Help from other Sun Conure Owners Please!!

[RockysMom]

ok, about a month or so ago I posted on here that I need some help with my Sun because he is a bitter! We have had him since April 25th and he only bites me, not my boyfriend!! I tried everything everyone said to do, but nothing has worked!! Maybe I am doing it way wrong or what I am not sure!!! He is a terror in the house, he is not a screamer at all, so screaming is not an issue, it's just the biting!! He can't do any tricks either, we have tried and he just wants nothing to do with any of it!!! Another thing is when we took him to the vet for the first time our vet told us to not let him on any part of our body other then our hands and fingers, she said by letting him on our shoulder it can cause behavior problems, what do you guys think?? Rocky always bites me, but the other day he actually tried to attack me, I was trying to get him to step up so I could put him back in his cage, and he lunged at my face so I put my hand up to stop him and he latched onto my finger and wouldn't let go!! It took me like two minutes before he let go!! I thought he broke my finger!! I don't know what to do anymore, is there a book out there I can read, what are some of the things you guys try?? I have heard some of you say before that biting in your house is not allowed and your birds know, how did you do it??? I do leave him home for 8 hurs a day while I am at work, I will be working from home starting mid to end of August, could that have anything to do with it?? He has a big cage with lots of toys and he gets veggies and treats every morning before we leave. I love this bird to death and even if he bites for the rest of his life I will never ever get rid of him, Rocky is a member of the family now!!! If I can get some relief that would be great!!

[chapala]

I suggest training him to step up on a stick, using food rewards. Then, you can handle him more safely by not picking him up on your hand, but using the stick. Avoiding the bite and the aggressive behavior is helpful in reducing the problem.

I'm sure your vet has seen lots of behavior problems with birds who sit on shoulders, bite, don't want to get down, etc. Until a bird has earned the privilege, I'm also in favor of not letting birds on shoulders. We have two shoulder birds here, the Macaw and the Parrotlet, the biggest and the smallest.

[NotEnoughTime]

I beg to differ with your vet... Shoulders do not lead to behaviour problems. Behaviour problems exist prior to shoulder issues...

However, I believe that with a biting bird you should not put any part of your body in danger. I agree with Chapala - use a doweling to teach step-up training and your bird should earn fingers and shoulders. Food rewards (treats) are best for training.

Aggression is often associated with mating behaviours. It seems your bird thinks of your boyfriend as a mate. He (your boyfriend) needs to "tone it down" with the bird IMO....

Have you read:
Parrot Biting
and
How Not to be a Tease
?

[jdlilfan]

I don't know what to do anymore, is there a book out there I can read, what are some of the things you guys try??

Some books I'd recommend are the Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior by Mattie Sue Athan and Breaking Bad Behaviors in Parrots by Greg Glendell.

When he bites, don't react to it. Any reaction, "Ouch!" to a bird means "Hey! This is fun! So I'm going to keep doing it!"

[Jag]

I would 'switch places' with your boyfriend. If he's cleaning the cage, feeding...whatever he's doing, you do it instead. If he bites, whether it's you or your boyfriend, then you BOTH need to ignore the bird. Simply turn your back and leave. If he's still getting to spend time with the boyfriend when he's being mean to you, then he needs to know that your boyfriend doesn't support his behavior, either. I also agree, it sounds like he's taken your boyfriend as his 'mate' and so you are a third wheel. He needs to do some reading on those links and watch how he interacts with the bird.

That said, is there anything that the bird could find offensive about you? Jewelry..type of clothing...something you're doing... anything? If you are reacting to his bites, then he's repeating for the reaction. They are DRAMA queens... and they like it that way. When Rayne was getting after others in the house, I let her know that I wasn't happy with her... and she has gotten better. She doesn't want my disapproval....so I made sure she got it if she was biting anyone!

[RockysMom]

He is only six months old isn't that to early for mating behavior? He is still a baby, and I don't know why he doesn't bite my boyfriend. I spend the most time with him. My boyfriend doesn't handle him as often as I do and when he does Rocky sits on his shoulder and watches him play on the computer. When we come home from work I take Rocky out of his cage and put him in the spare bedroom with my boyfriend and Rocky plays on his playstand while my boyfriend plays on the computer. It's only when I handle him that is the problem, whether my boyfriend is around or not! I have read the artical "How Not To Be A Tease" and my boyfriend doesn't do anything like that with him, so I don't think that is the issue.

[Jag]

OK, then my only suggestion is to spend time alone with him, in a calm but interesting environment. Get some foot toys to play with, and if he starts to bite, say something like "easy" and remove his beak with your other hand. Stick a toy in his mouth instead. He's showing his unhappiness with something that's going on... but over the internet I don't have a clue what that could be. Maybe your boyfriend still needs to ignore him a bit. Give him lots of treats, and if he bites turn your back on him after letting him know you're not happy. They can read facial expressions...so I usually exaggerate with it.

[jenseits]

There are a lot of bad behaviors you can curb by ignoring them; I don't think biting is one of them. Biting is often a self-reinforcing behavior, and therefore the most effective thing to do to stop reinforcing biting behavior is to not let it happen in the first place. That means, if you have a bird who has a habit of biting you, don't put yourself in biting range. Work on stepping up onto a perch, don't offer your hand. No shoulder time -- not because being on a shoulder causes aggression, but because the consequences of aggression are worse. Watch his body language (something you also can't do if your bird is on your shoulder) and learn when not to approach him.

As NotEnoughTime points out, you also want to recalibrate the flock dynamic. Your bird very likely thinks that your boyfriend is his mate, and that you're an unwanted third wheel. He needs to learn that this is not the case, and your bf can't inadvertently egg him on when the bird gets jealous or aggressive. (Think of yourself and your boyfriend as parents presenting a united front to a child who tries to play one against the other. While your boyfriend...secretly or not so secretly... might get a kick out of being your sun's favorite, this is not a healthy thing to encourage)

If you're looking for books or DVDs, I recommend Barbara Heidenreich's training materials: Parrot Training Books and DVDs by Barbara Heidenreich. I also love Melinda Johnson's book "Clicker Training for Birds" (which is not just about silly tricks, but about learning how to communicate with your bird and building a positive relationship): Clicker Training for Birds: Getting Started . Melinda Johnson also has a clicker training list-serve on Yahoo, which has a ton of resources in the files and offers advice from lots of knowledgeable members who've been through what you're going through. They'll walk you through a lot of very specific things you can do. The Mattie Sue Athan book mentioned earlier is good too.

Good luck. And thank you for your commitment to this bird, despite his attitude problem. I'm certain you'll be able to work through it and be able to develop a better relationship with him if you do the things recommended by the members here and by the positive reinforcement trainers we suggested.

[Jag]

Ignoring with biting is going to depend on the bird, the age, and how 'bad' the bite is. With Rayne, it was nipping going too far...so ignoring worked great. However, the new birds I have are being just plain aggressive...so obviously ignoring isn't going to work. They are biting with drawing blood... big difference. Rayne was 5 months when I got her, and was being too nippy with just about everyone. When I got it under control with me, I used the same consequence with others in my house, and she's MUCH better. However, if this is true aggression... it may not get you far. Your boyfriend pulling in the reins will help....he's favoring him, and you don't want to end up with a one person bird...which I think sounds maybe like what he's trying to accomplish. Sorry for the confusion on my post.

[RockysMom]

He has only drawn blood once and that was actually my fault!! Sometimes when he sits on my finger he likes to "swing" so he will hang from my finger by one foot or by both feet and swing. One night I tried to get him to do it and he was not to happy with that, so when I did it he thought he was going to fall and help on with his beak! I just bite my lip until I helped him to steady himself, I didn't do anything otherswise, it was my fault. That was the only time, but he still bites down on my fingers. I guess I need to make my boyfriend involved in this process of curbing his bad behavior. I didn't see it until you guys said something. Instead of calling him boyfriend I am going to call him by his name! Jeff thinks I am the one he sees as his mate, but stepping back and looking I think you guys are right about it, so we will start are new training techniques tonight! I did my research before getting Rocky, but had no idea it could be this way!! Every night though when I put him to bed and I am getting ready to cover his cage he starts making his little sweet birdie chirps, and how could you stay mad at that!! :)