new to conures, have a behavior question

[shel]

• today my husband bought me a green cheeked conure. his name is "beaker", hatched in march of 2013. he loves to "step up" and be rubbed on his head and he is the cutest thing ever!
  
  i also have 6 budgies a 90 pound dog and 3 cats. my birds all live in the bird room when asleep or not supervised. the budgies are not tame....they were "rescued" from a guy that was going to dump them off to fend for themselves. i love them, i love the noises they make and their lovely colors, but i have wanted a bird i could have a more personal relationship with for a long time.
  
  when i went to check on beaker he appeared to still be awake though the room was nearly dark. he stepped up as he has been all day, then tried to climb on my shoulder. not sure if this was ok or not, i tried to gently hold and remove him. he bit me enough to hurt badly, though he did not break the skin. (keep in mind that i have worked with rescue dogs most of my adult life and my idea of a "bad bite" is when an angry 150 pound dog decides to have me for lunch. my idea of a bad bite is probably a little bit skewed).
  
  i probably should not have bothered him, i'm guessing he was getting sleepy and has had a very busy and exciting day. i would just like some info on how to handle being bitten by a bird without traumatizing him or accidentally encouraging him. i understand that birds can sometimes enjoy drama....i also know that they go through "nippy" periods (been reading up on conures for a year or more) but i find first hand advice usually is more effective than just reading most of the pages on the web. there is good info and bad info about everything and in this case i am not sure which is which.
  
  best regards and hope to get to know you and your birdies!
  
  shel
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[Laurul Feather Cat]

It probably was a bad idea to try and interact with him so late in the day. It could be he thought you had invited him to sleep on your shoulder and then got angry when you decided to move him. Do a few step up drills with him tomorrow to reinforce the step up rules and always ask him to step up before you try and remove him forcefully from your shoulder.

Patience is the key when it comes to wining the trust and love of a bird. They are prey animals in the wild and react negatively to aggression and force.

 

[shel]

that is what i thought. right now he is trying to eat the keys on the keyboard and being a total lover. i'm amazed at how smart he is. he removed his food dishes last night/this morning and crawled out through the hole. cage modification before i go to work this afternoon. i can already tell that we will be great friends!

 

[Celia58]

Greenies can be pretty bossy too.They want what they want and can get a bit fiesty if they dont get it At least mine is.
Congrats on the new greencheek.Love the name Beaker.

 

[roxynoodle]

A few of us answered your post in the conure section as well.

 

[shel]

thanks everyone! was still learning my way around the forum last night, so i posted in a few different places. it's been a long time since i was a member of a forum that is set up this way.

i don't know how he got the name "beaker". my husband brought him home and said "this is beaker". i thought it was cute, so i am just going to keep calling him that. i don't want to go to work this evening (mostly work 3-11 shift) because i don't want to leave beaker and he will be asleep by the time i get home.

 

[Agapornis]

Beaker is a cute name! My little bratty greenies love to be on my shoulder, and whenever I try to get them down they give me a "back off" bite. Pretty much everything has to be on their terms. The way I get them down is, I say, "ready for your treat????" and go to the fridge and take out a bag of pine nuts. They immediately start climbing down my arm to the counter, so they can have their treat. THEN i give them a pine nut or 2...and then have them step up and take them to the top of their cage or wherever.

Have fun with Beaker, and don't worry! You'll figure out his body language and all this little quirks before long.

 

[cosmolove]

I would just spend as much time with him during the day as you can my birdies are usually asleep when I get home as well.