flappytofu
New member
Hey,
I am new to these forums but not to birds. I work at a pet shop and I fell madly in love with this green cheek conure. One associate and I bonded with him a lot since October 2011. I finally bought him this month, a few weeks ago. In other words, we are familiar with each other.
When he was at the store, he was very nippy. I know green cheek conures are nippy by nature (especially when they are younger). I don't use negative reinforcement on him because I know that doesn't work but I have been trying very hard to work on his nippiness. So far, he has been doing great when he is on my finger. When he is on my shoulder he starts to chew on my shirt and then my ear (I have no piercings or jewelry). He can get pretty nasty then and I simply get him on my finger, put him on a chair, and walk a few feet away, ignoring him. He tweets his "I am sorry" tweet (at least I think that is what he means...) and I tell him to step up and he does at which point I praise him. Then, the process repeats. Now, I know this will take time. My concern is how he act in his cage.
In his cage, he refuses to step up. I need to use a pen to get him to step up and that only works half the time. I know he wants to come out because he puts out one wing or screams like crazy (I ignore it until he is quiet and then I reward him by letting him out when he is quiet). Anyways, I try to get him on the pen and he not only bites the pen but he goes after my hand holding the pen. He actively tries to go after me. When he is on top of his cage, he does the same thing, constantly running away from it. I tried putting duct tape on my finger and doing the same thing, but the result is still the same; he bites me as hard as he can. As I said, as soon as he does come out, he is fine. He eventually steps up on the pen but it is still difficult for him. I thought he just didn't like pens but I notice he always plays with them (I take it away from him and give him a piece of sugar cane when I see him do so).
Can anyone tell me where I am doing something right, wrong, or give advice?
Thanks,
Nick
I am new to these forums but not to birds. I work at a pet shop and I fell madly in love with this green cheek conure. One associate and I bonded with him a lot since October 2011. I finally bought him this month, a few weeks ago. In other words, we are familiar with each other.
When he was at the store, he was very nippy. I know green cheek conures are nippy by nature (especially when they are younger). I don't use negative reinforcement on him because I know that doesn't work but I have been trying very hard to work on his nippiness. So far, he has been doing great when he is on my finger. When he is on my shoulder he starts to chew on my shirt and then my ear (I have no piercings or jewelry). He can get pretty nasty then and I simply get him on my finger, put him on a chair, and walk a few feet away, ignoring him. He tweets his "I am sorry" tweet (at least I think that is what he means...) and I tell him to step up and he does at which point I praise him. Then, the process repeats. Now, I know this will take time. My concern is how he act in his cage.
In his cage, he refuses to step up. I need to use a pen to get him to step up and that only works half the time. I know he wants to come out because he puts out one wing or screams like crazy (I ignore it until he is quiet and then I reward him by letting him out when he is quiet). Anyways, I try to get him on the pen and he not only bites the pen but he goes after my hand holding the pen. He actively tries to go after me. When he is on top of his cage, he does the same thing, constantly running away from it. I tried putting duct tape on my finger and doing the same thing, but the result is still the same; he bites me as hard as he can. As I said, as soon as he does come out, he is fine. He eventually steps up on the pen but it is still difficult for him. I thought he just didn't like pens but I notice he always plays with them (I take it away from him and give him a piece of sugar cane when I see him do so).
Can anyone tell me where I am doing something right, wrong, or give advice?
Thanks,
Nick