biting. biting. biting.

[Mamanda]

and MORE biting.

Keen is becoming a real ... handful.
Basically whenever she doesn't get *her way* she bites the crap out of me. And I don't mean nippy bites. I'm talking full on, ripping apart my skin, causing bleeding & purple bruised surrounding the area. And, she does this "back talking squabble" at me while she's clamping down & ripping my skin apart; literally.
She does it when I don't allow her to bite/chew things she wants.

It started with earrings. I removed them tonight to avoid that battle. She was nicely nuzzling my hair, ears, neck & giving me kisses. Next thing I know she found a tiny mole on my neck & bit into it. When I told her no & went to block it off with my hand/finger she went psycho & bit the crud outta me. When I continued to block her (and attempt to get her to step up & move her) she continued with full on, crazy, ripping biting, while doing the sqwabbling at me.
She does the same thing with moles on my face and arms or anyplace else she finds them. And when I don't allow it she gets very, very, very angry. She also does it with anything & everything she really wants & I don't allow for her.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'd appreciate anything anyone has to offer. I normally either put her down on the floor or place her back in her cage when she does this. Doesn't seem to be helping though. I try not to "react" otherwise, but lately it's getting hard because quite frankly, it's freaking painful!!!!!!

As a note, Keen is almost 8 months old & is a DNA sexed female.

 

[lene1949]

How long have you had her?

 

[beckybird]

oh dear... my little lola went through that phase. she was about the same age. she's a green cheek female. i had to keep her off my shoulder when she went through this. i also did not reach into her cage for years for fear of being bitten- i let her come out on her own. i continued to hold her, but i held her on my finger so she wasn't able to bite my ears, lips, cheeks, or nose. she got through her nippy phase and is now a sweet yet moody girl at almost 8 years old. she will now give "warning nips" instead of full-on painful bites. i let her sit on my shoulder now and she'll step onto my finger nicely when i put my hand in the cage. your baby is going through a difficult phase, but Lola got through it and i'm sure your baby will too. talk to her often to reassure her that you still love her and just wait it out.

 

[roxynoodle]

It's the terrible 2's phase. My Nanday went through it badly as well. First, don't let her on your shoulder anymore. It seems to elevate their status to at least as important as you (in their minds), and you could get a bad bite on your face. I had to make mine only sit on my finger. And when they are being so demonic, they can't be reasoned with, so yes, put her on a stand or play gym and don't interact or even look at her until she is behaving again. I used the word, "Don't!" instead of no as it sounds more forceful. Do what you can to get her eye as well. Remember we are predators and a strong stare from a human should get her attention. You can shove a piece of junk mail between her beak and yourself to get her attention focused back to your face.

My Nanday still tries to remove my freckles. but thankfully for me she usually only beaks them, not grabs them like that.

Maybe try to wear some bird toys pinned to your clothes for her to play with? Or a bulky necklace? Old or junk rings that you don't care about? And yes, take out the earrings for your own safety.

Don't make the time out on the cage or stand too long or she won't make the connection to her behavior landing her there. As soon as she calms down, talk to her again, and let her back on your finger. And when the misbehavior starts again, back on the stand and ignored for a few minutes.

It does take a lot of time and patience with a forceful personality. Some conures are every bit as challenging as large parrots.

 

[roxynoodle]

It really does get better Rowdy was very challenging at that age and we are almost 12 years in now, and happy companions. She has even developed some sweetie behaviors in recent years. She now kisses gently and I no longer have to worry about her accidentally grabbing my lip and making a welt.

There are even some advantages to such a bold bird. They do well meeting new people and going to new places. They handle going to the vet with hardly a ripple. They don't freak out when you get them a new toy.

It is because of owning her that I learned so much about parrot behavior. If I had only owned my BC I would have mistakenly thought conures were the sweetest, easiest birds to own. But, I think Rowdy was every bit as challenging as an amazon! She definitely thinks she's huge, and that she can rule the world.

I do suspect birds that are so bold during this time of their lives, tend to keep that characteristic to some extent. But, in order for them to make good pets, they do have to learn boundaries.

 

[Spiritbird]

You are not alone with a biting conure. Seems to be in their nature. My Cricket is going on 1 year in March and he gets in these moods where nothing stops him from biting. It happened yesterday and I have 3 band aids on fingers now. From now on I will put him back in the cage to cool down. The cooldown phase sometimes takes a day or 2. I hope he grows out of this. I have a GF who has the same problem with her GCC that she has had for 10 years.

 

[Mamanda]

Thank you so much for all your help! I really appreciate everyone being so supportive. Last night was pretty upsetting and to wake up and read everyone's kind words really made me feel a TON better about everything.
Also - I had a doctor appointment today and asked them if they do removal of the small moles Keen keeps trying to remove. They said they were so small they could very easily freeze them off and it was done 2 minutes later. My neck is a little sore because there were 4 areas frozen around my neck, but boy will it be nice not to have that to deal with!

 

[MikeyTN]

They're determined to get at whatever they were after and if you stand in their way, they come after you instead. Like it was mentioned, place toys on you. Or if it keeps up, put them back into their cage, the conures I used to own did the same...they get ignored big time for attacking then we try again later. I only have one youngster to deal with, my 5 and a half months old lory. He's getting better but still a bit crazy...lol

 

[roxynoodle]

I should check into procedures for removing my freckles, at least the ones on my face. I haven't made any inquiries since my teen years, and back then it sounded like they couldn't do much. I've never liked them!

Still it might be best with a bird like Keen, to not let it on your shoulder just because some of them get such an attitude. And they can still injure your ears or face. I let Rowdy pretty much anywhere except my shoulder or the top of my head because if she gets up there, she thinks she is in charge.

Keen may never be the cuddly love bunny sort of conure. Rowdy isn't although she sometimes has a moment now that she's older. She likes to run around and investigate everything. So I wear crummy clothes that she can make little holes in.

A very interesting play gym is a good idea for this sort of bird as well. Give it different perches, a swing, plenty of different toys, ladders, etc. Change the toys a lot. If you are handy it isn't hard to build one for a conure. I just set it on my coffee table. I even drilled holes where I can tie some leather lace for her to unknot.

 

[Remy]

Puck seems to react well to time outs. He loves his cages, so putting him in time out isn't upsetting for him. When I first got him, I gave him a lot of time outs in his travel cage, covered. It seemed to help a lot.

I also found that he was more aggressive when he was on my shoulder or head. I stopped letting him do it for a while, and now he's mellowed out. If he does have an attitude when he's on my shoulder, I remove him. I think he's getting the idea.

I try to keep a towel nearby, just in case. He's tricky to towel, because he runs as soon as he sees it. Usually I just have to show it to him, and he'll behave, lol.

 

[ElisabethR]

I should check into procedures for removing my freckles, at least the ones on my face. I haven't made any inquiries since my teen years, and back then it sounded like they couldn't do much. I've never liked them!

A temporary solution might be using really thick concealer, like Benefit's Erase Paste. It's going to look kind of gross and you wouldn't want to leave the house if wearing it (I use it on undereye circles!) but it would make them disappear to your bird.

I had to slap some on during a vicious breakout I had -- a delightful side-effect of bronchitis and travel -- because Tuco was convinced he could preen the bad spots off my face. I'd slap on some Benefit concealer before handling him, and he was completely fooled.

If your bird insists on preening/tasting your face a lot, it might not work, but it's a cheaper option for the time being.

 

[Nakiska]

Wow! You described perfectly what we went through with our Franklin. Hahahahaha...these little stinkers!

I know, I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but it really worked for us and that was as soon as our Franklin decided he was "in I want MY way attack mode" I took a blanket or shirt or towel...what ever was handy that second and I'd quickly cover him up with it, or toss it on him and I wouldn't remove it right away, he'd just sit there for several seconds under the towel, blanket...what ever, I would do it so fast, I don't know if he really knew it was ME tossing the "blanket" over him, while he was under the "cover" I could almost hear him think to himself..."humph! what just happened" then when he was ready, he climbed out and I'd say Hellllooooo...what's up Frankie" (or something in a cheery voice) and we went on like it never happened. I found it to be an instant "time out" redirection to this behavior without us having to put him away or continue to try and handle him to put him away for a time out. If he was on my shoulder when he went into "attack" mode, I'd grab the towel, shirt...what ever, and I'd just boldy grab him with it and place him down on the couch or bed and leave him covered...and if a few moments, he'd crawl out happy as a lark.

Now if he's fixated on something, he'll "back mouth" me and I "scold" him for it, but he has NOT bitten in over a month. When I "scold" him, I tell him "NO! BE NICE!" in my "warning" voice.

AND NO, he's NOT afraid of being toweled, he tunnels under the blankets by himself and loves to explore tight dark spaces. Just his personality I guess ontop of being pretty bold and brazen sometimes!

Good Luck!

Toni

 

[roxynoodle]

I should check into procedures for removing my freckles, at least the ones on my face. I haven't made any inquiries since my teen years, and back then it sounded like they couldn't do much. I've never liked them!

A temporary solution might be using really thick concealer, like Benefit's Erase Paste. It's going to look kind of gross and you wouldn't want to leave the house if wearing it (I use it on undereye circles!) but it would make them disappear to your bird.

I had to slap some on during a vicious breakout I had -- a delightful side-effect of bronchitis and travel -- because Tuco was convinced he could preen the bad spots off my face. I'd slap on some Benefit concealer before handling him, and he was completely fooled.

If your bird insists on preening/tasting your face a lot, it might not work, but it's a cheaper option for the time being.

My cat will clean it off, lol! She thinks I'm a total moron to wash myself with soap and use lotions and things. She chases me after I get out of the shower to groom me and make me smell like her. I can't use lotion on my face or hands anymore.

 

[Mitchell]

Yeah I had to invest in a lot of foot toys when mine was that age, everytime I held him I had a foot toy for him. I also gave him an assortment of foot toys for floor time twice a day (sometimes three) and it took a while but the bites became less and less, and now I just get slight pressure bites when I don't earthquake him in time. My behavior consultant said he's just going through a beaking stage and biting and testing everything that moves. However he eventually stopped. But when he bit me I never put him back in his cage, I'd bring him to a neutural area so he wouldn't think " Oh, if I bite, I get to go back to my cage." so I'd randomly put him somewhere he didn't like so he would have to behave to depend on a ride back to his common area's. Worked for me, but every birds different. Hope it helps!

 

[Customcasket]

I hope everything works out for you. I guess I'm lucky. My two conures don't bite unless they're in a bad mood or just don't feel like being handled. They do get put in "time out" they're not too fond of being in their cages if I'm in the room. I'll stick them in their cage and cover them for a few minutes and then take them back out and for whatever reason it seems to calm them down. Whatever bad behavior they were doing stops as soon as they get tossed into time out. Screaming (anything more than just the usual conure scream), biting, being evil to each other, or anything else bad gets a time out. They don't associate their cages with bad stuff and are willing go into their cage if I'm leaving the room. They play with their toys and act like nothing is wrong. They know if they're in trouble and like a child will try to talk to me when they're covered which I will ignore until I uncover them and they're sweet as could be after that.

Both Kayak and Carlisle seem to think they can help me with the occasional pimple I get. :'( it ends up hurting sooooooo much when they chomp down on it. I normally get them on my chin. I have one right now that's finally healing no thanks to those two.

My boyfriends mother would always get "mugged" (her term lol) by Carlisle when she had jewelry on. He'd attempt to steal her necklace and earrings. I don't wear jewelry so I don't have that problem. He'd laugh while grabbing onto her necklace. It was this evil laugh that I only ever heard if he was "mugging" somebody.

 

[suebee]

lol sorry but it reads just like my nut's biting antics, but it does get better

i always wear a gold chain with a jade pendant, for a while this was something nut kept going for, but through time and lots of *no nut get off! she generally leaves it alone now, or gives it an uber fast beaking then perching all innocent on my shoulder!

skin tags are her fav!! she has not got to clip one off my man yet, but again through lots of screaming and *no nut get of she leaves them alone now

as for buttons, well its taken awhile to get her to stop chewing my clothes, and zips she waits for coats etc to be hung up an she's there! one day she had nipped off all the teeth on my mans jacket! my fault i was cooking and thought she was being good

 

[roxynoodle]

Oh, geez, jewelry. I tell people to take it off if they want to hold Rowdy. She will chew on all of it. And I do worry she could rip out someone's earring. She is also likely to make little holes in clothing. So if you like the outfit you're wearing, you might not want to handle her. And Merlin made quite a hole in a sweatshirt the other day. She just beaked it and a little hole was there when she let go. I think female birds especially want to chew on materials, especially if they are thinking about nesting.