Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby Rebecca1987 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:54 am

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum so I apologise if this post turns up in the wrong place.
I got two green cheek conures about 3 months ago. They are about 6 months old now.
There is a confident yellow sided (Zennor), and a shy gc called pebble. Both were hand reared and stepped up when we got them (although they'd already been through one home and sold back to the pet shop).

They've been settling in really well, and are hilarious little companions.
Zennor rushes out of he cage and demands to step up as soon as the door is open. Pebble comes out on her own (nb - "her" is purely speculation, they're not sexed). Zennor also flies across the room to you whenever you try to leave he (v clingy). Zennor has always been the boss and a bit nippy, so I'm wary when she goes to investigate a finger in great detail etc.

Both birds take bits of seed as training rewards from our fingers without issue, however - if you try and give zennor anything else (fruit/nutriberry etc) she'll go for the fingers and bite hard, despite clearly wanting the treat! I tried to give her something on my palm - same thing, a hard bite to the palm that drew blood. Does anyone have any idea why she's doing this? Why can she take a seed but nothing else?
She and pebble are best buds but I have also noticed that occasionally pebble squeals when they're preening each other, like zennor might be a bit rough. Sometimes zennor rips out one of pebbles downy feathers during preening too, or goes for her when there is competition for a treat.

Any insight from gcc owners would be much appreciated!

Thanks, Rebecca :gcc: :gcc:
Rebecca1987
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Green cheek conures
Flight: No

Re: Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby Pajarita » Fri Nov 03, 2017 12:41 pm

Welcome to the forum! Before we can make a suggestion, we need to know more details like diet [detailed in terms of items they actually eat and not only what they are offered and the times when this is done], light schedule and quality and daily routines because the thing about GCCs is that they are very sensitive to protein [they are mainly fruit eaters in the wild] and they are extremely needy birds [I actually put them at a par with cockatoos!] and anything 'off' in their care ends up with them being nippy and/or screaming and/or plucking. They are the sweetest things when they get what they need but they can turn into little monsters when they don't :D

One more thing, I don't know what type of training you are doing, how or when but your birds are not even sexually mature yet and although you can work on things like stepping up and down and recall which are things that come naturally to a bird bonded to a human, any other training is not really recommended until they are adults and then under specific conditions.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby Navre » Fri Nov 03, 2017 7:59 pm

By GCC was a little nippy around that age, too. Now she is about four and she only bites if I put my phone to my ear. She hates that phone and will bit the hand holding it, or my neck, or my ear.
Navre
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 1909
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise Green Cheek Conure
Hooded Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby liz » Sat Nov 04, 2017 9:42 am

Until they learn enough words to explain themselves, biting is their only way of telling you something is wrong. Before a human can talk, babies cry to try to explain themselves.
User avatar
liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

Re: Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby Pajarita » Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:17 am

Navre wrote:By GCC was a little nippy around that age, too. Now she is about four and she only bites if I put my phone to my ear. She hates that phone and will bit the hand holding it, or my neck, or my ear.


:lol: I don't know what it is they think that phones are but they ALL hate them!
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Green cheek conure bites when giving her a treat?

Postby liz » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:04 am

It makes me think it was teased with food. Jake the Boxer used to let me put his food down then jump at my neck. I had to be really fast and just put it down right inside the gate so I could protect myself with the gate. Some one had been starving him and then teasing him with food.

We have come a long way and I let him run free in the yard instead of a kennel. He no longer jumped at me. I made the mistake of picking up his bone and got a on tooth bite from him. He scared himself more than he scared me. He ran to his dog house to hide. I never made a noise and just put the bone down outside his house.
The next day I gave him a cookie and he told me he would never bite me again. He took the cookie and let it drop then looked at me. He was asking me to pick it up so he could show me.

He has recovered from his abuse. I wonder what was done to the bird.
User avatar
liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes


Return to Taming & Basic Training

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests

Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store