What is the best way to stop my conure from nipping?

Question

I have a 3 month old cinnamon-cheeked conure who is an adorable little guy. He is a good bird other then the fact that he has become a little nippy sometimes. What is the best way to teach him not to do this anymore. Sometimes a stern tone telling him no and to be easy works, sometimes not. Any advice from experienced bird owners or breeders would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Nippiness should not be more than a stage a conure goes through. All young want to be chewing on something. Your finger happens to be what is available. Try to distract it buy offering something like a popsicle stick that you keep handy in your pocket. First pry off the beak from the part of your body that it is nipping. Do not scream at it because they love drama and it will only make him do it more. Do not flick them on the beak either. You can hold down his beak gently with your finger and say no or no bite. Once it has stopped wanting to bite you may say Good Boy. You must show it that you are not afraid. If they continue to bite, simply return them to the cage for some time out. Nippiness can occur during sexual maturity, fatigue, molting or anything stressful.....so don't think once it stopped it will never nip again.

Answer 2

He's trying to assert himself. In the wild at about this age young conures begin to compete with siblings to see who is going to be at the top of the pecking order. Since you are his only competition (you are the leader of the flock) this is a natural occurrance. If he nips your hand or fingers, resist the urge to pull away. Instead, push gently towards him, throwing him slightly off balance, both physically and mentally. If he nips at clothing or other parts of the body, place him on his cage or perch, step back a pace or two and show him your wingspan (hold out your arms as if you're about to fly). Continue to use the stern "no!" command. Don't, under ANY circumstances allow him to perch on your shoulder or anywhere at or above your head. This practice, although common, allows the bird to think he's achieved supremacy. The alpha male always roosts on the highest branch in the tree.

Good luck. These little guys can be a handfull but they're wounderful, lifelong companions if you take the time to understand them. Those beaks can exert about three hundred pounds of pressure per square inch (more than enough to crack Brazil nuts) so be careful to avert this before nipping turns to biting. We've enjoyed our cherry headed conure, Bashful Brannigan for almost twenty years now and heartily recommend this species.

Answer 3

Birds nip for a variety of reasons--he could be scared of something, he could be tired and need to back to his cage, maybe he doesnt like what your are doing to him (rubbing his head, trying to look at his feet, etc) There are a couple of ways to approach this. Try to figure out why he is doing it. If it's because he's been out a while, next time don't keep him out so long. If it's because he's scared of something (my conure HATES the sound of crinkling plastic, or any type of rattling noise, and is scared of various objects) You can work on trying to get them used to that item slowly, or just keep them away from it. If he is nipping because he's trying to tell you "I dont like it when you rub my head, look at my feet, etc." go slower, say "No" firmly. If he continues to nip after you say no, return him to his cage. It will take a while, but he will get the connection--I nip, I go back to the cage! Hand reared birds seem to get this much quicker, perhaps because they prefer to be with their owners, and therefore being sent back to the cage is much more of a punishment. If he is breaking the skin when he nips, an additional enforcement can be a squirt of water--have to have the squirt gun/spray bottle ready though, and do it immeditaly as he bites you. Wont hurt him, but gets the point over quickly. Unfortunatly, they sometimes learn to bite only when you are not holding the squirt bottle!! Good luck!