I am doing something wrong

[sherylb]

Ok so advice needed ....I get a lot out of you Amazon experts! My Finley is 1.5 yr old. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong or if it’s just his maturing or what!! In frustrated. He’s bonded with me but for a few weeks now he seems to be really nippy. He normally steps up on me without issue but lately he acts like he wants to step up and then bites me. When I put a food dish on his cage he bites me. When I let him on my shoulder he is going for my ear and nipping at my face....I’m going to break the shoulder thing too! He screams when I leave the room and don’t take him with me....haha....it’s like he wants my attention but he also acts like he dislikes me when he bites me ! Ugh! I understand biting is part of owning the territory but when he turns on me like Dr Jekel and Mr Hyde it seems like maybe I’m not doing something right ! Any tips! sailboat?? Salty? I have 2 other birds...I just wonder if I don’t spend enough time with each of them?

 

[Laurasea]

Well I'm not Sailboat..
But we have all been having hormonal issues...
Very likely you are to.
Common recommendations, increase exercise, decrease fatty foods, shift cage over 3 feet. Sometimes even moving the cage by that much can lower territory aggression, at lest temporarily. Play foraging together. Do simple target training

If his cage is right next to the other parrots, try giving his cage 5 feet between him and the others

Does Kiwi ever make tge sounds in Clsrks Conure thread ?

 

[wrench13]

I'M sure 'Boats will chime in, but like Laura said, take the usual steps to reduce hormones. Low sugar or no sugar foods, 12 hrs solid sleep, no hide spots or nesting like materials for him to mess with. Lots of foraging and chew type toys and things to keep him busy. No touching except on head and maybe not even that. The hardest thing dealing with hormonal behavior, for me, is to not let the biting, screaming and jeykl/Hyde stuff become a learned permanent behavior. For biting, it becomes even more important to know your 'zons body language, and avoid those from out of nowhere bites and nips.

That first mating season, the onset of puberty, is often the longest and most severe, but that is not a hard and fast rule. This past mating season in the northern hemisphere has been a particularly potent and long one, attributable to......... who knows what??? But, the good news is, this too shall pass.

 

[sherylb]

Thank you! He wants to step up on me and will say those words..haha he says “come here, step up”....then he gets on me and If I do anything other than pay attention to him, even if it’s just sitting and doing nothing but let him roost on me, he nips at my face! Haha. All advice is welcome of course !

 

[SailBoat]

The Wonders of Parrot Forum is the number of individuals here that care!

Truly great advise is near always available around the clock!

Restful sleep is so very important. Very few homes have more than a few hours that it is in fact without noise and some amount of distractions.

 

[noodles123]

Control hormones by petting on the head and neck only. Do not allow your parrot access to shadowy spaces (e.g., couches, dark nooks, drawers, boxes, under furniture, huts/tee-pees, shadowy foliage etc). Ensure 10 hours dark, quite sleep on a nightly routine (bed and wake up) and allow plenty of time out of the cage during the day. Seek a balanced diet without too much sugar/protein (some is fine-- too much is not) and avoid warm/mushy foods during hormonal spells. Similarly, avoid shredding toys (paper, wicker, balsa) when you see heightened hormones.



The touch rules, shadowy spaces, and sleep apply year-round, but the mushy food and shredding rules should mainly be observed during heightened periods of hormonal activity.



I cannot emphasize the importance of sleep and light cycles enough.


Think about a baby, vs a teen. A baby who once adored you and wanted to be with you all the time..If teens stayed babies, they would never become the people they need to be to live independently, and there would be a problem with that. Birds do the same thing in the wild. They have hormones, plus all of these conflicting feelings about their need to find a new "mate" etc. You have to rebuild trust at this stage (even if you did nothing wrong). It is about making them see you again in a low-stress, fun way (WITHOUT MAKING IT SEXUAL---see tips above on sleep, touching, shadowy spaces etc to avoid that).



In terms of body language, make sure you are looking for consenting/"yes" body language, rather than waiting to see what "no" looks like. If you wait until you are seeing aggression and defensive behaviors, you are already in a bad situation/stressing out your bird. If at that point, you finally back-down, you are also teaching your bird that when it doesn't want you there, the only way you listen is if it gets aggressive...You don't want that.

 

[sherylb]

He gets about 12 hours of sleep, I put my birds in another room that has no distractions or noise and is dark. I give him some treats but not a lot of sugar. He eats veggies and fruit and loves eggs and he picks at his pellets! haha. as far as the touching, I pet only his head but he likes to play....he likes to get on me and hang upside down on my shirt and he wants me to catch him....sounds weird but is that bad? he doesn't shred paper or anything like that and for sure doesn't hide.....he does everything NOT to hide....hes front and center 24/7!! haha

 

[noodles123]

He gets about 12 hours of sleep, I put my birds in another room that has no distractions or noise and is dark. I give him some treats but not a lot of sugar. He eats veggies and fruit and loves eggs and he picks at his pellets! haha. as far as the touching, I pet only his head but he likes to play....he likes to get on me and hang upside down on my shirt and he wants me to catch him....sounds weird but is that bad? he doesn't shred paper or anything like that and for sure doesn't hide.....he does everything NOT to hide....hes front and center 24/7!! haha

He's probably just being bossy then because he's getting older and more independent (and naturally, his hormone levels are up, as it is "the season"), but do make sure you keep up with the hormonal stuff (preventing it) because it can develop over time too. Try to establish a bit of a routine if you haven't in terms of using key phrases etc and make sure he is getting plenty of time out of his cage/foraging etc. When he sleeps, make sure the environment is not too bright or noisy *foot traffic and even small noises near a cage in a main living area can really keep them from getting decent sleep*


Hard to say about the catching thing without knowing him individually. Noodles likes hanging upside down, but I don't catch her. You may want to try rearranging the game so he is still upside down, but with less back touching. Again, hard to say without knowing the individual.


try to focus on steady behavioral principles, a healthy diet, activity and daily enrichment etc.

 

[sherylb]

I’m trying to break the habit of him being on my shoulder....I am the one who created the mess but right now I can’t trust him there! His nips are getting harder....

 

[noodles123]

Have you studied ABA? If not, you should, because that is your best friend ever when it comes to parrots, kids or anyone's behavior.
I know my responses to the OP (see link below) are OBSCENELY LONG!!! *embarrassing*
I am sharing this because it works really well, and I spent years going to school and using these things on people (not in a bad way, but in a therapeutic way) but they work tremendously with all animals. http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/89733-new-parront-here-biting.html


I know I typed too much, but it's like trying to do a reader's digest version of your entire education...hang in there!