why does my month old conure keep nibbling on my hand?

[KiwiDaWeirdo]

I have a month old crimson bellied conure and he has recently kept nibbling on my hand and pens and such. It isnt very hard and doesn’t draw blood. It feels more like a small pinch. Just curious if it should be encouraged or not.

 

[Birb321]

biting is normal for birds. but if they are biting at you or things often then i would put shredding toys. Shredding toy are toys the your birds can shred. if you do have shredding toys though it could be that just what they like to do. If you are worried though you can always go to a vet or some short of bird specialist.
Some great shredding toys.
https://amzn.to/3UearQI bird kabob

https://amzn.to/3dafQId

https://amzn.to/3QEiy6g

https://amzn.to/3RKiKlR and some planet pleasure toys
i hope this helps

 

[wrench13]

He is testing, both the boundaries and his environment. Discovering what he likes to chew on. Chewing on you however is to be discouraged. Start by giving him a gentle 'No Bite' when he does this to you. Please disregard advice to:
Yell at him
Spray water at him ( like a squirt gun)
Do anything physical to him

If the gentle No Bite does not get the message across, and he is more bonded to you, use the Shunning method. THat is how birds in the wild discipline their unruly youngsters. For you to adopt this method, when he bites with more then acceptable pressure, continue to say "No Bite" and immediately place him on a handy nearby chair back. Turn your back to him, no eye contact at all, no talking to or about him, for one minute. No less, no longer. Then you can re -approach him. In order for this to work, you must do it EVERY TIME and so do other members of your family.

. Why a chair back - why not his cage? Returning him to his cage only teaches him that if he wants to go back to his cage, bite the person.
. Why immediately? So the lesson can be connected to the biting activity.
. Why only a minute? Any longer and again, the lesson will not be connected to the bite activity
. Why no talking to or about him? Parrots are SMART and certainly know their names and when you are talking about them
. Why every time? So you do not confuse him with mixed messages

Most parrots, even young ones, get the message quickly when it is done correctly. And you must keep it up their entire lives, not just when they are young 'uns. They constantly test boundaries and try to see what they can get away with, and with mating season mood changes they can get 'bitey ' too.
Conures in particular are known as a 'bitey' species so its important you stop this in its tracks.

Good Luck!

 

[KiwiDaWeirdo]

He is testing, both the boundaries and his environment. Discovering what he likes to chew on. Chewing on you however is to be discouraged. Start by giving him a gentle 'No Bite' when he does this to you. Please disregard advice to:
Yell at him
Spray water at him ( like a squirt gun)
Do anything physical to him

If the gentle No Bite does not get the message across, and he is more bonded to you, use the Shunning method. THat is how birds in the wild discipline their unruly youngsters. For you to adopt this method, when he bites with more then acceptable pressure, continue to say "No Bite" and immediately place him on a handy nearby chair back. Turn your back to him, no eye contact at all, no talking to or about him, for one minute. No less, no longer. Then you can re -approach him. In order for this to work, you must do it EVERY TIME and so do other members of your family.

. Why a chair back - why not his cage? Returning him to his cage only teaches him that if he wants to go back to his cage, bite the person.
. Why immediately? So the lesson can be connected to the biting activity.
. Why only a minute? Any longer and again, the lesson will not be connected to the bite activity
. Why no talking to or about him? Parrots are SMART and certainly know their names and when you are talking about them
. Why every time? So you do not confuse him with mixed messages

Most parrots, even young ones, get the message quickly when it is done correctly. And you must keep it up their entire lives, not just when they are young 'uns. They constantly test boundaries and try to see what they can get away with, and with mating season mood changes they can get 'bitey ' too.
Conures in particular are known as a 'bitey' species so its important you stop this in its tracks.

Good Luck!

okay will definitely try that, thanks a ton. hopefully it works

 

[maddox]

I went through something similar with my green cheek Maddox. Parrots, especially young ones, explore with their beaks. They try to figure out what they can chew on and what they can. With Maddox, I would redirect him when he started nibbling on me with a toy or something else to chew on. I would avoid using a treat to do this because that could end up affirming the behavior you are trying to eliminate.