Biting Conure

[birdman44]

Hey guys, im new to birdboard. I recently got a green cheek conure and i love him hes alot of fun. But he has a nipping problem, i think he thinks its a game everytime he is on my shoulder and i go to try to take him off he bites my finger like hes sayin "leave me alone" he nips on my ears pretty hard, he is just very stuburn. But he is also very affectionate when i lie down he comes on my chest and kisses me on the lips but he is very gentle when he does that. I want to no what to do about this biting how can i let him no that hes not supposed to bite that hard.

Thanks
Luca

[kateBird]

hi! gccs will always be nippy. my conures usually step up nicely from my shoulder if i want them to, but they do sometimes have their off days and bite kinda hard to say "go away!".

what you might want to do is before going to get them to step off of your shoulder, have a treat that your bird likes in your hand, and lure them to step up on to your hand with that treat. that always works with my guys. but that is usually my last choice.

[Valo's Moirana]

hi luca

first of all - welcome to BB. hope you'll enjoy it here.
second - nice name

third - welcome to the life with a greencheek conure (GGC). stack band-aids and develop your masochistic side joking, but some of it is true. GGC are known to be very nippy birds. that's the downside of all the ups (pretty, rel. quiet, fun-loving, playful and cuddly). that being said, i have some recommendations that might help you, but you might want to get used to the idea that your little baby will always be a little bite-happy

wrt to the shoulder - do you do step up training (SUT) with him? if so, try to limit the access to the shoulder until he has the basics down, then expand to the shoulder. valo would do the same thing at the beginning, but with regular
SUT also from the shoulder, he now steps up fine (most of the time of course.... )
if you don't to SUT with your little cutie (I LOVE GGC) then i'd recommend starting it. they are very stubborn birds, and if you don't establish some sort of respect in his eyes, you might always have some sort of a power struggle (who am I kidding - the struggle just becomes easier to win )

if he nips the ears, i'd definitely keep him off the shoulder for a while until he understands the concept of NO (change tone in voice, a firm NO which is not shouted - you can place him on the floor for about a minute or so as reinforcement if his wings are clipped). valo would chew on my earrings all the time.. now he leaves them alone. patience....

also, be careful with the kissing - our saliva is not good for the birds. kissing is okay, but only with dry lips and not constantly...

as a final comment - a lot of GGC are nippy, and that might be hard to get rid of. watch out for signs of aggression (ie fluffy around the neck) to avoid hard bites, and limit the occasions where he can and will bite (ie i know that valo will bite if i try to take him off the pellet bowl BEFORE he picks out his pellet to munch on while i make breakfast for him - well, so i don't pick him up until his has his pellet).

best of luck and congrats to your GGC! please let us know if you have any more questions.
bee

[birdman44]

haha thanks for the replies, and i have being teaching up the step up, i usually just say "up up".. hes starting to grasp the concept. When he bites my ears i usally grab his beak and say NO! in a deep tone voice

[milihandra]

Buddy hates getting off my shoulder, he nips and backs away where I can't reach him. The way I get around this is whenever I'm ready to get him off I lean my back against a wall so he's got no where to hide! then he knows I mean business when I say "up"

The best technique I've found with general biting is ignoring the bird. When Buddy bites I leave him alone and/or put him in his cage. This works of course only with a bird that wants to be with you! When I ignore Buddy it just kills him because he wants my attention so desperately, finally when I play with him again he's usually better behaved!

[tiny_teesha]

Mine is starting to get rough with his bites too...more SUT training for him!!!

[Maui's Mom]

Luca how are you doing with your baby ? has he started to listen to the word no ?

my son has a GCC , i wasnt told they were nippy birds either when we got him. he is loveable when he wants to be, he comes out all the time and plays and hangs with us, it often makes me wonder what he is so angry about with all the biting he does. he is a very aggressive bird thats for sure.

hope all is going well in your house with your fid.

[bird_luver24]

Friday isnt a GCC...He is a Sun Conure. He is around 13weeks old now and he is starting to Really Nip me hard ecspecially when we are wrestling. I guess I just have to bare with it and say NO! w/ a time out of course!

[2horse]

I dont think it is a good idea to grab the beak, this can lead to other rough play that you dont want to encourage. Is you GCC still very young? He may not know his own strength and biting ears is just overrough preening. If he is being agressive he is not allowed on the shoulder untill he steps up and down. Does know his own strength? Does he know it is wrong to bite, or is it accidental? If he knows a very firm "NO" and timeout in the cage will change his mind. If it is just rough play give him a toy to chew instead of your ear. Biting to avoid getting off your shoulder is also wrong and maybe a second can help teach a step up command. My sun babies are trying to hide down the back to avoid getting off,( they dont bite) a second person helps in this case.

[Kermit&Scittles]

he just loves you. using step up to get off the shoulder has done wonders with my Sun. as far as the ear goes I agree with the say no and a quick time out in his cage. attitude is what we love about Conures.