Biting conure. Please help me train my beloved

My beautiful baby conure (11 weeks old, we've had him for 2) bites. Now I have to say that he has gotten a lot better since we brought him home. We did SOO much reading before we got him and the breeder told us to lightly hold him, facing us on his back, when he bites hard and say in a deep voice "noo" and then place him on the ground. It really has helped, but he still bites. Especially when he's in a crazy mood and rolling around on his back and hanging upside down on our clothes. Any suggestions to help stop biting???

Hello and welcome to the forums!

What you're doing is good (holding him, etc.) at the times when he randomly bites, but when he goes into playful mode you need to allow him to be himself.

It's common for GCCs to have excessively playful streaks - Its kind of like a birdie stress relief, similar to when cockatoos go on screaming rampages. During these moments they appear to be angry and bitey and tend to charge at things that are moving. It will take a while, but once you learn his body language you can see these attacks coming before they hit. You should definitely get him off you beforehand if possible.
Once you spot it you have two options; you can ignore him completely till he settles down or you can play a game with him to use up his energy.
I've posted this video in a few threads but I think it helps.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO7LKYDtcc0"]Attack Bird - YouTube[/ame]

Once again, keep doing what you're doing if he bites randomly (such as if you're giving him scritchies) but don't do it during his 'stress relief' moments.

Hope it helps, and I'd love to see some pictures of your baby!

Young birds explore a lot with their beaks because they don't have hands to do that with. I would suggest instead to not put your green cheek in a position where he feels the need to bite, and if he's just exploring, then give him a foot toy or something to redirect his attention to.

Many birds do not understand punishment, and by punishing them, you could make the original problem worse, not better. I highly recommend looking into positive reinforcement and clicker training! Rather than making experiences between us and our birds negative ones, positive reinforcement is about making each and every experience between us and our birds a positive one and is a great way to learn how to communicate with your bird!

The more positive experiences your bird has, and the more they perform good behaviors, the less likely they are to do bad behaviors.


I also agree about the pent up energy. Charlie is always better behaved the more exercise he gets! And by exercise, I mean flight! It's a great way to tire him out so he's less likely to do behaviors that I don't like!

Mudkips said:

but when he goes into playful mode you need to allow him to be himself.

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That is really important! And the video-clip is great for what to do.

MonicaMc said:

Many birds do not understand punishment, and by punishing them, you could make the original problem worse, not better. I highly recommend looking into positive reinforcement and clicker training! Rather than making experiences between us and our birds negative ones, positive reinforcement is about making each and every experience between us and our birds a positive one and is a great way to learn how to communicate with your bird!

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I need to bow for those words! *Bow*
I never punish my birds, only positive feedback when they are doing right. And I never try to handle them when they are so playful. It's their time. And not good behavior or training-time.

Step ups.. is all I can say. Step ups like no tomorrow Step ups are great because they are non-punitive, reinforce training and help your bird stop biting. As soon as your bird nibbles harder than you would like, make him do between 7-9 step ups on your two fingers. Then put him back. If he bites again, repeat! That's what works for me

FA22raptero said:

Step ups.. is all I can say. Step ups like no tomorrow Step ups are great because they are non-punitive, reinforce training and help your bird stop biting. As soon as your bird nibbles harder than you would like, make him do between 7-9 step ups on your two fingers. Then put him back. If he bites again, repeat! That's what works for me

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That's flooding/dominance....

Parrot & Bird Training Terminology | Good Bird Training

Flooding: A process of teaching an animal to cope with a situation it fears. The process is generally traumatic and relentless. The animal learns nothing it does will change the outcome and learns to submit or tolerate the situation. Not recommended!

Example of flooding:
Everyday a Quaker parrot is required to be moved from one location to another. The bird does not step up voluntarily. It is decided the bird must be moved and the bird is chased with a towel until the parrot is captured. This is repeated two times daily to move the bird inside and outside. Eventually the bird stops running away from the towel and freezes when it sees the towel. This allows the bird to be captured easily.​

Learned Helplessness: The result of flooding procedures. Parrots learn nothing they do can influence the outcome and give up. Not recommended!

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Flooding doesn't have to be a fearful situation every time... and what you are suggesting sounds very punitive to me... bird bites and you force him/her to do step-ups, which in turn leads to learned-helplessness.


Birds bite for a reason, so it's better to find out why they bite rather than to punish them for biting. Set them up for success by giving them opportunities to do good behaviors!


RP - Biting

@mudkips -- great video. birdy wins award for cutest attack bird.

I agree with the advice about helping the fids to calm down by playing or giving them exercise. Even at 30 yrs old, Pritti is just like a youngster the way he has episodes where he just wants to be like a 2 year old and run around checking things out and moving fast. That's my cue to bring him in to another room where he is more free to explore, like the kitchen floor and counters (which are pretty long here), or just spread out a really big table cloth in the living room and load it up with toys, bunched up towel or t-shirts, even little dishes of pellets and water. I hang out with him and interact (rolling the ball back to him, tossing a ring, etc.). It always seems to be what he needs - exercise and play. Try it. It's fun for both of you.

Oh, and I also agree with the comments about not punishing and not flooding. Positive reinforcement is the way.