Bad Buddie

[Buddies_mommy]

Buddie is my 15 month Sun Conure I have had since he was 4 months old. My little angel has always had time out of his cage when he isn't sleeping.
He has his perch beside me in front of the window. His time is spent with me on my shoulder, my leg, he has a "camping" cage for the motorhome and my car. Buddie is everywhere I am. Yes I spoiled Buddie rotten!
Up until he turned a year old, he was my little angel. Then he became a brat. Buddie bites me for no reason. At first it was more of a nibble, now he draws blood. He got mad when my daughter walked by us and bit my cheek. He leaned over to give my son a kiss as he always has and bit his lip drawing blood. I love Buddie so much, but his behavior is causing me to consider taking the offer I had a few months ago from someone who has a female. I worry no one is gonna love Buddie like I do and take care of him.
HELP!!! what can I do to get my little angel back! or is it even possible?.

 

[coolit]

You have to make him understand that this behavior is unacceptable.

What worked for me was to hold him carefully, within my hands, put him on his back and tell him with a firm voice NO! a number of times, and for punishment, I would put him on the floor in a corner, walk away and ignore him for a couple of minutes.

He would come walking back after me, and I would keep my back turned and ignore...

When I picked him up after a couple of minutes he would be much nicer. with time, he stopped the aggression entirely. But it takes time and patience.

 

[JennHacken]

You have to make him understand that this behavior is unacceptable.

What worked for me was to hold him carefully, within my hands, put him on his back and tell him with a firm voice NO! a number of times, and for punishment, I would put him on the floor in a corner, walk away and ignore him for a couple of minutes.

He would come walking back after me, and I would keep my back turned and ignore...

When I picked him up after a couple of minutes he would be much nicer. with time, he stopped the aggression entirely. But it takes time and patience.

this is a perfect way to help! I have had alot of progress with the same type of disapline with my conure. We are our bird's flock- if they learn they can be mean and we still play with them, then they're going to continue to be mean. if they're mean and we ignore them after- they're going to do what they can to stay in our good graces.

 

[FA22raptero]

You have to make him understand that this behavior is unacceptable.

What worked for me was to hold him carefully, within my hands, put him on his back and tell him with a firm voice NO! a number of times, and for punishment, I would put him on the floor in a corner, walk away and ignore him for a couple of minutes.

He would come walking back after me, and I would keep my back turned and ignore...

When I picked him up after a couple of minutes he would be much nicer. with time, he stopped the aggression entirely. But it takes time and patience.

this is a perfect way to help! I have had alot of progress with the same type of disapline with my conure. We are our bird's flock- if they learn they can be mean and we still play with them, then they're going to continue to be mean. if they're mean and we ignore them after- they're going to do what they can to stay in our good graces.

Just be careful. Bird usually do not respond to force (e.g. grabbing) as well as dogs or other mammals might. This might work perfectly for buddy, and I'm sure coolit knows exactly what he's talking about and why it worked for him! However, I also know that force can be very detrimental to your relationship with your bird. If I may suggest an alternative though, use step ups, combined with the second half of coolits idea. Instead of grabbing buddy, make him step up on to your fingers in a ladder 7-8 times, with a stern voice saying "step-up" and at the beginning and the end sternly saying "no biting buddy". Then go set him somewhere (safe) and ignore him for a few minutes. The step ups will make it a less forceful act, but still demonstrate that it's not okay to bite.

 

[Buddies_mommy]

Thank you. I will try this or anything that works. I love my little Buddie, but he has to stop being so mean.
Is this normal with Conures? I heard from the pet shop he would hit the terrible 2s, but they never told me he would be this mean.

 

[FA22raptero]

Well, it all depends. Birds are like people... each one is different. No one rule applies to all birds across all species. For instance, if my bird was a human, I'm 95% certain he would be diagnosed with severe ADHD and some sort of personality/mental functioning disorder. As I look at him right now he's spinning around his perch, alternatley stoping and scratching his beak and then spinning around the other way. What I'm getting at with that useless anecdote is that there really isn't necessarily an answer to why he's acting that way, but there is a fairly limited set of solutions to fix the problem. Pet store birds also usually have more behavioural problems than other birds. Next time I would recommend not supporting the pet store trade, and buying directly from a breeder who hand tames the birds, it makes everything easier. Plus, you can always call your breeder with questions too.

Parrots can react and change to even the slightest changes. Maybe you died your hair? Or if you are a girl changed your make-up or some other alteration? Have you lost a lot of weight or put a bunch on? Did you put something in his room or have you changed his diet? Has something traumatic happened (even the slightest thing sometimes). Perhaps if something comes to mind, you can change it (like, maybe you painted the room, and he hates the color and saw you painting it so now he's mad). Maybe he's jealous when you spend time with other people. But as I said, why he's doing it is only relevant if you can figure it out, in which case you might just be able to reverse somehting. Most of the time though you can't really know what or why it happened, so you just need to treat it. Start with the step ups and the time outs... be patient, it can take time. The biggest piece of advice that I can add to that, is to stay confident. Don't get scared of the bites, and don't do things just to avoid being bit. It shows that Buddie that bitting is a way of getting what he wants. I know it hurts a lot, but you just have to tough it out. Keep all your routines the same, and just do the punishments when necessary. With dedication and hard work Buddie will be back to your old cuddly bird, and might actually be even better than he was before (if that's possible). Cheers!

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

I don't have a bird right now, but I'm looking to get one, and have read everything I can get my hands on. I have read a lot about how they will test you, and also how they hit hormonal stages. Both scenarios usually end up with giving up a bird if they don't understand.
I'm looking into amazons, which are possibly the worst for these reasons, as well as macaws. Being stern, but not abusive. Brave, but not cruel, will show your bird your here to stay. You may have a couple years (I haven't read about conures, because I don't want one) that he is a total jerk. I know it's that way with amazons. They love you and are sweet for years. Then turn into grumpy jerks. Eventually they come back around and accept your love ten fold.
I honestly think it's just like a human. It's partially what appeals to me.
I think reading and watching YouTube videos on bird behaviour would help you immensely, and would stop you from rehoming him. Please don't do that unless you absolutely must. He will love you again if you give it time. He's just being testy.

 

[kiwiS]

Thank you. I will try this or anything that works. I love my little Buddie, but he has to stop being so mean.
Is this normal with Conures? I heard from the pet shop he would hit the terrible 2s, but they never told me he would be this mean.

It might help too to not associate human behavior with his behavior - like being mean for example. He could be scared, territorial, excited but never mean - that is purely a human trait . He also might not have learned his strength, and doesn't know he is hurting you. Just keep reminding him it's not okay to bite that hard, and keep understanding that he is being a bird and he is still a baby and is going to make mistakes.

 

[Echo]

Thank you. I will try this or anything that works. I love my little Buddie, but he has to stop being so mean.
Is this normal with Conures? I heard from the pet shop he would hit the terrible 2s, but they never told me he would be this mean.

It might help too to not associate human behavior with his behavior - like being mean for example. He could be scared, territorial, excited but never mean - that is purely a human trait . He also might not have learned his strength, and doesn't know he is hurting you. Just keep reminding him it's not okay to bite that hard, and keep understanding that he is being a bird and he is still a baby and is going to make mistakes.

I agree. We tend to humanized our bird's behavior when they're just acting as what they are, parrots with strong primitive impulses. We need to find the best way to adjust OUR behavior in order to have the best possible relationship with our birds. We need to learn how to behave around them as well. Learning their body language is helpful as well to prevent a bite. There's usually a trigger just before the bite and finding what it is should help.

 

[kiwiS]

Your bird can also bite you hard when they are telling you to run away from danger! I received such a bite from Kiwi when my dog suddenly jumped up and startled her. She gave my arm a big PINCH - as if to say RUN AWAY NOW! and then flew off. To think she was trying to save me first - bless her little heart!

 

[legal_eagle]

I would head off the biting before it starts. Don't let him hang out on your shoulder for long periods of time, which increase the risk of biting. No need to make drastic changes.

 

[FA22raptero]

I would head off the biting before it starts. Don't let him hang out on your shoulder for long periods of time, which increase the risk of biting. No need to make drastic changes.

Interesting thought... however, does it really tackle the problem? I don't know if I would want to feel like I need to restrict my time with my bird because they might bight. Like someone else said, they always bite for a reason, and if you can figure it out you can work towards solutions.

 

[yavorssj]

Discipline works, but I have found that after scolding (and usually having to lightly hold the beak), it is best to immediately enter into a cuddle session. Seems counter intuitive, I know... [SIZE=+0]Y[/SIZE]es, discipline is necessary. But so is the reassurance that you are still best buddies.

I could be off, but this seems to have worked for my wife and I...

 

[Buddies_mommy]

It has been close to a month now since I posted this thread. I was at my whits end with Buddie. Thanks to some advise on here I tried my sweet Buddie is back. First I took Buddie put him gently in my hand holding him belly up and said no bite. Then I put him in the corner and walked away.. Buddie would immediately come to me but I would not pick him up. If he climbed up my pants I would put him back into the corner and ignore him. It was painful for me, but Budddie has for the most part stopped biting me.
I did change a few other things. Since Buddie spends most of his day out with me on his perch in the living room or riding around on my shoulder, I put Buddie in his cage at noon for quiet time for an hour.. Buddie hates my youngest two children. I started putting Buddie in his cage, in my bedroom, with the door shut when they get home from school during the chaos of dinner, homework and baths. I noticed Buddie really gets mean at that time.
After the kids settle down I get Buddie out for cuddle time. Bedtime is 8pm since he gets up around 7am after the kids are on the bus. He still gets snippy occasionally and gets his "time-outs" but he is doing much better!
I wanted to thank those of you who were so kind to offer advise! I cant imagine not having my little Buddie! I don't want anymore but I sure do love that feather baby.

 

[Agapornis]

Buddies_mommy, thats great! I'm so glad everyone's advice helped you and Buddie. I am going to be utilizing those same techniques when my 2 GCCs act up.

Buddie is a lucky little bird!