HELP Conure BITING bird was as sweet as can be cuddled hung out and now he bites and is getting crazier?

We adopted a 6 year old Amazon 1 1/2 years ago and I wish someone would have given me this advice. He came with cage and toys, but if you think about it his whole world changed in a matter of a day. New home, new family, new dog, new everything. At first he probably thought we were the babysitters, but after a few days he realized this was his new life. Of course he was the center of attention, everyone trying make him talk, do tricks, etc. The poor thing must have been petrified.

He did take to my son quickly, but it took me over 7 months to be able to touch him. Many bites and 2 year old behavior later he has finally adjusted and become a part of our family.

My advice is to take it slow, be patient, and give him much attention. He must learn to trust you. Don't force the step up, ask him nicely, but firmly. Eventually it will happen if you give him attention and a good home. Good Luck!

Your conure could be afraid of something. And possibly the new cage in a new home is helping him to hide away from what is stressing or frightening him. A bite can also be a way of your bird saying he doesn't want to step onto you. He could also be showilng territorial behavior toward the "favorite toy." The way that you approach your bird could also play a part in the behavior. There are a lot of factors that should be considered. What you need to do is make sure that you're not reacting to the bites and continue to work on socializing with him (whether it's perch training or working on the Step up onto your finger.) BirdChannel.com has a lot of great articles on training and more specific ones on biting and territorial behavior issues. You should check it out. Good Luck working with your conure.

your bird sounds like he is in a state of shock. too many things have changed in his environment at once and he's pretty much terrified so he is clinging to the only thing he knows which is his toy. if you still have his old cage, i would recommend putting him back in his old cage WITH his favorite toy. keep him on the same diet he was on previously for now and slowly introduce the new diet a little at a time. try putting one or two new toys in his cage every couple of days. the point is to make it a slow and easy transition for him. the older a bird is, the more set in their ways they become and the harder it is to transition them. it is definitely possible to do, you will just need to take it slow. if he were younger you could make all the changes right away with no problem.

also, the larger a bird is the more intelligent he is, which means the more interaction he requires on a daily basis.

the minimum requirement is generally one hour a day for a bird of this size. you need to make sure you spend at LEAST one hour a day with your bird, interacting on a personal level. at first he may not allow you to hold him much because he is still scared, but if you talk to him and try to include him in your daily activities, he will start to open up.

the best thing to do is remember that when you adopt a bird of this size and intelligence it is like saying you will live with a perpetual 2 to 3 year old child for the rest of the birds life.

i hope some of this helps you out.

This is a common issue. These birds are used to mating and nesting.

Seasonally they can become moody and territorial. You will definately need to remove the toy to bond with this bird. When your bird attacks the toy it is saying to the toy fly away to safety I will defend the nest. When it attacks you it is saying I will drive out any interlopers from our nest. In removing the toy you will eliminate this. You MUST then begin to work with this bird OUTSIDE of the cage. Remove the bird by placing your hand if possible (never use gloves) or a perch if needed under it and commanding UP. Do this for no more than 10 minutes if you are unsuccessful in removing the bird from its cage this way you will need to take a break and keep trying until you are successful. Any movement in the right direction should be met immediately with much praise some clapping (also called a bridge) and then a reward something really quick like a shelled sunflower seed. Once out of the cage have an area ready out of sight of its cage were you can have the bird go up and down off your hand or perch onto a standing perch each time saying clearly UP or DOWN then praising bridging and rewarding. Talk to your bird constantly while you do all of the above. The only catch to all of this is that some birds become bonded to a single human resulting in the same scenario you now have with the toy happening to YOU. You will be bitten and commanded to fly away by the bird if it feels that you or both of you are in danger from another person or animal. Crazy you say, well welcome to the world of Parrots. Luckily Conures are usually pretty mild and can not bite as hard as some of the bigger birds. Also remember that he who holds the highest perch rules the roost. Make sure your bird's eye is below your chin level at all times while in sight. This means when you are sitting on a couch you must lower your bird or they will feel dominate to you and responsible for the protection of the flock. You should not allow your bird to be on your shoulder or it will again be given the role of leader there, and this can lead to some pretty nasty bites to your face. Birds in the wild bite each other frequently to communicate but these bites do not injure or harm them physically or emotionally.

You should read a magazine called Bird talk it will teach you many of these techniques and more. With proper training your bird can do many things like: wave and say hello on command. Play ball, ride a bike etc... it all starts with small steps that you praise bridge, reward and repeat in other word to get your bird to put its head in your hand on command you would hold out your hand and say PUT YOUR HEAD IN MY HAND and when it makes the slightest move towards your hand praise bridge and reward then you keep doing it until it goes further and further until you get the finished result you want. To get your bird to wave on command tap its foot while saye WAVE and when it lifts its foot praise bridge and reward. Just remember to keep the sessions short to keep the bird interested and ALWAYS end on a positive note.

Good Luck Regards, Steve

A lot of birds are very territorial of their cages. What you should do it stick train this bird. Get a perch are use it to get the bird out of the cage. Is the bird okay once you get him out of the cage???

Time and patience are the the keys here.