HELP AND ADVISE PLEASE

[SabrinaVirgo]

Please please please help me everyone, anyone!!!

I am a first time bird owner (never owned any kind of bird in MY LIFE). I truly love all animals but I feel confused, self conscious in my training and scared a little bit.

I have a 5 months old Female Green Cheek Conure who I have had for over over 1 month!!! She is cute, silly and unpredictable.

She will let me pet her head while she is in the cage, through the cage. When she is out sometimes (and I mean sometimes) she will let me pet her head and back and belly. Honestly most of the time she just bites, bites and bites. Also she always always always has to be on me. She can never just stay there alone and chill for a bit. She always has to be on me. It makes me nervous that she always wants to be on me and bites everything.

I always and ONLY wear sweaters around her when I pick her up or have her on me. I refuse to let her have access to my skin. I terribly hate hate hate the biting and I can't control my reaction when she does bite me. Is that bad that I always wear sweater? Frankly even though I am asking about the sweater thing, I am really not going to change that until my bird STOPS biting.

She eats lots and lots of fruits and veggies and oats mixes from Avian Organics. However she won't eat any veggies!!! She just wont!!! She doesn't even like bananas. But she does love cherries and blueberries and oh yes of coarse sunflower seeds!!!

My boyfriend comes over 1 a week to help me train her better (two people easier). Also my boyfriend is not at all scared of her and he is extremely gentle with her. He has extremely rough and tough hands that when my bird is biting him really hard he feels NOTHING!!! I am extremely jealous of him for this reason.

All in all I need help! I don't know what I am doing.... I feel like giving up! I love my bird but I am scared of my bird. I do take my bird out everyday but sometimes not for long because I am so nervous and he always wants to be on me!!!

[Michael]

Sounds like you have a lot of different issues and it's impossible to explain all facets of parrot ownership here. Please check out my book and my blog and see what advice others might have to offer.

[Pajarita]

It seems that you bit more than you can chew and you might be one of those people who simply cannot deal with birds (not everybody is a bird person). GCCs are only bitey when they are not handled properly or very often but a month is not anywhere near enough for her to have bonded with you and she is still growing and developing (not only physically but also emotionally) so you shouldn't be even attempting to train yet. You are, most likely, flooding her (insisting on training and pushing for results) and she is very unhappy with you because all she wants to do right now (as any baby would) is just be near you and cuddle.

And yes, all GCCs want to be on their humans all the time (didn't you read about them before you purchased her?). That's the way they all are and you can't change a bird's nature.

Don't worry so much about the vegetables, she will eat them in time, just keep on putting them there for her to eat. They are mostly fruit eaters in the wild and mine consume a huge amount of fruit compared to their small size so, as long as she is eating her fruits, it's not too bad. Mine also like certain veggies a lot, like cherry tomatoes, corn on the cob, baked sweet potatoes, cooked and diced carrots, sweet peas, celery, etc.

Reacting to a bite is OK. I've never believed the 'don't show you are hurt' crap that most birdsites harp about all the time. It makes no sense to me, I've never used it and I've had parrots for over 20 years and have successfully tamed birds that were supposed to have been aggressive but turned out to be just parrots who were not treated right.

Now, the key is to avoid bites and you do that by:
1. learning to read their body language correctly so you don't put yourself in a situation where the bird will react.
2. interacting with the bird the most propitious times of the day which are after breakfast and before dinner but, sometimes, they get upset if you don't let them out as soon as they wake up with dawn and will get a bit bitey from it (mine did so I just opened their cage door while it was beginning to get light and picked them up when they 'told' me they were ready for it)
3. using props until you know they won't bite you (like a stick instead of your finger for them to perch on or a towel wrapped around your neck so they can't bite it when on your shoulder)
4. not antagonizing the bird. Successful parrot keepers have learned (most of us the hard way) that, when it comes to parrots, obedience training (like you would for a dog) doesn't really work and that we need to adjust to them instead of them adjusting to us so, if the bird doesn't want to step up, don't ask again. Leave her alone, talk/sing to her, offer her a treat and wait until she is ready to do it.

[cml]

Everything in this post is written with the best of intentions, and I mean no offense to you but only want to help you.

BUT I feel that I may have made a huge mistake on this one and I may not want to keep her if there is no improvement.

Please dont give her up, she doesnt deserve that kind of treatment. You need to take a hold of yourself, be disciplined and work your way through the situation. If you are willing, the forum will be here to help you along the way. Make posts about separate problems, and deal with them one by one - dont try to do everything at once. Correcting bad behaviour can be a process that takes months.

You will also need to learn to accept that it isnt your bird that is behaving badly, its YOU that have taught it to act in a bad way. This has happened by unwittingly reinforcing negative behaviour. Search Michaels blog for more info on this, also look up an article on rewarding bad behaviour.

Actually, I would reccommend you to work your way through ALL articles, as it seems you need to do more research. Set a realistic goal and read one a day.

A few quick comments on the biting:

I terribly hate hate hate the biting and I can't control my reaction when she does bite me.

You really need to, otherwise you will never get control of the biting situation. You need to remain calm, if necassary remove your hand but DONT pull it back fast, yell or hurt your parrot to get it off you.
This will only worsen the situation.

My boyfriend comes over 1 a week to help me train her better (two people easier). Also my boyfriend is not at all scared of her and he is extremely gentle with her. He has extremely rough and tough hands that when my bird is biting him really hard he feels NOTHING!!! I am extremely jealous of him for this reason.

I would train with one person at the time. As I wrote above, you need to learn to deal with the bites regardless of pain and/or blood. We had a biting situation with Stitch about a year ago (maybe more) and it took TIME, BLOOD and alot of PAIN to get through it. Biting situations are hard to deal with as the behaviour is hard to untrain. You reinforce good behaviour, and ignore bad.

She always has to be on me.

This too can be untrained, but its a long process.

PLEASE STICK AROUND, dont leave the forums because you feel it will be a hard process or that you feel offended by something someone here writes. Most people only want the very best for you and your parrot.

Ive seen too many new members disappear when things get tough, and I dread to know what happened to those poor parrots .

[Ardeotis]

From your post it seems that you may have not done enough research before getting her. Despite that not all hope is lost. The previous poster mentioned ignoring the biting and they're right. You're going to have to ignore it. It's going to suck but it will be worth it it the long run.

You're also expecting too much too soon. You didn't specify what kind of training you're doing, but the only command she should be learning now is step up. Other commands and training can wait. Parrots are smart and everything doesn't have to happen right away. Also she needs to be bonding with you and training with you. It doesn't happen with every parrot species, but a lot take to the opposite sex. Meaning she may start bonding with your boyfriend because he's male and not afraid of her. You've had her only a short while but you should be the one bonding with her during these early stages.

Back to the biting. I get that you don't want to be bit. That's totally understandable however that's part of parrot ownership. Your bird is frustrated because you're frustrated. They're super smart and pick up on body language. You have to try to be calm and ignore the biting. Don't hesitate. If you hesitate that only gives them a chance to bite. My Sun Conure was very nippy when I got him and I got bit every time I took him out of his cage. But I made him step up every time I wanted him out of his cage regardless of how hard he bit. It took less than two weeks to stop the biting. I've had him a while now and I've never had a biting problem since. I realize its easier said than done to change how you project yourself but its so worth it when you get there. Green Cheeks can be super sweet birds and yours is a baby so you have everything on your side. Just don't hesitate or pull back. Work through it. It is possible. Promise.

As for the food pickiness - don't sweat that too much. She'll come round. I adopted an adult Ducorps Cockatoo a while back and up until the day she died she was absolutely terrified of every kind of food except pellets. I had no choice but to feed her pellets otherwise she'd starve. I tried and tried but she was just afraid of other food. I believe its bad habits she picked up when she was young. Your conure is a baby and if you keep feeding her the right food she won't pick up bad habits. Don't worry about that too much.

I hope some of this helps. I'm new to the forum but have had birds for years and work with birds for a living. Don't give up on your baby. Having birds can be very rewarding and fun!

[SabrinaVirgo]

@ardetis
@cml
@anyone helping me

Thank you soooo much for the advise!
I will try my best.

I always say 'UP' when I pick her up or move her anywhere. This way she knows I want her to move when I say those words.

Also every time I enter the room where the cage it set up I say "HI" or "HELLO". Also when I leave I say "BYE". And when it's bed time I say "GOODNIGHT".

Right before I give her a treat I say "TREAT" then I say "goodgirl".

Most important when she bites I say "NO BITING" or just "NO DONT".

She is not terrirorial with her cage which is a huge bonus!!! She comes when I say her name "BOOGIE".

I always wear sweaters around her and will continue to wear them. I am just such a baby when she bites. I never let her access my hands (only my sweater as they cover my hands). Is that really bad what I am doing???

[Ardeotis]

Continue to work with her and when she bites less start letting her have access to your hands. The sweater might be scaring her and making her more inclined to bite though. She knows what your hands look like, but whenever you want to touch her or be near her your hands are covered with a scary new thing (the sweater). Birds are prey animals and act as such. I can't know your situation 100%, but it is possible the sweater is scary to her and it makes her want to bite.

Don't give up on her. The best advice I can give you is to keep working with and work up to the point that you don't have to use a sweater. She's a baby and she wants to be near you. Just keep working with her and work on that bond with her. The talking and routine is good for them so keep that up. You can do this.

[SabrinaVirgo]

Thank you so much everyone for the great advice!

My baby Female GCC is a real cutie and she is a sweetheart.
I consider myself lucky as she is 5 months old and not at all territorial with her cage.
Also I can hand feed her with treats and fruits.

Boogie let's me pet her on the head and neck and stomach when she is cuddly. When is NOT I definitely see her body language showing me this.

I will slowly stop covering my hands with my sweater. Slowly I show her my hands sometimes and when I see her try to bite I put something to eat or play with in her mouth. I will have to be very patient. Slowlyyy take away my sweater.... *** I always show her my hands when I hand feed her and when I pet her, it's only when she is on me.

OH one of the AWESOME parts - she is learning to be independent and not clingy. I love her so much and I give her positive attention and little cuddles when she does let me. But I am trying to train her to not always except to be on me. OH and I never let her on my head or my shoulder (trying to avoid domination lol). For someone who was very worried and never had a bird and doesn't really have a high tolerance of pain I am proud of myself and by baby GCC Boogie.

[Nina]

I think having a baby bird is wonderful. It is so exciting. Just think you can teach it the things you want from it. Remember like any baby, young child, they will test the limits which you have to set. You as the parent need to take control of the situation and not allow the bird to sense your fears. Like a child the bird will learn through discipline-l don't mean beat it to death! Remember it is a flock animal and being out of the flock means that you get eaten. You are the flock. I have found that with Betty, my 5 year old VERY NAUGHTY AND SPOILT Senegal Parrot that this has worked. When she gets out of hand I will put her back in her cage and just walk away. Also being stern with them. A gentle beak tap with your index finger helps. They will try and bite it to show you who's boss.

Just a few tips

Good Luck
Nina

[William]

She always has to be on me.

If I were you, I would use this to my advantage. Let her be on you, but when she bites, put her back in her cage. Then keep doing this until she understands that biting = going back in cage. On the other hand, when she doesn't bite for a while, give her a treat like millet spray or whatever she likes. If you really love her, you will work with her.

Good luck! I wish you all the best, and I hope you guys can become best buddies. Remember, parrots basically live forever, so you have plenty of time to train your bird to do whatever you want, lol.

*Squawks and flies away*