Hello Everyone!

[Opp282009]

Hi I am Michelle, and my fiance and me recently got a male and female conure which we named Jack and Sally. The female is 1 and half, and the male is a year and 5 months.

We are working to get them not to bite. They are on a seed diet which I hope to learn and make chop to see if I can get them to eat that. I have tried to give them fresh fruits and veggies but they don't seem to like it.

The male is very nervous and I want to also find a way for him to relax and be comfortable with us. So any help for that is welcome. Any helpful hints to help them not to bite and to get them to step up better is welcome?

 

[Julianna]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

When do your conures bite? Are they territorial or do they bite when you try to pick them up? The problem should be approached in a different manner depending on the situation. If the biting is territorial, try working with your birds away from the cage or playgym, and then gradually bringing them closer to the problem area. If the biting is a result of your actions displeasing the conures, you have to figure out exactly what causes the biting in order to address the problem. I recommend target training to help stop biting. This is training a bird to gently touch the end of a stick, and you can eventually use this to get your bird to gently touch your fingers or hands without biting. Here is a link showing how to target train your birds: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c"]How to Target Train Your Parrot | Parrot Training - YouTube[/ame]

As for the fresh foods, my one word of advice would be to not give up on it, no matter what. Birds often change their minds about foods frequently and seemingly without reason. One day you can offer a certain food and have it flung across the room in scorn, and the next day it will be devoured. Just keep on offering a variety of fresh foods and eventually your conures will most likely start eating them. One thing you can do to help your bird adjust to new foods is to demonstrate that they are good to eat by eating the food in front of your bird. If my caique sees me eating something, then she MUST have the food, so this method almost always works for me. You can also mix new foods in with your bird's regular diet or try placing the new food in the place where you normally put a favorite food. I usually wrap treats in paper for my caique, so if she won't eat a food, I often wrap it in paper to show her that she'll like it.

To help your birds become more comfortable with you, the most important thing (in my experience) is just to spend time with your birds. It doesn't matter what you're doing, so long as both you and your bird are comfortable and relaxed. You could just sit near the cage reading or have your bird outside the cage with you while you do something. Trick training is also a great way to build relationships with your parrots. Look up some fun tricks on the internet like waving hello or spinning in a circle and teach them to your birds. While you train, you'll build your bird's trust in you. I think target training is a great place to start, and it creates a way for you to move your birds around without having to touch them, which is particularly useful if you have a shy or untame bird.

I hope this advice helps you out, and enjoy the forum!
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c"][/ame]

 

[Opp282009]

The female will bite me after I pick her up. She will step up take the treat eat the treat and then proceed to bite me. The male just runs from me

 

[Julianna]

How long ago did you get your conures? They might just be nervous about you and not trust you to pick them up yet. If the male runs, don't chase him as this could make him feel threatened and lead to a bite. Instead, try using target training or coaxing with treats to get him to come to you. The same goes for the female if she looks scared. If you are able to coax one of them onto your hand, try to stay as still and calm as possible and give the bird lots of treats for staying on your hand. If your bird bites, try not to react (parrots tend to like loud noises, so a shriek or yell could act as reinforcement) and gently take the bird off your hand. Then just ignore the bird for a few seconds. That's one method for stopping biting, anyway. If your birds are fairly new, they might just need time to adjust to you and learn to trust you, so I'd just give it some time, patience, and training if I were you.

 

[WesselG]

Hi Michelle

The other trick I found to get a bird to accept you more readily is to try and figure out what their favorite treat is (in my flock's case it's unshelled peanuts) and not to give it with the main diet but to make a point of putting it in the dish separately while they watch.

That way they will figure out the treat only shows up when you're around and with a bit of patience they will eventually take it from your hand.

The key is not to get discouraged if they don't want to take a treat from you. I have a female that has been with me since last October and she only started taking treats from me in the last week...and then it's just a quick "grab and run", not like coming towards me to take the treat like my other birds.

 

[Opp282009]

I have only had them a week. I have another conure with no behavior issues. But the male ran away from his old owners also. So this is not a just me thing. The female lets me pick her up. And is doing much better on the not biting me shortly after. The male I can get to take a treat from me but he has no interest in me. I sat down next to them and the female came up to me and sat on my leg. So we are getting somewhere. But the male as I said runs from everyone.

 

[Julianna]

Many birds are shy in the first few days with a new owner. I've heard stories of some parrots taking weeks or even months to become comfortable with their new owners, so don't worry yet Food is definitely a good way to gain trust, but it may still take a while. Good luck!