Jealous conure bites owner

[mika12433]

I own this one male pineapple conure named Coco. He's always been a little brat, and being my first bird, i'm not quite sure how to stop him from biting. He tends to just nibble on me most of the time, but if I accidentally hurt him or annoy him or do something he doesn't like, he bites hard. I have tried everything to stop that, but recently, we got a new kitten named spaghetti (Yes, that's his name) and coco has been showing signs of jealousy, but he has been taking them out on me. If I put my finger down for him to step up, he bites hard. If I go to pet his head, he bites hard. Just me going to touch him makes him bite me, and i'm not sure how to deal with it. He's actually drawn blood twice. The only way I can give him attention is by wearing gardening gloves, which he hates. Someone help, I have no idea what to do and haven't seen anything on the internet addressing the problem.

 

[Flboy]

One suggestion, stop annoying him!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

 

[plumsmum2005]

Sorry i would bite you if you had bought me a kitten too ;-)

 

[GaleriaGila]

My two cents for you...

I have reduced biting to almost zero over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered. I don't do stuff that gets me bitten. I don't scratch his head much, ever... tail is okay. I NEVER do stuff that makes him mad... I don't touch others when he's out; I rarely try to get him to step up onto my hand first. Hand-held perch first, then hand. In some ways, I swallow my disappointment at having such a little monster for a pet, but he is what he is. I ALWAYS wear my hair down when he's on my shoulder, so all he can bite is hair. Really, I don't involve hands much... he doesn't like them. He seems to think the real ME is my head, perched on a weird moveable tree with questionable appendages.
Since he's fully flighted, the ONLY way I get him into the cage is to toss a chile pepper in and he flaps in after it.
But please... listen to and try all the good advice you'll get here. Don't surrender until you know you've done your best. Then just accept and love whatever/whoever your bird turns out to be.
My darling is kind of a worse-case scenario, but we have it all worked out between the two of us.
Good luck!

 

[Josiegirl]

Do Coco and Soaghetti get along with each other?

 

[Flboy]

I own this one male pineapple conure named Coco. He's always been a little brat, and being my first bird, i'm not quite sure how to stop him from biting. He tends to just nibble on me most of the time, but if I accidentally hurt him or annoy him or do something he doesn't like, he bites hard. I have tried everything to stop that, but recently, we got a new kitten named spaghetti (Yes, that's his name) and coco has been showing signs of jealousy, but he has been taking them out on me. If I put my finger down for him to step up, he bites hard. If I go to pet his head, he bites hard. Just me going to touch him makes him bite me, and i'm not sure how to deal with it. He's actually drawn blood twice. The only way I can give him attention is by wearing gardening gloves, which he hates. Someone help, I have no idea what to do and haven't seen anything on the internet addressing the problem.

Hopefully you will stay around, but it sounds like you are thinking of your Coco as a pet! He is so much more! If you "accidentally hurt him or annoy him or do something he doesn't like" you get bit hard? Think about that statement. You now brought a cat into the picture, that wants him dead! He isn't jealous, he is trying to warn you of the danger! You have now been bit hard enough to draw blood 'twice'! Sounds like you may be young and never married! The gloves are only dividing the two of you more!
So much for my fun jabs, but now please start thinking of Coco as a companion and an equal. If you treated someone close like this, you would expect them to push back! A relationship is built on trust and support for each other and watching each other's back!

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hope these give some useful info to you?

https://pethelpful.com/birds/Can-Cats-and-Birds-Live-Together-in-the-Same-House

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/birdsandotherpets.html

 

[wrench13]

If you know what annoys him, dont do those things, and you wont get bit. Now you get a cat, which clearly annoys or makes your parrot fearful, and you wonder why he is biting more? Cute little kittens turn into cats, which are natural predators of birds. Dont believe all the cutesy videos on Youtube. They are like 1 in a thousand where the cat doesn't just reach out with its claws and put an end to the parrot. No one is posting the videos of where that happens. "Oh here is a cute video where my cat ripped my parrots guts out with one swipe of her paw".

 

[LordTriggs]

that's not jealousy over the cat. That's your bird being pissed off and for good reason

step 1: DON'T HURT YOUR BIRD!
step 2: DON'T PURPOSEFULLY ANNOY YOUR BIRD!
step 3: DON'T DO THINGS YOU KNOW HE DOESN'T LIKE!

I have no idea what possessed you to get a cat when you have a bird in the house but that's just idiotic. Unless you have a 100% way of keeping the cat away from the bird then one of them will have to go, or you'll end up with a missing bird and a very happy
and full cat.

In future don't get pets on whim which is what this sounds like and for the love of god don't annoy or hurt your animal, what would posses you to hurt your pet?

 

[DerTier]

Triggs...i have 2 cats, a dog, and snakes.... and my bird is in zero danger.
Don't jump to conclusions. You are being really judgy and you WILL cause people to no longer seek knowledge and help as the OP is trying to do. Also they said they may have caused harm by accident but it doesn't sound serious, nor intentional. Birds are very delicate, I've heard a lot of people accidentally causing harm to birds bc they don't realize just how delicate they are

Op, i always recommend reading every thread at least 5 pages deep into the conure forum. This allows you to see common questions and info, as well as the donts!


Birds are very very VERY fragile, if you think you are hurting the bird you are being too rough! They aren't like other pets you can manhandle if they need to be pulled off of something.

Any animal will bite you if you hurt them, even by accident, aa they don't know it wasn't intentional. I also recommend clicker training to build the bond of trust.

You will have a bad time of bird ownership if you don't build this bond as they must trust you to not bite. Birds are a whole other ballgame when it comes to pets bc they are incredibly smart, and very sensitive animals. Having a bird is not like having a cat dog or fish. Birds have no hands and communicate a lot with their beaks, and bites are a common way of expressing various feelings

 

[Lacewing]

Birds are not brats as you write. They are driven by hard wired instinct. Understanding this will go a long way to creating a healthy bond. A successful companion parrot lifestyle starts and ends with a relaxed, patient and confident human who thoroughly understands the parrot. Parrots require routines that do not include predators in their world. You have only to look in a mirror and examine your expectations to understand you need help to create a world where your bird(s) will thrive.

You write you have tried everything so please write what these things are. Birds do not feel human emotions like jealousy. Please do some reading from the well known behaviorist in the avian world.

 

[itzjbean]

It is possible to have cats and birds together. You just have to be mindful and take precautions. I have two cats, two birds, one dog, never any incident. My cat likes their lamp....but that's it. I keep birds in the cage while the cats are out, and cats in their room while the birds are out. Everyone's happy!