Tips for a newbie?

missywings

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Aug 13, 2012
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Hey everyone! I just got my green cheeked conure today from his old owner who could no longer care for him anymore. He's one and a half years old and we were told because his former owner had no time and left him in the cage, he has become somewhat irritable and nippy. We brought him home and let him adjust to his new home, however we are having some difficulty with him. Though he has no problem sitting on our fingers, he tends to bite and pull at skin very hard or bite at us. Though I expected him to act like this because what his owner had told us previously, I was just wondering if anyone had some tips for me to gain his trust and affection as well lessen the biting? This is my first GCC and so I'm still learning a lot about them. I'd appreciate any advice! Thank you!
 

wenz2712

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Nov 16, 2011
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Welcome to the forum:)

Let him settle in to his new surroundings for a couple of days! Just take things slowly with him.

There are lots of Conure Owners here, who I am sure will be able to give you some great advice:)
 

Lovelyloribeth

New member
Jul 15, 2012
367
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Georgia
Parrots
💙ChiChi~GCC~2 yrs.💙
💚Red~IRN~4 mos.💚

💛Houdini~Sun Conure~2 yrs.💛
Time, time, time. My ChiChi was like this when he came home too.

First thing, if he does bite, as bad as it makes you wanna scream and cry....don't! Don't react. If you do he will realize he gets this crazy reaction.

To get him to let go of a bit, shake your hand like a mini earthquake or blow in his face. It worked wonders with ChiChi.

As long as he's biting, use wooden spoons, dowels, etc to step up with. When he does this without biting the dowel start using your hand.

Give him treats, nothing works better than snacks!! Don't over do it but treats are always a good way to gain trust.

Time...I was told and learned that if you have a good 5 min session, no bites, put him back in the cage on a good note. If he bites, wait a few mins til h ER being good then put him back. Do this several times a day.

Congrats! And you're in for a world of fun with him!!

Be patient and good luck!
 

DebsFlock

Banned
Banned
Jul 19, 2012
633
2
Los Angeles County, near Palmdale
Parrots
Scooter -- male Green Cheek Conure "Normal" but that's a matter of opinion! Hatched in March 2010

Scotty -- Male Cape Parrot hatched somewhere between 2007-2009 we think

Caballo Blanco -- male C
Take your time. If he's really too nippy to handle at first and you can get him to take treats, you can do a bit of training in the cage. Search for "target training" here and on the web in general.

I'm a fan of avoiding the bites rather than trying to power through them. If he's biting hard enough to draw blood and hanging on and grinding it's VERY hard not to react.

The other thing about biting is that I think it is important to try to understand why the bite is occurring. If it's fear, go slower. If it's over-excitement, go slower. Some biting can be over-enthusiastic preening (does not sound like it here, here I'd guess fear) and that can respond to gentle training. If it's cage agression, I'd try training him to target and come out on a stick and get him away from the cage. If it's a learned behavior, you have to figure out what reward he's getting from it and try to find alternate ways for him to get that reward as well as making sure biting does not get it.

I'm also a big fan of concentrating on positive reinforcement -- find behaviors you want and reward those. Try to avoid the behaviors you don't want or ignore them. Punishment works only in rather limited circumstances and negative reinforcement (time-outs) also have not worked very well for me. Rewarding behaviors I like, even just with attention or drama, has been pretty effective.
 
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missywings

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Aug 13, 2012
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Thank you all for the advice! I'll be sure to try it out and see what becomes of it! I'll keep in mind to be extremely patient with him and praise good traits he shows!
 

MaraWentz

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Mar 27, 2012
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St.Leonard, MD
Parrots
Red Front Macaw, Elvis, 10,male RIP

Red Front Macaw, Erin, 1.5,female

Goffin Cockatoo, Blossom 2,female Rehomed

Blue & Gold Macaw, Oscar, Male, 21 years old, Rehomed

American Bulldog Mix,
Ibwas going to reoly but loribeth said it all lol
 
Aug 6, 2012
57
0
New Jersey
Parrots
GCC-*Boo*, TAG-*Charlie
My first parrot was a green cheeked and his name is boo. He is only about 8 mnths old and i gotta say they are amazing, lovable, adorable pets/ companions. Although i gotta say they are nippy! They will nip if they are mad. It doesnt hurt but you can try trainging it with treats and such but they are nippy parrots. But it doesnt hurt at all. Just saying. As long as it enjoys your company and it doesnt mind what your doing they are my favorite parrots.
 

DebsFlock

Banned
Banned
Jul 19, 2012
633
2
Los Angeles County, near Palmdale
Parrots
Scooter -- male Green Cheek Conure "Normal" but that's a matter of opinion! Hatched in March 2010

Scotty -- Male Cape Parrot hatched somewhere between 2007-2009 we think

Caballo Blanco -- male C
My first parrot was a green cheeked and his name is boo. He is only about 8 mnths old and i gotta say they are amazing, lovable, adorable pets/ companions. Although i gotta say they are nippy! They will nip if they are mad. It doesnt hurt but you can try trainging it with treats and such but they are nippy parrots. But it doesnt hurt at all. Just saying. As long as it enjoys your company and it doesnt mind what your doing they are my favorite parrots.

If it doesn't hurt at all, you haven't really been bitten yet!
 

BoomBoom

Well-known member
May 2, 2012
1,722
58
Parrots
Boomer (Sun Conure 9 yrs), Pewpew (Budgie 5 yrs), Ulap (Budgie 2 yrs), Eight & Kiki (Beloved Budgies, RIP)
What everyone said :) Just give him time, lots of things to keep him busy and space to call his own. Good diet and sleep is also key to a less irritable conure :D Congratulations!!
 

Lovelyloribeth

New member
Jul 15, 2012
367
0
Georgia
Parrots
💙ChiChi~GCC~2 yrs.💙
💚Red~IRN~4 mos.💚

💛Houdini~Sun Conure~2 yrs.💛
My first parrot was a green cheeked and his name is boo. He is only about 8 mnths old and i gotta say they are amazing, lovable, adorable pets/ companions. Although i gotta say they are nippy! They will nip if they are mad. It doesnt hurt but you can try trainging it with treats and such but they are nippy parrots. But it doesnt hurt at all. Just saying. As long as it enjoys your company and it doesnt mind what your doing they are my favorite parrots.

If it doesn't hurt at all, you haven't really been bitten yet!

True that! If your skin is still in tact, and it made you giggle, he didn't bite you! :p
 

Remy

New member
Jul 13, 2011
1,905
1
California
Parrots
Darcy (Golden-Collared Macaw), Puck (Caique - RIP)
Does his biting seem aggressive or fearful, or is he just nibbling you too hard? Puck often just played too rough and made me bleed that way.
 
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missywings

New member
Aug 13, 2012
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My first parrot was a green cheeked and his name is boo. He is only about 8 mnths old and i gotta say they are amazing, lovable, adorable pets/ companions. Although i gotta say they are nippy! They will nip if they are mad. It doesnt hurt but you can try trainging it with treats and such but they are nippy parrots. But it doesnt hurt at all. Just saying. As long as it enjoys your company and it doesnt mind what your doing they are my favorite parrots.

If it doesn't hurt at all, you haven't really been bitten yet!

True that! If your skin is still in tact, and it made you giggle, he didn't bite you! :p

I was about to say so myself that you either have tougher skin than I or maybe mine just bites harder! :p He certainly draws blood whenever he bites, so I don't think I'll try ignoring the bites (as I feel it will be impossible for me to do) but will try some training techniques and making sure he's happy!
 

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