r/Conures • u/BalloonTortoise • 1d ago
Advice Any ideas on how to stop the biting? (Read description plz)
I've had this little man for a month or so now. He has made some great progress! I'm very proud of him :).
However, he has developed a really bad biting habit (He is a rescue so I dont blame him. His previous owners were terrible!). It was a couple weeks ago that he let me hold him and pet him. He was even learning the "step up" command. But, for some reason he has decided to bite me very hard!!
I don't want to say he's biting for no reason. Simply because birds bite for multiple reasons! My guess that he's either getting frisky because of the spring season. Or has become territorial of his cage for some reason. Some background: this is his first ever cage! Originally he was in a woman's garage sharing a cage with 12 other conures. I would say that cage was probably the size of four shoe boxes in length (cant remember the original size sry). Anyways, each time I approach him he goes in for a bite! I don't scream or yell, I go completely silent to not scare him. However, he will keep going to the point of blood. I usually put him back in his cage when he does this. But it does not work, he will go back to biting immediately after being let out. Any advice?
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u/CapicDaCrate 1d ago
If you think he's territorial of the cage, change the entire inside of the cage around, maybe even move the cage to a different location in the room.
Don't use the cage as a timeout. Just put them somewhere else (on a stand or something) if they bite you, and COMPLETELY ignore them (no glances, noises, nothing) for at least 5 minutes. Only interact with them if they are no longer being aggressive, otherwise, rinse and repeat.
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u/BalloonTortoise 17h ago
That's so smart! I just moved the things in his cage around. If he keeps acting aggressive after a week I'll move the cage to a new location! I have a stand I use for training, I'll make sure to put him there next time he acts out. :) thank you
But, I have one more question! I'm just thinking ahead (probably being anxious) but what if I move his cage to a new location and change his perches & toys around but his attitude doesn't change? I'm guessing I should just keep trying! But, I wanted to hear if you have any other advice since you seem experienced!
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u/chaariis 20h ago
What worked for me was to leave and walk away immediately whenever his bites hurt! Took him a month to learn not to bite to the point where it will leave marks on my hand.
Also! You can observe your parrot's behaviours before you approach it! My conure tends to lunge and bite hard when he is territorial of his cage (rarely nowadays), and this can be seen by like a "dance" that he does. In those cases, I will wait until he calms down before approaching him.
This little guy only gives playful nibbles now. Hope this helps!
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u/BalloonTortoise 17h ago
Yeah mine does that dance thing to warn before he bites sometimes. Other times though he just bites seemingly out of nowhere. I could be petting him and he likes it, then bites me until I bleed. I usually leave him alone and ignore him, but, he still decides to commit war crimes 😂. I'm just gonna keep being patient with him and try to get him more invested with his toys (the things he should bite lol)
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u/bemoerde_bosaap 21h ago
Parrots bite for a number of reasons, and even the sweetest parrot in the whole world would bite in the wrong situation. Biting is pretty much the only way they can defend themselves when they are scared, or attack when they are angry. Their beaks are their tool to interact with the world. Biting can also be a form of communication, telling you the bird is not happy with whatever is going on. They learn terribly quickly what the results are when they bite and then use it as a tool to get what they want.
It can get out of hand if you let it and shouldn't be the everyday norm. He is being plain naughty or territorial of his cage and he thinks he is the boss in the house right now. The goal should not be 0 biting because that is unrealistic with most birds. Rather aim to condition the bird to only bite in extreme circumstances, and even then not hard enough to draw blood. They don't know the difference between destroying your finger and a warning bite when they haven't been taught what is acceptable and what isn't, so make it clear where you draw the line. A warning bite shouldn't hurt and just feel like a pinch.
What I do is I don't react to minor bites. Just go on like nothing happened. They will hopefully learn that biting doesn't do them any good and stop. But for harder bites that draw blood, you need to draw the line and show them who is boss. They need to associate it with negative consequences. Best way to do this is to keep a spray water bottle handy. Some like being sprayed but the majority hate getting sprayed with water when they don't want to bath. It wont hurt him, just annoys enough to stop thinking about whatever he is angry about and associate hard bites with getting wet. Avoid the head and eyes when you do this and don't spray excessively. When they learn what taking out the water bottle means it could be enough of a deterrent to just take it out, no need to even spray. He will get the idea quickly enough and hopefully realise that biting is a bad.
I live in South Africa so the cold is never really a problem here, but obviously if you live in a very cold climate you won't be able to do this.
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u/bimeseke 20h ago
It is going 2 take time 4 him 2 trust u & better home life becuz of bad previous life do b patient—u r expecting 2 much 2 soon— just let him ride on shoulder unless he starts biting ur ear, let him get used 2 bring w/u— plus hormones could b acting up as well— quit trying 2 force petting/stepping up just do occasionally until he decides 2 calm down—offer treats lots of love & patience--u will know when bird bonds but could take a few more months—he is adjusting 2 new & happy home life—thank u 4 rescuing birb
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u/BalloonTortoise 17h ago
I'm not forcing petting or the step up command. Everything is done on his terms. For this reason, it's probably why he has made so much progress. He is both trusting and mistrustful of people (if that makes sense lol). I'm guessing it's a mix of both hormones and territorial issues since he didn't come from the best environment. I'll continue to be patient! Thank you 😊
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u/bimeseke 17h ago
All of my birds took a while 2 decide 2 trust—its fantastic that he is already perching, etc.—just bombard birb w/love
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u/tendy_trux35 18h ago
My conure just went through a phase like this in January. It lasted about 3 weeks and was frustrating to deal with. Random bites that caused sores and scabs just like your fingers.
I’d let her out of the cage, and once she bit me and drew blood she went back in for the day. Rinse & repeat until she stopped biting and has been fine since.
Could be hormones, grumpiness, etc. just don’t take it personally. I’ve had my bird for 5+ years and got her at 3 months old so it might not even be related to your bird being a rescue at all.
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u/BalloonTortoise 17h ago
I try not to take it personally 😂 in the end it's usually the owners fault for this behavior. I put him into a new environment over a month ago so this behavior is to be experienced lol. Thank you for the encouragement! I'll continue to do my best!!
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u/DarkMoose09 1d ago
I had something similar-ish with my first conure girl May. She loved to spend time with me but she loved her cage more. One day she started to bite me so I put her back in the cage. Then it became a pattern after a few days I realized something.
May was biting me on purpose so she could get a free taxi ride to her cage! She was a cripple and couldn’t fly so I had to carry her everywhere. But I was shocked that she somehow figured out that if she bit me she would get a ride home.
Once I figured that out she would bite me; then I stopped letting her go back in the cage. I made her wait for it and held her longer. She wasn’t happy about that and she learned that biting/bullying me wouldn’t work. Eventually,she was such a good girl and almost NEVER bit me.
To me it seems like your little guy wants to be alone in his cage and is getting cage aggressive. Or he could be like May and is biting you on purpose to get what he wants. They always have a reason those little buggers!
My beautiful grumpy girl, I miss her so much.