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Need help with my Sun Conure

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Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby badaddidudeslady » Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:37 pm

I've had my 5 year old Sun Conure Boo almost a year now and we go just about everywhere together. Lately he has become very disturbed with out of the blue things like a pill bottle or whatever he decides at that moment he hates with a passion and will bite me so hard he immediately draws blood. He doesn't like fingers much and had to do with his past I'm sure but he gets a little more comfortable as time goes on. He always uses step up when he has to poop though and lets me know when it's time with a little nip on my ear.
I have tried working on his bites when getting him used to stepping up but the last week or so his 3 severe bites have made me quite leery of touching him at all with my hands. it's sad because he loves getting scratches all around his neck and head and playing together. I doubt he understands why I won't touch him at the moment. I have tried showing no emotion from his lighter bites but there's no way I cannot react to the pain of a total chomp.
He has been known to attack someone too close to me but only happened a few times in the year I've had him, but a few times is too many since he was not provoked in any way at the time. He does draw blood then too.
Just so you know he is only IN his cage when I have to go somewhere without him and is in his bedtime cage only for sleep. He does hang out on his cage but doesn't really play with his toys and would rather be on my shoulder. I am retired so he gets a lot of attention from me as well as my husband.
I have always thought it may be a hormonal thing and protecting his mama.
I have never been very good at training any pet because I am too easy and know I am not helping them at all if I'm not consistent. It's also tough when your husband lets him get away with anything and won't go along with anything I try to do as he is afraid Boo will lose any affection my husband has worked hard to gain from Boo which hates everybody.

Is this kind of biting normal for a Sun. Conure? Is there some way I can nip it in the bud before he gets the idea that it's acceptable?
Thanks for any info you can give me on this and my apologies it is so long. I figured a little back ground can help although his past before me may be a factor in his behavior as well.
badaddidudeslady
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 4
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Sun Conure
Flight: No

Re: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby Wolf » Thu Oct 13, 2016 7:34 am

Hi and welcome to the forum. I noticed that you had posted in two places so I waited until I read both posts before deciding to respond to either of them, just in case it would be easier to answer in just one place. So I am answering here and welcoming you to the forum here as well, I hope you don't mind.

In both of your posts Boo's biting appears to be the major concern and there are many possibilities for why he is behaving in this manner. Some of his biting may be related to his previous treatment, some could be related to his bonding, some could be related to his diet and/ or lighting schedules. In my opinion from what little I gathered from both of your posts your bird is biting for several of these reasons and that means among other things that there is no one single answer that will solve this issue. In addition to all of the above things there is also the matter of personality that must be taken into account and there is real no cure or solving things of this nature, while you may be able over a period of time get it to tone down a little bit biting issues that are related to their personality are likely something that you will need to live with and learn how to work around as best as you can.

Sun Conures are one of the most beautiful birds there is to look at, in my opinion, and they will usually both amaze and amuse you for hours on end with their antic and exhuberence for life. But the downside to Sun Conures is that they also have a aggressive side to their personality, or so it seems with most of them. This is nearly always increased if the bird is hormonal due to it being mating season, molting season, or if the bird is hormonal due to being on a human light schedule or due to a diet that is too rich in protein, fats or carbs, The male is also usually more aggressive than the female as it is his job to defend the nesting area as well as his mate and offspring.

Like many parrot species, including Conures, they are monogamous in nature and will only bond to one person at a time and although they may tolerate other humans as flock members they tend to be protective and jealous of their special human. Some of them will not accept other humans at all and will attack anyone that they deem to be a threat to their human whom they perceive pretty much the same as they would perceive their mate. In fact that is the bond that the adult bird develops with its human a mate bond. If your bird sees you having physical contact with another person, it is very likely to see that person as a threat and attack them if given the chance. They do this to drive this other person away from their mate and if they can not get to the intruder then it may attack its own human in the attempt to get them to move away from the other person. This behavior is natural and is one that you are not likely to cure so you will need to recognize it for what it is and learn to work with and around it.

You can lessen the amount of aggressiveness that a parrot naturally displays by making certain that they are kept to a natural solar light schedule making certain that they get the full benefit of the light that occurs at the two twilight periods of dawn and dusk without the interference of any artificial lighting during these times. And you can also reduce the aggressiveness of the parrot by feeding it an appropriate diet that is not too rich especially in protein. These two things can help as they are the two main things relating to the birds production of hormones. The lighting is because parrots are photoperiodic and this is what normally triggers the production of hormones thereby controlling the time of the mating season, and the hormones are made from protein and if the level of protein is too high the bird will produce more hormones and even continue to produce them when mating season is over. Another factor that can help is not clipping your birds wings as flying is the only form of exercise for a bird that can reduce the amount of hormones in the blood.

From their biting is a matter of how much the bird trusts you and a matter of training. I never try to hide it if one of my birds bite me hard enough to hurt or to draw blood. I always react as if it hurts because it does and then I tell them to be gentle or no bite and will put them down right away and refuse to interact with them for a short period of time so that they begin to realise that if they bite me that they can't be on me and that I will ignore them. Now it is also a good idea to learn to read their body language as it can help you to avoid getting bitten although not always. Still if you know that your bird is excited then you know not to touch it until it calms down and you can often see this is their body language. Distraction can be useful to keep a bird from biting you so if you see that your bird is about to bite you could distract it from this by using a stuffed toy, a piece of paper or even a noise, whatever works. It is always better to avoid getting bitten and believe it that not getting bitten is by far the best way to teach your bird to not bite.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby badaddidudeslady » Thu Oct 13, 2016 12:19 pm

Thank you wolf for responding and giving me so much information. I have went to many sites listed google to learn about Sun Conures but I must say, you gave me more info than all of them put together. You certainly know your birds.
My apologies pertaining to my two posts. The first one was just meant as an introduction. I have never posted in a forum before so I am getting double the lessons today. Lol
I have never heard about the lighting before and will definitely be looking into that as well as the protein in his diet.
Knowing I have done quite a few of your suggestions already tells me I am on the right track and knowing his behavior isn't out of the ordinary for his species helps me understand him more. I totally understand what you said about his turning on me if I don't back away from what he deems a threat to me. My husband has been telling me that for quite sometime but it didn't make sense to me until now.
Thanks again for your quick response and for all the info. I learned quite a lot and I think it will help my relationship with my Boo.
badaddidudeslady
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 4
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Sun Conure
Flight: No

Re: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby Wolf » Fri Oct 14, 2016 9:23 am

Actually, although I am accustomed to doing a lot of research, ( have been slipping on that due to health issues) I am a relative new comer to the world of parrots. I tried to be a bit more species specific in my reply to you, but the truth is that most of what I shared could be applied equally to most species of parrots. There are many areas where what works with one parrot or with one species of parrot will hold true for most of them, there are also areas where what works for one parrot will not work for the next parrot even when they are of the same species. I think that this is because of their individual personalities and also a function of their unique level of intelligence that gives rise to their different personalities,. It is in many ways the same with humans, what helps one may only confuse another one so it takes time to learn the individual well enough to learn what helps them the most. There are several people here that know much more than I do and although I am happy that I am able to help your bird make more sense to you, I am hoping that some of the more knowledgeable and experienced member will join in on this conversation and listen and share with you.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby badaddidudeslady » Fri Oct 14, 2016 1:10 pm

I just wrote a lengthy reply and lost it when my tablet went bonkers. I have to start my day and will attempt a reply again later.
I will say you have actually helped more than you know, even if it wasn't as species specific and more of a generalization. It gave me my confidence back that what I was doing to train my Boo, contrary to what I was reading elsewhere, may actually work and won't alter or destroy Boo or his personality. I was beginning to think, from what I was reading, that even though a bird has a high intelligence, it doesn't necessarily mean it understands emotion and if not done in such a way can affect it adversely. A few sites actually told me not to even try certain methods as they would not work, yet they seem to be working for me. I was questioning my intelligence after reading some of the crap I googled on species specific sites. Lol
Reading some of your experiences gave me back my confidence that I'm not going to hurt Boo by trying different methods to find one that works.
I feel much better knowing he is normal and we just have to work on a few areas and takes a little time, effort and a little more learning on my part. Knowing he isn't going to mentally break because I treat him in such a way because he is an intelligent being and does understand simple emotions and what reactions he can expect from his actions.
My apologies. The reply I lost made a lot more sense than this but I have no time to rephrase. I think you get my point.
Thanks again and I hope your health problems improve soon. I am thankful to be on the mend and pray my health issues are forever behind me.
badaddidudeslady
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 4
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Sun Conure
Flight: No

Re: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby liz » Fri Oct 14, 2016 3:15 pm

Welcome to the forum.

I have two Amazons who have opposite personalities. What works with one does not fly with the other.

My Cockatiels have different personalities but don't cause the trouble that Rambo and Myrtle do.

I ignored the bites when I first got them thinking it was just adjustment time. After that I would say owe to let them know it hurt. The only severe bites were when they were in trouble and used me as leverage to pull themselves free. I don't make a noise at that time since they are already upset. There was one day that Myrtle was really bad and would fly past me and bite on the way. I don't know what was going through her little bird brain but I was ready to clip (which I don't believe in). Wolf and the others calmed me down. The next day she was lovey again.

Twice Myrtle and once Rambo would not go to their sleeping place no matter what I did. I gave up and let them sleep with me and it was okay the next day. They could have had a belly ach or head ach or just remembered something scarey from their past. They are like children who don't have enough words to explain themselves.
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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: Need help with my Sun Conure

Postby Pajarita » Sat Oct 15, 2016 12:02 pm

May I ask for a couple of specific examples on these methods that you read did not work but are working for you? The reason I ask is that there are flooding techniques that work in the beginning but never work in the long run because they end up either breaking the bird's spirit or making the bird dislike you profoundly...
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


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