dealing with bites

Question
Hi! I adopted a 3 month old 'pineapple conure'and want to learn to understand why he attacks my finger occasionally when my hand is closeby. What would trigger off a reaction like that if I am not in an interaction with him when it happens? Why does he get really nippy sometimes?

We have a parrot size cage for him with all kinds of toys and branches on different levels. He has an open area on the bottom of the cage and also a place on top where he can hang out. His diet is great and he gets hours of attention daily although sometimes he does spend the day by himself with plenty of good, water and either a radio or tv.

Honey is a precious bird. I understand he is a baby and his behavior will change in time so I am trying to train him now to get good results later on. How can I train him from not biting? and what other good habits is it desirable to instill in a young bird? Is this possible or a characteristic of the species?

Thanks for your help.


Alicia

Answer
Hi Alicia,

When you say "pineapple conure"- I assume you are referring to the green-cheek conure, which has a color mutation often referred to as "pineapple" coloring. Green-cheek conures are notorious for being prone to nip. I have one, and they can have their moods. I have found that my bird seems to become unpredictable during the winter months. He seems to get upset by every little thing and will easily nip me. However, once the days become brighter and longer- his mood seems to pick up and he goes back to being his happy little self. I recently moved and found that he became less depressed during the winter, I suspect it is because the room he is in now has a fantastic view and gets LOTS of sunshine- even during the winter months. Here are also some wonderful articles and websites that I found extremely helpful when raising my baby green-cheek conure- they should help you with Honey too:

http://www.companionparrot.com/agression-and-biting.htm

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww5eii.htm

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww12eii.htm

http://www.quakerparrots.com/mattiesue/preventing_biting_behavior.htm

I hope this all helps. :)

-Maggie