Aggressive conure

[mindyandpiper]

Hi everyone. I am new here but needed some advice for my green cheek conure named Piper. I apologize for this post being long but unwanted to give as much detail as possible.

Piper is 8 years old and except for the first day I brought him home, he has never been aggressive towards me. We have formed what I thought was an unbreakable bond and I always tell him aside from my fiance, hes the love of my life.

Recently (like the past 3 days) he has become quite aggressive towards me. I will try to take him out of his cage and he lungs to bite my finger. He successfully did bite my one finger and wouldn't let go. I was always told to try not to have a reaction to bites so they dont feel like they're being rewarded but I had to pry his break apart to get him to stop biting (which caused me to bleed quite a bit).

I have been trying to retrain him to be gentle by reinforcing his good behaviour (ie when he steps up onto my finger without a bite, he gets a treat and a lot of positive excitement from me) but 2 seconds later he lunges at my finger and tries to tear it a part.

I have also noticed that hes not comprehending or listening to commands. Anytime I open his cage door I have a hand signal to give him permission to come out of his cage which he usually waits for. I taught him this so he didnt fly out during times ibwas cleaning his cage or having to put snacks in. Now I will signal to him to come out and he stomps back and forth attacking his toys refusing to come out. I have used an old white perch to have him step up on to bring him out. Two seconds he attacks it then flys back to his cage.

As it's the weekend I called the emergency vet for advice and all they told me was to keep an eye on him as they are so behind that they did not want me to bring him in for evaluation.

To me this may be a sign of hormones but hes 8 years old he wouldn't be going through puberty now would he? Second I am wondering anyone has any ideas on what may be going on. Its upsetting to to see him like this. I miss us havungnour cuddle times in the morning and his goofiness when a song he likes comes on the radio.

Thank you so much everyone!

 

[Piasa]

I'm sorry he's being a pill! But you're doing well being patient and loving with him.
Has anything about you or his environment changed that could be scaring him? Does he seem like he is in any pain? They can be aggressive if something hurts, or have a bunch of pin feathers.

Piper's an adult bird now, and will be hormonal 1-2 times a year for breeding season. You can tell usually if he is doing sexy behavior: burrowing or looking for dark holes to hide in, regurgitating, rubbing himself on toys or perches (or trying to rub himself on you), or doing threatening behavior like puffing up big with his beak open and weaving. He might also pluck his lower back or under his wings.
I know Beau GCC has spells (a couple days usually) when he gets out of sorts, sometimes during breeding season, and sometimes just because. I try to be patient with him and not take it personally. It blows over. I tend not to worry about hormonal behavior unless it goes on for longer than a month, or if there is a lot of plucking involved. If you have a vet you trust, it never hurts to get him checked up if his behavior is really off.
I hope he's back to his normal charming self soon <3

 

[Laurasea]

can you think of anything that might have happened? Do other people live in the house? It seems like it wiukd never happen, but so many times a spouse, child, room mate may be provoking or harassing when you aren't around.

Also I have on occasion, sometimes I know what I did sometimes not, caused my GCC to become fearful of hands. I feed lots of treats by hands, watch body language, go slow, and sweet tslk till I've got her trust back.

And it is possible that fir some reason this 8 year old is having a more hormonal time. Or it could be a combination of things.

And you are right it can indicate a health issue, when behavior changes that dramatically.

Check weight and poops.

 

[T00tsyd]

For 3 weeks Syd was quite aggressive last month for no reason that I could think of. He was really nippy, didn't follow his usual behaviours or responses and I had a real demon bird. There were small moments when he returned to normal but would revert in a split second for no reason. He was on edge, not relaxed as he usually is, over excited a lot of the time with sharp movements as if he didn't know what to do with himself. He wouldn't step up. He wanted to be on me but wasn't settled when he was.

He and I settled the problem by changing the routines. I only asked him to step up if I had a treat in my hand. I offered him my sleeve instead of fingers or perch. I would open his cage and walk away with my back to him making him have to fly to me - his choice - but also giving him much more exercise. I would leave the room calling him so he had to fly from place to place to find me.

It was as if nothing that we usually did was enough for him. Then suddenly one morning he reverted to normal and all the old routines re-appeared and he was his usual self. The only thing physically different is that he is moulting again quite heavily. Suddenly he is covered with pin feathers. I had thought he had finished for this season so this is a bit unusual. He looks in good condition, is energetic and his weight is steady. So I am just going with the flow.

I do think it is worth considering/remembering that creatures have sensitivities that we are not even aware of. I feel sure that they respond to atmosphere, the moon and possibly all sorts of other climactic situations. Any number of things that we are not conscious of may be having quite an affect on them.

 

[noodles123]

How much sleep does he get nightly?
Do you stroke or wrap in in blankets or allow him to spend time under covers or in your hair for long periods? Where do you pet when you pet him?
Does he have any huts, tents, boxes, tubes or access to shadowy spaces like drawers, low shelves, under furniture etc?
Is his cage ever partially covered by something during waking hours?