hello from the uk

hello all ,
i'm from manchester england , just recently got a conour parrot and he's great fun , very tame , jumps on to my hand just trying to start to speak,
But i do have a problem with him , he love's biting fingers does anyone have, have any idears , on how to stop him doing this
many thanks conrad

Welcome to the forums.

"Biting" can mean many things, could you describe it a little more? Does he pierce skin or just grab your finger? Does he do it all the time, or only in certain circumstances?

Young birds do explore with their beaks which is quite normal; they also play by grabbing things such as fingers. Generally you want to teach them how to bite/grab gently and let them know where the limits are so they don't think its okay to bite hard / attack fingers.

One technique I've heard when they bite to hard (if they are on your finger/hand) is to drop your hand a bit (inch or so) to throw them off balance. Some people have made this work, but I don't generally like this idea as it can make them uncomfortable on your hand and/or cause them not to trust you... which will then lead to more biting.

Alternately I'd prefer either a redirection or a time-out if he just wont quit. Redirection means that you interrupt his biting - a sharp verbal "ouch" or "no" can usually do that quite well. If you only interrupt the biting though he will likely go right back to it within a second or two, so you should redirect him to something else such as a toy he can chew on. He bites -> "ouch" -> give a toy to chew.

The above though should be for inappropriate biting, and it is largely up to you to decide where the line will be for that. Some gentle exploring with his beak should be allowed - it is part of being a bird, and part of their bonding.

A time-out should be self explanatory; if he continues biting hard put him in his cage and walk away for a minute or two. Yes, a minute or two is usually plenty to get the point across.



So again, some 'nibbling' is normal and I would not be quick to discourage it, but aggressive biting should be curbed right away. Also try to determine why he bites - if he does not trust your hand to be a stable perch he will bite; the lesson there is learn how to be a better perch or don't have him sit on your hand.

I actually don't have Auggie on my hand much anymore - I drink to much coffee, I'm a bad perch. But he is perfectly comfortable on my forearm.

Welcome to the site! Great post Auggie's Dad!

Conrad, what kind of Conure? Some species are more prone to "nipping" than others ... species information can also help with our advice here ...

Welcome to the forums!