Behavior that has me confused.

[NandayMom]

Hey all,
When Richard is on my shoulder, I have started putting a small towl or blanket on my shoulder then putting him on that because he bites holes in my shirt. like aggressively.
the towl is all full of holes and when he is biting it he gets really excited and if you ask him to stop or try and pet him while he is doing that, he will squak and try to bite.
Is this him trying to tell me something?
I think he hates me....

 

[Kalidasa]

Don't worry, that only happens to....everybody!

 

[Birdman666]

I went out for a walk with a brand new tee shirt and three conures on my shoulder. After 15 minutes, I came back wearing a rag...

Chewing fabric is their way of life! Or at least it seems like it sometimes.

Your bird does not hate you. He loves to chew, and doesn't want to stop.

That's all this is...

"I don't wanna..."

 

[NandayMom]

Don't worry, that only happens to....everybody!

lol, so that is normal?

also, since he has this crush on my fiance , he only "talks" with him, his last owner said he says hello, and learning to say kisses, ya, and whats up. so far he has said hello - clear as a bell! - 1 time when he was on my fiance's shoulder.

he will coo and cluck and grind his beak and act happy with me when my fiance isn't around but won't use his "talking voice" at all. he will laugh with me though which is ADORABLE! when he becomes more comfortable with me, will he talk with me too?

 

[Birdman666]

Completely normal. Conures are feisty...

Eventually I am sure he will talk to you too. But conures are pair bond birds. So they tend to have a favorite person.

I had a dusky conure that spoke conversationally. One of the smartest birds I ever had, and my best trick bird ever...

Unfortunately, he was not smart enough to stay away from owls...

 

[MikeyTN]

Chewing of the shirts is just normal routine as my macaw just chewed a big hole in my work shirt. It was my fault for not changing shirts. Yes we were rags while have our birds out with us....lol

He will talk to you eventually, give him time! The one I had in the past did talk to me eventually when my best friend wasn't home. She used me while he's not home.....lol

 

[Nakiska]

Don't worry, that only happens to....everybody!

Hahahaha!! This comment made me totally LOL!!

 

[Birdman666]

Chewing of the shirts is just normal routine as my macaw just chewed a big hole in my work shirt. It was my fault for not changing shirts. Yes we were rags while have our birds out with us....lol

He will talk to you eventually, give him time! The one I had in the past did talk to me eventually when my best friend wasn't home. She used me while he's not home.....lol

One of the Funnier MAGGIE-ISMS... (My Greenwing)

We were sitting outside at Starbucks one day. She was on my shoulder.

Maggie stuck her head inside the collar of my shirt. Next she grabs the inside of my shirt in a clump with her beak, and the next thing I know, the point of her beak is poking through, from inside my shirt out...

So, now she starts pulling down with her beak, tearing a giant hole, and she keeps pulling until her head fits through the hole...

Out pops Maggie's head, she looks up at me and says:

"PEEK-E-BOO!"

Needless to say, I wish I had that one on video.

 

[bostjan]

I don't think I've ever had a parrot on my arm that didn't try to put a hole in my shirt.
As far as talking, I don't know why, but some birds will talk to everybody, and others will only talk to certain people. Our Mealy Amazon only seems to talk to me when no one else is around, then she talks very clearly, although she only says 4-5 words. When anyone else is around, she only makes bird noises. She still behaves pretty much the same, otherwise, though.
Conures can be excellent talkers in some rare cases, but other conures seem to never show interest in talking. I don't think it is solely determined by how much you work with them, because I've tried to teach some of them to talk to no avail, and had others talk like crazy without much training.

 

[jbail1026]

Birdman, that's hilarious!

Yes, I think most of us have "bird shirts". I keep old t-shirts on the shelf under the cage to drag on before George gets near me. He ripped a hole in my fave black cardigan and just looked up at me while ripping the fabric like, "yeah, I can do this. I'm a big tough bird. But at least it's not your skin!"

 

[Birdman666]

Birdman, that's hilarious!

Yes, I think most of us have "bird shirts". I keep old t-shirts on the shelf under the cage to drag on before George gets near me. He ripped a hole in my fave black cardigan and just looked up at me while ripping the fabric like, "yeah, I can do this. I'm a big tough bird. But at least it's not your skin!"

I've got a closet full of bird shirts...

The part of that story that I left out was her head got stuck in the hole in my shirt, and I ended up having to take it off... and unwrapping it from around her neck.

 

[MikeyTN]

Even my cockatiels does it too....they chew and pull on the string, they seem to have an addiction for it and kept going until they have it ripped pretty good....I have a way of buying new work shifts, I'll wear one that I don't want to wear to work anymore and play with the birds. Oops my shirt is ruined I show my partner, time to get new ones....