughter. Both of my kids have not changed their behavoir and are extremely friendly and sweet towards him. The first week he was fine, he would let them hold him, pet him and everything. Now if they come near me when he's with me he will puff up and get very defensive. I originally assumed he was just protecting me, however it's getting a little worse everyday. Yesterday when I wasn't even home he flew from his cage onto my son and bit the back of his neck. It's really odd. I would like to know if anyone has any advice as to how we can show him he can trust the kids. They've taken on the task of giving him his food, changing his water and talking/singing to him but it hasn't made a difference, maybe even making it worse.

We also have another Sun Conure who is a DNA sexed female who is 5. We don't have this problem with her, though she prefers my husband and isn't too fond of me. In addition we have two cockatiels who love everyone, aged 11 years and 9 months.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

:orange:

rlchic93 · Apr 13, 2011

We had this same thing happen and what we were told was that we were past our "honeymoon" period with the bird and this is now your birds true self.

MikeyTN · Apr 13, 2011

I think your giving the bird too much freedom to roam and attack. He probably sees you as the flock leader, I would suggest for you to discourage him from doing so and also have him clipped during this time. So he knows he is dependant on the other members to pick him up. Did your kids ever held him the wrong way that upsetted him?

Birds are very smart and will play us when they know they can.

Pedro · Apr 13, 2011

JenD said:
Hi All! I'm new to this forum and was hoping for some advice.

My husband and I recently adopted a 2 year old Sun Conure, who has not been DNA sexed, but I will refer to him as a he.

Anyhow he's been with us for about 2 weeks now. He came from a single couple. He's incredibly loving to me and likes my husband, however recently has become aggressive towards my 5 and 7 year old son and daughter. Both of my kids have not changed their behavoir and are extremely friendly and sweet towards him. The first week he was fine, he would let them hold him, pet him and everything. Now if they come near me when he's with me he will puff up and get very defensive. I originally assumed he was just protecting me, however it's getting a little worse everyday. Yesterday when I wasn't even home he flew from his cage onto my son and bit the back of his neck. It's really odd. I would like to know if anyone has any advice as to how we can show him he can trust the kids. They've taken on the task of giving him his food, changing his water and talking/singing to him but it hasn't made a difference, maybe even making it worse.

We also have another Sun Conure who is a DNA sexed female who is 5. We don't have this problem with her, though she prefers my husband and isn't too fond of me. In addition we have two cockatiels who love everyone, aged 11 years and 9 months.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Hi JenD, sorry your having this problem. I will try & shed some light on this for you. I have been breeding suns for many years & have also had them as house pets myself with this very same problem.

First your little guy is matured now & has claimed you & hubby as his flock mates however your children are intruders so he is attacking them & chasing them away. Also the reaction of the children when he attacks won't help much either. Matured suns can be very territorial & i think this is what is happening. It would be a good idea to clip his wings as Mikey has already said. Once they are grounded so to speak the kids should be able to handle him with out any fear of being bitten.

How does the new sun get on with your female sun. Is there any aggression there.

MikeyTN · Apr 13, 2011

Very good point Pedro pointed out!

JenD · Apr 13, 2011

Hi All, thanks for the responses.

I should have added that his wings are clipped.

He gets along pretty well with our female. Almost calmer when she's around but doesn't really show interest in being held.

The kids are respectful of him. I think he now sees their fear since the've both been bit at least once. They hadn't done anything to mistreat him. The first time he bit my son the bird was on my shoulder, my son came up to have me read him a book sat beside me and Mango leaped onto his shoulder after about 30 seconds he bit him on the neck. The lady who gave us the bird said that they wouldn't take him out of the cage when they had company because he would get jealous, but she said he was never aggressive. He's not as aggressive as I've seen some birds but I don't want him to get to that point.

I've noticed he seems better when we're in a different room that his cage isn't in. Currently his cage is in our main TV room.

Another thing he does that I heard is a "no-no" is that he always trys to sit on my head. Is this normal? It's only my head, not my husband's. It's next to impossible to get him off when he gets up there.

Also, one more question. Do you have any tips on how to switch him over to pellets? The people he previously lived with had him on mainly a seed mix.

Any info is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

MikeyTN · Apr 13, 2011

I don't allow my birds to sit on my head. I make them get off my head if they try. Usually if they can't behave on the shoulders, I either put them away or on their stand or on my arm. Then try again, if they keep up, I do the same thing all over again.

Mix his seed with pellets. Here's the way I changed mine. I do all my birds the same way. I do 75% Seeds/25% Pellets for a few days, then I change to 50/50 for a few days, then I change to 25%Seeds/75% pellets. During any period IF I see them eat numerous pellets, I take the mix and give 100% pellets. You can give some seeds as treats, but at a minimal. I would not advise it at the beginning, I would wait a few months before attempting cause they can ditch the pellets and go right back on seeds.

Gandolf · Apr 13, 2011

W@W what a mess....I thought I was the only one with a crazed Sun...LOL

U Mentioned " The first time he bit my son the bird was on my shoulder," I had to unlearn this bad behavior. Conures are Very Territorial and the Sun has made you part of the flock, every one else is an intruder. Our Sun "Caesar" did this exact same thing, seems like over nite......I thought that he had become demented

just kidding....
Allowing the bird 2 B on your shoulder is a dominence thing for parrots. I really hated 2 hear this

and I did not want 2 change this bad behavior that I was doing. Eventually I quit allowing this 2 happen and I must admit that I noticed some improvement. Unfortunately U may not B able 2 correct this Territorial issue now that it is started

Our situation has gotten better some but has not gone away completely. When it comes 2 Caesar we are always very vigilante when other people R around. I wish U all of the luck in the world and if U come up with a Sure Fire solution then please share it with me........I am always willing 2 learn and 2 try new things.

JenD · Apr 14, 2011

Thanks again for the advice.

I've been putting him back on his cage when he climbs on my head. Because 1) I know it's a dominance thing and 2) I'm not too crazy about having bird droppings in my hair.

I've noticed that he listens much better to my husband (who shows no fear AT ALL) than with me but he's "sweeter" to me, kisses me, nuzzles me and such. We'll continue to work on all the above tips. I've heard about the shoulder being a dominance thing, too. I try really hard to get him to just stay on my fingers, for me it's almost as possible but he will for my husband.

I'm sure we'll figure him out eventually.

Thanks again for all the tips and I'll start adding in pellets into his diet with the 25-50-75-100 plan.

Mike · Apr 15, 2011

Sounds like you know what to do, but let me beat the dead horse.

Your children must have priority over your bird. Period. End of story. If this means keeping the bird in its cage when the kids are around--so be it.

The bond between you and your bird must be broken for the bird's sake (you two will probably never become a mated pair), and for the sake of your family. You must remove yourself from direct interaction with the bird until it shows signs of accepting other people in your place.

To get the bird to accept the children, encourage the children to move slowly around the bird, and to only approach the bird when you are present. Use target training to distract the bird so the bird can sit on your children's arm without biting.

Do not allow your bird on your head, on your shoulder, or on any perch higher than your mid-chest.

Only after your bird's behavior has changed (this could take months) should you occasionally let the bird on your shoulder. Your shoulder should be a momentary treat, not its rightful position within the flock.

Here's video about target training.

JenD · Apr 16, 2011

No problem there, Mike. My children always come first. Perhaps that's part of Mango's problem. The last few days have went pretty smoothly, no biting, nor lunging as if he wants to bite, so hopefully it will continue. I noticed that if I spend 20 minutes or so with him in the morning before the kids awake for school he seems calmer in the mornings and even in the evenings after we're all home from school/work. Thanks for the tips.

Sun Conure Suddenly Doesn't Like my Kids

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pics of my conure and budgie

I guess it's that phase....

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