Irritating Conure

[Shirley Pino]

I was wondering if someone could give me some training advice please. I have a 6 month old crimson bellied conure. He is very tame, very friendly and extremely active. But...he is also extremely irritating. He is not really a biter, more of a nibbler. He loves to gently nibble the ears, lips...eyelashes. But this is the problem, he won't simply sit on my shoulder and chill. He will sit on my shoulder and nibble my ear, and then he will try to climb up my face (digging his claws into my face) and nibble my nose, eyelashes or lips. I always take him off and put him on top of his cage, walk away and ignore him, but he keeps coming back like a boomerang and simply won't let me be! It is constant and it is becoming very frustrating. I keep him outside of the cage most of the day, and I don't really want use the cage as a punishment but it is the only way I can get any university work done without him using my face as a climbing frame. Please help!

Also, I have tried to put him in an aviator harness and a flight suit, both to no avail. I have given him the time to get used to them, and he is not afraid of them, but he simply won't stay still and wriggles around like a mad man when I try to put them on him.

 

[pelmenyi]

My GCC has started to develop a similar behavior! Nibbles on my clothing until there are holes and won't leave my ears alone or the piercings in them. It does become annoying but that's just how they are in my opinion. Try giving him treats when he stops nibbling. That could help.

 

[Shezbug]

Sounds like your bird loves you and is preening you.

 

[Jas]

Conures staying still? That's not in their vocabulary .

I use cupcake papers (paper ones, not waxed) filled seeds and twisted to make a foraging toy, that keeps them busy. Anything that gets them foraging keeps them entertained.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Your baby needs something to keep him busy. He is very young and is still learning about the world around him. You’ve been his only source of comfort and entertainment so he’s doing exactly what he’s been taught. Provide him with a perch and toys. Conures are clowns and they love silly stuff. Boings, crinkly things, stuff to chew on and swing from. It doesn’t need to be expensive, it can be clean cardboard or crinkly fruit wrappers on a shoe lace or leather string. (Please note the treat ball shown in the pics has been removed. It proved to be a huge safety hazard.)


As far as a flight suit goes or the aviator harness - how do you define “given enough time” to adjust? If your CBG is wriggling around that means he’s Not happy with it or used to it. If you watched the Aviator dvd the owner tells you that it a weeks to months process. He also specified a plan of how to acclimate your fid to it as well as showed exactly what the bird’s demeanor is when they are accepting of it. He also stated that some birds may never acclimate to it or want to use it. Please rewatch the dvd & note the necessary steps & indicators of forward progress. If you can’t get forward momentum it’s likely that your CBG won’t use the harness.


Once again & most importantly - provide your fid with alternate sources of entertainment & he will learn to give you the time you need. Our GCC is 5 months old and can entertain herself literally for hours on her perch. She will come over intermittently for scritches and attention but she by no means has to be planted on us the entire time she is out of the cage. Good luck

 

[Shirley Pino]

Thanks for the tips guys he has plenty of toys but doesn't seem interested in them. I will definitely try out some foraging techniques and build him a new perch with some new chew toys.

My aviator harness didnt come with a DVD. I have been watching youtube videos but all the birds on there are already super well trained on the flight suit, but they don't really tell you how they got the bird to that stage. The lady who I purchased him from told me that she had him harness trained from a very young age, but it doesn't seem that way because I simply cannot get it on him.

 

[Kodigirl210]

Bit odd that it didn’t come with a dvd but things happen. Training a bird to get used to the harness usually consists of desensitizing the bird in all areas that the harness with be touching or need to touch in order for it to be put on, worn & taken off. One area st a time is worked. As the bird adjusts, they move to the next area. Then the harness is looped loosely around the neck, then around the wing and finally put all the way on. So I agree, it’s unlikely that the breeder used the harness & if she did, it was forced onto him which would then make it impossible for you to do without starting again from the beginning. That’s a terrible way to do business. As for toys, birds have to be introduced and shown how to play with them. It’s not something they just know how to do and sometimes they don’t like the toys that are around them and will not interact with them no matter the incentive. It’s up to to determine what does and doesn’t work.

As for the harness, I would contact the aviator maker and ask to see if they can send you a dvd or provide a link. I’m sure they will.

Hope it all works out

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

My Quaker does the same thing. Whenever I am in the same room as him he's constantly climbing all over me and preening my face, my hair, my neck, my eyelashes, my cheeks, my lips etc.

At first I thought it was a little annoying too, and it still can be a bit much sometimes, but I try to put myself in his shoes. He is a single bird and thinks of me as his mate so he's just showing me love.

I've grown so used to it that it's just a part of life now and mostly I enjoy it. But I know it can be hard to do things with a bird attached to you nonstop chewing everything. My only advice is - get used to it and learn to enjoy it.