Biting Sun Conure

[nanguz]

Hi there. I'm a new bird owner and I have a sun conure who is about a year old. He's very tame but he bites constantly. It's not real hard unless someone enters or leaves the room. When that happens he bites very hard (I think that's a whole other issue though). How do I make him stop biting me? He bites even when he's cuddeling.

[Tinna]

hehehehe...oh I remember that when I got Jean Luc, he was fine the first three days and then just kept biting me...now he only bites me to protect me so I move away from the people he doesn't like. Do you tell him no when he bites? Put him back in his cage and say no? Is he breaking the skin? What exactly have you done already to discourage the behavior before I suggest anything?

[jriley]

One thing you can try that used to work with our sun conure is to have some sort of toy in your hand and offer it to him to chew/bite on. Popsicle sticks are a cheap and easy choice and they actually love them used LOL with a bit of juice still soaked in from the popsicle.

You say you are a new bird owner-how long have you had the bird? It could be an insecurity issue if you've had him less than a month. In any case, a good solution would be to put him on a playstand (the tabletop ones are very inexpensive or you can get a nice rolling one) and pet him and talk to him while he sits on it. When he seeks to come over to you, go ahead and pick him up. If he bites, immediately put him back on the playstand. Eventually he'll figure it out.

Our Quaker is very nippy. She hates our kids and half the time won't let me touch her, though she loves my husband. When we first got her, she bit me all the time, but I've gotten her halfway trained out of that (it's harder with her because she's really cage-bound and won't let anyone hold her unless you pry her off her cage). We've been using the playstand to try to teach her that it's safe to leave her cage and we ignore her for a few minutes each time she tries to bite.

Best of luck! Let us know how he progresses.

Julie

[nanguz]

Thanks for the advice! I've had him since december. I found a solution last night by accident. I made my hands into fists so he can't fit it in his mouth. when he tries to bite, he can't so he stops. He was very frustrated and his actions were hysterical! After he realized he couldn't bite he got so sweet and affectionate.