Biting

[Tiger]

We have been dealing with Dakota biting! Now we are reinforcing the "NO BITE" rule. When she bites we tell her no bite and put her back in her cage for a time out. LOL! But she does not seem to be learning. I thought that maybe someone with more experience may know of how to break this biting. Dakota has put holes in our lips. Not that we were trying to kissing her. She was up on our shoulder and will lean over to get us. This is killing our lips and ears and fingers. LOL! So if we could solve this that would be great! Please help save our fingers, lips, ears! Thanks!

 

[Bokkapooh]

I recommend to keep her off your shoulder. She probably thinks your ears are toys, and your lips are num nums and your fingers are mean things to take her away from these fun items.

I dont use the phrase" no bite", most birds do not understand it (even if punishment is used with it). I have had so much more better success with " Be gentle".

 

[JLcribber]

In order to help you with a behavior you must be more descriptive about just what is happening before and during these events. What are you guys doing, what is he doing, what is going on around him, etc. Don't tell us what you think/feel is happening but rather describe what is actually going on in a non emotional manner. The timeouts are a form of punishment and not an effective way to change or train any kind of behavior.

I can tell you right off the bat that if a bird is not on your shoulder it can't bite your face so if you are allowing her up there then you are allowing the behavior.

 

[kebz]

My sun used to be obsessed with my ears/earings, id just keep him away from them and now i dont seem to have any trouble.

If he would try to get to my earings id take him off me and put him on his perch.

 

[GypsyWitch]

Mo was pretty bad with nipping and biting right after we got him. I know that with him being so young he probably just didn't understand that it hurts when he does it. I still don't allow him up on my shoulder because I can't see him or what he's up to. If I put him on my shoulder and he bites me...that's my fault.
Mo has gotten so much better in such a short time. If he's on my hand and tries to bite me or is biting, I drop my hand slightly (this throws him off balance) and say, "No biting". Also, if he is on one hand and bites the other, I don't pull away...I push back and again say, "No biting". This is usually enough to get him to stop. On the rare occasion that he continues, I redirect by asking him to do something for me...a trick that he knows well. And then give him a treat for the good behavior.
Other times it is just that he's had enough and is a little overwhelmed and needs to go back to his cage to relax and calm down (I have 2 kids that sometimes just can't contain their excitement and it gets Mo excited too).
Hope this helps a little. Just make sure you are consistent! Good luck!

 

[Tomsde]

I think that generally speaking Green Cheeked Conures are very nippy. Connie is nippy most of the time. From what I've read and experienced it's best not to give "drama rewards" for biting. If you screech, laugh, or make a fuss when they nip they get a kick out of it so they are more likely to do it. Like a small child, the GCC's motto could be "any attention is good attention". There are videos on YouTube you can watch for free that explain techniques for getting parrots to stop biting. I've been working with both Connie and Ollie on this, Ollie nips more when he is playing and I don't think he realizes how hard he chomping. Ollie isn't nearly as nippy as he used to be. As for Connie, I've been working with her on her step ups and it seems to help curtail her nippiness; but I don't believe there will ever be a time when she doesn't nip at all--it's just part of her personality. Most of the time she just wants to have her head and neck scritched.

 

[crazyanimal]

Conures do go through nippy stages... like terrible twos with kids. You just need to continue to reinforce good behaviour. Don't stop the reinforcements. Giving a foot toy as a distraction, or removing her from you but not in her cage. Is putting a bird in their cage punishment??? Not really because they have toys and such to play with. Plus it will then lead to bedtimes being a nightmare because they associate their cage with punishment.

When my conures (the ones who loved to be on me) would start their nipping I would set them down on the computer desk in front of me or on the coffee table. I would not let them jump on me for about a minute. They loved to be with me so just removing them from my body helped a great deal.

The biggest key to this is patience and persistance.