Rose Crown Biting - how to respond?

[Adam_T]

Hey again! New to bird keeping and I have a 11 month old Rose Crowned Conure. He has a very large cage with tons of toys, treays, and the best organic foods. I hope he is happy!

However, sometimes when I try to let him out of the cage, he will nip at my finger when I say step up near his chest....and sometimes he doesn't and just hops on. Both times have drawn blood. Very small amounts, but nonetheless...his bite is a bit painful. For the record, if I LET him bite my finger...he will hop on afterwards.

Secondly, he is ADORABLE on my neck and the necks of others, BUT....he will cuddle, clean himself, mess with your hair, and then BAM - bites your neck. It's not a very painful one like that with the fingers, and sometimes it's a very light nibble over and over...but at some points, he sinks in. Urgh, that kills! You can't help but yell or grunt in pain.

If he bites my finger, I try to ignore it and close his cage back up and leave him alone for a little bit. If he bites me neck, I put him straight back into his cage. I don't yell at the bird, I dont say NO or anything like that.

Any advice? I've only had him for 2 days, so I know patience is a virtue...and I am completely fine with that. I would just like to know how you all handle this type of situation!

Thanks!

 

[Mavis]

Hi Adam, Would love to see a pic of your conure, do you have one posted?

This post below and replies and links in it may be beneficial to you:

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/50903-how-stop-biting-conure.html

It is early days for you both, it will take a little while for Sheldon to settle right in : ) sounds like you are doing a good job.

 

[Mavis]

This is a good one too:

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/50962-green-cheek-attacking-help.html

 

[thekarens]

I would rescind shoulder privileges until he's trustworthy.

 

[Adam_T]

Great advise and awesome links. I kept hearing "dont react or yell or scold if they bite" from people...but reading over multiple pages of threads, that's exactly what you need to be doing! Ah!

 

[Ann333]

I would rescind shoulder privileges until he's trustworthy.

So would I. Wait until he isnt biting your fingers and work on that before letting him back on your shoulder. Being on your shoulder should be a privilege and he hasnt earned it yet.

Just for comfort, Pumpkin was biting alot the first 5 days, but we are getting to know eachother and now that i am getting better at reading his body language, and we are setting the groundwork for trusting eachother, it has gotten ALOT better already. It just takes time, and some birds are slower to trust, so dont be discouraged if it even takes weeks, it will happen eventually.

Also, being new, it might help if you want to do what ive been doing and go to the training forum and just go page by page by page reading any thread you think might be helpful. Ive been doing this for a week and old threads are a treasure chest of great information, you just have to do some digging.

 

[thekarens]

Yelling isn't going to get you anywhere. They'll just consider that competition and show you they can be louder. That's a fun game for them.

 

[Adam_T]

No, no...I don't yell. But in a stern voice (earlier today), I said "gentle". He got mad and flew around the first floor of my house for about 10 minutes. lol. I'll get the hang of it soon!

I've been reading up on thinner leather gloves to give some added protection for the training period. Looks like a 50/50 split on people looking them and people disliking them.

 

[Delfin]

I would ignore the bite. By this I mean don't jump around yelling or screaming. Instead you rouse on the bird and give it a very displeased look. Your facial expressions and tone of voice will convey that it's behaviour is not acceptable.

 

[4dugnlee]

Yes I would say in a stern voice "no" or "gentle" or whatever works for you. It is still early and he probably is settling in and learning to trust you. He probably sees his cage as his safe/familiar place and maybe sees you as invading it. He should get better with time. Also, as time goes on, you will learn more of his body language. I know (usually) when I'm going to get bit by my SC..lol. Those little beaks HURT!!!

 

[Adam_T]

Awesome, good to know!