My baby conure bites! Help!

Gryff

New member
Nov 30, 2021
4
8
Parrots
Waddles(cockatiel)
Hello! I just got a hand fed conure whose only a few months old. He is very cuddly and playful, was a bit skittish at first but now loves to cuddle into my hands and hop around my keyboard while Iā€™m trying to work. That being said, he bites! Very hard too. I never flinch away since I donā€™t want to scare him, but I have no clue how to stop this. Heā€™s not aggressive or anything, usually heā€™s just nibbling my hand and then slowly starts to bite harder until I pull away. Heā€™s never made me bleed but came close once, Any advice?
 

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ravvlet

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
2,349
7,081
Seattle WA
Parrots
Kirby - OWA, 33yrs old (2019-)
Broccoli - Dusky Conure - 3?mo old (July 2023 -)
~~~
(Rehomed) Sammy - YNA, 45 yrs old (2022-2023)
(RIP) Cricket - Cockatiel (2019-2022)
Awww, what a sweet baby! Yeah, my limited experience with GCC (I worked in a big box pet store in college and we had them, but Iā€™ve never had one as a pet) is that they do tend to be nippy, and sometimes it crosses the threshold into pain. Remember that for birds their beak is an exploratory tool in the same way our hands might be, so some amount of biting is normal; but biting to the point of pain is not.

Teaching your little friend - while your relationship is developing and heā€™s still growing - the acceptable limits for this will help you heaps in the long run!
 

kme3388

Well-known member
Sep 17, 2021
1,059
3,248
Minnesota, USA
Parrots
Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
What I do for parrot biting especially if its on my hand is I will grab the beak (not hard, or forcefully) just to make sure to let my parrots know that it's not hurting me, and they aren't getting the reaction they want. My conure does like to test everything, and will wait for a reaction. She loves games, and will play them all day long. She would definately turn biting into a game. I do my best no matter how much it hurts to never react to her testing of boundaries.
 

maddox

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month šŸ†
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Mar 15, 2022
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632
Fairfield Connecticut, USA
Parrots
Maddox is a green cheek conure
When Maddox used to bite I would just gently blow in his face and eventually, he just stopped biting. Birds use their beak to explore and balance themselves so sometimes they may very gently "bite" just to keep stable.
 
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Gryff

New member
Nov 30, 2021
4
8
Parrots
Waddles(cockatiel)
  • Thread Starter
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When Maddox used to bite I would just gently blow in his face and eventually, he just stopped biting. Birds use their beak to explore and balance themselves so sometimes they may very gently "bite" just to keep stable.
Thank you! This seems to be working the best for me, trying to pry him off of me turns it into a game for him lol
 

bonitabird59

Well-known member
Apr 12, 2022
189
455
Hello! I just got a hand fed conure whose only a few months old. He is very cuddly and playful, was a bit skittish at first but now loves to cuddle into my hands and hop around my keyboard while Iā€™m trying to work. That being said, he bites! Very hard too. I never flinch away since I donā€™t want to scare him, but I have no clue how to stop this. Heā€™s not aggressive or anything, usually heā€™s just nibbling my hand and then slowly starts to bite harder until I pull away. Heā€™s never made me bleed but came close once, Any advice?
Im dealing with this exact issue right now, except my little guy Jello is about 3 months old.
 

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