Cranky Conure

Question
Hi!
I got a sun conure about a week ago and he was real nice at first but now when ever i get close to his cage he hisses and tries to bite me. once i get him out of the cage he is ok and sits on my hand. its just when i try to get him out of the cage. in the cage he has a fuzzy hut thing that he likes to sit and sleep on. i think he feels safe in it and spends most of his day on it. i cant get him off that thing! i dont know what to do. do you know what is wrong here? why is he so cranky?

Thank you!!!

Answer
hi. thanks for your question.  the first thing that i am wondering is how old your sun is and if you know for sure it is male. the reason being, it almost sounds like female nesting behavior (females begin laying eggs/"nesting" at about 1 1/2-2 yrs of age. even if they haven't started laying yet, they can get very protective of their "nest" area and spend most of their time there. once they are away from the nest and not "guarding" it, they can be sweet but if you get near them while they are "roosting" on it, you can be subject to vicious bites and posturing!
if that is not the case, it sounds like your bird is trying to 'test' your limits. most birds are sweet and go through a "honeymoon" phase when you first bring them home. this is usually because they are scared in their new environment and are trying to "lay low". once they get comfortable however, they can begin becoming territorial and displaying the behavior that you are describing.  if his biting and hissing is "working" (ie you react by either making noise or pulling back and leaving him alone) he will continue to do it. conures are very intelligent in this way and once he finds out how to keep you at bay, he will continue to do so.
you have a couple of options. if your bird does turn out to be in fact, a "nesting" female, i would take the hut toy away. you do not want to encourage any nesting/egg laying behavior. although you can't control it, you can at least not encourage it by letting her "nest" in something or letting her build a nest. if the bird is not a laying female, taking the toy away may still be an option. you can always take it away and see if the behavior continues.  it may seem mean because it is his "safety" zone but it is important for him to learn that he is safe with you and in your home. right now, although he is adjusting, he may still feel frightened/intimidated and may be biting as a result of that. it is important for him to know that you are a "safe" person and your home is a safe place. its sort of like taking a child's security "blankie" away. in the long run, its worth it.
my other tip for you would be to not react to the biting and hissing. although its hard not to ( i know how hard suns can bite!) it is important to let him know that he does not intimidate you...so try not to scream out, yell at him, or pull away. I am going to give you this link to read:   http://www.quakerville.com/qic/q_biting.asp   it is an excellent article about the hows and whys of parrot biting and ways to try and curb it. good luck and let me know how it goes! alicia