Biting Help!

[equinediva2010]

Please help me. I have a Jenday Conure (who i names Brody)whom I bought in December for a 17th birthday gift for myself. I found him on the internet and went to pick him up right away. The woman had a broke up with her boyfriend and he left the bird behind. We brought him home and he was happy, steping up, ect. 12hrs later my dad wanted to hold him and he bit him, all the way through the skin on both sides of his finger. He always hated my dad. But loves my mom and I. When ever my dad is in the room, makes a noise (coughing, talking), even being seen outside, or pretty much anything he will bite my mom and bite her hard. Also when my dad walks near his cage he starts to bite his leg. He is an very loving bird and loves to cuddle next to your neck but when my dad makes a noise or any sound or movement he will bite my moms shirt, hand, neck, and once even her face. When my mom and I alone with him he is a complete angel, and always giving kisses and hardly ever screaming. Any ideas on how to stop this behavior and aggression towards my dad?

[Monica]

Perhaps he was abused by men? Or just prefers woman? You can try having your dad try and warm up to him by giving him treats (the only one to give him treats), perhaps making his voice a bit higher pitched, talking to him, sitting near him but not making eye contact, basically hands-off type of interaction.

As for the biting of you or your mother, it sounds like he's doing this because he sees your dad as a potential threat... so he's trying to warn you goes to get away.

[equinediva2010]

They are technically sitting next to eachother and we tried to get him to give him treats when he walks by and such but nothing has worked. I am starting to think that he was abused by the boyfriend.

Thanks

[Ashling]

Yeah I was under the impression the boyfriend (abused) the bird and left the poor thing because it started biting him in retaliation. But let's not speculate.

Clicker training may help you- first teach him that a clicking sound gets him a treat and praise... give him some time to learn this. When he associates the click with pleasurable things, you're ready for the next step. If you can't buy a clicker, a word (such as "yes!" or good!") can suffice but isn't often as effective.

Put the bird in his cage, when he is calm, click, treat and praise. Do this until he realizes that being calm will bring him good things. Then have your dad appear in the doorway. If the bird gets upset, ignore him completely. When he settles down click and (carefully :p) treat and praise. As he progresses and settles down more easily when your dad's near, get him to come further into the room and closer to the cage. When he's able to stand beside the cage, get him to be the one feeding treats and praising. It may take weeks, months etc but be persistent!

Never make a noise when he bites you- just gently put him in his cage or on the floor (somewhere he doesn't like, away from the family) to show him that when he bites, he gets ignored; no attention, not even eye contact.

This is just my suggestion, you might have to consult a bird behaviorist if it doesn't work.

[odhinn]

He is showing definite signs of aggressions towards men. Unfortunately this happens quite often with animals because many guys think it is funny to poke, prod, and tease small animals/birds. Ashling has some great advice and remember that it will take time. His trust of men has been lost and needs to be earned back.

[equinediva2010]

Would anyone know why when my dad walks by him he attacks his toys? He also bites his own leg. I'm not liking the self mutilation thing. He has this small towel he cuddles at night and he tries to tear it up too.

[odhinn]

Originally Posted by equinediva2010

Would anyone know why when my dad walks by him he attacks his toys? He also bites his own leg. I'm not liking the self mutilation thing. He has this small towel he cuddles at night and he tries to tear it up too.

The toys are the closest thing to him. He can't attack your dad so he goes after the closest thing. Might also be a form of cage rattling. i.e. "you scare me so I am going to look as mean as I can so you go away" Many animals exhibit this behavior as a defense mechanism. Self mutilation can be a sign of stress in animals. If he is afraid that your dad will "get him" he is probably stressed out badly when your dad is in sight.