Conures nippy?

[CowardMan]

So I've been looking through lots of videos and posts and I keep seeing one thing come up which is people saying Green Cheek Conures are quite nippy. I thought I'd ask and get people's views, are they really that bad? It's making me wary of getting one as I don't want to have a pet that's constantly nipping and hurting me. Or is this a case of people making using their beak as a tool out to be more than it is?

 

[Rozalka]

As a GCC owner - yes
I mean, it happens pretty often but it's not painful - at least my conure has a tendency of "weak" nipping which often gets stronger if I don't interrupt it. Sometimes he does it because he wants something (eg he wants me to change my fingers position, so he can access my nails to scratch himself using them) - then after achieving it, he stops nipping. But other times... I think he just shows love in that way - we don't have feathers, so he tries to "preen" my skin - it's usually in a gentle way but sometimes he starts doing it stronger at some point.
Personally I got used to it and I don't mind it

 

[LaManuka]

So I've been looking through lots of videos and posts and I keep seeing one thing come up which is people saying Green Cheek Conures are quite nippy. I thought I'd ask and get people's views, are they really that bad? It's making me wary of getting one as I don't want to have a pet that's constantly nipping and hurting me. Or is this a case of people making using their beak as a tool out to be more than it is?

Green cheeks nippiness can vary in intensity, but they can get very territorial over things like their cage and their favourite person, particularly when hormones are involved. I had one some years ago who was the love of my life but he got VERY bitey at puberty and would regularly take little chunks of flesh out of my hands. Very painful, though perhaps more painful to my heart because I loved him so much!!

Having said that, I went to my vet for an appointment with one of my birds once and saw the vet's finger bleeding very profusely from a bit he'd got from another client. I asked him what enormous vicious creature had done it and he said a cockatiel!! Rather out of character for that species, I thought, because my two don't bite like that, and it may have been because the bird was at the vet and in pain or feeling stressed out. But just goes to show they can have their moments too!!

 

[Rozalka]

Yeah, I forgot about the territory stuff. Not so far ago my GCC bit me so badly just because I changed his water... I was focusing on nipping stuff which isn't very hurtful but when a GCC protects its territory or when it doesn't like something (eg my conure doesn't tolerate people wearing glasses unless they wear it almost all the time) - then it might attack with the strongest possible bite

 

[CowardMan]

okay so sounds like people generally make it out to be more than it is, I assume the hormonal biting behaviour can be just as bad with cockatiels so that's just part of the pain of loving them in general!

 

[LaManuka]

okay so sounds like people generally make it out to be more than it is, I assume the hormonal biting behaviour can be just as bad with cockatiels so that's just part of the pain of loving them in general!

Conure biting can get very serious with some, so by no means do I think people make it out to be worse than it is. And in my experience, 'tiels are nowhere near as bitey as GCCs. We often get GCC parronts joining here who are pretty much at their wits end because their birds bite so hard, and sometimes they even fly to attack household members. Best thing to do is nip (no pun intended) any biting in the bud before it gets to be a habit. Very young birds will often bite hard because they've been taken from their parents to be hand-raised before they've been taught any manners, which includes biting. If this happens with your baby you can use a method called "shunning". This involves whenever baby bites you really hard, pop him down somewhere safe immediately, like the back of a chair or a table. NOT their cage as this may reinforce territoriality and not the floor as that's often unsafe. You then turn your back on baby for about a minute - no more than that as the immediacy of the lesson may be lost. This mimics the way the baby would be dealt with by it's parents in the wild, teaching it that biting will not be tolerated if he wants to be a part of the flock, and that is crucial in the wild for safety from predators. But it needs to be done consistently every time and by every member of the household to be most effective. By no means does it result in a bird that will never bite you again, but it goes a LONG way to reduce the most serious bites.

 

[CowardMan]

Conure biting can get very serious with some, so by no means do I think people make it out to be worse than it is. And in my experience, 'tiels are nowhere near as bitey as GCCs. We often get GCC parronts joining here who are pretty much at their wits end because their birds bite so hard, and sometimes they even fly to attack household members. Best thing to do is nip (no pun intended) any biting in the bud before it gets to be a habit. Very young birds will often bite hard because they've been taken from their parents to be hand-raised before they've been taught any manners, which includes biting. If this happens with your baby you can use a method called "shunning". This involves whenever baby bites you really hard, pop him down somewhere safe immediately, like the back of a chair or a table. NOT their cage as this may reinforce territoriality and not the floor as that's often unsafe. You then turn your back on baby for about a minute - no more than that as the immediacy of the lesson may be lost. This mimics the way the baby would be dealt with by it's parents in the wild, teaching it that biting will not be tolerated if he wants to be a part of the flock, and that is crucial in the wild for safety from predators. But it needs to be done consistently every time and by every member of the household to be most effective. By no means does it result in a bird that will never bite you again, but it goes a LONG way to reduce the most serious bites.

yeah it's things like the biting that's making me think maybe instead of a Conure I go for a tiel. Like I don't like getting bitten and I have a 5 year old niece who I know would want to come meet them

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Even when people "do everything right" conures can still become nippy, especially when they reach puberty. The sweet green cheek and sun conures you see on youtube that "never bite Mommy" are the exception not the rule. You are much more likely to get a similar sized cockatiel that doesn't nip or bite. I suggest a hand raised baby like the one I had. He never bit anyone and I didn't do anything "special" with Charlie other than handle him a lot from the day ai got him weaned at about 10 or 12 weeks old.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Even a little nip will freak out a five year old. Maybe you can get a tiel now and in a few years think about getting a Conure.

 

[CowardMan]

Even a little nip will freak out a five year old. Maybe you can get a tiel now and in a few years think about getting a Conure.

yeah, though I know she's good with animals (I swear that kid is gonna end up as a farmer one day) it can take something small to turn them off. It's a shame as the only place I can find around me with Cockatiels at the moment is not somewhere I particularly like. Feels more like a bird farm than a proper respectable breeder