jenday conure

Question
I i have  2 conures one is hand reared the other a rescue but unsure of age.All of a sudden her behavior has changed she is really aggressive toward my husband.Also she is shredding newspaper on the bottom of the cage.I suspect maybe they are ready to try and breed,which i don't want.I wanted to know when is their breeding season what months is it.If it isn't breeding season i want to try  and work out why all of a sudden my lovable little girl is so vicious,I would be grateful if you could shed any light,with thanks Rebecca

Answer
hi. thanks for your question.  the behavior you are describing is common in birds coming in to sexual maturity (aggression, paper shredding, etc.) usually female birds will shred paper at the bottom of their cage and attempt to build a "nest"...usually in a food or gravel bowl.  this behavior should not be confused with regular bird chewing/playing behavior as oftentimes birds tear up paper as part of their play and/or to relieve stress.
as far as the aggression goes, conures usually pick their one "favorite" in the household and subject everyone else to nasty bites. this is in part due to territoriality as well as jealousy. unfortunately, there is no real "cure" for this type of behavior as it is an instinct however the conure needs to know that you are the "boss" and biting will not be tolerated. please refer to this wonderful article:  in regards to causes of aggression and curbing such behaviors.   http://www.2ndchance.info/tameparrot.htm
this is an excellent article regarding biting parrots and also the aggression that often comes from rescue birds and birds coming in to sexual maturity. it can be very disappointing when your little baby becomes a holy terror...sort of like raising a child. with sexual maturity comes a host of these types of behaviors but they can always be managed...again, i urge you to look at the article link i provided as well as referring to a conure owners manual (if you don't have one, get one, they are a big help!) there is also a host of info on the web about dealing with your "adolescent" conure.
in regards to your question about breeding. first of all, i am wondering if you are sure that you have a male/female pair. the only way to tell is by having a DNA sexing test done. these kits can be purchased online and usually involve submitting a sample of a birds feathers and/or blood.  if you know for a fact that you  have a male/female pair, and you do not want to have them breed or have to raise baby chicks, i suggest you separate them immediately. raising baby conures is a very involved and time consuming process as well as finding homes for all of the babies.  since your birds are captive, they do not have a breeding "month" per se and can breed all year round. some people say that this is due to the fact that birds are exposed to more light in captivity (outdoors and indoors) so their breeding behavior continues as they are in a state of perpetual "springtime" in captivity. again, when in doubt, separate. you can still have them nearby one another, just in separate cages.
i hope this helps. good luck and let me know how it goes! alicia