does hand feeding encourage biting?

[White_and_mortimer]

hi i have recently got a new green cheek conure (yet to be named) and i have been teaching him to step up on my finger by luring him with a piece of apple held in my fingers. i have been doing this and he occasionally bites my finger maybe mistaking it for a piece of apple? do you guys have any knowledge or experience on whether i should hand feed my conure?

thanks in advance
Robin

 

[Rozalka]

This is normal to GCC's

 

[noodles123]

If you conure isn't weaned, you have absolutely no choice but to hand feed him...what do you mean, "should I hand feed"?
1. You should not buy an unweaned baby...
2. If you did, you must hand-feed because they will die if you don't

Do you just mean taking food from your hand, because that is not "hand-feeding"
Hand-feeding means using a syringe to squirt formula into their mouths (at least around here, that is the connotation).

If you are getting bitten when trying to hand food to your bird from your hand, it may be due to the fact that you have not established solid trust at this point.

 

[Rozalka]

Yep, I also am so confused in meaning "schould I hand-feed" - it depends on the age

 

[White_and_mortimer]

thanks for the replies. sorry i am still new to the terms i just put the two words together. he is weaned don't worry and i was referring to the time in which i let him bite food from out of my hand.

"If you are getting bitten when trying to hand food to your bird from your hand, it may be due to the fact that you have not established solid trust at this point." thanks noodles that is what i suspected i just wanted to make sure and see if i shouldn't do it anymore.

 

[noodles123]

You want to keep things as low-stress for your bird as possible. If they bite, it's usually a sign that you missed a bunch of physical cues up to the point. In the wild, they rarely bite other birds...RARELY...But that is because other birds speak the same language. You want to get really good at reading your bird and avoid pushing things to the point of biting.

Then again, if your bird is a baby, it could be a matter of your bird not knowing how hard/he/she is biting...so you have to figure that out too.

Pressure training is something to think about, but you need to know the root of the biting before you assume

 

[White_and_mortimer]

oh, ok thanks thats really helpful i will try and find that out so i can avoid it.

thanks so much for your time
Robin

 

[noodles123]

Again, a baby will sometimes bite because they don't know better, but that is why you have to be clear on what is happening before you decide what path to take.