How do I stop my 4 year old Sun Conure from biting me??

Question

One minute he is kissing me and rubbing his head on my neck, the next he is biting my ear or face, hard!

I know he is a wild animal but how do I stop this behavior?

He has adopted me as 'head bird' in our flock and is usually very loving.

I can't understand why he bites when is isnt startled or aggitated.

Answer 1

i have 2 conures.nuthing stops them from biting i tried all sorts of things blowing on them,flicking there beak.basikly everything.but i have 2 they hate me and dont want to learn anything just like eachother.what you can try is to blow in its face or squirt water on it show him your the boss send mean and evil looks when he does it.give him negative energy.since you have one bird this is more likely to work for you.dont let him get away with it.do these steps and hopefully he will stop.i know how much there bite hurt.bigger bird owners say "o there little it doesnt hurt".well they havnt experience how fast and how strong they are....good luck

Answer 2

He may just be playing/preening or another sudden movement somewhere in the room that spooks him. When he does that drop your arm/ shoulder/hand slightly to cause him to have to gain balance (not so much that he falls). This should teach him (through negative reinforcement) not to do it (I don't recommend this for babies). For this reason (biting), many people do not recommend putting birds on your shoulder. You can also try putting him on the floor everytime he bites (they don't like this either) or putting him in his cage and walking away (IMO less affective). Do you have a beard (I don't know your gender)? In general animals (even birds) see this as a threat (a testosterone thing) although some birds seem to enjoy preening beards.

Answer 3

All you can really do is learn to recognize the signs that he's about to bite and get your hand (or other appendage) out of biting range. ALL birds (especially South American parrots) can and do get ornery. I've got three caiques and they will ALL bite me, even though 99 percent of the time, they're the sweetest little buggers on the planet. Sometimes, I don't really know WHAT sets them off -- but it's usually when I make them do something they don't want to do -- like stop chewing on my shoes.  They give very clear signs when they're getting peeved -- their eyes "pin", they lower their heads like little bulls about to charge, they go all "puffy pants",  they lift their wings -- then they go for blood.

The real key is to NOT react by hitting or screaming at the bird -- this will teach HIM that all he has to do is bite you to make you leave him alone.

Answer 4

Dont put him near your ears or face.. Some birds bite nothing you can do about it.

Answer 5

im not so sure about this

but if you ever get a new young bird, i know this sounds crazy but let it bite you!! if it bites and u shreek and pull away the bird will learn that they are stronger and they wll bite for he rest of their life. if you let it bite then it should only last about 2 days but if its a big bird with a big beak then sorry cant help