parrot attacking my children ????

[kadeloveless]

So i havent had a parrot before but we bought a blue throat conure from the pet shop the other day, his around 12 weeks old and fairly tame although since getting him home has turned to biting a fair bit, which isnt what worries me to much its that when we put him on the floor an my children are near he charges towards them and attacks.
Im wondering where abouts i can buy a clicker to start clicker training him? But after the reading i have done dont completely understand how it will stop him from biting?
In the mean time i have tried to get my eldest daughter to feed him treats but he still ruffles his feathers and seems displeased?
im not sure why he doesnt like the children they havent been close enough to really scare or hurt him at all so any help would be muchly appreciated

[pennyandrocky]

hello, it's only been a couple of days he's probably just scared it takes time for them to adjust to a new home. do your children make fast movements toward him and scream when he bites?my son is 6 and was born with birds and i still hae to remind him that he has to move slowly around mine.are you planning on allowing flight because that helps too.putting him on he floor is not a good idea he should have a perch up where he feels more secure.think about it your in a new place with new people and have no defense except biting.

[marie83]

Not sure where you are but most, if not all pet shops sell clickers over here. If not they can be purchased online.
The clicker will not stop him biting, training him will give him other things to focus his mind on and I feel it encourages bonds to form or become stronger as the trust builds up. I also think it helps to build a mutual respect.
When your bird bites do not create a drama, this will only serve to encourage the behaviour. The key is to read your birds body language and to react according to why the bite happened in the first place. Basicly if the birds wanting attention and it bites you to get it you need to completely ignore what happened other wise you are reinforcing the bite. If the birds displaying behaviour that is wants to be put down, it bites and you put him away, then once again the bite has been reinforced. Now I do believe birds have the right to be left alone in some instances if they want. You need to get to know the body language and prevent that bite from happening in the first place.

What can be suggested you try about your children? I guess that depends on how old they are and how mature they are for their ages. If they are old enough to do so get them researching about parrot behaviour, body language and training. Get them to understand how they behave will reduce or increase attacks by the bird. Get them involved in the training under supervision. If they are not old enough then your just going to have to keep the parrot off of the floor if thats the only place he attacks them.

Alot of clipped birds also bite because they cannot get away from a situation. It is not a birds natural instinct to bite, just to give warnings or move away. Clipped birds bite more because their owners don't try to learn their body language and because they cannot fly away, leaving them with no option but to defend themselves instead. Just another thing to think about, thats not to say flighted birds don't bite because they can.

[liz]

Tell your kids to wear long pants and shoes around him until he is used to everyone. Tell them not to scream and run. With long pants and shoes he cannot hurt them.

[GlassOnion]

Parrots generally don't like children, children move too fast and are usually loud, etc. If your kids run and scream, it's important they stop. Get them to wear long socks and pants, and gently move him away when he tries to attack. Your conure knows that he can get a reaction by attacking.

[liz]

How old are your kids?

Are they brave enough to wear long pants and shoes and just let the bird flog them. If they are after the first few times they will be laughing.

I have two friends who have trouble walking because of age. Rambo used to lay into any man who came in the house. Because my friends did not jump out of the way and run - he gave up. He doesn't do it to any man now exept my son who always makes a fuss.

[LPolliard]

Is he attacking everyone or just your children. Might he be trying to establish a pecking order? With birds I found you have to become an expect body language reader.

[kadeloveless]

thankyou very much for everyones reply, so its been a couple of weeks now an he has settled in a bit more now, i have two children one is very loud, but his settled down an isnt too phased by her any more its actually my youngest 1 year old daughter whos domain is the floor at the moment, an is a very quiet baby.
We dont put birdy on the floor he has a play centre with lots of activities to do, we have taught him a couple of tricks now that we practise every day which i think has helped alot, but i still dont understand or cant work out why he will fly off his play center, perches or high places to get to the floor to attack my 1 year old daughter, he will also climb down my partners arms to attack her, as i said she is very quiet an doesnt jump around so i dont think that he feels scared, she has been biten a fair few times now an am a bit lost as to what to try next to protect her

[dorp]

your daughter has been bitten by the parrot a few times >.>
perhaps it's time to get rid of the parrot entirely?

[Shelby]

Is you parrot clicker and target trained? Try taking them to a neutral place and find the distance at which your bird is comfortable being around the baby, then click and reward when he demonstrates relaxed behavior. Target him a few inches closer, wait for him to be calm, then click and reward. Try not to go too fast and do it in short sessions. The goal is to make him understand that being calm near the baby = good things.

Also, try to read the body language better. If you see he is getting ticked off and thinking about an attack, distract him by cuing a trick or taking him away from the situation.