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Just normal conure behaviour??

Chipster

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Dave
Hi all
I’ve had my conure a few days (he’s only about 8 weeks old) and all is going well apart from he likes biting my hands.
He’s very keen to come out, flies out of his cage and comes and perches on me, hands, head or shoulder.
He’s not at all afraid of hands, he’ll happily sit there and take food off me, let me stroke his head and he’ll step up fine, but he makes a bee line for my fingers and starts off tasting them with his tongue but once he gets to a fleshy part he bites quite hard.
Now I’ve tried putting him down onto something and ignoring him...I’ve tried gently saying no...I’ve gently removed his beak from my hands...but he will still continue to do it. He’s not particularly interested in toys, but then he is still young.
Is it that he is just young or is this just normal behaviour, he’ll also do the same with my ears given the chance. I obviously don’t want it to become an issue as he gets older and stronger so I’m just looking for suggestions.
Thanks
Dave
 

expressmailtome

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Sharonitaw

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Hi, I got my GCC as an adult stray, so he's got a bit of a biting problem.
Before spring hormones turned Petrie into a moody butt, what I would do to pressure train him was that anytime he bit too hard, I say "ouch" or "no" in a serious voice, pull my hand away, turn away from him, and completely ignore him for 10-15 seconds. For each consecutive bite during that interaction I would add 5-10 seconds to how long I ignored him.
My bird loves getting attention, so for us it has worked pretty well.
Another alternative might be to try and distract him with a toy? When Petrie gets too moody to really interact with I give him a piece of paper or cardboard to chew... very high-tech toys.
 

Chipster

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Dave
Hi, I got my GCC as an adult stray, so he's got a bit of a biting problem.
Before spring hormones turned Petrie into a moody butt, what I would do to pressure train him was that anytime he bit too hard, I say "ouch" or "no" in a serious voice, pull my hand away, turn away from him, and completely ignore him for 10-15 seconds. For each consecutive bite during that interaction I would add 5-10 seconds to how long I ignored him.
My bird loves getting attention, so for us it has worked pretty well.
Another alternative might be to try and distract him with a toy? When Petrie gets too moody to really interact with I give him a piece of paper or cardboard to chew... very high-tech toys.
Thanks for the reply Sharon, he stills loves to taste but he’s getting the idea about how hard I think. He also loves attention and is very cuddly so he soon realises he won’t get any attention if he continues to do it, thanks for your suggestions.
 

Leih

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Conures tend to be nippy, it's a very common problem with them. I got mine when he was 10 weeks, he's now 14 months and we're still working on it. I could definitely be better at working on it with him... First thing is to do your best to anticipate a bite and then prevent it (distraction). This way he doesn't think biting is a normal acceptable thing.
 

Monica

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Babies are just naturally curious... regardless of species.

Definitely try to prevent the behavior and encourage other desired behaviors!
 

Rudy-love1

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Rudy is about 12-13 weeks now and I’m struggling with the whole biting and hand training part. Anyone have any suggestions? He’s biting to the point of leaving welts. I can pick him up with a towel no problem, and he eats from my hands. But no step up or petting him as of yet
 

Monica

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Rudy is about 12-13 weeks now and I’m struggling with the whole biting and hand training part. Anyone have any suggestions? He’s biting to the point of leaving welts. I can pick him up with a towel no problem, and he eats from my hands. But no step up or petting him as of yet
If he shows any hesitation about being in a towel, I would not recommend picking him up that way. If he goes willingly, then that's fine.


It's better to avoid the bites so you don't inadvertantly reward your bird for biting you. If you do get bit, simply pry their beak off of you and set them down. Try to figure out what happened before, during and after the bite to try and figure out how to avoid the situation in the future.


Have you tried target training yet?
 

Colibri

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Hi Dave,

I also have a green cheek conure who is a biter. I agree with @Monica in that it is better to avoid the bites rather than inadvertantly rewarding your bird for biting you. I know my Hachi LOVES to get a reaction out of me and so it makes her excited if I say "ouch" or "NO!" in reaction to her bites. I also second the target training. I am still fairly new to it, but from my beginning research, it does seem helpful.
 
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