Why is my baby conure biting me all of a sudden?

[faeclarinet]

Hello, I adopted a baby pineapple GCC last Thursday and this whole last week he's been progressing really well and allowing me to pet and hold him, with a few nips here and there, but now today all of a sudden, he is being mr. grumpy feathers.

He isn't wanting to step up from his cage like he was every other day. Today he just looks at my finger like he's thinking about if he should or not. Then when he is out, he keeps biting me when I try and pick him up off of the chair back or play the step up game.

Does anyone know why he might be behaving this way?

It's kind of frustrating me to be having problems so soon after taking him home, but I won't let it discourage me!

[Saerphe]

It's probably because his surroundings are still so new. A lot of birds are so mild-mannered when they first arrive home because they're nervous and have no idea how to respond to all the new, unfamiliar stimuli, so they kind of just let everything happen and are very cooperative. After being in their new home for a few days, they start to lose their nervousness, but still don't really trust their surroundings or their new people.

I had pretty much the same problem when I brought my own GCC home earlier this summer. The very first day she was really quiet and cooperative, and on the second day I couldn't handle her at all because she'd bite hard enough to draw blood. The problem was that I was way overeager to be super-best-buddies-forever right away... which is scary and off-putting for other humans, let alone for a little bird.

Mostly it takes time. You really have to let the bird set the pace when it comes to bonding, while also setting reasonable boundaries for behaviour - things like preening and gentle mouthing are okay, but nipping and biting are not. With Akimi, if she preens too hard or nips I remind her to 'be gentle'. If she keeps doing it, or escalates to biting I put her down on her play gym or cage (but I don't necessarily shut her in). It's not a punishment, just a statement of 'if you bite me, I don't want you on me'. She can then go and blow off steam by playing by herself.

Likewise, your bird also has to be allowed to set boundaries with you. If they don't want to be petted, they'll let you know by moving away or making unhappy noises, or by nipping. Akimi's still nippy, especially if I do something with her that she doesn't like, but she doesn't nip hard enough to cause pain. I also don't force her to step up out of her cage if she doesn't want to come out. I'll present my finger and ask her if she wants to come out. If she doesn't move to step up, I'll leave the cage door open and sit nearby so she can decide to come out on her own. She also gets a treat when I put her away, and I don't usually have much trouble getting her back in her cage.

If she's perched somewhere I don't want her to be (mainly the back of the futon... she likes to climb around on the back of the frame, and I don't want her there in case she gets smushed), I'm more insistent about asking. I try not to chase her around with my finger so much, because that's annoying for everyone. If she steps up, she gets praised (and maybe a treat). If she really adamantly refuses, I just carefully pick her up like an ice cream cone (even if she bites) and put her back somewhere she's supposed to be. She hates when I pick her up like that, so she prefers to just choose to step up instead so she doesn't have to suffer the indignity. Usually I just try to keep an eye on her when she's out and prevent her from going where I don't want her to go in the first place.

We actually had a rough start when I first got her. I was often frustrated with how grouchy she was with me, and I think she was likewise frustrated with me for trying to make her like and trust me when she wasn't ready to do either. One of the things that helped remind me to take my time and keep trying to work things out with her was reminding myself that I'd basically ripped her away from everything and everyone she ever loved and put her in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, never to see her old home and owners again. Keeping that kind of empathy and compassion for how traumatic the experience was for her really helped me keep my patience in those early days.

Since we've been working together to set up mutual boundaries and learn how to communicate effectively, she's gotten much better. She's happy to play by herself on her cage or on a nearby stand, or to sit quietly with me (for short periods... she has a lot of energy and short attention span) and basically be a near-constant companion, rather than being a shrieky, bitey, nightmare velcro bird. She's still a little bit moody from time to time, but she's gentler and more affectionate than she was those first few weeks.

And on the off chance your GCC isn't just trying to figure out how things are supposed to work in his new home, it could just be that he's having a bad day. Birds are just like people in that way... they might have a super cheery and friendly personality most days, but they can still have bad days where they get grouchy and don't want to deal with anyone.

[faeclarinet]

Wow thank you for the reply. It's good to hear that his behavior is "normal".

I am excited to develop a bond with him. He already contact calls me when he's in his cage and tries to follow me everywhere when he's out of his cage, even if I walk 2 feet away. I already know I"ll have my hands full with this cutie!

[Wolf]

With having been with you for only a week, you are pushing too hard to be his friend and destroying the very trust that you are trying to build and earn from him, He is trying to let you know how he feels about what you are asking but you are not listening to him and so he resorts to biting in self defense. Trying to tell you that he is not ready for this or that. Watch his body position and how his feathers lay on his body because like most animals most of his communication is through body language. Take your time with asking anything of him as there is plenty of time for training after you gain his trust and start building a good relationship, Right now he needs lots of time with you just hanging out and he needs lots of affection and reassurance.

[Pajarita]

Wow thank you for the reply. It's good to hear that his behavior is "normal".

I am excited to develop a bond with him. He already contact calls me when he's in his cage and tries to follow me everywhere when he's out of his cage, even if I walk 2 feet away. I already know I"ll have my hands full with this cutie!

No, no, you misunderstood. The behavior is, most definitely, NOT normal. Hand-fed babies never bite unless they are really, REALLY pushed into it and the only way this could happen is by you doing something wrong. I don't know what it is because I am not there watching your interactions with the baby but I can tell you that the most likely cause is your presuming on a relationship that, as far as the baby is concerned, doesn't exist. So, slow down and stop asking or expecting anything from the little baby. This is the time for you to establish a bond and that means loving, cuddling for hours and hours and, although I don't know how old the baby is, it most likely also means soft food and handfeeding.

[faeclarinet]

Wow thank you for the reply. It's good to hear that his behavior is "normal".

I am excited to develop a bond with him. He already contact calls me when he's in his cage and tries to follow me everywhere when he's out of his cage, even if I walk 2 feet away. I already know I"ll have my hands full with this cutie!

No, no, you misunderstood. The behavior is, most definitely, NOT normal. Hand-fed babies never bite unless they are really, REALLY pushed into it and the only way this could happen is by you doing something wrong. I don't know what it is because I am not there watching your interactions with the baby but I can tell you that the most likely cause is your presuming on a relationship that, as far as the baby is concerned, doesn't exist. So, slow down and stop asking or expecting anything from the little baby. This is the time for you to establish a bond and that means loving, cuddling for hours and hours and, although I don't know how old the baby is, it most likely also means soft food and handfeeding.

I am sorry, but I think you misunderstand. He is not really a baby baby bird. He is not eating soft food or being hand fed. I have not pushed him to do anything besides learning to step up, which he learned really fast and easily. Why do you assume I am doing something to push him? All I was saying is that the first week, he was excited to come out of his cage, he would step onto his door and then wait for me to come over and he would step up onto my hand. He always does his goofy bobbing dance when he wants me to pick him up. I am saying that, while holding him, he will just randomly bite me now. I have attached a rope from his cage over to his play stand so he can now walk himself from his cage, and he chooses to come to me or not.

[Wolf]

May I ask how old this bird is? You have said that you have had him for a week, but we don't know how old he is. There are generally certain behaviors that are species specific and this is what Pajarita is going by since there is not much else to go by. I wonder if the bird is actually biting or if it is just beaking. The two are very similar in how they appear although very different in intent and causes. One is a learned behavior while the other is quite natural and usually age dependent to a large degree.
Biting is done out of fear such as in self defense or to prevent things from being done to it that it doesn't want done to it, and normally comes about from the bird not being able to get the human to understand what the bird is trying to tell the human.
Beaking looks like biting but it is really just one of the ways that the bird explores and learns about its environment including its humans. While the bird is beaking it is not uncommon for it to sometimes apply too much pressure to a human resulting in the behavior being confused with actual biting.

[faeclarinet]

May I ask how old this bird is? You have said that you have had him for a week, but we don't know how old he is. There are generally certain behaviors that are species specific and this is what Pajarita is going by since there is not much else to go by. I wonder if the bird is actually biting or if it is just beaking. The two are very similar in how they appear although very different in intent and causes. One is a learned behavior while the other is quite natural and usually age dependent to a large degree.
Biting is done out of fear such as in self defense or to prevent things from being done to it that it doesn't want done to it, and normally comes about from the bird not being able to get the human to understand what the bird is trying to tell the human.
Beaking looks like biting but it is really just one of the ways that the bird explores and learns about its environment including its humans. While the bird is beaking it is not uncommon for it to sometimes apply too much pressure to a human resulting in the behavior being confused with actual biting.

He is somewhere under a year old. I don't really know much more because I adopted him from someone that bought him at a pet store.

[Wolf]

Since GCC's can mature in their first year it is also possible that this is the beginnings of puberty for him, but it is difficult to know for sure without knowing his age.
Now if this is the start of puberty then it is important for his well being to feed a low protein diet and to put him on the same light schedule as the birds outside are on naturally. This is referred to as a solar light schedule.
This is important as these are the main controls that you have to help him through his hormonal phases such as during breeding season and to keep him from being hormonal the rest of the year. A hormonal bird is also more aggressive and more likely to bite.

[Pajarita]

I am sorry, but I think you misunderstand. He is not really a baby baby bird. He is not eating soft food or being hand fed. I have not pushed him to do anything besides learning to step up, which he learned really fast and easily. Why do you assume I am doing something to push him? All I was saying is that the first week, he was excited to come out of his cage, he would step onto his door and then wait for me to come over and he would step up onto my hand. He always does his goofy bobbing dance when he wants me to pick him up. I am saying that, while holding him, he will just randomly bite me now. I have attached a rope from his cage over to his play stand so he can now walk himself from his cage, and he chooses to come to me or not.

I was going by what you had posted: "I adopted a baby pineapple GCC last Thursday" but, if the bird is 1 year old, he is not a baby. Does it have a band? If so, it should have the year the baby was born. You can also ask the previous owner for the hatching certificate (petstores always give you one).

In any case, what you describe (the biting for no apparent reason while on your hand) is because he doesn't yet trust you so, if I were you, I would spend more time bonding with him WITHOUT giving him the opportunity to bite me (like using a Tstick to move him, long sleeves, etc) because you don't want to teach him that it's OK to do this but, at the same time, you don't want to stop interacting with him because it will just make him bite you even more. It's hard to find a balance with GCCs that bite because they NEED to be on you for, at least, 2 hours a day -although I personally think that only GCCs (meaning no other bird as a companion to them) actually need more like 4 hours of one-on-one. They are needy little things...