Green Cheek Conure Biting

[kreach]

My husband gave me a green cheek conure for Christmas, which is a significant thing since I have been trying to convince him that we should have a bird in the house for YEARS. But I digress.

Casanova is three months old and for the most part is a very gentle and tame bird. He allows me to pet him, scratch the back of his neck and under his wings and he is quickly learning to 'step up'. He likes to nibble on me a lot, but it is always very gentle... with one exception. He is starting to bite me, rather hard, anytime I try to take him down off my shoulder.

I don't mind having him on my shoulder and I enjoy cuddling with him in that manner, but what is the best way to teach him that getting to be on my shoulder is a privilege done on MY terms and not his?

[Monica]

If he is biting hard when trying to take him off your shoulder, simply do not allow him up there. He may not enjoy this, but everytime he tries to go up there, stop him.

As far as the actual biting, how do you react to it?

[kreach]

If not allowing him on my shoulder is the only way to go, then I will obviously do that, but are there other options? As I said in my original post, I really enjoy the cuddle time with him and he doesn't give me any trouble while he's up on my shoulder (no biting on my ear or anything like that). The biting when I try to take him off my shoulder is a new development that just started today, but I wanted to nip it in the bud, so to speak, before it became I habit so that I could continue to allow him on my shoulder.

When he actually bites, it's hard enough to hurt, but not so hard that he breaks the skin enough to make me bleed. I don't yell or jerk away since it is my understanding that reacting like that will only excite them. Instead, I use my other hand to bodily pick him up off my shoulder (gently, of course). He always stops biting when I do that and I make him 'be good' and sit on my hand without biting for several moments before I allow him back on my shoulder.

[Monica]

Sounds like it's not that bad then. You may want to get him used to being grabbed around the body, so if he refuses to step up, you can just pick him up and that's that.

[kreach]

Thankfully, he's already quite used to being picked up by the body, so he doesn't fight me when I do that. Thanks for the advice!

[Conures on the mind]

Hi Whoopsy went through that stage. I think it's a male thing. What I did was actually not let him on my head and every time he went to bite me I would gently and I mean gently grab his beak and say no bite. If he continued to bite me I would set him down and ignore him. Unfortunatly why it worked for me. It was not so successful for relatives or friends because they act afraid of him so he some times will act like he is going to attack them or he actually does.