My green cheeked conure bites everyone but me

Dec 31, 2008

Biting Conure
by: Tracie

Hello Cookie,

First of all, you should read the articles on our Parrot Training page.

I will try to explain how we helped our Green Cheeked Conures stop biting me. We also got our birds just after they were weaned. I am within 5 feet of their cage all day long and I am the one that feeds them.

At first our birds would go to all of us, but favored me. Then one day, it seemed like it was out of the blue, they decided they preferred my husband over me. They would also tolerate my daughter, but would bring blood on me.

Since they preferred my husband, he worked with them every day before he left for work and in the evenings when he got home. He would get them out and hand one to me. As soon as the bird opened it's beak and showed it was going to strike, usually before he even got close enough to hand the bird off to me, he would bring the bird close to his face and give it the "evil eye" and say "noooooo" in calm low stern voice.

Since my husband is "top bird" to them, they want to please him. He would keep doing this until one day he was able to pass the bird to me without me getting bit.

I would only take the bird for a moment and my husband would quickly reward the bird with a treat and then take the bird back. Of course on the days the bird would bite, he just did the evil eye thing and no treat at that time.

We had to do this for months before the birds would behave without treats and having him there to protect me. The birds still don't prefer me, but they rarely bite me. If they do, and my husband is there, he will correct them quickly.

Our birds are both cage territorial. That means that none of us can put our hands in their cage without being bit. We open the door and let them climb onto the door and get them from there. We feel they should be able to protect their home and do not try to change this behavior.

Please remember that sometimes your bird will not want to be held or picked up at all times. Even if you "train" the bird not to bite most of the time, it may still bite when that is the only way it can "tell" you that it doesn't want to be picked up at that time.

You can find several great books and DVD's on bird training right here at our Discount Parrot Supply Store also.

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Dec 31, 2008
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Submitted by: Tracie

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Hello Cookie, First of all, you should read the articles on our <a href="http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/parrot-training.html" target="_blank"> Parrot Training page.</a> I will try to explain how we helped our Green Cheeked Conures stop biting me. We also got our birds just after they were weaned. I am within 5 feet of their cage all day long and I am the one that feeds them. At first our birds would go to all of us, but favored me. Then one day, it seemed like it was out of the blue, they decided they preferred my husband over me. They would also tolerate my daughter, but would bring blood on me. Since they preferred my husband, he worked with them every day before he left for work and in the evenings when he got home. He would get them out and hand one to me. As soon as the bird opened it's beak and showed it was going to strike, usually before he even got close enough to hand the bird off to me, he would bring the bird close to his face and give it the "evil eye" and say "noooooo" in calm low stern voice. Since my husband is "top bird" to them, they want to please him. He would keep doing this until one day he was able to pass the bird to me without me getting bit. I would only take the bird for a moment and my husband would quickly reward the bird with a treat and then take the bird back. Of course on the days the bird would bite, he just did the evil eye thing and no treat at that time. We had to do this for months before the birds would behave without treats and having him there to protect me. The birds still don't prefer me, but they rarely bite me. If they do, and my husband is there, he will correct them quickly. Our birds are both cage territorial. That means that none of us can put our hands in their cage without being bit. We open the door and let them climb onto the door and get them from there. We feel they should be able to protect their home and do not try to change this behavior. Please remember that sometimes your bird will not want to be held or picked up at all times. Even if you "train" the bird not to bite most of the time, it may still bite when that is the only way it can "tell" you that it doesn't want to be picked up at that time. You can find several <a href="http://birdsupplysales.ashopcart.com/catalogue.php?exp=28|11|42|&cat=74&shop=1" target="_blank">great books and DVD's</a> on bird training right here at our <a href="http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/parrot-supply.html" target="_blank">Discount Parrot Supply Store</a> also.

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My green cheeked conure bites everyone but me

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My green cheeked conure bites everyone but me