biting bird..

[krissyg1989]

Alright. Well, i guess some background information would be ideal before asking how to stop my conure from biting.

I've had Kona for almost a year now, she's a sun conure and was hatched november 2006. I wanted a sun conure after having my cockatiel for a year (who just died on new years eve ) and also after working at a pet shop around birds. I found a local breeder, (i didnt like how the baby birds were taken care of at the store, nor how expensive they were) and looked at a batch of babies he had. Now, i did NOT pick Kona (my sun conure) she picked me. Out of 5 babies he brought out, all which were lively and healthy...she was the only one who seemed to show intrest in me back. She started bobbing her head and kind jumped on my chest and was giving little sqwuaks and all cuddly toward me. Sooo that's how I ended up with my little "witch" with a b.

She loves giving kisses and she loves being on me and if i lay down with the lights off she cuddles up to me and turns on her back and shoves herself under my chin...BUT when i told her, when i go to pick her up..anything..she's always biting me. Usually it's just playful, but theres a lot of times when it really hurts! She gets cranky so easily. I've cried clipping her wings and putting her on the floor. I've cried giving her a sten 'no', without yelling. I've tried putting her back in her cage. -giggles- (sorry..as we speak she's nibbling my ear, she's decided to be nice for the moment). She's allowed to play with my nails or hair or whatever. That doesn't bother me. but the hard chomping down on my fingers does.

Should i discourage her from all beak playing totally with me? I mean..like I said, the nibbling at my nails and ears and stuff is cute. But maybe she's getting mixed signals? But her brother does the same thing, but never actually bites like she does. Sometimes it gets to the point where she practically draws blood. And it's just random where one minute she'll be completely happy and sane and then the next its devil bird....its aggrivating. And totally turns me off from playing with her and having her out of the cage as much and thats horrible because she deserves a lot of free time out of her cage.

She gets a mixture of food. Nutra parrot, a supreme parrot mixture, higgins fruit and veggie, niger/thissle seed, coconut/nut mixture, carrots and dried greens. she also gets snack attack proteen from higgins. i was thinking about picking up some vitamin mixture for her water. She has a large cage (which she knows how to get out of, little intelligent birdy), she sleeps in a happy hut, i need to pick up some new toys cuz she's destroyed most of hers. They go pretty quickly. Her wings aren't clipped anymore. (flight feathers) Uhm..I'm letting them grow in because she looooooves flying around my room. I'm sick of depriving her of that for the sake of her not getting out. Which she wont because its like a system of doors for her to be able to get outside.

Uhm...anything else, just ask. Help greatly appreciated.

[saucie]

Sorry this may not be ultimately helpful to you, but it seems to me like this situation is one that you just need to get used to. It sounds like she's only biting you when you're disturbing her from her own grand schemes. I don't think you're sending mixed signals by letting her beak, because that's different from hard biting. It seems like you've already figured out why she's biting: she gets cranky. She's trying to discourage your behavior.

My sun conure bites me when I try to get him to step up from certain places, like the top of his travel cage, or sometimes my shoulder, and usually when he's playing on his back. But there's definitely a difference between me taking him from those certain spots and him playing on his back, because he's not aggressively biting when he's playing and it's not always a hard bite.

I used to feel like I didn't want to take him out of his cage to play because it would end up being a bite fest. What I did was let Conrad out of his cage as usual, but not let him play on me if he was in a bitey mood. It also helps to have a toy that he can chew on when he's out, so he doesn't chew on my finger.

One of the other things that I've been doing is using one key phrase whenever he's doing something I don't want him to do. When I remove my finger from his beak, I always say stop. I've been pleased to find that whenever I say stop, he stops whatever he's doing and finds something else to do. He still reacts with a bite, but at least now he'll stop without me needing to pull back.

[4HAND]

Hi Krissy.If any of your mixes have sunflower or safflower,switch to a mix without them.Are there any pellets in her diet,if not conversion may be in order.How about fresh things?I feed the Higgins True Fruit very sparingly as it gives Cheddy a little sugar buzz.Those little papaya chunks make nice training rewards.If you have the time and desire to clicker train,it has been known to redefine the relationship between birds and their people.
I would discourage all beaking at this point.Offer a toy to redirect.Keep your scritches confined to the head and neck.As she matures,wing and back petting may stimulate her hormonally.Remember to her,negative attention is fun so play it cool when she bites and just put her away.
Offer destructable toys and foraging toys to release her agressions.That's all I can think of for now.
Tena

[rockybird]

This probably isnt helpful, but my gcc used to be nippy as well after the cute baby stage. It took a couple yrs. before we understood each other. I learned what he doesnt like and vice versa. For instance, I cant put him on my shoulder if I want him to go in the cage soon. He will nip my finger if I do. He loves being on the shoulder. So, I have to entice him to come off my shoulder. He loves to knock things over off the counter, push his hot wheels car, or fight with my car keys. I play with these things on the counter or table, and he jumps off my shoulder to play too. Every time. Sometimes I have to be careful as he will ATTACK the keys, and get my finger too. Usually he will step up pretty easily off the counter, as he wants to come with me, not be left behind (we had that lesson when he was younger). Now, he is close to the perfect pet. He is a snuggle bug, but I cant do everything I want with him either, and he is entitled to some autonomy.

Also, dont forget that captive parrots have no real independence. In the wild, they are completely independent. In our homes, we dictate their lives. Sometimes a nip is the only way they can tell you what THEY want.

[flight_of_the_wing]

i guess that you can't really do anything about it, but i would try to avoid anything that causes her to bite. anyways, at least she is ok most of the time. if you do something that she dislikes, she will instinctively bite you to get you to stop.