Conure Biting

[ConureAAA]

Hello, We just brought home our fist ever Green Cheek Conure. He is 3 months old and seems very sweet and wants attention, however... he tends to nip. He does not appear to be nipping out of aggression, it seems more like he is exploring with his beak and will just start to bite a little too hard. I was wondering what I can do to get him to stop biting or if he will just grow out of it as he gets older. I don't mind him exploring his new world with his beak, as long as he is not exploring by biting too hard. I have heard and read many things that claim to make a bird stop biting such as: 1) As soon as they bite you put them in time out, (such as on the floor and then walk away), 2) quickly and slightly drop the hand they are standing on when they bite it to make them stop and eventually they will learn not to bite, 3) As soon as they bite you, hold their beak and say "no bite!" I am hesitant to try any of these methods because I do not know the most effective way to get him to stop biting, and I fear a certain technique might cause him to fear me or my hand. Once again, he is not biting out of aggression, he is just exploring with his beak a little too forcefully. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it, thanks!!

[Michael]

The most effective way to eliminate most beaking behavior is to ignore it. Let them get it out of their systems (they just naturally want to explore). Do not punish the bird. It will only work against you. Seek alternative acceptable behavior through trick training to teach it something to do that isn't biting/nipping/beaking.

Here's an example of why using the cage as punishment is not only ineffective but in fact counterproductive and hurts your relationship.

By ignoring the bad and encouraging the good, over time you make a shift in the parrot's behavior into what could be called a well behaved companion parrot.