My 6 month Sun conure is starting to bite

[davide128]

Hi. My 6 month old sun conure , luigi is starting to bite/nibble at my fingers , Neck and ear all the time. It's getting very annoying for me as it does hurt especially in the neck area. How do I get him to stop biting like that? I really don't want to trade him in as my warranty allows me to trade him in if he develops into a biting bird. I would like to try and solve the problem be I resort to trading him in so any help is appreciated..I tried searching the internet but you get a lot of different answers from people.

 

[apatrimo94]

Well you just said he's 6 months old, so most likely he could be molting or teething. But also, conures are very nippy birds, it's in their nature to nip and bite. It's their way of "exploring"

 

[davide128]

So is there a way to train him not to nip or at least minimize it? will he grow out of it?

 

[apatrimo94]

I'm not to sure. I am pretty sure he'll grow out of it. There's a lot of members here with conures that will chime in to help. Hope I did.

 

[boabab95]

They wont stop nipping... the may be taught to minimize it, but it won't stop.

 

[davide128]

ok..how do I minimize it?

 

[boabab95]

not quite sure, just be sure to have him out of his/her cage alot, and train him well.

 

[apatrimo94]

I know it seems like you're not getting a lot of info at the moment but the forum seems quiet at the moment. Wait another hour or so, more members might be able to help out. Some are a lot smarter than me!!

 

[bogo1]

sorry for what you are going through. Conure birds can be nippy and dealing with it can range from ignoring it to using a stick for step ups to confronting the behavior. Not saying any one way is best just that different things work with different birds. Key is patience and alertness to any triggers. Just hearing what described it sounds like your bird is experimenting with the favorite parrot pastime of "what happens when I do"fill in the blank. Try to make sure your response isn't too entertaining. No harm is meant as another bird wouldn't be bothered by the nibbling no matter how much it hurts us.

 

[GreenCheek]

Alright, well, first off, it honestly sounds to me like he's just trying to preen you. Trust me, if he was nipping/biting, it'd HURT! Not just be an annoyance. But if it's bothering you, especially on your neck/ears, don't let him go up there anymore. Whenever he goes up there, just keep removing him. It could take a while, but eventually he'll get the message. But preening/beaking behavior is normal and healthy and I'm doubtful you're going to stop it. It may be uncomfortable to us, but to them, it's just giving us love on our featherless bodies.

 

[davide128]

Thanks for all the replies..I love the little fella so I'm gonna try and be patient. I think he just needs a bit more attention.. I used to work from home during the time when I first got him so It's been a transition for him to since I got my new job because he doesn't get as much attention

 

[Spiritbird]

If his bite hurts you can teach him you are not happy with that deep a bite by putting him back in the cage and walk away. Come back in a few min. and continue what you were doing with him. If you reapeat this process a few thousand times he may come to understand the bite is not acceptable vs. a nip. Good luck

 

[Ratzy]

My budgies do this. To them, it is preening. To me, it hurts ( you may not think little budgies can do much damage but believe me, they can, Lexi keeps trying to pull my eyelashes out )!

 

[Beilana]

What I do with my GCC, Hiroshi is every time he bites too hard I gently say "no" and put him down beside me and don't interact with him (basically the cold shoulder) This seems to do the trick. I don't like to put him for "time-outs" in the cage because I don't want to use the cage as a negative thing.
Hope this helps!

 

[Birdamor]

I agree with GC, I think he is actually kissing you! I have a bird that does this all the time and I do agree with you that it can be a pain in the neck (no pun intended -well, maybe a little one -LOL) but I cannot get mad at a little bird who is trying to kiss me all the time so I just let her. She eventually stops and is content to just ride my shoulder and preen my hair. Sometimes, trying to stop them from doing something has the opposite effect because they will try even harder and letting them be is the best course of action. Especially when it's a show of affection because parrots are highly social birds who are always kissing and preening their mates so this is just a completely natural behavior to them (it's not their fault we are not birds and do not appreciate having one nibbling on us all the time). Now, sometimes, some of them nip a bit too hard but what I do with them is put a rolled up towel around my neck so they can't reach it (my husband wears a hoodie with his hood up and tightly tied around his face every time he walks into the birdroom).

 

[Birdy]

I'm sorry that I don't have any advice for you on this subject. I am facing the same problem with my green cheek conure. I don't think she is trying to be mean, but man... those little nips to the ears and neck hurt!

Birds learn through positive and negative reinforcement, and so do humans! After you get nipped enough, the desire to handle the bird can diminish. There are days where I really don't want to open her cage

 

[mompopsicle]

I just got my sun conure 2 and a half weeks ago and when I first got him he wouldn't let me touch him with out biting, a couple times very hard but didn't break the skin. I'm the only one that can even get close to him without him attacking. Now within the first week he would let me pet him, he come to and stand on the door of the cage and nuzzle under my hand to get me to pet him and raise his wing for me to pet him there. And then in the second week i was trying to get him to get on my hand, and i might have made a mistake there because I was saying ON not STEP UP. But anyway he would get on my hand in the cage for a split second and thats it. And would not do it on the cage door, but if I offered my elbow he would get on my elbow when I said ON and then go to my shoulder where he would set for the longest time preening me, you could feel him licking/beaking my neck and nipping my ear which did not hurt at all. but day before yesterday I moved his cage about a foot from where it was and he won't get on me now. He will still let me pet him but won't get on.

Actually he acts like he don't feel good today. But I read on the net that I was doing something I wasn't suppose to do. I was feeding him rasiens and dried fruit from the grocery store and the website I had found said it could kill birds to feed them that kind of food. I hope I didn't cause him damage. I love my baby and don't want to see him die. I let him take a long nap and he looks to be feeling a little better but I'm still worried.

But he bites me still but it does not hurt and I just blow in his face and he usually stops. But I'm trying to figure out how long it takes for a conure to trust you completely and when can you start to train them, because he don't like me to move him once he is on my shoulder and I'm new to birds. This is my first bird ever so everything is new. I sing to him and he dances.....kinda..... but today he won't do it and some other things just lead me to believe he isn't feeling good. but still not biting hard. So biting to me right now is not a big deal, I know it needs to stop now but as it is I would like to get him where he gets on my hand anytime I want, on my terms not his. Any help on this score would be great.

But if he is on your shoulder and nipps you on the ear or neck or rub your neck I belive he is just telling you he loves you.

thank ya all,
mompopsicle