In Reply to: how do i? posted by Anne on April 27, 2008 at 11:59:06:
: How do i get him not to bite? a lady told me to shake my finger when he bites and say one word all the time anything but no. Tried that and he still bites.
Dear Anne,
Conures bite for several reasons. They use their beaks to balance and grasp, and when they are not sure of their perch ( is that finger safe?) they will latch on, so, moving your finger INTO the bird's chest to help him get a good step up can stop the bite, if you're being bitten for that reason. Shaking the finger will only make the situation worse, becuase then the bird learns not to trust that your finger IS a secure perch. Conures are territorial and you should expect to be bitten if you handle your bird in or near its cage. I always use a wooden perch, or let my bird climb in and out on his own. Conures bite in fear and anticipation or anger. You'll find out what overly excites your bird and learn to avoid bites by avoiding those situations.
When I get bitten ( and when I first got my bird I had bandaids on every finger ) I say "No bite," put my bird down on the floor and ignore him, for a minute, then offer him my finger for step up. Don't yell; birds like yelling. Birds hate to be ignored, and this works for me everytime. I tell my bird to have a "gentle beak" when I think he might be about to bite, and this warning can sometimes make him think twice about biting. I used to use a toy for him to bite if he started biting me, when I first got him, but I don't need that anymore.
My bird came from a petstore and was not handled frequently enough, so it took a long time and lots of patience to get him used to me handling him. It was worth all the bandaid boxes I went through, and frustration. Most of the time my bird is very gentle with me now. And is a wonderful companion.