How to stop my green-cheeked conure biting when perched high?

Thanks for reaching out about Coco and including photos. First, don't let him to your shoulder as the dominant bird is often highest in the tree. Allow to come out of the cage with the use of a perch or stick. Keep the distal end higher than your hand to prevent climbing up the stick to you. This all revolves around proper training and a good book might help. Try "A Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot". Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Rico. Establishing dominance and enforcing that Rico has a low position on the family hierarchy, is the challenge. Positive reinforcement for good behavior, and time outs, for inappropriate behavior. A book titled "A Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot" is a good start. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Sky. Despite what many people may think, birds are not supposed to bite readily. They come to learn to bite when the other forms of their body language are not seen/listened to by others, including owners (and veterinarians!). I would recommend looking at Sky's body language and your actions in situations - both before she tries to bite and when she is trying to bite. You may see that Sky tries to move away, or leans away, prior to trying to bite. It may be that Sky has not had any good or non-frightening experiences with humans yet so she doesn't know how friendly you are trying to be. I would recommend moving very slowly, and using food items that Sky likes to eat to help start to form a bond with her. When you start to move towards Sky, and there are no signs of avoidance (see above), then she gets a treat that she really likes. If she shows any signs of avoidance, then you just move away - you leaving may be her reward, and that is okay because you haven't pushed her so much that she feels like she needs to be desperate enough to bite. For training, you may want to start by asking her to step up using a stick or wooden dowel instead of your finger. This will be more safe for you, and may be more comfortable for Sky initially as well. There are videos online that give training tips as well - I would recommend searching for positive reinforcement videos as these tend to be very successful for birds. I hope this gives you a place to start, and good luck with Sky!

It is not uncommon for birds to chew at one particular spot on a perch. It looks like you have a number of wooden dowel perches in the cage - you could try to vary these by providing Manzanita wood perches (they look more like branches) and this may provide them with some areas that they can clean their beaks and wear their nails as well. For your question about the food dishes - it is very common for birds to only utilize materials (including food, water, toys, and perches) that are at the top of their cage. The reason for this is that they typically live in the trees, so they like to be high up the majority of the time. I would advise removing the dishes that are down low, and only providing dishes high in the cage. You can still provide multiple dishes if desired, in case you have some competition for food among the birds in the family. I hope that answers your questions, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for reaching out about Peekaboo. Not all birds get along but can often be trained to get along. Suspect this is more dominance that anything else. Allow to interact in neutral territory so no one is defending their home territory. Allow to interact with plenty of feeding stations and for short periods of time, to get acclimated to each other. Good luck.

Hi and thank you for this question. Unfortunately it sounds as if Rylee is not 100% adjusted to people. This could be because he was not hand fed for long enough, or was not handled for a while before you got him. This is not always reversible. All you can try with a lot of patience is to offer him treats when he is on you, and to avoid any reaction to his bites. He only bites to get a result. If there isn't one he wll stop. Consider also getting help from a professional trainer.

Hello! It could be that Rico is going through a bit of "phase" and would benefit from some additional training on biting, or he may be understimulated, which is why he is getting so excited when you are finally home. Providing him with some enrichment such as puzzle toys he can chew on and has to work to get a prize from, playing music or a show while you're gone for him to listen to, or adding more time outside of his cage on play structures when you are home may help him to get a little more stimulation without resorting to problem behaviors. I'm also including a few articles that may help as well! https://www.petcoach.co/article/bird-biting-why-they-do-it-and-how-to-correct-it/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-bird-care/