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Conure attacks when I try to fill food

222katie

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Katie Yoder
Hi there! I’ve got a brown throated conure named Hiccup who has become excessively territorial about his food and cage lately. He’s definitely going through a hormonal time right now, being a bit over a year old and he is on the tail end of his first molt, neither of which can help. When he’s out of his cage he’s chipper and friendly and doesn’t nip or bite at all. He’s definitely not a touchy-feely bird and doesn’t accept scratches, but his recall training is good, and he loves training and doing tricks, showering with me, hanging out on my shoulder while I clean or garden etc. Outside of his cage I’d say he’s as normal as a bird can be. But if I open his cage door to try to fill his food or water up I’m suddenly enemy number one and he lunged at me and growls and bites me hard if he can get at me. If I want to get him out I can’t get him to step up from the cage door anymore, I have to wait for him to climb out to the top of the cage before he’ll step up without trying to bite me. I’ve never reached into his cage and grabbed him or invaded his territory for any other reason than to fill his food or water. Has anyone else experienced this or does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this behavior without losing my bird’s trust? Thanks!
 

Mizzely

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I've had 5 birds and only one didn't give me sass about their food bowl lol. Wait until they aren't in the cage to mess with their stuff. I've also distracted them on one side of the cage with a treat while working on the other side
 

sunnysmom

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I always let my birds come out on their own. I try to invade their space as little as possible Although it does sound like a hormonal issue which hopefully will pass, you can also try teaching him stationing. Meaning when your hand are in his cage, he goes to a corner and waits- and he of course gets rewarded for doing it- a treat he really likes. The trainer at our aviary her always does that with her bitey birds.
 

Zara

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A cage with good feeder doors will be your best friend!

Otherwise, as Mizzely said, holding a treat to one side of the cage while you do food and water with the other could work. You may also want to look into target training as a longer term solution.
 
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