I don't want to get rid of him :(!

[crimson]

I did, so I understand completely what he's going thru.
I think of him everyday, and still miss him everyday
He's gone to a very good home with other conures, and a very qualified owner, who knows her stuff when it comes to those types of birds. I hear from her quite often and get updates
Unfortunately I made the wrong decision bringing him home, he never bit me but has bit his new owner a few times, so I guess I did something right, lol.

 

[Pugtato]

I know that covering Franklin's cage when he'd try screaming non stop, curbed him from screaming. We allow a little bit of occasional screaming, birds just have to flock call sometimes - usually we can curb it now by just talking to him, he does talk with a pretty decent vocabulary for a conure, if he keeps up after a reasonable period of time, we will cover his cage and he stops and uncover it a short time later.
i

I do not have nearly as much experience with Parrots as the amazing people who have already responded to you, but I have worked extensively with problem horses, dogs, geese, and rabbits. The specific problems may be vastly different, but the overall way of approaching the issues are similar. Please, if anything I say contrasts with some of the information given by the TRUE experts disregard what I have said...in the end this is only my thoughts on the matter.

I do this same technique on my relatively quiet Senegal Parrot. She HATES when I go into the kitchen and she can't see me anymore, when my fiance takes a shower and she can't see him, or when I take a shower and she can't see me. She will flock call about once every 10-15 seconds until we return or she can hear me singing from the kitchen. If her calling persists, I will calmly walk over to her cage, pick her up and place her into it, and all without making eye contact or saying a word cover her cage. I make sure to act as nonchalant towards her as I can, as if I am saying "So what, your squawking? I have better things to do right now." This usually calms her down quickly and over the course of a few weeks, her flock calling became rare because of this methodology.

I will usually leave her like that for 10 or so minutes and then uncover her cage, 99% of the time she will be quiet as a mouse, but if she starts up again I will repeat the process as many times as need be.

If I were you I would start by making a routine (wake up at 8, feed and uncover parrot by 8:30, etc...) quieting my home (TV's, Music, etc...), and then I would attempt to approach his problem with a clear head and an open mind.

Give your guy something to look forward too, a routine will help to structure his day. Be sure that he is getting 12 hours of quiet, restful, sleep a night. If he is otherwise healthy, I would also put him on a strict feeding schedule so that his dependency upon you is increased. I would also look into quieting your home if it is a louder household. If an animal is living in a chaotic, loud, or disorganized home, then the animals behavior will reflect that. I would take steps to organize, make his space as calming and relaxing as I could. At least for the time being I would shrink his world; put a nice comfy chair in a nook where his cage is, put a few animal safe plants in there and get to relaxing with your parrot. Learn to enjoy his company again, if only for a few moments a day.

Make sure he has some indirect sunlight during the day, it is shown that natural or artificial sunlight can improve the "moods" of many animals. Give him some toys that he loves and let him slowly learn how to entertain himself. What does he like that would not require you holding him (and therefore getting bit)? Does he like it when you set him on the floor and give him a toy or when is set on the back of the couch to preen? Make things that he (and you) enjoy apart of your daily routine.

Good luck, I hope you can keep your boy.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

I think that he doesn't trust you from what you have said. I recommend you start target/touch training him. You'll need a chopstick, a clicker, and treats.

So every time he touches the end of the chopstick GENTLY, you click the clicker and reward him. If he attack or bites the stick, do not reward. try to mash some berries at the end, so next time when he tries to eat it by gently touching the stick, click and reward.

When he knows what to do and very good at it, you can start target him around he's cage. And later on, target him onto your hand for step up training, etc. and train him tricks using the target stick, like turn around, and flight training. Most parrots loves to show off!

So touch/target training are a great way to bond with your parrot, so he learns to trust you, and not to bite.

But I DON'T recommend you flick he's beak, yell at him, or do anything like that. That will only make your parrot feel uncomfortable, and unsafe when around you. I recommend positive reinforcement, which means you ignore the bad behavior, and only reward the good behavior.

And a very important thing is that you never force your parrot to do anything he doesnt want to. Like if you ask him to step up, and he walks away. Respect him and try it again later. If you keep on asking him to step up while he doesn't want to, you'll gonna end up getting bitten. If you respect him and can read he's body laugange, you'll gonna have a parrot that trust you because he knows that you respect him.

But please please please don't send your parrot away. It's not he's fault that he bites, it's just a way of him protecting himself. And from basic training like target training, you can change the biting problem.

Believe this or not, my alexandrine parakeet Ozzie, use to be a little devil.he bites when ever he sees hand coming near him, and alexandrine are bigger than a green cheeked conure, which means a harder bite. But now after target training, he has never used he's beak in a aggressive way. He loves spending time on my shoulder, watching TV, and doing every thing teoghter.

Any question, feel free to ask me

Hope you have a wonderful new year.

 

[MikeyTN]

Nobody mentioning hormones??? At that age is when hormones plays a BIG part!!!!! I've had conures in the past. And my birds goes through hormone stages where they become little evil birds. But you just need to learn to back off and retry later. You adopted this bird, you should learn to take care of it regardless of the issue.

 

[Pugtato]

Nobody mentioning hormones??? At that age is when hormones plays a BIG part!!!!! I've had conures in the past. And my birds goes through hormone stages where they become little evil birds. But you just need to learn to back off and retry later. You adopted this bird, you should learn to take care of it regardless of the issue.

I was thinking this was the main issue, but I did not want to mention it due to the fact that I do not have much experience with birds period, let alone hormonal juveniles.

 

[lene1949]

So every time he touches the end of the chopstick GENTLY, you click the clicker and reward him. If he attack or bites the stick, do not reward

Target training is the best way to train aggressive bird, and they will obviously attack and bite the stick, and that's exactly what you want... Later, when they know they get a treat every time they bite the stick, they bite softer, and eventually just touch...

You can't expect a parrot or any other creature to know beforehand what the stick is for...

 

[ann]

i know its hard. but hang in there, and don't put him in the back room. here are some suggestions:
1. the less time they get out, the angrier they get. if my conure only gets a little time out one day, he will be a little brat the next day lol. so the next day i take him out, i let him out for a very long time. even when he's being moody and nippy, i just keep interacting with him.
2. give him baths. when my bird gets wet, he mellows down and sweetens up. he also snuggles in the crook of my arm for warmth, so its great for bonding. just don't put him back in his cage until he is dry. its also a great time to preen him. just take one of his pin feathers (the hard white ones) and pinch the very tip until it comes loose of the casing. only preen long ones that are very white. the short, stubby, black ones are sore and sensitive, and you will probably be bitten if you preen those.
3. clicker train him not to scream. stand in from of his cage with some treats and a clicker. when he makes a positive sound such as a little quack or peep, click and reward him with praise and a treat. then turn around and do the same thing. wait for him to stop screaming, and once he makes the sound, click and reward. step farther and farther away over the course of a few days and start leaving the room, use the same process. eventually he will learn that screaming just wont do the trick.
4. biting- when he bites you, give him the meanest, worst look you possibly can. then say "no bite" in a stern voice. make him step up 3 times and then put him down and give him the cold shoulder. then you can resume what you were doing, and repeat the process. never pinch his beak, it could hurt him, but it could also be interpreted as play. therefore, you could be rewarding the behavior. keep small toys and little bird safe chips of wood. when he starts chewing on you, distract him with the toys. make sure he is just chewing, and its not aggressive. you want to distract his chewing, not reward biting. when he chews, he will likely nibble on your hands and start chewing hard. biting is when he lunges, growls, or reaches and pinches. always keep treats on hand. feed him treats and reward good behavior. as soon as he does bites, stop rewarding him and put the treats out of site. i would suggest purchasing a trick training course. its great for mental stimulation and bonding. when he starts getting feisty or moody, cue a trick. he will be distracted and it gives him something to focus on. clip his wings, this makes him more dependent on you. once you establish a trusting bond, and he is well behaved, you can grow them out again if you want. give him lots of toys and let him out often. let him release his energy and learn to read his body language. pay attention and learn from him.
5. relax. just take time to sort things out and try to tough it out. believe it or not, this is normal. green cheek conures, are known to go through nippy phases like this. its just part of them. they are cute...too cute lol. they are just full of sass and attitude. with guidance and training, it will pass, and the will return to their loveable, too cute, selves. i went through a similar experience with Oscar, my Patigonian conure, but it didnt' work out and he was re-homed. i miss him every day, and it is one of the most regretted decisions I have ever made. you don't know what you have until its gone. he had allot of issues, but SO much potential. he also had a special bond with me from day one, but i just couldn't make it work. please hang in there. as loud as he was, i still wish i could hear those screeches echoing through the house. now that i know more about training and behavior, i have a well behaved little ham named black jack. he is just awesome. just hang in there and keep at it, and you will be rewarded with a best friend! input equals output, so keep at it and dont give up! feel free to pm me if you have any questions. good luck!

 

[ann]

also, if you re-home him, make sure he goes to a loving home with adults or mature kids who have bird experience. good luck and keep trying !