New Bird Woes: Sun Conure Questions

[AnotherEmily]

Hello!

I adopted Kiwi, a sun conure, in early summer from a woman on craigslist who pretty much just wanted to get rid of him. She gave me him, his setup, a few toys, perches, bird bath, etc, for much less than the usual price of the bird. She said he was cage aggressive, but when I was there I got the distinct impression that he had been neglected and didn't spend much time at all out of cage.

After bringing him home, I didn't notice any problems at all with cage aggression, in fact almost the opposite- I had problems getting him to go back into his cage at bed time! I've worked with him, and we have a routine where I sing a particular song and he rocks along with me and that kind of signals that it's time to go up. Sometimes he still mimics a sobbing noise after he's up, which breaks my heart, but he settles down and snuggles up to his fuzzy bed.

Everything was fine for a few months, until I had to be hospitalized for about two weeks. My roommate fed him and took him out, but didn't spend as much time with him as I did because he had more trouble getting him to go up. Kiwi started screeching more. I was fired for missing work while I was in the hospital, so I've spent almost all my time at home since then. I felt guilty about not having him out as much while I was gone, so I've had him out with me just about all day every day for the past 3 weeks or so.

For some reason, his behaviour has gotten worse instead of better, and I don't understand why. I've tried researching to see if I'm inadvertently doing things that stress him out. He used to like to go in my shirt and would make cute little happy noises, but I read that he thinks he's making a nest and is then expecting to mate and is getting frustrated, so I try not to let him do that anymore.

He's been biting my ears, picking on the skin on my face and shoulder, trying to get inside my mouth, and basically wants to use me as a perch all of the time. He pulls my hair out if he's on my head, and uses my ear as a ladder to get up there.

I also have cats, and I've taught them to leave him alone. He still is agitated if they get close, which I understand, but lately he's been biting the crap out of me whenever the cats are around, or lunging and biting the cats if they come close to me.

I'm not sure what to do here. Any advice would be appreciated. I love Kiwi, and we were making so much progress and getting along so well, so I'm very discouraged to be at this point.

If someone more experienced than I could offer some insight or advice, I'd be much obliged. Thank you!

 

[Puck]

Hi Emily, and welcome to ParrotForums! Kiwi sounds adorable, and I'd love to see some pics! (I may be a little obsessed with viewing the oh-so-gorgeous sun conures!)

There are members who are a lot more experienced in training than me, and I am sure they'll give you some tips soon! For now, I would say that you want to start working on getting him used to hanging out somewhere that's not you--a stand, a play gym, etc. Birds can get dangerous when they misbehave on you, so I would start removing him from your body and shoulder whenever he climbs there and placing him on a stand with something he will enjoy, some kind of treat or a bowl of his food or a favorite toy. Once you've taught him that you are NOT his perch, then you can start letting him hang out on more appropriate places, like your arm, again, but until then I might even use a perch to transport him places instead of my hand. He obviously has it in his mind that you're his play gym, which can be very painful for you!

As for the kitty situation, is there any way you can keep them in separate areas? It sounds like Kiwi is afraid of the kitties, and would probably be a happier bird if he just didn't have to see them at all. It makes sense why he's afraid of them--cats do kill birds, after all!--so him lunging at them or becoming aggressive when they are around is most easily fixed by not having them together at all. I know in some cases this isn't possible, but can you try? Or at least remove them from the room when he is out of his cage?

 

[Anansi]

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

Puck raises some excellent points about both taking away Kiwi's shoulder privileges and separating him from your cats. Regarding the shoulder privileges, only a bird you can fully trust not to go after your face should be allowed there. That's a situation that can go terribly wrong VERY quickly, and until he is properly trained not to bite, that's just a dangerous place for him to be.

And as for the cats, while I can appreciate that you may have managed to successfully subdue their natural instincts somewhat with your training, they are still predatory animals. Resisting the urge to go after Kiwi runs contrary to their very nature. Every moment that they abide by your wishes is a moment that should be applauded, but all it takes is one slip in that control to turn Kiwi's story into one of tragedy. Personally, I would never keep cats and birds in the same room.

Moving back to your original concern, it does sound as though Kiwi has come to view you as his mate. He is displacement biting whenever he goes after you in response to the cats coming close. He's doing this because you are "ignoring" all of the warning signals he has been sending you to get away from them, so he has resorted to nipping you. It's his way of saying, "I SAID you're in danger, woman! MOVE!"

Usually, when the trigger for such displacement biting is another human, I would suggest socialization techniques and such to help Kiwi come to accept... or at least tolerate... him/her. But given that the trigger in this case is a cat, that obviously isn't the answer. Again, I believe they should be kept separate from one another.

Here are some links to help with the biting:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

 

[Loko]

He sounds like a normal bird to me. And everything already said is great.
I havent met a bird that doesnt want to climb on your head and possibly use your ears as their ladder, or a bird that doesnt think its their job to remove every dot on your skin, or that doesnt think hair is their toy. Its up to you to avoid letting these things happen. His biting you because of the cat is because hes warning you. Just like a very wise member aka Sailboat here says, it is never the fault of the bird, and I agree. You must not go near or allow the cats near when you are with him - its your fault he bit you because you didnt flee from the "danger" ie cat. Put your hair up so he doesnt rip at it, and if he does, or if he bites your ear, he loses shoulder privilege for the next few hours, or day. Being allowed on your shoulder should be a privilege, an untrained bird can be dangerous up there near your eyes. He will learn quickly that doing that equals being ignored, but make sure you reward him when he is behaving well, therefore he knows if he does good, he gets treats and can sit on your shoulder, if not, none and ignored. A lot of it just comes down to avoiding things altogether - if he bites at a freckle on your sgoulder, wear a shirt, if he bites when the cats come by, avoid the cats, if he pulls your hair when its down, put it up, etc. Sometimes its just a matter of perspective and instead of trying to fix him, you need to fix you.

 

[Scott]

Welcome Emily, thank you for joining. Certainly hope we can assist you regaining that cheerful and loving Kiwi you know and love!

Another angle to the situation is Kiwi might have experienced feelings of abandonment when you were hospitalized that may have been reminiscent of his prior home. Very sorry to hear you subsequently lost your job; yet another potential clue. Birds are VERY keen observers of emotions, and it would be perfectly reasonable to assume you are more stressed than before.

Definitely wish to emphasize the need to protect your face from Kiwi, and safeguard your parrot from the cats. It may be also possible the cats are becoming an irritant, or might there have been a close-call with them during your absence? It is certainly possible to live with both types of pets, just takes some changes ensure safety for all.

 

[Flboy]

Welcome! All excellent advice! The cats are a big threat!

I wold give him shirt privileges again. I know I would be heartbroken!:30:

 

[GaleriaGila]

Great advice above.
Glad you found us.

 

[JBassset]

Everyone who's already posted is way smarter than me. But I'll add my two cents.

I have cats. I trust my cats implicitly around my little bird. (The big one... he'll just whoop em) But I do. I trust them. To be cats. They're curious about my GCC Stephen. Now he's pretty sure he's the size of a huge eagle so he's actually attacked both cats so they're afraid of him.

But that said, he's an itty bitty bird and at any moment a cat could decide that "Nope, gonna eat it" and he's done.

In my case Stephen doesn't warn me about the threat of cats. In his head he's big enough to take 'em on. But I make sure I always know where HE is and if he's not right near me I make sure I know where the cats are. Or I redirect him to me.

Cats are cats. You can train them till you turn blue in the face but the day they decide they don't want to play that game anymore they won't. It's like a switch. One day they just turn it off and it's like all that training never happened.

 

[MrsBigE]

A lot of the behavior you described sounds like Spezi. He bites but it's in play, like he'll roll over on his back and on his way around he just happens to grab my ear lobe. He has a huge fascination with the temple of my glasses, pulls my hair is a general rough house.

It's hard to find a way to punish him for biting when it's happening during play. The SC's
Have some odd behavior. I'm sorry I couldn't offer help but I did want to tell you that You're not alone. Maybe I'll be able to learn from what other members tell you!
Good luck!