green cheek training?

[SydVicious]

Hi, I have a 1 year old "fancy green cheek" conure. This is our first bird and he is very loving bites anymore ( usually when its past his bedtime he gets cranky, or when he is hungry. and sometimes when he doesnt get his way!) I was wondering if anyone could show/tell me some FREE techniques on training such as howto talk (or mimic, he is usually VERY quite) potty training, or even to stop biting? As i said this is my first bird and i love him so much, we spend hours together each day but if i could train him a little more we could spend that much more time, as im sure you all already know.

any help is greatly appreciated.

[Ashling]

To potty train, first of all, everytime he does the deed- say a word like "go potty." He'll learn to associate the words with the action. When he does it after you tell him too, give him lots of praise and treats! When he's learnt that, start to teach him to do it in an appropriate place- over a bin or on a piece of paper. May take weeks, months- but is well worth it!

To teach to talk, every time you come in the room say "hello!" in a really excited voise, and go give him scritches and praise and treats. Do this every day for a month and he should have it by then-after the first word, the rest usually follow pretty quickly- but it depends on the bird! When he starts to make noises after you say "hello" give him a treat for trying each progress is given a treat! After he's learnt hello- you can tach other things such as, whenever you give him food, say "seeds" or "yummies" and he'll learn to actually ASK you for "seed!" Also "scratch" when you scritch him, "step up" when doing step ups and "come here" when you pick him up. Although, some never choose to talk- just whistle and chirrup!

(Remember- when he bites- say NO, give him the "evil eye" and put him down away from you and say "be a good bird." When he isn't biting, give him lots of praise and treats! <3 Try to never have a negative experience with your bird, if he bites dont blame him cause he thinks its the only way to tell that great big human what he wants!) Goodluck and HAVE FUN!!!

[PowerBBS]

Ashling has given some good advice on "no biting"...

If you figure out an affective "anti-biting" sure fire technique for your GCC, please post it here and BEG one of us moderators to "sticky" it for the rest of the board.

Just about every GCC (and their mutations) owners I've talked to (with very few exceptions) all have a similar complaint.... Biting. It's considered one of their primary assumed default traits now.... biting. OUCH!

Good luck... sorry had to chime in on that. I've been working for years now, with no success on anti biting.

Also... please be patient when attempting any training with your fid. There is never any guarantee that your fid will every do anything you're attempting to train. And it could takes 'years'. Training a conure to talk is more often than not, a hit or miss adventure. Typically they can mimic sounds quite well... but are not well known to be great talkers.

We constantly train our Chucky to talk and the only two things he's every said are "Baby" and "Love You"... however, he hasn't said "Love You" now for almost a year. He however constantly makes kissing noises upon prompting... mainly cause he's jelous of the kisses we give our other fids. And he can make "clicking" noises identical to me taping the keys on my keyboard to my laptop (you see there's scientific proof that I spend too much time online!).

As for free techniques... I'm going to suggest a very "cheap" magazine subscription... cost only about $1.00/issue and publishes 12 issues a year. Bird Talk Magazine (go to magazines.com to order, you'll save tons of money off of standard subscription rates) and you can get it online for 13.00/yr.

It's not free... but at 1.00 per month... it may as well be... it's the best $1.00 you'll ever spend in my humble opinion; towards the education of yourself pertaining to your fid. There may be "better" magazines/books out there. But none with as much bang for your "buck" as Bird Talk. Those other subscriptions run well over $30/yr (and unfortunately, there's not a lot of subscription options out there).

I suggest it, as typically with about every issue... they explain and demonstrate some training techniques that I've used and have met with success in the past (including potty training).

Hope that helps.

[Button Biter]

Good suggestions from Ashling and PowerBBS. It's true that GCCs tend towards nippiness. But here's a tip...try to notice if there are any situations when your little fid does NOT bite. If so, you can at least reinforce those moments by making sure you repeat them daily.

Here's an example -my 5 yr. old GCC, Joey (female), has never bitten me when we do our special Song & Dance routine. For these I actually nestle her against my face as I sing softly into her ear, rocking and bobbing from side to side - and she sings back in her soft, gravelly voice (B-A-A-A-Y-bies-s-s, B-A-A-A-Y-bies-s-s, jo-jo, jo-jo). It's as if she knows that this special moment does not involve biting -it's just not part of the act!

If you're not sure of any special situations where your fid doesn't bite, maybe you can work to create some. For him, the reward for not biting may be that you don't stop the special moment you 2 are sharing.

I realize this doesn't stop ALL biting...but it will at least provide you relief in some circumstances, plus strengthen your bond with your little guy in the process.

Good luck!