I have a Green cheeked conure who seems to be extremely comfortable with me,but randomely bites extremely hard, to the point of drawing blood. He is a smart bird, and he often responds to verbal commands like step up and come here. However, he randomely bites my mother and I, and tries biting her in the face and eyes. I obviously cant have that so I need to know how to get him to stop fast or else I have to give him away. Usually when he bites, I leave him in a room or cage by himself for 5-10 minutes, or grab him firmly and loudly say "no biting" or if hes perching on me i give him a little shake. so far to take care of my bird, I clean his cage once a week or so along with all his toys, replace his water often, give him slightly cold water baths when I take a shower (mostly because he flies into them) keep him out of the cage for around 10 hours a day, and buy him shredded toys. I want to give him some harness training but i cant even get him not to bite. I often give him fruit, pellets and some greens as food, and if he catches anyone in my family eating he usually takes a bite of whatever they are eating too, and flies away. I would also like to train this behavior out of him.
Very aggressive Conure
- Thread starter IlikeBirb
- Start date
I have a Green cheeked conure who seems to be extremely comfortable with me,but randomely bites extremely hard, to the point of drawing blood. He is a smart bird, and he often responds to verbal commands like step up and come here. However, he randomely bites my mother and I, and tries biting her in the face and eyes. I obviously cant have that so I need to know how to get him to stop fast or else I have to give him away. Usually when he bites, I leave him in a room or cage by himself for 5-10 minutes, or grab him firmly and loudly say "no biting" or if hes perching on me i give him a little shake. so far to take care of my bird, I clean his cage once a week or so along with all his toys, replace his water often, give him slightly cold water baths when I take a shower (mostly because he flies into them) keep him out of the cage for around 10 hours a day, and buy him shredded toys. I want to give him some harness training but i cant even get him not to bite. I often give him fruit, pellets and some greens as food, and if he catches anyone in my family eating he usually takes a bite of whatever they are eating too, and flies away. I would also like to train this behavior out of him.
You can not punish a burd and have a behavior stop.
Do not shake them ever.
You need to read behavior better. They resort to bite when you aren't listening to them.
Here you will find reading body language articles
Post in thread 'Ornithology: Share and discuss scientific articles on parrots!' https://www.parrotforums.com/thread...entific-articles-on-parrots.82369/post-987448
Do not shake them ever.
You need to read behavior better. They resort to bite when you aren't listening to them.
Here you will find reading body language articles
Post in thread 'Ornithology: Share and discuss scientific articles on parrots!' https://www.parrotforums.com/thread...entific-articles-on-parrots.82369/post-987448
BirdyBee
Well-known member
Please, do NOT physically punish your bird! Are you reading his behavior correctly? Does he do a certain behavior before biting?
Shunning(leaving him in a neutral area) is far better.
- Feb 20, 2022
- 3,131
- 10,896
Welcome to the forums! You have a real cutie there and you've come to the right place to help steer you in a better direction.
In general with animal training, you need to teach them what TO do, not what you want them to stop.
Parrots very rarely bite in their natural flocks. They don't "randomly" bite at all. I think you need to go back to basics, and start over with building trust and repairing your relationship.
Start over entirely - don't think about the things you don't like. Pretend you just brought home a rescue who wasn't treated well in his past home and that it's only been a few days. How well do you know his personality? What is his favorite thing to do with you? What are his favorite foods, his favorite toys? What kind of training activities are his favorites to learn? What times of day is he most chatty? What are your favorite things about him?
Parrots are extremely intelligent and social and they need just as much mental stimulation as they do physical play. I've learned on this forum that many GCC use their beaks as part of their communication. As a team, you can learn together how to communicate with each other in ways that aren't going to be harmful - but it starts with you; you're the predator animal. Grabbing and shaking a bird is terrifying! He won't show how scared he is because showing fear almost guarantees they'll get eaten. Try to think about it from his perspective - he knows you are big and scary and can hurt or kill him, and so far, your actions are just proving that you're big and scary.
Write down the times he tends to go after you or your mom. If there is a pattern, don't have him in the room while you are doing those activities. You need to prevent the chance for him to bite. Read the suggestions about body language, and try to see if you can figure out what is happening right before he bites, then change the activities so that he's not practicing that same set of events.
As far as training, I'd recommend target training. It's hands off, and gives you something to do together that can be really fun. It also can be a way to gradually teach him to use his beak more gently. Here's a link to a post that spells out the basic idea: Target Training
It will take some hard work for you and also the rest of your family, and you'll have to be consistent about being positive trainers instead of scary predators, but green cheeks can be the biggest cuddle bugs and most excellent companions once you do establish a good relationship!
You can also search the forum for other threads about bulding trust, bonding, and training - it's the magnifying glass up top.
Good luck and keep us posted
In general with animal training, you need to teach them what TO do, not what you want them to stop.
Parrots very rarely bite in their natural flocks. They don't "randomly" bite at all. I think you need to go back to basics, and start over with building trust and repairing your relationship.
Start over entirely - don't think about the things you don't like. Pretend you just brought home a rescue who wasn't treated well in his past home and that it's only been a few days. How well do you know his personality? What is his favorite thing to do with you? What are his favorite foods, his favorite toys? What kind of training activities are his favorites to learn? What times of day is he most chatty? What are your favorite things about him?
Parrots are extremely intelligent and social and they need just as much mental stimulation as they do physical play. I've learned on this forum that many GCC use their beaks as part of their communication. As a team, you can learn together how to communicate with each other in ways that aren't going to be harmful - but it starts with you; you're the predator animal. Grabbing and shaking a bird is terrifying! He won't show how scared he is because showing fear almost guarantees they'll get eaten. Try to think about it from his perspective - he knows you are big and scary and can hurt or kill him, and so far, your actions are just proving that you're big and scary.
Write down the times he tends to go after you or your mom. If there is a pattern, don't have him in the room while you are doing those activities. You need to prevent the chance for him to bite. Read the suggestions about body language, and try to see if you can figure out what is happening right before he bites, then change the activities so that he's not practicing that same set of events.
As far as training, I'd recommend target training. It's hands off, and gives you something to do together that can be really fun. It also can be a way to gradually teach him to use his beak more gently. Here's a link to a post that spells out the basic idea: Target Training
It will take some hard work for you and also the rest of your family, and you'll have to be consistent about being positive trainers instead of scary predators, but green cheeks can be the biggest cuddle bugs and most excellent companions once you do establish a good relationship!
You can also search the forum for other threads about bulding trust, bonding, and training - it's the magnifying glass up top.
Good luck and keep us posted
- Thread Starter
- Thread starter
- #5
I was watching youtube videos on it and it said to "stimulate a earthquake" or something like that to discipline your conure. What type of toys do you think I should buy him?Welcome to the forums! You have a real cutie there and you've come to the right place to help steer you in a better direction.
In general with animal training, you need to teach them what TO do, not what you want them to stop.
Parrots very rarely bite in their natural flocks. They don't "randomly" bite at all. I think you need to go back to basics, and start over with building trust and repairing your relationship.
Start over entirely - don't think about the things you don't like. Pretend you just brought home a rescue who wasn't treated well in his past home and that it's only been a few days. How well do you know his personality? What is his favorite thing to do with you? What are his favorite foods, his favorite toys? What kind of training activities are his favorites to learn? What times of day is he most chatty? What are your favorite things about him?
Parrots are extremely intelligent and social and they need just as much mental stimulation as they do physical play. I've learned on this forum that many GCC use their beaks as part of their communication. As a team, you can learn together how to communicate with each other in ways that aren't going to be harmful - but it starts with you; you're the predator animal. Grabbing and shaking a bird is terrifying! He won't show how scared he is because showing fear almost guarantees they'll get eaten. Try to think about it from his perspective - he knows you are big and scary and can hurt or kill him, and so far, your actions are just proving that you're big and scary.
Write down the times he tends to go after you or your mom. If there is a pattern, don't have him in the room while you are doing those activities. You need to prevent the chance for him to bite. Read the suggestions about body language, and try to see if you can figure out what is happening right before he bites, then change the activities so that he's not practicing that same set of events.
As far as training, I'd recommend target training. It's hands off, and gives you something to do together that can be really fun. It also can be a way to gradually teach him to use his beak more gently. Here's a link to a post that spells out the basic idea: Target Training
It will take some hard work for you and also the rest of your family, and you'll have to be consistent about being positive trainers instead of scary predators, but green cheeks can be the biggest cuddle bugs and most excellent companions once you do establish a good relationship!
You can also search the forum for other threads about bulding trust, bonding, and training - it's the magnifying glass up top.
Good luck and keep us posted
HeatherG
Well-known member
- Apr 25, 2020
- 3,892
- 6,971
The “simulate an earthquake “ phrase meant that you wobble your hand the bird is standing on if it bites you.
I don’t know if anyone still does that. I tried it with Lucy years ago and figured out eventually that her “biting” was partly hanging on because she had a bad leg and wasn’t steady. So the earthquake correction scared the snot out of her and did not help at all.
I have had trouble with my Meyers parrot biting and the thing that’s working best is to figure out when he bites and avoid it. Like, I had him out for 20 min for scritches while I read and he started to get pinchy. So I put him back in his cage because it seemed to me he was “done” and also if he didn’t go back I was going to get bit hard.
People on this forum recommend putting your bird on a chair back or other perch and turning your back to him. (Shunning)
I also remind my birds to be gentle if their nibbles are getting too hard.
I don’t know if anyone still does that. I tried it with Lucy years ago and figured out eventually that her “biting” was partly hanging on because she had a bad leg and wasn’t steady. So the earthquake correction scared the snot out of her and did not help at all.
I have had trouble with my Meyers parrot biting and the thing that’s working best is to figure out when he bites and avoid it. Like, I had him out for 20 min for scritches while I read and he started to get pinchy. So I put him back in his cage because it seemed to me he was “done” and also if he didn’t go back I was going to get bit hard.
People on this forum recommend putting your bird on a chair back or other perch and turning your back to him. (Shunning)
I also remind my birds to be gentle if their nibbles are getting too hard.
Last edited:
When a bird bites, they are trying to communicate something to you, as no bird will "randomly bite." Most of the time, it is stress or anxiety related, so maybe back off for a bit and work on building trust with your conure. Physically punishing your bird, like shaking it, is entirely counterproductive and never suggested. This only adds to the bird's anxiety. Instead, reward the bird for good behavior and create a relationship where you are associated with positive affirmations like treats and food. When he does bite, put him in the cage and leave him there for a few, then try again.
clark_conure
Well-known member
TIME OUT METHOD! Search it. top right search thing type that in.
Most Reactions
-
615 -
256 -
243 -
192 -
185 -
122 -
117 -
86 -
72 -
O
51
-
50 -
50 -
48 -
47 -
45
