Bubbles will not stay on her perch.

[csperkins3]

I am having a few issues with Bubbles. I cannot keep her on her perch when I am sitting down. She will find a way to climb down no matter how long it takes. When I am sitting down she thinks she must be on me. I don't mind her being on me except she is constantly chewing on my clothes or hands. She will not climb around or lay still or sit still. She wants me to be scratching and petting her constantly. She thinks she must be plastered to my chest. I would love for her to lay in my lap or something because we cannot just hang out I must have my full attention on her. I know I should not complain as I wanted a cuddly bird but is there a way to discourage her from constantly chewing my clothes? Is there a way to get her to not expect to be rubbed and looked at the entire time she is on me.

 

[ShellyBorg]

"Be careful what you ask for!"
My 10 yr old girl is the same way. I am building a playpen that will hang from the ceiling as we speak. When I have her I spend a lot of time removing my clothing from her beak and giving her foot toys to play with.

 

[MonicaMc]

Those are some great photos!!!!


You may want to look into teaching her to station, and teaching her to play independently. Foot toys and foraging toys can be a great way for Bubbles to entertain herself!

 

[csperkins3]

Thank you MonicaMc and ShellyBorg.
I love her to death but it is hard to do things. She is seriously like a magnet when you pick her up. Straight for the chest and shirt. I am so glad she likes to be loved but sometimes I would like to just chill with her, lol.

 

[csperkins3]

MonicaMc. How do you teach them to station? She does play well with herself when she is in the cage and does great on her own. It's just when I am sitting she thinks she has to be on top of me and getting constant attention. If I have her in the cage she is fine. If she is on her perch and I am sitting is when she gets down to come climb on me. She has tons of toys and we are working on foraging during the day. Still working on that one. I have had her 3 months and she is 20 months old.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Keep her busy and active before cuddle time may help - birds are smart, and she obviously is training you, not the other way around! You need to take charge - if she starts biting at clothes, "No, Bubbles," and back to her cage she goes. You'll feel silly, and it will take much repetition, but she will learn! Good behavior, she stays. Bad behavior - back to the cage, human time over for the moment!

 

[MonicaMc]

Here's a link on stationing. It will describe it best, but is much like teaching a dog to "stay", sort of.

Stationing | Lara Joseph

 

[csperkins3]

Thank you very much petoftheday. When she gets too excited and gets kind of nippy (not hard) I put her back in her cage but maybe I need to try it with clothes too. It is really annoying and she thinks of nothing else when you are holding her except to chew on clothes and fingers. I have ordered her some foot toys to see if that can help. When I am training her she is fine but otherwise we have this problem.
Thank you MonicaMc, I will work on stationing with her. It is a great video and blog post you posted and explains it well. It will come in handy for so many things. I am very thankful for the information.