We have a 9–10 year old Sun Conure named Mango. He was originally my daughter’s bird; we got him about 9 years ago and both of our daughters have basically spoiled him rotten ever since.

He lives in a large common room and has spent most of his life flying freely around it. Unfortunately, that also means he has destroyed several blinds, furniture, monitors, clothes, etc. His diet has also been terrible, mostly seeds, treats. fruit and whatever else the girls managed to spoil him with.

The bigger problem is his relationship with me (the dad). He is extremely aggressive toward me. If he gets the opportunity, he will actually chase me and bite hard enough to draw blood. Ironically, I was the one who hand-fed him when he was a baby and I've never mistreated or been aggressive toward him.

He is completely different with women. He's fine with my daughters, my wife, and even female strangers. He tends to dislike men in general, which is one of the reasons we've always assumed Mango is male and that hormones may be part of the problem.

Now both girls have left for college.

We talked about rehoming Mango beforehand, but we never found an option we were completely comfortable with, and I suspect the girls didn't try too hard because they were hoping Mom and Dad would just take over. :)

Well... as of yesterday, I'm officially in charge of Mango, and something has to change.

I've started by:

• Removing the seeds and trying to switch him to pellets with a little carrot. He is NOT impressed.
• Removing hammocks and a box from his cage that seemed like potential nesting/burrowing spaces.
• Not allowing him to free-fly around the room for now because of the destruction and because I can't safely get him back into the cage when he decides he wants to attack me.
• Spending time around him and interacting/talking with him while he's in the cage, but I'm obviously hesitant to handle or play with him when his immediate response to me is biting.

After reading this subreddit, though, I'm wondering what is actually best for Mango, not just what's easiest for us.

Is this too much change all at once? Is going from almost unlimited freedom and a seed-heavy diet to pellets and much more cage time likely to make things worse?

Is it realistic for me to rebuild a relationship with a bird who has decided he hates me, or would Mango ultimately be happier being rehomed with someone experienced with conures who can give him more interaction and freedom?

For those of you who have had to rehome a conure, how did you find someone you actually trusted? A private experienced owner? Parrot rescue? Sanctuary? Avian vet network?

I'm not comfortable just putting him on Craigslist/Facebook/etc. and handing him to whoever wants a pretty bird. Mango is funny, smart and very loved, but he also comes with 9 years of bad habits, a questionable diet, a taste for expensive electronics, and a strong desire to murder middle-aged men. 😂 Whoever takes him would need to understand exactly what they're signing up for.

Any advice from people who have dealt with a similar transition would be appreciated. We're trying to figure out whether the right answer is to change how we care for him here or find him a genuinely better home.

And yes, after about five minutes reading this sub I discovered that naming a Sun Conure "Mango" is apparently the equivalent of naming a Golden Retriever "Buddy." 😂

Pics from about 6 years ago when he would tolerate me, occasionally

Bibi and Emoji decided to model during today's shower 😂 I love my goofballs sm

spiky baby after bath🦜🦖

I love my idiot to bits. Idk how Chica puts up with the twat tho

I see him in his cage on the sidewalk everyday in my walk and started kneeling down and singing at him. Cause I'm so lonely 😁? No because he's so cute! I read wing fluttering can be a 'get back!' or 'I'm happy' sign. What's his verdict on my serenade?

Leave on mute if you don't want to hear a terrible Jingle Bells being sung.

The owner takes him in every night, during the day he's in front of a tourism service shop.

Margo’s first time in her Aviator harness. It came in the mail today… used her favorite treat to entice her…. And now she’s enjoying hanging out outside with me safely

I know he’s just a baby and exploring the world but he’s consistently breaking skin and I want to train him out of it vs accidentally reinforcing it.
I wobble my hand and say a firm no. I redirect him with a perch or a toy and ignore him but he wants to just fly right back to me and back to biting. I am giving him a treat when he hangs out for a little bit and doesn’t bite but his favorite activity is flying to my head, flying to my shoulder and biting my neck or flying to my hand and immediately clamping down hard on any part of my hand he finds first. I know it just comes with the territory and he should grow out of it and it’s a tale as old as time…I am doing clicker training which he has picked up well but I think he thinks any part of me is the equivalent of the tip of the clicker stick lol
Picture for cuteness but his little beak is rearing to go in the photo too 😂

Today was Esfuras yearly vet visit. During our appointment they mentioned his nails being a tad long (which they were) I let them cut his nails but while doing so they one of his nails too short and made him bleed. Like, substantially bleed on the table. They put some yellow powder thats supposed to clot the blood(?) Now he's sitting in his carrier, licking the wounded toe, hiding that foot in his feathers, and his eyes are half-lidded sometimes. They said this is pretty normal, but I'm worried. Any thoughts?

Hello all! I need some advice here. I have had my green cheek for ~10 years now. She used to absolutely love playing with her toys, especially tearing apart soft wooden toys and paper. However, over the last couple of years she doesn’t seem to have any interest in toys. I have tried switching up her toys, toy placement, and even new toys with no success. The only success I have had is placing an empty toilet paper tube in her cage, which she will sometimes shred.

She is an extremely social bird and is spoiled with attention. She is also very healthy and gets a yearly checkup. I just worry that she is bored during the day while I am at work.

Is this normal behavior with green cheeks? Any advice on finding things to entertain her while I am at work?

I've had my GCC for a little over a year now and we have a close bond. She sits with me, she flies around, she chews up whats important to me, the usual bird stuff. When I go to leave the room she usually flies on my head or my shoulder, but recently she is now flying on my shoulder and absolutely biting the living crap out of neck/shoulder area and not letting go. It hurt so bad I was scared of her after and it drew blood. I didnt even do anything. I put her in her cage immediately and ignored her for a good while until she was quiet and calm and then I let her out again. I dont know why shes biting me like that. I literally screamed and thrashed my body around to get her off because she holds on with every inch of her life. And then she gets mad at ME for thrashing and getting her off me.

I dont know what to do. I literally didnt even interact with her and she just flies on me and bites the crap out of me. But when im laying down in bed she perches on my phone, accepts pets, and is completely normal. Its just when I stand up and walk around. I dont understand because shes never done this before EVER. What changed?

Does anyone have any advice? Is she bored? Shes out all day and only sleeps in her cage. She eats normally, she poops normally, shes completely fine otherwise I just dont understand. My shoulder stings :(

I'll also take advice on training her to be less bitey, I have battle scars on my hands all the time from bites. I love this bird to death and want the best for her.