Male Hating Sun Conure

[jgalada16]

HELP!
I inherited a five year old male Sun Conure from my Ex when she passed away over two years ago. The bird absolutely loves females but aggressively flys after and bites any men that come within his sight. I am male and he has come to accept me and never bites me but any other male he goes after. He bites very hard and tries to draw blood. Will clipping his wings help prevent this behavior. From what I understand, my spouse was the second owner of the bird so he has now had three homes in his short five years. Any suggestions?

 

[AFP520]

I don't think clipping the wings will change his mood for the better. He will just take time to adjust.

Sorry to hear about your ex's passing.

 

[DebsFlock]

I, too, am sorry for your loss.

Clipping his wings will not stop him from feeling aggression and wanting to bite, but it will keep him from flying to people and biting them, which may be a practical concern.

Our Cape was acquired to be my husband's bird, but he has some issues with males as well -- we witnessed him being roughly handled by the male shop owner when he was groomed prior to our taking him home and suspect that is the origin.

I think wing trimming is an individual choice and the main way to think of it is as a way to limit their range when out and about. Thinking of it as a way to tame or dominate them.... nah. A good trim should not make them feel insecure, they should still be able to glide to the floor safely. In this situation I'd consider it for a couple of reasons -- safety for other humans and the resultant trade off between locking the bird up entirely and wing trimming -- and also a relatively novice owner who may or may not have the resources to maintain a fully flighted bird safely. The good thing about it is that the process is reversed at the subsequent molt, so it's not a permanent choice.

In order to improve his behavior with other men, you will probably have to enlist some to work with him. If it is a priority, maybe you have a tame friend or relative who would be willing to spend lots of patient time with the bird, at first talking and offering treats and hopefully eventually handling him.

 

[friedsoup]

Clipping will not change his attitude towards a gender but it will limit what he can do about it, and allow you a chance to start training him with step-ups and teaching him the wave and turn arounds . ( Even if your birds knows these things a refresher course won't hurt and it establishes you as his alpha ) using wooden spoons and getting him used to them and then you can get other males to take over training and making him do his routines for them and getting positive rewards for doing them you should be able to turn your birds attitude around. don't forget to reward him with some female interaction if he behaves and remember the more people he works with the more his socialization will become part of your birds mind set, Hopefully that all people are good and give treats and praise if he minds his attitude and that Daddy is always there it keep him safe. Try this and see if his attitude and yours don't change for the better.