Rock and a hard place

[skree]

A month ago, one of my coworkers asked if I would take in her Green Cheek Conure since I was moving to dayshift and she is on nights.

For the last month, I have stalked posts on here (we have managed to get him to eat SLIGHTLY better-- she had him eating a Walmart seed mix for cockatiels, we now have him eating Bright Blends for parrots and conures. Not the best, but a step up, right?)

Our biggest issue has been that he is a biter. And he bites HARD. He flies and attacks us and our kids, and no matter how much time is given to try to get him used to us, the instant he is out of that cage, he is on the attack. My husband is pushing HARD to get rid of him since we have 2 kids to worry about. I don't like to give up on any animal, but I think "Goblin" may be one I end up having to give up on...

As for the level of bites, there is blood. LOTS of blood. Its like he grabs on and grinds his little beak for all its worth. Please help.

 

[zERo]

Welcome to the forums!

So sorry you’re dealing with this. Did the previous owner say he acted this way before?
I’d also say a wing clipping may be in order here, as divebombing is hard to tolerate!
I’d keep working on the diet, have you offered other foods? Say, veggies or fruit.
Also, a vet visit may be in order, blood work could reveal a health problem that could be making him act out.

 

[skree]

Welcome to the forums!

So sorry you’re dealing with this. Did the previous owner say he acted this way before?
I’d also say a wing clipping may be in order here, as divebombing is hard to tolerate!
I’d keep working on the diet, have you offered other foods? Say, veggies or fruit.
Also, a vet visit may be in order, blood work could reveal a health problem that could be making him act out.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
I am not keen on the idea or clipping his wings and would want to research more-- I don't want to permanently disfigure him.
His previous owner taught him one word and it was a less nice form of butthole due to how ornery he is. She had mentioned that he wasn't very sweet, but did not elaborate too much on what behaviors to expect until after I got him in my home.
She thinks he is about 4 years old.
Vet visit is planned, as I do want to make sure he is healthy. My daughter loves him, despite him being a mean bird. (If it is cute, she loves it unconditionally.)

He will eat fresh fruit, but refuses veggies thus far.

 

[zERo]

I get not wanting to clip his wings, I personally don’t clip my birds wings but in some circumstances, especially ones where a bird is flying to attack people, it’s the most immediately effective way
.
That’s good that he’ll at least eat fruit, a good veggie to try and ‘trick’ him to eat, since it’s sweet, would be steamed sweet potato.
Glad to hear you have a vet visit, always a good idea for a new birdie!

An idea, you could try and train him while he’s inside his cage with the door closed. I recommend watching FlockTalk on YouTube, she has very good training videos on the basics like target training, which can really help some birds.

Does he play with toys? That can definitely help them get out some of that endless conure energy!

 

[wrench13]

Clipped wings grow back, and fairly quickly too. And be warned that some parrots can fly even with clipped wings. Strong mothers parrots are. But in this case I also recommend clipping, clipping and then do lots of shunning training:

Biting, whether intentional or not, just over preening your skin or actually taking chunks of meat out - all are PAINFULL! In the wild that sort of behavior is not tolerated by the flock. They ostracize flock members who continue to act like that. We call it 'Shunning'. This WILL work, but needs to be done correctly to get the message across and it needs to be done IMMEDIATELY so the parrot can associate the bite with the shunning action. And it needs to happen every time and with anyone involved with the parrot.

When the bite or over preening occurs:

• Say in a forceful but not shouting voice "No Bite" or other endearments.
• Immediately place the parrot on a nearby, handy chairback. NOT the cage (that would only teach the parrot to bite when he wants to go back to his cage).
• Turn your back to him and ignore him for 1 minute. No peeking, no talking about or too him, NADA. NO eye contact. No less or the message is lost, no more or the bird will not associate the action with the bite.
• After a minute you can try to re-establish contact.

Rinse, repeat as needed. Most parrots get the message after a few times, some may need more. Also very important - make sure the bite is not your fault. Annoying your parrot, asking him to step up when he is otherwise preoccupied with eating or playing, bothering him during known moody times like mating season, or ignoring the warnings and body language of your parrot - these are bites that you deserve! Learn, and be a better parront !!

 

[skree]

I get not wanting to clip his wings, I personally don’t clip my birds wings but in some circumstances, especially ones where a bird is flying to attack people, it’s the most immediately effective way
.
That’s good that he’ll at least eat fruit, a good veggie to try and ‘trick’ him to eat, since it’s sweet, would be steamed sweet potato.
Glad to hear you have a vet visit, always a good idea for a new birdie!

An idea, you could try and train him while he’s inside his cage with the door closed. I recommend watching FlockTalk on YouTube, she has very good training videos on the basics like target training, which can really help some birds.

Does he play with toys? That can definitely help them get out some of that endless conure energy!

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll grab some sweet potato on my next trip to the shops!
He has several toys, and up until last night he hadn't shown much interest in them-- he started to destroy one last night and I'm just taking it as a sign he might like that one. It was a box with things he can pull out of it, which he was doing last night. lol

Clipped wings grow back, and fairly quickly too. And be warned that some parrots can fly even with clipped wings. Strong mothers parrots are. But in this case I also recommend clipping, clipping and then do lots of shunning training:

Biting, whether intentional or not, just over preening your skin or actually taking chunks of meat out - all are PAINFULL! In the wild that sort of behavior is not tolerated by the flock. They ostracize flock members who continue to act like that. We call it 'Shunning'. This WILL work, but needs to be done correctly to get the message across and it needs to be done IMMEDIATELY so the parrot can associate the bite with the shunning action. And it needs to happen every time and with anyone involved with the parrot.

When the bite or over preening occurs:

• Say in a forceful but not shouting voice "No Bite" or other endearments.
• Immediately place the parrot on a nearby, handy chairback. NOT the cage (that would only teach the parrot to bite when he wants to go back to his cage).
• Turn your back to him and ignore him for 1 minute. No peeking, no talking about or too him, NADA. NO eye contact. No less or the message is lost, no more or the bird will not associate the action with the bite.
• After a minute you can try to re-establish contact.

Rinse, repeat as needed. Most parrots get the message after a few times, some may need more. Also very important - make sure the bite is not your fault. Annoying your parrot, asking him to step up when he is otherwise preoccupied with eating or playing, bothering him during known moody times like mating season, or ignoring the warnings and body language of your parrot - these are bites that you deserve! Learn, and be a better parront !!

Thank you! I'm happy to hear they grow back! I want him to be happy (and healthy) with us. I don't like to give up on anything, which is a poor trait to have in my field since I often turn things over until I am mush. I will discuss this with my husband and see if I can get him on board with clipping and the new training regiment-- we like the little guy, just not the bites.
I have been watching him a lot and he stays fluffed up-- I guess he is trying to look bigger than he is to try to deter us from interacting? He does seem interested in being out, just goes on the attack when he is out. The worst I got was him landing on my chest when trying to get to my iced coffee (I pulled it away from him so he couldn't get at it), then he turned and bit my lip for all he was worth. This is where my husband started to dislike him.