Grouchy Gus

Jazzy Bird

Regular Member
Hello friends,

Gus, our cherry head conure who we inherited after my moms death on 11/4/2019, will allow me to hold and pet him, but only when he wants me to. No matter what, if I put my hands up to his cage, he nips at me. He does not like anyone else. I’m glad he interacts with me the way he does, but it sure would be nice if he’d eventually stop with the nipping and being moody. Might this ever happen or should I not hold my breath? I’m not sure how interactive he was with my mom bc when I visited her, the focus was always Jasmine the Cockatoo, so I didn’t really learn as much about the conures she had, as for personality, tendencies, etc
 
The simple answer (and I'm not being funny) is don't put your hands up to the cage. Reason being, each time you do and he nips at you, you are only teaching him to nip more in that circumstance... which of course you don't want.

Don't worry if he only wants to interact with you on his terms for now. That is fine. It is GREAT that he is choosing to interact with you!! :biggrin: It will take time as Michael said. So yes, pet him if his body language says he is willing to be petted at a particular time... if you are sure he likes it. If you are careful to pair your hands with only good experiences (eg head scratches/petting), slowly, slowly he will begin to trust you and your hands more and more. What other good experiences can you pair your hands with? Maybe work on giving him a favourite piece of food?

My elderly Amazon, Chico used to go full out in attack mode each time I went near his cage to begin with, even though he is almost blind. I was told he hated females which seemed to be true. It has taken a lot of time (he's been with me nearly 6 years) but through using desensitization, treats, and eventually head scratches through the cage bars, he now gives me a warm welcome home as he used to do a male human. And I can skritch his head through the open door with no bars between us. It was very gradual to get to this point. Just slowly building up trust.
 
Thank you Roz for your reply, Just to add a little point on head patting to what you have said,, do not try to pet your birds head unless he invites you by lowering it, if you put your hand above the head it will make him very weary or frightened, try to always approach his head with the majority of your hand level to the head until he is more relaxed and slowly you can then raise the hand.
 
The simple answer (and I'm not being funny) is don't put your hands up to the cage. Reason being, each time you do and he nips at you, you are only teaching him to nip more in that circumstance... which of course you don't want.

Don't worry if he only wants to interact with you on his terms for now. That is fine. It is GREAT that he is choosing to interact with you!! :biggrin: It will take time as Michael said. So yes, pet him if his body language says he is willing to be petted at a particular time... if you are sure he likes it. If you are careful to pair your hands with only good experiences (eg head scratches/petting), slowly, slowly he will begin to trust you and your hands more and more. What other good experiences can you pair your hands with? Maybe work on giving him a favourite piece of food?

My elderly Amazon, Chico used to go full out in attack mode each time I went near his cage to begin with, even though he is almost blind. I was told he hated females which seemed to be true. It has taken a lot of time (he's been with me nearly 6 years) but through using desensitization, treats, and eventually head scratches through the cage bars, he now gives me a warm welcome home as he used to do a male human. And I can skritch his head through the open door with no bars between us. It was very gradual to get to this point. Just slowly building up trust.
Thank you for all of the great info. When I put my hands up there, I immediately leave him be when he is nippy. He seems to mostly enjoy me. Hi pins his eyes in and out and sways, bounces, etc and laughs with me. When I approach the cage and put hands near while he’s inside, I move slow. I usually do this when changing out food etc. talking to them. It sounds like leaving out the hands is key. I can def do that.
He makes it clear when he wants to step up. And over the last couple months, I only allow him on my shoulder in rare occasions. It’s my understanding that may increase him seeing me as a perch

He flaps his wings and looks so happy. He comes out of the cage often, just bc of my presence. My moms Bf said he didn’t come out much from what he knew. He doesn’t share much historical info, which is unfortunate.

Anyhow, I’m so glad that it does sound like he is warming up to me and may eventually be a little more gentle with me. Im really trying to learn their behaviors and what not, so thank you so much for all of the input.

As far as other good experiences with my hands, we listen to music and dance? Haha. I also bring his bath to him with my hands. I do give him fruit and other treats from my hands. I have to make sure whatever it is, is large enough to protect my finger.
 
Thank you Roz for your reply, Just to add a little point on head patting to what you have said,, do not try to pet your birds head unless he invites you by lowering it, if you put your hand above the head it will make him very weary or frightened, try to always approach his head with the majority of your hand level to the head until he is more relaxed and slowly you can then raise the hand.
Thank you. He seems to tell me when he wants it. The moments don’t last longer than a minute. But it seems when I have held him by his feet, he likes that.

My main goal is to avoid any issues that may relate if he sees me as a mate. What’s the deal with that?
 
Thank you for all of the great info. When I put my hands up there, I immediately leave him be when he is nippy. He seems to mostly enjoy me. Hi pins his eyes in and out and sways, bounces, etc and laughs with me. When I approach the cage and put hands near while he’s inside, I move slow. I usually do this when changing out food etc. talking to them. It sounds like leaving out the hands is key. I can def do that.
He makes it clear when he wants to step up. And over the last couple months, I only allow him on my shoulder in rare occasions. It’s my understanding that may increase him seeing me as a perch

He flaps his wings and looks so happy. He comes out of the cage often, just bc of my presence. My moms Bf said he didn’t come out much from what he knew. He doesn’t share much historical info, which is unfortunate.

Anyhow, I’m so glad that it does sound like he is warming up to me and may eventually be a little more gentle with me. Im really trying to learn their behaviors and what not, so thank you so much for all of the input.

As far as other good experiences with my hands, we listen to music and dance? Haha. I also bring his bath to him with my hands. I do give him fruit and other treats from my hands. I have to make sure whatever it is, is large enough to protect my finger.
P.S. Does this site allow posting videos of our birds? Thanks.
 
My main goal is to avoid any issues that may relate if he sees me as a mate.
try not to wear a featherd hat or place him under a feather blancket with feather pillows in your bed Ha. Ha.
well the first thing is do not stroke him down the back you can stroke the feathers from underneath or if lifted but never the bogy under the wings. any mating behavior should be discouraged by moving or placing your bird down
 
Thank you for all of the great info. When I put my hands up there, I immediately leave him be when he is nippy. He seems to mostly enjoy me. Hi pins his eyes in and out and sways, bounces, etc and laughs with me. When I approach the cage and put hands near while he’s inside, I move slow. I usually do this when changing out food etc. talking to them. It sounds like leaving out the hands is key. I can def do that.
He makes it clear when he wants to step up. And over the last couple months, I only allow him on my shoulder in rare occasions. It’s my understanding that may increase him seeing me as a perch

He flaps his wings and looks so happy. He comes out of the cage often, just bc of my presence. My moms Bf said he didn’t come out much from what he knew. He doesn’t share much historical info, which is unfortunate.

Anyhow, I’m so glad that it does sound like he is warming up to me and may eventually be a little more gentle with me. Im really trying to learn their behaviors and what not, so thank you so much for all of the input.

As far as other good experiences with my hands, we listen to music and dance? Haha. I also bring his bath to him with my hands. I do give him fruit and other treats from my hands. I have to make sure whatever it is, is large enough to protect my finger.
It sounds like you understand him very well! It is unfortunate isn't it when you don't know their history. You will just have to remain vigilant about his body language. Dancing and singing is great. My guys get so excited when I ramp up the music - it was a great way to connect with another of my Amazons, Ollie. Michael has already answered you about stroking/petting: try to keep it to the head and neck only.

Also watch it when he pins his eyes and sways etc. Wonderful from a safe distance, but there is a likelihood you could get bitten if you try to touch him when he's so excited.
 
We'd love to see a video of him. This is easily done by uploading your video on to YouTube (which is free) and then pasting the link here.
 
It sounds like you understand him very well! It is unfortunate isn't it when you don't know their history. You will just have to remain vigilant about his body language. Dancing and singing is great. My guys get so excited when I ramp up the music - it was a great way to connect with another of my Amazons, Ollie. Michael has already answered you about stroking/petting: try to keep it to the head and neck only.

Also watch it when he pins his eyes and sways etc. Wonderful from a safe distance, but there is a likelihood you could get bitten if you try to touch him when he's so excited.
Yeah, I did read some place that depending on the reason they pin, to be careful.
 
Yeah, I did read some place that depending on the reason they pin, to be careful.
Any other helpful info about Gus? Another thing he does is go at the bottom of his cage and rub his beak in all over the papers. Sometimes the way he moves his neck looks like he’s trying to impress me. It also seems like he makes noises to reflect sentences. As in, I’m pretty sure my mom used to say (these were phrases she used for various passwords) to him “Gus is a bird” and “Gus is a green bird,” because when I say those things, he sometimes goes into making noises like he’s accounting for each word I’ve said. Almost like he’s happy bc I’m speaking something familiar. How good are there memories and capacity for learning?
 
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