questions

[glenna]

sun conure ( charlie) 10 years old. my house a month
previous owner would eat and then let the bird eat the ground up food out of her mouth. that is not going to happen in my house. i was feeding charlie some wheat bread by hand and when i ran out he bit my neck. my question is how do i teach him not to bite. he has bite me twice when i scared him. i understand that but not the bite to the neck while feeding him. i put him in his cage after telling him no, no bite, that hurts. after about 20 minutes i went to get him and he puffed up and bobbed and kept picking at his cage so i told him " fine , when your done being bad let me know" and went out of the room again. any suggestions. i had heard they are like a 3 year old so my kids got time outs when they were bad.!!!

[nailsrglue]

Time out is the best answer and its good that you are already practicing this. It will definately take time to teach the bird not to fall into its old habits, especially since those habits may have been there for many years. The bird may also be trying to prove dominance over you, as you are not the person who raised it. Just keep giving him time out, although I personally wouldnt use the home cage for this. Maybe a travel cage or a playstand?

[glenna]

but he thinks his playstand is for fun right? i dont have a travel cage. maybe putting him in the bathroom with the door shut?

[xafsmom]

It sounds like he's not quite trusting of you yet. He might still be missing his old home and people. I wouldn't let him go on your neck, though I understand how fast they can go from a hand to a shoulder lol. My suggestion isn't to seclude him in a bathroom because right now he doesn't understand the concept of that method and he'd just become less trusting. When he runs up to your neck, immediately remove him. If he bites right off, don't do the big "OUCH!" and flail thing, but grit your teeth, get him back to your hand and tell him "No bite!", while giving him a disapproving look. Then put him in his cage. Check on him in 10-15 mins , tell him hello lovingly, offer him a treat through the bars and walk away. Make him think about it a little.

If he's bobbing and giving the 'go away' motions when you approach his cage, then he's telling you that he considers you a threat. Become less of one without pushing him into aggression towards you. Talk to him a bit without standing too close, until he settles. Offer him goodies through the bars. He'll want to come play and socialise eventually and stop being bratty. Once he does, and he's not giving you the aggression routine, open the cage, let him step up and give him a 'good boy!', offer him a treat, and put him back, or take him immediately to his playstand as a reward. Start making him seek your friendship out and then when he convinces himself it's all his idea, it'll start working out better. Least that's my advice.

My 3 year old Sun Bonn is like that. I'm the only one that could approach him, he bit the holy hoo out of everyone else. I had my family do this and now he'll behave himself with them. He doesn't entirely like them, but he'll mind his manners now.

[NikiAndBeyond]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

If he's bobbing and giving the 'go away' motions when you approach his cage, then he's telling you that he considers you a threat.

Could you explain this action a little further? My boy leans forward and bounces at me from within the cage. I've always taken it as, "I'm here! Take me out take me out."

Hopefully, it's a different body-language.

[glenna]

charlie fluffs his feathers and bobs back and forth and you know he is mad because he tries to bite you if you put your finger up to him. he does this when he is mad at me for putting him in his cage. him and i are fighting over dominance and guess who is going to win>

[Anneka]

Tina gave wonderful ideas. I like your post :)

I would only add: Try not to give him any opportunities to bite you. Watch his body language very carefully (and your fingers too) and soon you will be able to tell when he is about to bite or is not in a friendly mood. Back off, give him his space and try again a bit later.

[glenna]

again today he niped my neck and went into time out... i really think it is a dominate thing because my tiel was on my shoulder too and charlie was not happy.

[hollyhawkz]

Hi Glenna,
I think because Charlie learned that it is acceptable and normal to eat out of ones mouth that he truly believes that you are the one being bad and thus the nip. The poor baby probably does not understand yet that he/she is the one being bad and does not understand being punished. It sounds like you are feeding Charlie off your should, so that is the first thing I would change. As far as the fright bites... only time to trust you and get used to the new rules will help. Keep up the gentle time outs when Charlie does something you do not approve of. When you approach again you could bring a treat and give it to Charlie only if he/she is not behaving aggresively. They are smart little creatures and learn well with consistency and time.
All the best of luck!

[glenna]

i decided a couple days ago when i eat he will sit on the table and i will feed him that way. he doesnt like to step up from my shoulder onto my finger. i usually have to use a stick/ we have had him 2 months now . but i do love both him and sparkle