Conure behavior

Question
Good morning Maggie-  
We have a 27-month old Black-Capped Conure named Giovanni, who has been a part of our family since he was 4 months old.  He is smart, funny and we love him to pieces.  About a year ago, while I was pregnant, he started biting me hard.  Fingers, arms, lips, ears, my leg anything that is within reach.   Wobbling my finger does not work.  He latches on and will not let go.  About 6 months after he started biting me, we bought a female Sun Conure for him as a "playmate" and to combat feelings of neglect or jealousy he may have since the baby came.  They get along very well and will sit, play and preen each other all day long.  A couple of days ago, Giovanni stopped coming to my husband.  He squeaks and runs away from him every time he tries to get him to "step-up".  He has been acting much nicer to me, almost back to his old self cuddling and sleeping in my hand.  Yesterday, as I was replacing one of his favorite toys, he ran up my arm and bit my ear.  He latched on and I had to shake him off.  This is the Gige I have been dealing with for the last year.  I have to be very careful with him and can only allow him on my finger for short periods whereas my husband was able to have him on his shoulder all day long.  My husband is very upset about the way he is  acting towards him.  Do you have any ideas on why he may be behaving this way and what to do?  We don't want to get rid of him.  Thank you very much.

Answer
Hi,


Without observing his behavior and how you and your husband interact with him, it is hard for me to say why he might be behaving this way. However, here are some articles that should help you learn about biting behavior in parrots (why they do it, and how to correct/control it):

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

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww44e.htm

http://www.parrothouse.com/sf3.html

http://www3.upatsix.com/liz/articles/biting.html

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

I'd also highly recommend the book: "The Beak Book" by Sally Blanchard. It is available for $20 or $25 on www.amazon.com or www.companionparrot.com This book is all about biting and aggressive behavior in parrots... it is really detailed and very helpful.

I hope this helps.

-Maggie