Adopted Conure Biting HELP

[BirdmanByrd]

Please help I'm desperate!

I adopted two birds about 3 weeks ago (a 4yo quaker and a 3yo conure bonded pair). The quaker is settling in well but the conure won't stop biting me and to a lesser extent my partner. The previous owners advised he prefers males so that explains why he's biting me more.

It's not necessarily aggressive biting he just starts off chewing on you and progressively gets harder until it's unbearable. It's not just hands either he will chew anywhere on your body. The more you try to stop him doing it the harder he bites. I've been trying to ignore it and not make a fuss when he bites which works to an extent but only for a short time.

I spoke to the adoption centre about it and they advised to just give him space to settle in before forcing anything but even allowing him to come to us when he wants he will still just come to me and then straight away start chewing/biting. The quaker will happily just sit on you, he will also chew a bit hard sometimes but nothing as bad as the conure does.

I've had many birds in my life but none with a biting issue like this so I'm at a loss how to handle it and don't want to do anything that will reinforce the behaviour. This is my first conure so I'm not sure if it's something that is common with the breed or just something he's been allowed to get away with at his previous home.

I would really appreciate any help as it's getting to the point where I can't do anything if he's on me as I just get attacked.

 

[SilverSage]

If he starts out sweetly nibbling and it just gets harder to the point of pain, that sounds like a bite pressure issue not an aggression issue. For this issue ignoring it is the wrong response because the issue is that he literally does not understand that he is hurting you.

Stop letting him on your shoulder until you have this issue dealt with, just because it is hard to correct from your shoulder. When he bites too hard, yelp, and turn away. If it is a bite pressure problem, all you need to do is teach him that using that much force hurts you, and if you get hurt, you leave. You can come back in a few seconds and start over. My GCC Flick had this issue.


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[GaleriaGila]

Well, I'm the resident "bad example", but I'll share.
I have reduced biting to almost zero over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered. I don't do stuff that gets me bitten. I don't scratch his head much, ever... tail is okay. I NEVER do stuff that makes him mad... I don't touch others when he's out; I rarely try to get him to step up onto my hand first. I confess to some disappointment at having such a little monster for a pet, but he is what he is. I ALWAYS wear my hair down when he's on my shoulder, so all he can bite is hair.
Since he's fully flighted, the ONLY way I get him into the cage is to toss a chile pepper in and he flaps in after it.
But please... listen to and try all the good advice you'll get here. Don't surrender until you know you've done your best. Then just accept and love whatever/whoever your bird turns out to be.
Good for you, for reaching out.

 

[Timmah]

It's not necessarily aggressive biting he just starts off chewing on you and progressively gets harder until it's unbearable. It's not just hands either he will chew anywhere on your body. The more you try to stop him doing it the harder he bites. I've been trying to ignore it and not make a fuss when he bites which works to an extent but only for a short time.

This is where I think you'll find the issue stems from. I wouldn't be allowing my parrot to use me as a chew toy to any extent. The fact you're accepting it gently and letting it progress is giving the conure a green light to chew. And parrots not being the most subtle characters, it's not realising the issue. So I'd stop it as soon as it starts chewing you (immediately ignore, walk away/turn your back, return later, reward good behaviour. And repeat).

Also, I'd ensure a good supply of destructible toys made of wood. Let it chew the heck out of some sticks or tongue depressors, and you may find it has less interest in using you as a chew toy!

Good luck, and let us know how you're progressing

 

[SilverSage]

It's not necessarily aggressive biting he just starts off chewing on you and progressively gets harder until it's unbearable. It's not just hands either he will chew anywhere on your body. The more you try to stop him doing it the harder he bites. I've been trying to ignore it and not make a fuss when he bites which works to an extent but only for a short time.

This is where I think you'll find the issue stems from. I wouldn't be allowing my parrot to use me as a chew toy to any extent. The fact you're accepting it gently and letting it progress is giving the conure a green light to chew. And parrots not being the most subtle characters, it's not realising the issue. So I'd stop it as soon as it starts chewing you (immediately ignore, walk away/turn your back, return later, reward good behaviour. And repeat).



Also, I'd ensure a good supply of destructible toys made of wood. Let it chew the heck out of some sticks or tongue depressors, and you may find it has less interest in using you as a chew toy!



Good luck, and let us know how you're progressing

The reason I disagree with this is because it is hard to tell "nibbling" from
Preening, and preening is a sweet social activity that helps create a deep bond. I would never sacrifice my sweet times having my birds preen me in order to avoid the work of bite pressure training. You are CORRECT that you should not be used as a chew toy, but the distinction is subtle and I don't know that I could describe it accurately in type.


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[BirdmanByrd]

Thanks everyone, I do think it's just that he doesn't know how hard he can get away with biting. I waws thinking that allowing him to bite wasn't the right thing to do for this reason but that was what the adoption place had advised so was giving it a try.

I contacted the previous owners and they said he was doing this with them when they first got him and they dealt with it by dropping their hands if he bit them and not allowing him on their shoulders until they could trust him not to bite so I'll give that a try with some positive reinforcement training and letting him know when it hurts and walking away should help too.

Thanks for all your help, it was really hard trying to find advice online that wasn't in regards to aggressive biting. Fingers crossed we can work with getting him to stop

 

[SilverSage]

It can be tricky to address biting because it's the REASON for the bite that makes a difference. If your bird is trying to bully you, ignoring the bite usually works (my Kaleo tries this with people), but if he doesn't know he is hurting you, ignoring can make it worse. The internet is a confusing place! Good luck!


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[snowflake311]

Welcome to my world. My little guy in very nippy. It's not a bite he is just always putting his beak on me. He used his beak to get what he wants. He uses his beak to show love. He used his beak to have fun and explore. He nips when bored. He nips when excited.

He has gotten a lot better. Now he knows what "NO BITES" means, and will often stop when told. If I say "Hey Hey" he knows that means too hard. Birds are smart I think doing nothing is the wrong way to train a bird. They get it they know what they are doing. They can learn tricks so they can learn what NO BITES means. When another bird does something that They react to let the other bird know they did not like that. So it is silly for us to sit there and take the bite when a bird does not do that. If I hit a pin feather when petting Sprinkles he will let out a little mad peep. That's his way of telling me no bites.

I have been constantly doing bite pressure training with him everyday. He is much better now. He never draws blood he did when we first got him.

I have years of dog training experience that I try to use to help me with my bird.
Best way to train any animal is positive reinforcement with Negative reinforcement. Some people don't understand what negative reinforcement is. It is "a response or behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus."
SO the way I use Negative reinforcement is by removing my self from my bird. He loves to be with me so when he bites too hard Game over. I give the work NO BITE then remove him from me. Now if I say no bites and he stops the bite or nip I reward him with teats or head scratch and he gets to stay where he was.

This really only works if your bird wants to be with you and the nips are more him being excited and playful. So I think this works well with conures it will not work for all bites or nips.

Redirecting is great too but it often does not last long for my bird. I will redirect him to a toy or food. He often plays with it for a little bit and is right back to what he was doing. Redirecting buys you time.

I also feel like the more your bird trusts you the less they nip you. build up the trust and let the know what kind of nips are ok. I excepted that I can never stop all nips so I need to make sure he knows what nips are ok nips. Like ear nips are never ok. Light nips when playing in my hand are ok as long as they are not too hard. My little bird has come a long way. It takes time.