Conure biting

[MangoTheGCC]

Yes very probably! Conures are masters at “playing” their owners! If he bites you again just shun him again, either to the floor or the back of a chair. Conures can also be very cage-territorial although Mango is still very young. He will soon learn that the fun stops if he bites!

I’ve been moving him to the floor over and over every time he bites. He knows I’m going to put him on the floor now and clings to my shirt.


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[MangoTheGCC]

He doesn't know you or your fingers. He is just trying to protect himself.

With time, he will learn that your fingers bring the good stuff to him, such as treats and neck scratches.

Give him time to settle in and don't push your fingers towards him like that, lol.

He comes out to us we don’t take him out of the cage with our hand. Should I give him a treat even shortly after he has bitten? I’m afraid this will reinforce the behavior.


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[Talven]

Don't worry too much about trying to spot the body language with your GCC. With my two the obvious signs appear at almost the same time the beak has latched on. They seem to go from nice to bitey in an instant. Mostly it sounds like Mango is getting a feel of boundaries in the new flock. A lot of the biting will settle as you develop trust.

The shunning method is the most effective I have come across. If they bite too severely they are put back in their cage and are ignored for a short while. This has proven to be for me the best method.

As far as I am aware birds don't have the same sort of dominance behaviour as other animals. Height doesn't matter, it's about feeling safer not more dominant. There never really seems to be any dominant bird in a flock. Sure you'll have one that pushes all the others around, but it gets ignored as often as obeyed. They don't have an alpha mentality like dogs. Don't get me wrong they will try to push the boundries and see what they can get away with. Sort of like a cranky toddler. If they can make you do what they want they will.

I would suggest that you look at target or clicker training. Your bird will enjoy the mental stimulation and it will give you better control of your bird.

 

[RemiBird]

No treats if he bites.
When I first got Remi (he was a cage aggressive and bitey two year old conure then), he was biting a lot. I mean, A LOT. My hands were covered in scars.
It's been a year, and he rarely bites, and even if he does, it doesn't break the skin. I think Mango needs time to settle in. I just kept saying firm "no" every time he bit me and would put him on the perch. But with time, he wanted to be with me, so putting him back on the perch was not what he wanted so he learned the meaning of the word "no". Now, if he starts biting for some reason, he actually says "no" - I am not kidding you.

 

[MangoTheGCC]

No treats if he bites.

When I first got Remi (he was a cage aggressive and bitey two year old conure then), he was biting a lot. I mean, A LOT. My hands were covered in scars.

It's been a year, and he rarely bites, and even if he does, it doesn't break the skin. I think Mango needs time to settle in. I just kept saying firm "no" every time he bit me and would put him on the perch. But with time, he wanted to be with me, so putting him back on the perch was not what he wanted so he learned the meaning of the word "no". Now, if he starts biting for some reason, he actually says "no" - I am not kidding you.

I was suspecting it would get better with time


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[LaManuka]

Yes very probably! Conures are masters at “playing” their owners! If he bites you again just shun him again, either to the floor or the back of a chair. Conures can also be very cage-territorial although Mango is still very young. He will soon learn that the fun stops if he bites!

I’ve been moving him to the floor over and over every time he bites. He knows I’m going to put him on the floor now and clings to my shirt.


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See how smart he is?!

Absolutely no treats if he bites. I know you are eager to get that bond going with him but he is still adjusting to his new surroundings so just slow down and give him time, he’ll come around soon enough

 

[MangoTheGCC]

Don't worry too much about trying to spot the body language with your GCC. With my two the obvious signs appear at almost the same time the beak has latched on. They seem to go from nice to bitey in an instant. Mostly it sounds like Mango is getting a feel of boundaries in the new flock. A lot of the biting will settle as you develop trust.

The shunning method is the most effective I have come across. If they bite too severely they are put back in their cage and are ignored for a short while. This has proven to be for me the best method.

As far as I am aware birds don't have the same sort of dominance behaviour as other animals. Height doesn't matter, it's about feeling safer not more dominant. There never really seems to be any dominant bird in a flock. Sure you'll have one that pushes all the others around, but it gets ignored as often as obeyed. They don't have an alpha mentality like dogs. Don't get me wrong they will try to push the boundries and see what they can get away with. Sort of like a cranky toddler. If they can make you do what they want they will.

I would suggest that you look at target or clicker training. Your bird will enjoy the mental stimulation and it will give you better control of your bird.

I’ve been shunning the bird for the last hour and it has been working except he knows that I’m going to put him on the floor or the cage and try to prevent me from doing so. I had to put him into the cage with Millet seed a few minutes ago after he bit really hard.


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[YSGC]

He doesn't know you or your fingers. He is just trying to protect himself.
With time, he will learn that your fingers bring the good stuff to him, such as treats and neck scratches.
Give him time to settle in and don't push your fingers towards him like that, lol.

+1

New birds should be minimally handled and never pushed in any way.
Birds are by nature fearful.
Trust develops gradually, but only if you respect the bird's sovereignty, so to speak.

Be patient.
At first, as much as possible, let the bird take the lead.

 

[MangoTheGCC]

Yes very probably! Conures are masters at “playing” their owners! If he bites you again just shun him again, either to the floor or the back of a chair. Conures can also be very cage-territorial although Mango is still very young. He will soon learn that the fun stops if he bites!

I’ve been moving him to the floor over and over every time he bites. He knows I’m going to put him on the floor now and clings to my shirt.





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See how smart he is?!



Absolutely no treats if he bites. I know you are eager to get that bond going with him but he is still adjusting to his new surroundings so just slow down and give him time, he’ll come around soon enough

Okay thank you very much I guess I just need to let him settle in and keep shunning him he bites.


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[MangoTheGCC]

He doesn't know you or your fingers. He is just trying to protect himself.
With time, he will learn that your fingers bring the good stuff to him, such as treats and neck scratches.
Give him time to settle in and don't push your fingers towards him like that, lol.

+1

New birds should be minimally handled and never pushed in any way.
Birds are by nature fearful.
Trust develops gradually, but only if you respect the bird's sovereignty, so to speak.

Be patient.
At first, as much as possible, let the bird take the lead.

how should I get the birds beak off my skin then?


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[YSGC]

He doesn't know you or your fingers. He is just trying to protect himself.
With time, he will learn that your fingers bring the good stuff to him, such as treats and neck scratches.
Give him time to settle in and don't push your fingers towards him like that, lol.

+1

New birds should be minimally handled and never pushed in any way.
Birds are by nature fearful.
Trust develops gradually, but only if you respect the bird's sovereignty, so to speak.

Be patient.
At first, as much as possible, let the bird take the lead.

how should I get the birds beak off my skin then?


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Maybe it's not ready to be handled.
Respect the bird, especially a new bird.

Building trust is key.
Trust is fragile, but essential to a good relationship.

Think of it this way ... it's not about what you want, it's about what the bird is saying it wants - especially at first.
In your bird's mind you two have made a bad first impression.
Now you have your work cut out for you.
Slow down.
Be patient.
It takes time.

Yes, over time it becomes more mutual as the trust relationship develops.
But your bird is new.
It's small.
You're big.
Put yourself in its mind.

 

[Flboy]

Read and reread!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

 

[Kalel]

In the video you provided, he is on a shoulder. It is quite possible he has associated stepping up with being taken off your shoulder. Some birds don't like this (being removed off shoulders). If this is the case with your little guy, then I suggest not letting him on shoulders for now. He needs to earn your trust much in the same way you need to earn his. 3 days really is a short time. He is super cute even though he thinks he's a scary dragon

 

[MangoTheGCC]

+1

New birds should be minimally handled and never pushed in any way.
Birds are by nature fearful.
Trust develops gradually, but only if you respect the bird's sovereignty, so to speak.

Be patient.
At first, as much as possible, let the bird take the lead.

how should I get the birds beak off my skin then?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe it's not ready to be handled.
Respect the bird, especially a new bird.

Building trust is key.
Trust is fragile, but essential to a good relationship.

Think of it this way ... it's not about what you want, it's about what the bird is saying it wants - especially at first.
In your bird's mind you two have made a bad first impression.
Now you have your work cut out for you.
Slow down.
Be patient.
It takes time.

Yes, over time it becomes more mutual as the trust relationship develops.
But your bird is new.
It's small.
You're big.
Put yourself in its mind.

I apologize if the last response doesn’t make sense as I misread your comment. But we haven’t been pushing the bird to be handled. the bird comes to us, we just open the cage and move about 6ft back and wait.


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[MangoTheGCC]

In the video you provided, he is on a shoulder. It is quite possible he has associated stepping up with being taken off your shoulder. Some birds don't like this (being removed off shoulders). If this is the case with your little guy, then I suggest not letting him on shoulders for now. He needs to earn your trust much in the same way you need to earn his. 3 days really is a short time. He is super cute even though he thinks he's a scary dragon

He is a super cute “scary dragon” the reason I actually picked him out at the pet store was because when I went near the cage all the birds ran over to the glass to “beak” me and they all kept pushing him out of the way.


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[MangoTheGCC]

Read and reread!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Thank you for the advice after reading that quote I did a lot of research on body language and have noticed a couple things like flared tail feathers when there’s too many people near mango. I know mango is a good bird and that most of these bites may also be out of curiosity and not fear but a good amount of the hard bites must have been due to me or my girlfriend acting in a way that scared our little guy.


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[MangoTheGCC]

+1

New birds should be minimally handled and never pushed in any way.
Birds are by nature fearful.
Trust develops gradually, but only if you respect the bird's sovereignty, so to speak.

Be patient.
At first, as much as possible, let the bird take the lead.

how should I get the birds beak off my skin then?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe it's not ready to be handled.
Respect the bird, especially a new bird.

Building trust is key.
Trust is fragile, but essential to a good relationship.

Think of it this way ... it's not about what you want, it's about what the bird is saying it wants - especially at first.
In your bird's mind you two have made a bad first impression.
Now you have your work cut out for you.
Slow down.
Be patient.
It takes time.

Yes, over time it becomes more mutual as the trust relationship develops.
But your bird is new.
It's small.
You're big.
Put yourself in its mind.

I just got home from work and mango paced back and forth until I went near the cage I put my hand away from the cage and he came over and hopped on my hand then started biting or beaking me but rather hard he was also licking me while doing so.


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