Hello!
I've had my little Pineapple Conure, Mowgli, for about 4 years now. He's 6 years old and when I first got him he was very timid. When I first found him for sale at the pet store he was still a very friendly bird and came up to the cage doors to be as close to the public as possible. So it didn't take him long to stop being so fearful of us.
As I said he's a very friendly bird and it seems a lot like he wants to be with us and around us. Whenever he's out his cage he will climb up to the highest point or whatever point is closest to us so he can be close. He'll call for us if we leave the room and he has chirps and noises we do to one another..
Before I got him he had previous owners who took him back to the store so its likely its them who taught him his biting habit. Since I have a pretty low pain tolerance its been a daunting idea trying to teach him out of it but I'm trying to do as much as I can with him at the moment. I've been watching some videos about hand training a bird and know the basics, but my situation is slightly different from having a new bird home.
I've done a bit of work with him and currently he is not overly afraid of hands. If you put your hand in the cage to give him something he will come to the nearest place he can sit on and take it, but never touch your hand. When he gets fresh water he's always wanting to come to the bowl and will take some sips then realise I'm holding it and will try to nip my fingers. Once or twice he has let me pet him, but he's not overly happy when it happens. He's like a young teen boy who is like "alright fine mum, you're so embarrassing" kinda grump. So in these cases I've never pushed too much but always let him know that he's a good boy for it.
Like I said he loves to be around us and seems to want to come to us. We can see him bobbing when he's out his cage as if he's wanting to fly to us. Especially when me and mum are talking, whether its because he's thinking of flying or he likes to nod because its a thing he's picked up from when I'm chatting to mum. I've been teaching him as of recent to not be afraid of my computer desk so he can come and get away from sitting ontop his cage and he's been slowly walking further onto the desk. Sometimes I see him using his swings where he's managed to remove the bells from handles and uses them to give himself scritches. Which makes me sulk because I could be giving him all the cuddles in the world if we could break this barrier.
So with this context, what do you guys recommend as some exercises to train out his biting and letting him build confidence and learn that there is lots of love waiting to be given to him!
I've had my little Pineapple Conure, Mowgli, for about 4 years now. He's 6 years old and when I first got him he was very timid. When I first found him for sale at the pet store he was still a very friendly bird and came up to the cage doors to be as close to the public as possible. So it didn't take him long to stop being so fearful of us.
As I said he's a very friendly bird and it seems a lot like he wants to be with us and around us. Whenever he's out his cage he will climb up to the highest point or whatever point is closest to us so he can be close. He'll call for us if we leave the room and he has chirps and noises we do to one another..
Before I got him he had previous owners who took him back to the store so its likely its them who taught him his biting habit. Since I have a pretty low pain tolerance its been a daunting idea trying to teach him out of it but I'm trying to do as much as I can with him at the moment. I've been watching some videos about hand training a bird and know the basics, but my situation is slightly different from having a new bird home.
I've done a bit of work with him and currently he is not overly afraid of hands. If you put your hand in the cage to give him something he will come to the nearest place he can sit on and take it, but never touch your hand. When he gets fresh water he's always wanting to come to the bowl and will take some sips then realise I'm holding it and will try to nip my fingers. Once or twice he has let me pet him, but he's not overly happy when it happens. He's like a young teen boy who is like "alright fine mum, you're so embarrassing" kinda grump. So in these cases I've never pushed too much but always let him know that he's a good boy for it.
Like I said he loves to be around us and seems to want to come to us. We can see him bobbing when he's out his cage as if he's wanting to fly to us. Especially when me and mum are talking, whether its because he's thinking of flying or he likes to nod because its a thing he's picked up from when I'm chatting to mum. I've been teaching him as of recent to not be afraid of my computer desk so he can come and get away from sitting ontop his cage and he's been slowly walking further onto the desk. Sometimes I see him using his swings where he's managed to remove the bells from handles and uses them to give himself scritches. Which makes me sulk because I could be giving him all the cuddles in the world if we could break this barrier.
So with this context, what do you guys recommend as some exercises to train out his biting and letting him build confidence and learn that there is lots of love waiting to be given to him!
