Brand new GCC owner

[LouieMom]

Hi,

I am a brand new GCC conure owner, Louie is my first bird. He is really cute and funny, but we are having some issues. Louie has been in our home a little less than 2 weeks. He will not step up from his cage, he will run or bite. He will climb onto our arm or shoulder however. Initally, he would step up from anywhere, once out of his cage, but now is getting nippy with that too, especially if on my shoulder playing with my hair. Any advise would be greatly appreciated

LouieMom

 

[melinda]

2 weeks isn't long enough for him to settle in and feel safe or have a good bond with you. You need to slow down and take your time with him such as reading a book beside his cage lots of hand feeding him. His nips are his way of saying no they will turn into hard bites if you continue to push him. If i was you i would not let him on my shoulder until you have a good bond to where he will step up when asked with no nips and when you can read his body lang. If you want to let him after that it is up to you but only let him there when you place him there. My birds do not get on my shoulder not because i don't trust them but i can't see if they are getting ready to bite or not. A face bite isn't something you want to deal with within a month of getting your bird.

 

[theocnoob]

Ya if thats whats happening you have to slow down. Try to talk with your bird more. Get near it with your eyes closed (not bite distance). Respect it. Have fun, sing, dance infront of it. Try to get it to take food from your hand and work from there. With a bird who's that antisocial, likely from stress, you do have to slow down. Avoid prologued eye contact. Groom your self and/or living partner or even your dog infront of it. Show it that you are parrots too, but just weird ones, and you are offering a position in the flock to it. Eventually it will decide it wants to join the flock.