Why is my GCC suddenly so bitey?

[16benw]

So I've had my GCC for about 6 weeks now, and the whole time hes loved to be pet and didn't bite very often, but for the past few days all he's been doing is biting any hand that comes close to him. He makes a silent little crackley scream of sorts and bites, but he doesn't seem to be aggressive. He still calls for me when he's alone or flys/runs after me in the hallway. Is this just a phase for young parrots? He's only a few months old if that matters.

Thanks!

 

[sunblaze]

how old is a few months? it sounds to me like hormonal behaviour, tis the season and all but if he's only young this might not be the case, how long have you had him? if it's not long it could be he's testing the waters to see where everyone in the house resides in terms of pecking order. Has there been any change in his routine lately? even subtle things like moving where his cage is or wearing glasses for the first time, these things may seem silly and of no consequence to us but birds are much more sensitive to their surroundings. It's hard to give more specific advice without knowing a bit more about the situation, you should also make sure he is on the correct diet (not seed based) and is getting a good 11-12 hours of sleep a night if he's still young and adequate out of cage time. I hope things improve soon, best of luck =)

 

[Tro]

My vote goes to hormones also. It is the worst when they go through their first couple hormonal phases. It shouldn't be as bad next year... Or so my vet told me when I went through this last year w my boy.
Also you can bring your pet to your avian vet for behavioral issues he doesn't have to be sick. So if you want a professional opinion give your avian vet a visit good luck

 

[June2012]

There's unlimited reasons as to why a bird can be so strange. The horrible 2s, even though it's not necessarily at 2, could be a reasons. Hormone kick! What about the clothes that you're wearing? A certain color? A ton of parrot forums have said that some birds just hate certain colors! There was one blogger with a parrot and ranted about her parrot that absolutely hated the color red. He would attack her red sweaters, clothes, and even her Tide bottle. Maybe that could be an issue. Has he seen you with glasses before? Has he seen you without? Is he attacking something specific? Is he biting something on you? Did you suddenly perm your hair? There has to be something that changed, even in the slightest if it's not hormonal. Is he kept outside?

EDIT: Keeping a bird outside can have their circadian clock work more precisely. Longer the days = BREEDING TIME MOFO. Maybe it's just sexual frustration that he's releasing onto you as well.

 

[Kyoto]

I'm having the same issue with my 16 week old GCC. I believe it's a combination of not understanding how hard he can bite, me misunderstanding his behaviour and he's getting frustrated with me, and also trying to assert dominance in certain situations.

It all started when I started taking his sleepy tent out during the day (when I'm not home to keep an eye on the chewing of it). He was very cranky for about a week and is getting more used to our routine gradually. He also really likes to bite my husband and is very persistent on sitting on his shoulder where he can easily grab flesh, but with us being persistent in not allowing the behaviour and rewarding him for sitting on appropriate perches (his play stand etc) we have come a long way.

I've also stick trained him and it's been doing wonders. I treat being on my hand (where he likes to bite me) as a privilege instead of a right, and if he wants his cuddles he knows he has to sit on my hand like a good birdie without biting me :3 find out your bird's favourite treat and reward him with it for good behaviour.

Sometimes it helps to have something nearby for a distraction as well. If Kyo is biting hubby, sometimes I will call him over to me and hold out a treat, which he can only get if he stops biting and flies onto the stick. It's been pretty successful so far, but only when he is hungry

Just keep being persistent and things will work out!

 

[Sabo]

Mine's only 8 weeks old, and already he's biting everything. Usually, he tries to rip out my laptop's keyboard or crack open my fingernails. Is it weird for an 8 weeks old conure to be this bitey? He even tries to bite my computer's mouse pad. He'll bite anything from my phone, couch, bed, pillow, paper, my toes, bag, my ears, my nose, my eyelids, my hair, lips, etc.

 

[Kyoto]

It's normal as far as I can tell. Just have to be persistent in figuring out what is setting him off and not doing the things that make him bite. Stick train him if you have to, it's what is helping us with our baby.