conure love bites?

[holcomb76]

I have a 4 yr old sun conure named Sam. He and I are best friends. I believe based on his behavior he has chosen me as his mate. He will rub is butt on me, try and feed me, and constantly cleans me. However, he has started biting me for me no reason. For instance he will bite my forearms for no reason. if he is hanging out climbing around while we are hanging out on the couch he will start to wander toward my arm and then lung to bite. now I am very reluctant to let him near my arms when we are on the couch together. Most of the time he is down my shirt cleaning himself or sleeping. He used to rub his beak on my arm like he was feeding me and be fine with it. but now my arm is off limits, I will have to hold it above my head or hold it on a pillow to keep him from heading that way. Any idea why a bird will turn on something like that. Or has anyone else noticed strange behavior like this?

[SarahNya]

Hiya, my Sun started to do the same thing with me, except it's my fingers and cheek that usually get nipped and he refuses to step up for me anymore. I'm not sure what I've done either, I've never been the favourite (that would be my boyfriend who can do anything with him) but he never used to bite me like that.

The odd thing is, if my other half and I are sat on the couch he will ALWAYS come straight to me and sit on my shoulder and if I should attempt to turn my head and look at him or try and get him to step up I get munched! I think he sits on me deliberately to seperate me from his favourite person.

[Valo's Moirana]

hmm.... he could be bored... have you tried bringing a toy with you to the couch?

[poohbear]

My green cheek 'Robbie' was exactly the opposite.I got him some weeks back aged two,and he was viscious from the word go.He would bite and hang on wings flapping and drawing blood.After several weeks of chatting through the bars I risked letting him out.He landed on my shoulder and I made no attempt to touch him or turn my face towards him.After slowly getting him to accept treats from my fingers ,he has gradually mellowed.Apart from the odd nip when I try to put him to bed if he doesn't want to go...he has settled in well. Just a lot of patience,and hours of sitting near his cage and talking to him seems to have done the trick.
I hope you eventually regain the confidence of your bird.
Paul.

[jenseits]

Stewie and I are still working on getting to know each other, but he seems to have something against fingers (if there isn't a treat in them). My problem is that he sometimes lunges at me, but if I don't move, he sometimes transitions really quickly into very gentle beaking.

I don't want to encourage aggression, but sometimes it's hard for me to tell if he's actually biting or just exploring. And I wouldn't want to discourage the latter. It's a little easier to stop him when he goes from gentle to hard, but if he starts off using more pressure, it's hard for me to figure out where he's going with it. A firm "Stewie, no bite!" tends to get him riled up even more, so I only want to use it if I know he intended to bite.

He never bites really hard, so it's more a question of discipline than being afraid of his biting.

Suggestions? (if it makes a difference, he tends to bite fingers but has no problems with arms (though he still won't step up on an arm on command), and he'll often preen the little hair on my arms, or the hair on my head if he can reach it. So I don't think the problem is that he hates me or anything).

[stepht25]

What kind of reaction (if any) do you give him when he bites your arm? A lot of birds seem to enjoy "drama." So for instance - if he bites your arm, and you respond by jumping, letting out even a small cry or loud noise - he may be encouraged to keep biting hoping to repeat the reaction out of you. The best way to discourage the biting is by not responding at all - which can be REALLY hard to do sometimes! Or a firm no followed by removing them away from you for a few minutes (kind of like a time out). Most of my birds respond to a "no - be gentle" if they start applying too much pressure. If they don't stop, or bite harder - I don't say anything else - but put them back on their cage and ignore them for a few minutes. Seems to work for us.

[poohbear]

I have visions of you reprimanding the bird with a gentle 'no' and leaving the room. And then hearing the scream of agony echoing round the house from behind the closed door...........Made my day that.

[poohbear]

Yep.....Don't respond to a bite by making a fuss or a sudden movement. A gentle but firm response should encourage the bird to desist.

Sometimes easier said than done.

[sowilu]

Poor Paul you are always the victim.

[poohbear]

Lost my 'Robbie' today he found an open window I didn't know about....Hope I get him back, looking at the empty cage is very sad.