Baby testing bites?

[Missntater]

I've had my 9 week GC conure for about a week. He is settling in very nicely and is very relaxed around my family and I. I believe we have bonded well because he generally wants to be close to me all the time (we have lunch together every day).
Lately, he has started biting hard and seems to know where it hurts, like right there between the thumb and pointer finger! My fingers aren't easily chewable and it seems that that fleshy skin is the only satisfactory gnaw he can get on my hand. I've been totally ignoring the bite but man....what an instigator!!!!! It's like he just keeps chewing harder and harder. I don't know if I can handle just letting him mutilate my hand, lol.
I haven't figured out why he is doing it. I'll go to sit him down, after I'm crawling to a tear, nearby like on the computer desk (never above chest level) and he'll just try and climb back on me to be near (I'm supposing). I also wear a thumb ring that he likes to chew....does he think my hands a chew toy? Should I take the ring off?
Should I try leaving him on the floor for a few minutes and leaving the room?
Any help would be appreciated. THanks,
Missy

[Missntater]

Okay.... I was doing a bit more research and I was wondering if it might be a possibility that he is trying to get me to feed him? Could he be getting frustrated and biting harder because he's not getting what he wants? He is still quite young and maybe he wasn't properly weaned.
Also, when he's on me...he likes me to stroke the sides of his beak. I thought that it I was just scratching him because he would rub his beak along hard surfaces to (what it seemed to be) scratch and remove food residue. Should I stop scratching him here? Thanks,
Missy

[EngTeach]

I've had Belle, my GGC, for 3 years now. She, too, likes to give an ocasional hard nip. What I've learned about this breed of bird in particular is that they are a "nippy" bird and a bit mischevious by nature. Belle, like your bird, seems to know where to nip me to let me know something isn't going on that she likes; things like when I'm stroking too close to her ear or when she wants a different place scratched. Belle is also prone to nip me if she wants something I've removed from her reach. For instance, Belle loves to drink from a glasss. A few times, I have had her on me when I am watching TV and sipping on juice or water or something. I'll give her a little drink and then put the glass down....well, evidently she wasn't through quenching her thirst and ran to my hand and bite me as if to say "I want more". Also, Belle has an adversion to the TV remote control. If I'm holding the remote, she will run across my body and attack my hand with hard bites.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that YES, she is trying to tell you something and a hard nip is about her only way. The longer you have her, the more you will become attuned to what it is she's wanting.

[tielfan]

He may be testing your fingers for edibility. At nine weeks old he's just a baby and is still learning about what's food and what isn't.

I recently got a young cockatiel with a strong desire to eat food from my hand. Sort of a simulated handfeeding I guess, and I let her do it. For the first week or two she also chewed on my fingers while she was at it, then stopped after she figured out that she couldn't eat them. The gnawing didn't really hurt so I let her do it. She's currently trying to run a similar experiment on my ears, but that hurts more so I take her off my shoulder every time she starts chewing.

You don't have to let your bird chew on you if it hurts, and if you let him do it you're basically teaching him that it's acceptable. Just quietly withdraw your hand when he goes over the boundaries - no drama, because he might think that's fun. He'll eventually get the idea. Let a few seconds pass before you give him anything to distract him, because if you start offering distractions as soon as he starts chewing he might figure out that chewing is a good way to make toys appear!

[Missntater]

Thank you both....no possitive reinforcment here. :)

I hadn't tried the "pushing into the bite" method and I gave it a shot. He definately doesn't like it and has no idea what is going on, lol.
He's starting to already become a bit clingy to me ....and me only. This morning, I took him in the kitchen as usual and my son went over to greet him...he tryed to bite and squaked, "get away". I put Tater on a trash can so he can poo and it's a perch low enough that he's not above the kid's eyes/chest. I then proceeded to prepare a grape and allow only my son to feed it to him. After that, he could finally pet Tater (what a stinker).
I need to have my kids play with him more.....it's just that their still quite young. (3 and 5)