Aggressive conure - help please!

[Destornis]

Hello, I am very new to this forum, and I need some help with my GCC.
I am not sure if the conure is a male or female, but I'm not exactly sure if that will effect my problems. My conure is extremely aggressive towards other people besides me. I have had conures for a few years now, but this one is very territorial and bites very hard at anyone.
To be honest, I have not tried to train him, except for step up. I really need some tips on what I can do to help. He bites hard at other people, and seems very shy to me. I've had this parrot for almost two years, and I bought him when he was only 4 months old. When I pet him, he ducks and sometimes gets really frightened. I have never tried to hurt him, but I bump his beak when he bites and I say "No." Is this scaring him? I am so confused with this parrot, as my conure before has never had any of these problems. I really need some advice. It might be that he is hormonal, but he tried to bite family members for over a year now. Please help!

 

[MonicaMc]

How do you try to "pet" him? Parrots are prey and we can look like big predators to them, so certain movements that we do can look frightening to birds.

Bumping his beak could be scaring him, or it could be annoying him, or even frustrating him.


Think about this.... the only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs. Let this sink in for a moment... and really ponder it.

Now, it doesn't mean not to handle him, but rather, don't put him in a situation that you know will result in a bite. If you know that he'll bite when you turn the faucet on, don't take him around the sink. If you know he'll bite other people, then don't have him out when there are other people around. If he bites when you put your hand in the cage, then stop putting your hand in the cage!

Instead, start training! If, every time you want to take him out of the cage, and he bites, then just leave him in there for at least a couple of weeks and instead of physically interacting with him, interact with him verbally. Every time you walk by his cage, drop a very special treat in his cage that he wont get at any other time of the day! Get him excited about you going by his cage! The more he looks forward to your presence, the less likely he may be to bite you.

If you have friends or family over, same thing! No sticking fingers inside the cage, just have them offer him a treat! Make it a good experience for him!

If you want him to step up, then reward him with a special treat each time he steps up!



In other words, instead of forcing him to do something, make him want to do it because there's something good in it for him! Much like a job! Would you work somewhere that doesn't pay or would you prefer a job that does pay? If he doesn't want to do something, then try again in a few seconds or minutes! It's ok for him to say "No" or "Not right now"! If he doesn't understand what it is that you want him to do, then teach him in a manner that he can understand that doesn't involve forcing him to do the behavior!

 

[Flboy]

Welcome, wonderful advice! I used the same methodology on Bongo (the Barbarian), and this little guy is becoming quite sweet!