Nippy 6 month old GCC with dominance issues - help needed please

[WendyM]

Im having problems with my male 6 month old GCC. Cheeky eats and sleeps well, has a large cage as well as two large play areas and spends about 2/3 of his time out of the cage. He does not liked being touched, but will snuggle under my chin or under a hand. Very interested in the birds outside..... looks out the window a lot of the time. I do not have any problems with him stepping up or going back into his cage. He also does some tricks. His wings are clipped.

He is constantly nipping me (sometimes quite hard) when I don't do what he wants. He has only ever nipped my fingers. Some examples:

* We have an outside deck with a roof where we spend quite a lot of time. He has a permanent cage out there. If I am setting the table outside with him on my shoulder or hand and then back into the house, he will nip me when I go inside. I presume this is because he wants to stay outside. The problem doesn't happen after he has been outside for 30 minutes or more. This is the most common problem. Some of his problems seem to revolve around wanting to be outside with the other birds.

* Watering the garden today, he came down off my shoulder and nipped my hand twice, completely unprovoked. i assumed he wanted a shower. Stupidly I sat him on a rail. and gave him a gently shower, reinforcing that biting gets what he wants!

* Spraying some water into his cage so that I could clean up a couple of poops .... again two nips on the fingers. This may have been territorial.

He doesn't seem to respect me at all.

These are the things I have tried .... mostly learnt from reading other posts on biting conures!

- Say NO in a stern voice.

- Put him back in his cage, cover it and turn it to the wall.

- Blow in his face. This worked the first couple of times, but Ive given it up as I often end up blowing on the top of his head. Also he accepts nuzzles from me using my lips on the back of his neck and I don't want him to dislike my lips.

- Putting him on the floor and walking away. Might have had a slight effect. Sometimes not practical if I need to stay in the room (I have a disabled husband.)

Can anyone suggest what I can try so that Cheeky will get the idea Im the boss?

Oh, Ive had ONE SUCCESS! Cheeky has been climbing up my glasses to sit on the top of my head, and mostly if I say "no" he will now turn around and come down onto my shoulder.

Thank you for any help.

 

[Echo]

Cheeky seems like a smart and wonderful bird!! You know when he nips ( when you set table outside with him on shoulder, when you water plants with him on shoulder, cleaning his cage with him on shoulder?). Your bird is clipped and bites because he can't get to where he wants to be by flying. He wants to stay outside but you're going back in and he is on shoulder. If he was flighted he would fly to his outside cage for example. If he wanted to be sprayed when you water the plants, he would just fly to the flowers and get misted but he can't. He's frustrated.

Point is: you know when he nips, get him OFF YOUR SHOULDER. Put him in the outdoor cage when you set the outside table and busy around, set him down before you water the plants etc....

When you have a clipped bird, you become their vehicle and they need you to move around.
That's your responsibility. I would not punish him because he's trying to tell you what he wants to do, especially when you are the one putting him in the situation (going outside, watering plants etc...) Those are fun things that he enjoy!

Oh and you are not the boss by the way. Might work with dogs who need a leader and a master. But birds are different......you are at best EQUAL with them .....they are a tad higher on the totem pole though usually

 

[Echo]

Oh and even clipped birds can be lifted by the wind high enough for you to lose him. Keep that in mind, use a harness or keep him inside a cage when outdoors.

 

[MonicaMc]

The simple act of running water could be causing the nipping.


Since he did not force you to the ground and forced you to do his bidding, I highly doubt he was trying to dominate you.

Natural Encounters, Inc.