Gcc climbs onto my shoulder and bites me

[BirdMommie]

I see so many threads like this, I'm glad I didn't get a conure, they can be a menace

Conures make the best feathered friends.
My green cheek went into her first mating season at 5 years old and it was a nightmare.
She decided that under the sofa was her nest and used to bite the back of my heels.
Once I didn't move so she bit me hard and locked her beak on my achilles tendon. I tried to shake her off and blood flew all over. I had to pry her beak open and put her in her cage. Thank goodness it didn't last long and she is the best companion now. She is going on 13 and is my sweet baby girl. She still bites occasionally. Its just their behavior. She bites to warn me of danger. She hates the tv remote and will pick it up, throw it on the floor, jump on it and beat crap out of it. No damage though. I just pick it up and put it away.
She hates items that are blue and black.
She'll attack them. She also attacks my cell phone. Probably jealous when I talk too long. GC conures are little love bugs. They like to snuggle. Bodie likes to snuggle against my neck and watch tv with me.
I highly recommend all bird parents get a copy of Dr Speers "Birds For Dummies". It's the best book about companion birds on the market. He is a world famous Avian Vet
and lives in California. People from all over the world will bring their birds to him. He was our vet and he is wonderful!
So don't give up your conure. He/she can be your best friend for life.

 

[I❤️Birds]

THis is such a common occurrence, I wrote 2 papers on them, see below.
On Hormones (or Horror-mones)

Parrots go thru puberty, just like humans do, because their internal metabolism tells the body –“Hey time to start thinking of babies”. When that happens, their little bodies get flooded for the first time with hormones. The when is only estimated, puberty can occur from 6 months or so for small parrots like budgies, cockatiels and parrotlets, with the larger parrots taking longer, progressively. Macaws and cockatoos, it could be a year or more before it starts. Puberty (and successive mating seasons) is not a precisely timed event. Depending on the individual parrot, it might occur earlier or later then the norm for that species, and other factors come into play on when it starts.

Like human children (and our parrots are so close in temperament to children), puberty can bring on all sorts of behavioral changes, which the parrot has absolutely no control over. One minute they are their normal selves and all of a sudden, BAM, they bite you, and the next second they are back to their normal selves. Mood swings like this are so common that for inexperienced parrot owners, this is the time when parrots are most often given up or surrendered. They can do a 180 degree turn and formerly the person who was THE person is now like yesterday’s news and the parrot might fixate on another member of the family (and it might not be one who actually likes parrots!). This does not happen every time, but it does happen, and the former favorite person needs to wheedle and scheme to get back into the parrots inner circle.

Some other behavior you might encounter:

• Trying to mate with objects like toys or food bowls, even your hand. Butt rubbing is what this looks like.
• Regurgitation and trying to feed inanimate objects (or you ! )
• Shredding paper, bedding, or any material that can be made into nest like stuff
• Seeking dark hidey places
• Being abnormally loud and making new clucking noises or others

Puberty can last anywhere from a few months to a year or so in larger parrots, again depending on species and the individual parrot. The 2 things to take away on this is that it will come to an end eventually and the other is to try and not let unwanted behavior become normal or habitual.

And now we come to mating season. Most parrots go through an annual mating season. Species like Eclectus parrots and a few other rare ones can have mating season at any time the environment produces mating triggers. For the rest, its once a year. Mating season is triggered by some things we can control and others that we cannot. The behavioral result of mating season is very similar to the ones displayed in puberty, with the exception of switching allegiances to a new person, which is rare. Uncontrollable rapid mood swings are pretty common and can vary with the intensity of the hormone release. Some years mating season can be pretty mild, and some are just killer for the poor parrot, as the drive to mate is frustrated (unless you are a breeder). The diurnal cycle of daylight to night time is one of the stronger triggers. Some folks keep their parrots on a day/night cycle that mirrors this, while others keep a 12hr day/night cycle. Either one has its pros and cons and we won’t get into that here.

Some things you can do to reduce (but never 100% eliminate) the effects of mating season are:

• Remove any shreddy type materials and limit access to them when the parrot is out of the cage
• Prevent access to dark hidey holes
• No touching the parrot anywhere except for the head and neck. This is a biggie as this can be interpreted as mating behavior by the parrot.
• Limit or remove sugar bearing foods, like fruits and high fructose foods like corn, any pasta, etc
• Lots of exercise – a tired parrot is less likely to indulge in mating behavior

Always keep in mind that the parrot has no control of itself during these periods! A bite received during them is 100% different than a bite you might get because the bird is angry with you. You should not use “shunning” or other methods to modify the behavior, because they have no more idea of why they bit you then you do. But, same as a normal bite, you should try to avoid being in a situation where the bite COULD occur. Cuddling with your parrot, giving/getting kisses or letting them near the face during mating season is likely not a good idea! Along these lines, during mating season, try to not let behavior like biting, humping or other outward signs become habitual.

Finally – always, always remember – “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”. Your loving friend is still in there and will be back!

Thank you so much this is very helpful!! I keep telling myself this will pass

 

[I❤️Birds]

Conures make the best feathered friends.
My green cheek went into her first mating season at 5 years old and it was a nightmare.
She decided that under the sofa was her nest and used to bite the back of my heels.
Once I didn't move so she bit me hard and locked her beak on my achilles tendon. I tried to shake her off and blood flew all over. I had to pry her beak open and put her in her cage. Thank goodness it didn't last long and she is the best companion now. She is going on 13 and is my sweet baby girl. She still bites occasionally. Its just their behavior. She bites to warn me of danger. She hates the tv remote and will pick it up, throw it on the floor, jump on it and beat crap out of it. No damage though. I just pick it up and put it away.
She hates items that are blue and black.
She'll attack them. She also attacks my cell phone. Probably jealous when I talk too long. GC conures are little love bugs. They like to snuggle. Bodie likes to snuggle against my neck and watch tv with me.
I highly recommend all bird parents get a copy of Dr Speers "Birds For Dummies". It's the best book about companion birds on the market. He is a world famous Avian Vet
and lives in California. People from all over the world will bring their birds to him. He was our vet and he is wonderful!
So don't give up your conure. He/she can be your best friend for life.

I’ve been looking for a good parrot book so thanks!!! conures are menaces but they’re also so sweet and loving so it’s worth it