How to Train a Green Cheek Conure

Your green cheek conure is a playful and smart bird and can be trained to do lots of things if he has fun toys to play with and nourishing, rewarding treats. While your bird may start nipping at around age two, there are things you can do to put a stop to this behavior if you train him correctly. Give your conure lots of time and freedom to earn your trust, and with patience and perseverance on your part, you and your conure will become lifelong buddies.

Things You'll Need

  • Cage
  • Perch
  • Receiving blanket
  • Bird toys
  • Treats
  • Spoon
  • Syringe
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Instructions

    • 1

      Train your green cheek conure while in a pleasant frame of mind and have lots of patience. Always praise your conure after a training session and give him a treat -- such as a nut or a grape -- to reward good behavior.

    • 2

      Discipline your green cheek conure to step up and down off your finger to become accustomed to being handled. Take your conure out of his cage and say, "Step up." Move away from the cage so your bird won't claim the space as his. Put him back in his cage facing you and make eye contact. Practice this several times a day in 10-minute intervals so he doesn't get bored.

    • 3

      Teach your conure to step up on a long dowel or a perch. This helps when someone else is caring for your bird that is too afraid to handle him. Use the same method as in Step 2 above, except release your conure from your finger directly onto the perch several times a day so he knows it's a safe -- and appropriate -- place to hang out.

    • 4

      Encourage your green cheek conure to stop biting or nipping by asking him to "Step up" on your hand in a "laddering" training. This treadmill-type action should encourage him to refocus his attention on you rather than on biting. Ladder him up and down your hands six to 10 times while repeating "up, up, up." Follow with a "down" command by placing him back in his cage.

    • 5

      Hide toys and treats under a baby receiving blanket for him to find and play with. Play hide-and-seek and cuddle with your bird under the blanket. Train him to enjoy being under the blanket so that you can eventually wrap him in it to clip his wings and nails or to give him medication.

    • 6

      Feed your bird warm, soft food -- such as cooked sweet potatoes or oatmeal -- from a spoon or a syringe several times a week. This will get him used to taking food from you in case you have to give him medication using the same method.

    • 7

      Touch your green cheek conure all over to get him used to being handled. Massage all his toes to prepare him for getting them trimmed. Touch his flight feathers regularly and say "wing" over and over. In time, he'll gladly spread his wings for you during clipping sessions, or simply to get a nice scratch under the wings by his favorite person. A well-socialized conure will like being handled and enjoy spending time with you.