Help, ive got a new conure that is aggressive

[Mckinzie06]

My family has just brought home a new green cheek conure, his name is haymitch. haymitch has been re homed from a family that couldn't give him the attention he needed, so he isn't trained very well. he isn't scared of us and will hangout on our shoulders but if we try to get him to step up or take him off of his cage, he'll try and bite us, or will bite us to the point where he breaks the skin. we don't understand why he acts like this and we're having kind of a difficult time training him to be less bite-y, because he isn't scared of us and knows what "the hand" is he is just kind of aggressive and a bit territorial. plus he screeches a lot when he wants to get out. please if someone could direct us into what we can do to help his behavior that would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[NandyNando]

Yup, definitely sounds like cage aggression. Perhaps teaching him step-up onto a stick would be a better (and less painful) idea. Good old fashioned bribery couldn't hurt, they say the way to a bird's heart is through his stomach. Have patience, and above all, persistence. It's a virtue I myself am having to learn with my Fernando.

 

[fiddlejen]

It sounds like he could benefit from what is called "Target Training." Look it up -- specifically, Target TRaining for Birds. You can go as far or as not-far with it as you desire but the principles can be applied across-the-board in shaping behavior. The beginning steps, where you "Prime" the Clicker, are great ways to have neutral interactions with your bird. And, if youall and he persist at it, you Might find yourselves teaching him all sorts of tricks, which he might enjoy greatly.

Additionally, there is a technique called "Bite Pressure Training." He sounds like a great candidate. You can search for this also. Basically the important concept here, is that much of this time his bites are Not intentional aggressive bites. He may be using his beak as a hand, to examine a surface (aka your poor skin), or he may find it a convenient way to communicate his commands to you, etc. In any case you will teach him a command of "Gentle," basically by engaging in Beak-Play with him but withdrawing when he bites Too Hard. (And that is when you say, "Gentle." Thus he learns the command, which to him will mean that attention & fun is withdrawn when he bites Too Hard. That is the synopsis. (Look up Bite Pressure TRaining. There are posts here on this forum.)

 

[fiddlejen]

Also, not knowing what kind or size of cage you have -- at some point when you upgrade, you want to look for a cage with a full-height or almost-full-height door. Much easier to coax a bird in or out of its cage that way.

 

[Mckinzie06]

Thank you, I will definitely do some research about that bite pressure training, with what i have already looked up is also saying similar things about teaching them tricks too. i have heard that it keeps the parrot busy and takes biting off their mind!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to you and your new GCC.
It really helps to be in the mind set that your bird is nit aggressive, he is useing his beak to communicate. He has learned that humans don’t pay attention to his other communications like body positions, feathers, pupils, and body movements. So he results to bites.

He is friendly and wants social interaction as he wants to be with you sbd ride on your shoulder.

Also it’s very easy fir them to become fearful of hands, and to nit exactly understand that hands are part of our body. The advice above is great. Yiu can also spend time hand feeding ( bribes) so there is more positive associations with hands. Trust takes time and effort.

Pay attention to body language, don’t force interactions. If you go to pet sbd he crouching, back off. Respect that the cage is their castle. Have a perch on the door so when it swings open the perch is outside of the cage and have them step up from there, or have peaches attached on the outside of the cage. Have them come out for cage cleaning and food and water changes. Also explain what yiu are doing to them. Try and think bite prevention , yiu don’t want to push them to bite you, yiu want to pay attention to the cues before the bite.

I’ve found one helpful thing that might work for you. When I need my GCC to step up, and she would really prefer not too! I offer my right hand fir the step up, and I raise my left hand slightly away from my body pointing up with my left hand. Works with my Quaker’s too, then I praise her for being such a good girl.