Originally Posted by
WingedSnagret
Hello, I'm new here and need advice in dealing with my conure Brazil's behavior.
For one thing he's highly aggressive to the point where I can't even get him on my hand, unless, for some reason, I wear one very specific T-shirt. Doesn't matter what else I wear, even tried getting new shirts of a similar color (a light green), he still responds violently. Puffed up, angered snarls, wide-eyed, the whole deal. Secondly he's fully feathered and flies through the house (though always a simple loop back to the cage), though he often lands onto other family members' backs and will try to bite them if they try to get him down with a finger, and the only way to get him off safely is with a red squirt bottle. Don't even need to spray him as the mere sight of the object gets him to leave. He does have a female cockatiel for a mate, but I don't think that's the main source of his aggression as he started to be like this before they got together as a bonded pair (and I used to be able to handle him more back then as well before the aggression increased even before the bonding).
I did try to get a play gym for them to be beyond the cage and more surrounded in family business (the family room and the living room where they live are on opposite sides of the house, with the open kitchen in-between for a clear flight path back and forth), but the problem is the best place for it is very close to the backyard door and we have a dog (who doesn't bother the birds, she's even good with our chickens) that goes in and out often so there's also the threat of escape.
I'm willing to bet the freedom of flight is adding to the aggression issue, since he's got it in his head that he can go anywhere and act bigger than us. I do like that they're able to get proper exercise from fully-feathered wings, but if they need to be clipped it will be done in order to foster better behavior.