New Green Cheek Conure Biting

Yoshi_Conure

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Dec 4, 2022
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Hello! I recently adopted a Green Cheeked conure and was looking for advice on reducing biting?

Background: I work at a veterinary clinic for dogs and cats (Though my boss, one of the doctors, has experience with birds) and someone had dropped a green cheeked conure off after finding it at a construction site in bad condition. He stayed at the hospital as we took care of him, and after regaining some weight and energy, he became very friendly. We kept him for a few weeks and made some posts online, but no possible owner came forward, so I recently adopted him.

Due to the circumstances, we do not know his exact age- though the doctor thought he was pretty young. Also, his wings are not clipped- he can fly whenever he wants.

After some time to adjust to the new environment (about 3 days), he was great the first day or so of taking him out. He begged for head scratches, I started target training (Just giving a treat when he touched a stick) and everything was going great.

The past two days though, he's been getting bitey. I do not think its in a fearful or aggressive way- he bobs his head up and down and playfully comes toward me like he wants to be picked up, then bites my hand. other times, he will be on my shoulder happily preening himself or playing with my hair, then suddenly bite my ear...

His cage is pretty big for a bird of his size, with plenty of perches and toys... though I have noticed he spends alot of time clinging to the bars instead of using any perches.

What can I do to reduce the biting? What do you think is causing it? Is he stressed? Should I leave him in his cage without bothering him for a few days?
 

bonitabird59

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Apr 12, 2022
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ha! let me know if u find out how to stop the bitey-ness. gccs are known to be pretty bitey
 

zERo

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When I first adopted my Gcc he was this way too, he bit me quite frequently for no reason I could understand, the road was long and tough with him but now he's to he point where I don't get bit unless he's mad or hormonal.
You have to start with excess sugar and carbs, I feel like it tends to affect Gcc more than oher birds, causing them to bite. Lessen or cut out corn (sugary), soy (too much protein) and only give him fruit rarely, say 1-2 times weekly, and only non very sugary fruit like strawberry and blackberries.
Learning to read Gcc body language is confusing, what's the difference in a pet me head puff or a head puff of anger?
I've set up a silent questioning 'system' with my Gcc (Tom btw) and my Quaker.
I offer my hand out of their reach, say 6in away, if they raise their foot they want to come out if they ignore me I'll try again later.
I offer my hand to Tom cupped on a table or at the end of one of his perches, if he comes over and cuddles in my hand he came over to be so that greatly lessens the chance of him biting, if I bring my hand to him , say he accepts at first then decides he wasn't done eating that pellet and gets mad.
Often birds bite when over stimulated too, conures can be pretty obvious, marching around with deliberate foot steps, bopping the head back and forth, fluffing the whole head and possibly the neck, all signs that you should just give them a few minutes to collect themselves.

Hope this helps 😊
 

HeatherG

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Apr 25, 2020
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I always set my greencheek down on cage or playstand when he got nippy. My guy seemed very excitable. I thought the biting was a reaction without even thinking about it because I couldn’t train it out of him but had to avoid or prevent it.
 

wrench13

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Shunning. It's how parrots in the wild chastise and control youngsters. HOWEVER it works best if the parrot already has a good bond with you. It does not work at all on a new parrot, who could give 2 craps if you ignore them, actually they might prefer it, LOL!

Shunning works like this. If you are 100% certain the bite was not your fault (ignored or missed the body language signal, etc), when he bites you, immediately say "No Bite" (or other expletive) in a forceful but not shouting or yelling voice, and put the bird down on a nearby chair bcak or other neutral place. Must be immediate and must be done 100% of the time by all members of the family. Don't put him in or on his cage ( that would only serve to train him to bite when he wants to back to his cage). Once he in set down, turn your back to him for 1 full minute. No peeking, no sneaking a look, no talking to or about him (yes they can tell!!!). Any longer the lesson is lost, any shorter may not punch the lesson home with him. After 1 minute, you can try to re-engage with the parrot.
 

BABY’S MOM

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Jun 1, 2023
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Green Cheek Conure named BABY
Hello! I recently adopted a Green Cheeked conure and was looking for advice on reducing biting?

Background: I work at a veterinary clinic for dogs and cats (Though my boss, one of the doctors, has experience with birds) and someone had dropped a green cheeked conure off after finding it at a construction site in bad condition. He stayed at the hospital as we took care of him, and after regaining some weight and energy, he became very friendly. We kept him for a few weeks and made some posts online, but no possible owner came forward, so I recently adopted him.

Due to the circumstances, we do not know his exact age- though the doctor thought he was pretty young. Also, his wings are not clipped- he can fly whenever he wants.

After some time to adjust to the new environment (about 3 days), he was great the first day or so of taking him out. He begged for head scratches, I started target training (Just giving a treat when he touched a stick) and everything was going great.

The past two days though, he's been getting bitey. I do not think its in a fearful or aggressive way- he bobs his head up and down and playfully comes toward me like he wants to be picked up, then bites my hand. other times, he will be on my shoulder happily preening himself or playing with my hair, then suddenly bite my ear...

His cage is pretty big for a bird of his size, with plenty of perches and toys... though I have noticed he spends alot of time clinging to the bars instead of using any perches.

What can I do to reduce the biting? What do you think is causing it? Is he stressed? Should I leave him in his cage without bothering him for a few days?
I’m curious what city you found your new Green Cheek Conure?
 

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clark_conure

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Jul 14, 2017
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A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
Search in this forum for the "time out method".
 

Thekatbus

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Jun 26, 2023
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Shunning. It's how parrots in the wild chastise and control youngsters. HOWEVER it works best if the parrot already has a good bond with you. It does not work at all on a new parrot, who could give 2 craps if you ignore them, actually they might prefer it, LOL!

Shunning works like this. If you are 100% certain the bite was not your fault (ignored or missed the body language signal, etc), when he bites you, immediately say "No Bite" (or other expletive) in a forceful but not shouting or yelling voice, and put the bird down on a nearby chair bcak or other neutral place. Must be immediate and must be done 100% of the time by all members of the family. Don't put him in or on his cage ( that would only serve to train him to bite when he wants to back to his cage). Once he in set down, turn your back to him for 1 full minute. No peeking, no sneaking a look, no talking to or about him (yes they can tell!!!). Any longer the lesson is lost, any shorter may not punch the lesson home with him. After 1 minute, you can try to re-engage with the parrot.
Hi there, this is exactly what I've been doing with my conure but the problem is that she just flies back onto me immediately. Then I move her and put her back where I want her, and she just flies back to me. Feels like it's turning into a game. Any advice on how to shun a conure that doesn't have clipped wings?
 

Greenhouseparrots

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Nov 27, 2022
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Crimson bellied conure- Tequila
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Blue budgie- Lightning
White and blue budgie- Ciroc
My GCC bit me a lot when I first got her and she has no fear of people so from day one she was on me, biting me and testing how much force she could put into the bite. I really really hate even the slightest amount of pressure from her beak as I'm scared of her actually biting me, so I don't even let her bit me gently. The most she's allowed to do with her beak is preen me, anything more and I stop her.

The way I got her to stop biting is to tell her "no, that hurts" and put her down or tap my finger on something. I figured out that when she's angry she'll tap her beak before she starts biting, so when she bites for no reason I tap on something and she gets annoyed but stops biting and will sulk for a bit, tapping her beak and moaning at me (in conure language). If she's really biting I'll shake her off of me (just so she has to fly away) and tell her off and then she usually does something on her own for a bit until she doesn't want to bite anymore.

For the most part they don't want to hurt you, it's just one of the only ways they can communicate with you. It sounds like your GCC is how mine was at the beginning, and is just getting to know the rules around biting and how much he can get away with. Mine rarely bites now and she's so gentle with me because of how I am with her, but when she meets someone new I have to tell them because she'll start biting them to see what she can get away with. Through this, she's learnt what "no biting" means so I can say that to her and she'll be more gentle, but then people are okay with different forces of bite so she has to learn for each one. My aunt will let her bite as hard as she wants as long as she doesn't break the skin, so she loves my aunt for that, but then my sister is just terrified of her in general and hates her even preening her.
 

onamom

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Ona: Dilute Green Cheek Conure
It's definitely challenging when they aren't clipped and can just fly right back to you. Similar to @Greenhouseparrots I taught my GCC "gentle" and "no". When she bites I put her down, make eye contact with her, and tell her "no, gentle" in a slow, firm voice. She does still bite from time to time but she understands what these words mean. Sometimes if she is latched on to a bite and won't let go I make a sharp "Shh!" noise at her because this gets her attention and usually makes her stop and look at me.

I would also suggest you start doing some basic training work with your bird if you haven't already. I think this really helps with getting them to understand us and learn from us.
 

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