In search of help to tame my conure

[towelz]

Hello,

I'm here in search of help and tips to stop my conure from biting me.

Background:
I bought Mango at a pet fair, half hand trained about 1 yr old. Mango was curious and approachable when I saw her and so decided to take her home with us. Things were great and simple at first, she would step up, hangout around my desk and didn't bite. A year later things changed. I'm not sure if I didn't give her enough attention, or her interactions with my roommates skewed her behavior. She started biting sometimes, it's basically a gamble whether she would bite or not. The first few time caught me by surprised and I think she got hooked on my reactions. Bites got worst and she would grind her beak like she wanted to break skin. She would hold onto her bite when I try to put her down after saying NO. Now most of her bites result in blood. I thought that if i dont react and just let her finish her bite she'll get over it. But sadly that wasn't the case. I used to let her on my shoulder, and she would snuggle my neck. But i'm scared of doing that now cause she has bitten my ear and neck.

I'm not sure what to do now, I've seen videos of putting the bird down and walking away and ignore them. I've been doing this but when I come back and try to pet her she sometimes would just try to bite me. I've tried giving her more time out of the cage, now she wont step up and just does her thing. I feel like I've made all the wrong choices and its too late to come back. When she does let me pet her head and neck, any movement she makes makes me think shes about to bite me. It makes me sad that i'm scared of her and have to force myself to make an effort to interact knowing that today could be another bandaid on my finger.

Please guide me in the right direction. I'm willing to try anything. I want to love her but shes making it harder every bite.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Mizzely]

Some birds just don't like to be pet. I would just start over very slowly... Offer her treats without asking her to do anything for them, then try to teach her to step up onto a perch vs your hands.

 

[towelz]

Thank you mizzely for the reply.

To retrain her should I keep her in the cage during the process?

Mango seems to enjoys the pets she'll bend her head when i scratch, and she wants to climb on me, she would move to the side of the cage im facing and act like she's going to fly onto me. However she doesnt like flying so she would just bob her head.

 

[Mizzely]

I personally don't like to keep them in their cage, I think letting them have choices between coming and going helps build their trust and confidence.

 

[Lady]

Have you done any target training? If she looks to you for good things, the interest in biting should fade.

Also, how old is she and how long has she been biting? It could be hormones if it was sudden and hasn't lasted long.

 

[towelz]

I personally don't like to keep them in their cage, I think letting them have choices between coming and going helps build their trust and confidence.

Taking your advice in not keeping her in her cage. Currently I'm only giving her scratches and will only pick her up using a perch and focusing on up and down commands with rewards. Thanks for the help!

 

[towelz]

Have you done any target training? If she looks to you for good things, the interest in biting should fade.

Also, how old is she and how long has she been biting? It could be hormones if it was sudden and hasn't lasted long.

Thank you for your reply.

I have not done any target training, I'll google this and try it out. She is almost 4 yrs old and the biting started a year ago. I was hoping it was a phase, but it's gotten worst.

 

[Lady]

Target training has made a big difference in my relationship with our Amazon. She trusts me far more and has an overall much more positive view of me. I can give her scratches when she's on my husband's shoulder now, and before she would lunge and try to bite when I walked nearby.

Here's a step by step getting started with clicker training. Clicker Training Classroom

 

[Monica]

More training advice can be found here.

Free Training Resources

Someone recently told me that there was only one trainer on the internet that had free training advice. This is, quite simply, false. This “trainer” they spoke of is an amateur that has taken advice from salesmen who market themselves as bird trainers. Not to say that they don't enjoy helping...

forums.avianavenue.com

I *would* recommend keeping a bird in the cage during the taming/retraining time *IF* they bit every time you tried to get them out and/or flew to attack. If you have a gym that she can be on while out, then you could work with her there. That said, target training should also be done at the cage to reduce/stop any cage aggression! Tie in with station training if she's attacking when changing out the dishes.


Just keep in mind - you DO NOT need to physically interact with her in order to train her. Hands off training can be just as important, if not more so, for some birds!

 

[Colibri]

This information is really interesting! My female GCC, Hachi, sometimes gets jealous if I am talking to my husband (her favorite human) and she feels she isn't getting enough attention, or if I am holding her buddy, Froggy. Within the last couple of months, she has taken to biting me at random times. I am usually able to gauge her mood by looking at her, so I know when to leave her alone or back off. But this target training looks interesting and maybe worth a try.

 

[Zazu123]

I think target training is the best thing you can do for your bird right now. Or any kind of training where a positive relationship can be built without the need of physical interaction. Teach him some tricks so that you can have a fun and stimulating time with him without the need of having to ask him to step up and pet him. If you work from there, I beleive that in time you will be able to reincorporate these physical interactions into the time you spend with him. Petting should be the last thing you reincorporate if he is being back-offish with your hand. It takes a lot of trust to let a giant hand come near you, and tue result will be biting if he does not trust you.

 

[cab124]

I feel really bad for you. When a bird starts biting and trust is lost, it really kills the enjoyment of the relationship.

From what I have read, conures have a reputation for being nippy. I wish there were easy answers. It does sound like you did the right thing by trying not to react when your buddy started biting.

I have had my bird for almost 2 years now. She was not tame and would not step up when I adopted her. Even now, she will only step up briefly for a sunflower seed. I am disappointed that she does not allow for more physical contact, but we really do enjoy a close bond without much contact. I have found that it is possible to have a rewarding bond with a bird without much physical contact. It's not my first choice, but it is still pretty good. Just something to keep in mind!

I am going to continue to try to increase my bird's trust of contact, but I also worry that at some point, she will start nipping just like your bird. When/if that happens, I suppose I will just back off.

I hope some of the advice you are getting from the great people in this forum helps you!!!