WHY does my conure hate me :(

[Mm6393]

So I have two conures. One is new, Merri, and the other,Kiwi, I've had for 6 months. Kiwi has ALWAYS been an amazing GCC. He was so friendly and loved cuddling. Never nipped at me ever!! He is 8 months. Once I got Merri (about a week ago) he completely changed. They're not even in the same cages. But I was trying to get Merri to be tame like Kiwi but it seems that Kiwi is just becoming less tame. He will hold his foot up like he's waiting to get picked up. And when I go to pick him up he will bite me. Not hard at all. But he will bite, grab, and almost start vibrating his beak. I know they bite to know if a perch is stable or not, but he wasn't doing that. It was a bite almost to warn me to back off. What I'm confused about is why he lifts his foot up to me and grabs my finger just to bite it? What am I supposed to do? He also hatessss leaving his cage now. I don't know what to do. Can someone give me advice?

 

[Flboy]

He is feeling rejected, and thrown away like yesterday's newspaper!

 

[Scott]

To suggest Kiwi is jealous is simplistic but accurate. Going from a single bird to having a competitor will cause ruffled feathers. Others may be more knowledgeable but at 8 months Kiwi might transitioning to adulthood. Hormones can dictate some awful bird behavior that may be short lived.

Regardless of Merri's sex, it is possible for two birds to dislike each other. No guarantees for harmony, but it is too soon to know for sure.

 

[T00tsyd]

Oh you poor thing. Look at it from Kiwi's point of view. Did you ask if it was ok to bring in another? No Merri just arrived - wham - a competitor! Just as so often a new baby arrives in the family and the toddler regresses I think birds might react the same way.

He wants to know that you still love him the best, that you are his property, and that this new flapper is not a replacement.

Hang in there. Go back to basics, use a perch instead of fingers, treat both birds the same but separately until they both recognise that they are all part of the same flock. Try putting Kiwi first when you speak/feed/interact etc. He doesn't hate you he loves you but too much to understand why you need another. He'll come around. Just keep calm and see it from his point of view.

 

[Anansi]

Yes, jealousy is likely a big contributing factor to Kiwi's current behavior. He doesn't hate you, but he may be feeling displaced as mentioned above. Keep in mind that our relationships with our birds are often quite confusing for them. Parent? Mate? Rival? flock member? Predator? For the most part, these are the 5 categories that bird relationships fall into in nature. And ofttimes, a bird's person is viewed as their mate. It's the relationship that most resembles their bond with us.

So seeing it from that perspective, it's no wonder Kiwi's feathers got a bit ruffled when a newcomer just strolled (or flew) on in and suddenly grabbed a lot of the attention that was once exclusively reserved for him.

One of the things I did when introducing a new bird was to make a show of giving my attention to him, first. Initially he'll still be less than enthused, of course, but it does ease the transition into a new, flock-oriented perspective. By coming to him first, every time, you maintain for him an aspect of the familiar. He knows when you enter his area, you're coming right over to him. The time is shared, now, but at least he will know what to expect and when. Whatever elements of life before Merri you can maintain will give him a touchstone of the familiar.

Also, you want to institute a definite sense of turn-based interaction. Individual play or training time with one must be immediately followed by individual play or training time with the other. (Unless one or the other is on timeout for bad behavior.) Consistency with this develops a routine, and birds find comfort in routine.

Otherwise, go back to basics with bite pressure training. Some people only correct when a bite becomes painful, but I set my threshold lower. The instant bite pressure leaves the realm of the comfortable, I address it. That way, they don't think their ceiling for bite pressure is at the point where they are causing you pain. Know what I mean?

 

[Flboy]

Yes an yes on everything said! Remember to keep Kiwi first on most everything for now! Be very careful, little GCC are good at amputating toes when upset with a perceived rival!

 

[clark_conure]

an alternative theory, and I may be completely wrong on this one....I'm fine with that. Could it be that kiwi want's to be around merri more? you say they are in separate cages. I agree with the above jealousy is a huge issue with multiple bird owners but they might be resentful at being separated from each other.....just a thought, might be worth a 5 minute experiment unless you already tried it.

 

[Puck]

an alternative theory, and I may be completely wrong on this one....I'm fine with that. Could it be that kiwi want's to be around merri more? you say they are in separate cages. I agree with the above jealousy is a huge issue with multiple bird owners but they might be resentful at being separated from each other.....just a thought, might be worth a 5 minute experiment unless you already tried it.

It's really not a safe experiment, particularly since it's probably jealousy and, as mentioned above, toes could be amputated! Honestly they should have had at least thirty days quarantined apart, which I'm not sure happened or not, but no new bird should go directly in a cage with others without adjustment time, especially if Bird Uno is seeming resentful. Cages are a very small space compared to the space parrots have in the wild and birds can be territorial about them--almost as territorial as they are about their humans! I would go with the jealousy theory--it is VERY common. Kiwi was obviously close to the OP before and the sudden behavior change implies jealousy.