Sudden Aggression

[TiffanyTerror]

I run an small animal rescue (I am mainly contacted when someone is in desperate need of help) Now normaly most of the animals I get are repltiles or small animals but about a month ago I came into a 5 week old conure.
I have have had budgies and 1 or 2 cocktiels and 1 conure, but I have never received one so young. Usually when I've had Bird they are either just about done weaning or an adult but I have formula fed and weaned 1 or 2 birds.

Anyways, the problem I am have with this one is he/she is starting to become randomly aggressive. And I really mean randomly!
he/she are about 9 weeks now and every has been going great! he/she
are starting to explore a bit more with their food and formula feeding are farther apart.
he/she hasn't had their vet appointment yet because my exotic vet has been on leave.

This week though, when taking he/she put for play or feedings hasn't been a good time!

After a feeding he/she will normally fly or climb onto my shoulder and take a little rest and then we will play or vice versa, but after a feeding he/she will fly up and be normal and then start "freaking out", flapping and then biting me. (Not hard enough to break skin but pretty hard compared to normal)

Now normally when he/she bites hard I will say no firmly and he/she stops and if it happens again I say it again and put he/she back in the cage for about 15-20mins and out again and everything is good. But no matter what this week it doesn't help and it's getting harder and more random now!

he/she has been leaving bruises and flying over and doing it to my husband now.


Any ideas?? I'm at a loss with this one.
I will get a video next time

 

[LaManuka]

I run an small animal rescue (I am mainly contacted when someone is in desperate need of help) Now normaly most of the animals I get are repltiles or small animals but about a month ago I came into a 5 week old conure.
I have have had budgies and 1 or 2 cocktiels and 1 conure, but I have never received one so young. Usually when I've had Bird they are either just about done weaning or an adult but I have formula fed and weaned 1 or 2 birds.

Anyways, the problem I am have with this one is he/she is starting to become randomly aggressive. And I really mean randomly!
he/she are about 9 weeks now and every has been going great! he/she
are starting to explore a bit more with their food and formula feeding are farther apart.
he/she hasn't had their vet appointment yet because my exotic vet has been on leave.

This week though, when taking he/she put for play or feedings hasn't been a good time!

After a feeding he/she will normally fly or climb onto my shoulder and take a little rest and then we will play or vice versa, but after a feeding he/she will fly up and be normal and then start "freaking out", flapping and then biting me. (Not hard enough to break skin but pretty hard compared to normal)

Now normally when he/she bites hard I will say no firmly and he/she stops and if it happens again I say it again and put he/she back in the cage for about 15-20mins and out again and everything is good. But no matter what this week it doesn't help and it's getting harder and more random now!

he/she has been leaving bruises and flying over and doing it to my husband now.


Any ideas?? I'm at a loss with this one.
I will get a video next time

Welcome to the forums, @TiffanyTerror, and thank you for taking this little one into your care!

Unfortunately many baby birds are taken from their parents at far too young an age, as it would appear this one has been. Has he got a name yet? I'm going to call him a "he" for now, for ease of writing. When they're removed from their parents and siblings too young, this can manifest itself in such things as biting, screaming and, thankfully not quite as commonly, feather destructive behaviours, because their parents did not have the opportunity to teach them how to be a bird. Birds in the wild really don't bite their fellow flock members as this is considered very anti-social, and anyone who would do this would quickly find themselves ostracized from the flock, and no prey species like a conure wants that!

One of the best methods of combating biting is a process called "shunning". This is particularly useful when your bird wants to be part of your flock/family, as it would appear that your conure certainly does. Whenever he bites you, just pop him down in neutral territory, like the back of a chair or a table, not the floor as it's not a safe place and not back to his cage as this might be exactly what he wants, although it's fine if he makes his own way back there. But once you put him down, turn your back on him, making NO eye contact for about a minute, and then go about your business. This mimics what would happen in a wild flock, it teaches a young bird that he'd best behave himself if he wants to be a member of the flock and get the protection it affords from predators. Consistency is key, it works best when EVERY member of your household consistently does it EVERY single time, because they will look for chinks in the armour! It will not by any means guarantee that you'll never get bitten again, but it will reduce by a LOT!

Please let us know if/when you settle on a name, won't you? And I'm looking forward to seeing that video and some pics, we love baby photos around here!

 

[rheashard2]

Agreed. Shunning done correctly is best. Do reading here at other threads. It is important to avoid putting your bird on or in his cage. Too many times the baby learns to train you for returning to his cage. I've watched my CAG in a shunning session suddenly go into her.."I'm to cute to be bad persona." So being firm with yourself is just as important. Post pictures please.

 

[nkrbkr]

Also, to add to the above responses, you don’t want the cage to be associated with being a “bad” place or punishment, so it’s best to shun in a neutral area. The cage should be a safe space that the bird is happy to return to.

 

[TiffanyTerror]

Thank you for the help! The shunning thing has helped a lot!!

Though now it seems like he likes my husband more now. I know they usually pick "a person" but is there a way to make that person me? Any tips other than just spending time with him and stuff. I know bonding takes time. Sometimes years.

My husband likes him but he said he didn't really plan on "having a bird". Meaning he doesn't really plan on hanging out with him and stuff. That's more my thing.

 

[TiffanyTerror]

Also, we have decided to name him Kip.

 

[LaManuka]

Also, we have decided to name him Kip.

Oh I'm glad to have been of some help, and Kip is a little sweetie! Birds can have a tendency to pick a person, but allegiances can change over time, particularly when they become sexually mature, although you should have to worry about that until he gets to about 2 years old or so. I had a GCC a few years back, when he hit maturity he would bite the living daylights out of me and the shunning thing helped enormously. At Kip's age though, food bribery is your best friend. Try to identify the food he finds irresistible, like sunflower seeds for example. Sunflower seeds are quite fatty and shouldn't be part of their regular diet, but little bits chopped up and used as treats or to reinforce good behaviour can be invaluable cos they love 'em, and over time you can lessen their use. Typical he's gravitated towards your husband though, so often they pick the household member who isn't really interested over the one who loves them the most!