Can anyone tell me why Chico does this??

[4dugnlee]

Hi. I have a strange thing that my SC Chico does. It's very odd (I think anyway). Everytime I get a kleenex and blow my nose (and I do this ALOT during allergy season) he freaks when I put the kleenex to my face and will bite me...hard. The first time this happened I thought I just moved to fast and scared him, but he does it every time I put a kleenex to my face and I tried to block him with my other hand yesterday and he bit my hand hard. I mean it didn't break the skin but he is usually very gentle and this is the hardest he's ever bit me. It's kinda funny to me..lol. The only thing I can think of is he thinks this white weird shaped "creature" is attacking his mommy's face...or possibly he thinks I am being toweled so my beak/nails/wings will be filed/clipped. Any ideas??

 

[Sterling1113]

How does Chico feel about tissues in general? Is it something he likes to play with or is he afraid of them?

My birds will scream at me when I blow my nose. Not like the conure call, but an obnoxious "I can be louder than you" sound. Like they're trying to copy me blowing my nose lol.

But my birds love tissue paper/anything they can shred. Maybe try and get him to play with a tissue? Offer him a treat then let him watch you put it on the tissue and fold it in half, so he has to move the tissue to get the treat.

Also good to teach basic foraging skills!

I can only think that it's just the fact that a weird thing is on your face, and blowing your nose isn't exactly the most pleasant sound so he may think you're in some sort of discomfort. And that's where the displacement aggression is. That's what I'd say anyways. best of luck!! Hope your hands survive allergy season hehe.

 

[cerealquen1]

I think you are right he probably believes the tissue is going to hurt you or he has a negative association with the klenex. When birds in nature warn each other of danger they do it by biting them so they fly away quickly out of harms way. (mine used to do this every time I folded laundry, bc the previous owner would only handle him with laundry bc the bird was so nasty).
A good way to break the habit is to pick up the Kleenex and keep it at a good distance from your face and as long as he doesn't bite you give Chico a treat. Gradually bring the tissue closer, giving him a treat every inch or so that it draws closer to your face. Once you see him getting alarmed end the training and go back to it a few hours later. He with start associating tissues with treats and positivism and should extinguish his biting behavior
Remember keep treats small so he stays focused (like a 1/2 sunflower seed)
Michelle

 

[MonicaMc]

Charlie, my mitred is similar. He loves ripping up paper, but if I were to blow my nose, he freaks out.

 

[RavensGryf]

Nothing here about blowing noses, but ever since I've had Robin (near 20 yrs) he has been violent towards paper towels (and probably Kleenex or napkins too). I have to be careful when cleaning the cage!

Apparently, at some time before I bought him as a weaned 3 month old, he had a bad experience with paper towels. I'll never know why. Was it from the breeder? The bird store? The family with KIDS who BRIEFLY purchased then returned him before I bought him? Maybe your bird had something like that, an experience before he came to be with you.

 

[4dugnlee]

[quoteHow does Chico feel about tissues in general? Is it something he likes to play with or is he afraid of them?

My birds will scream at me when I blow my nose. Not like the conure call, but an obnoxious "I can be louder than you" sound. Like they're trying to copy me blowing my nose lol.
][/quote]
Chico starts freaking out as the kleenex is getting closer to my face, before I even have a chance to blow my nose...lol. Now set him down by the computer and leave the room to blow my nose, and make sure I remember my claritan every day..lol.

When birds in nature warn each other of danger they do it by biting them so they fly away quickly out of harms way

Awww...that's kinda sweet!

Nothing here about blowing noses, but ever since I've had Robin (near 20 yrs) he has been violent towards paper towels (and probably Kleenex or napkins too)

I've only had Chico for a couple weeks now so this is a possibility. He's very laid back and usually calm...unless I get that kleenex on my face..lol.

Thanks all, for your responses!

 

[JellyBean]

My little green cheek does exactly the same thing... he attacks anything white or he associates with cleaning... don't know quite how this happened!

 

[Hotrod]

I think you are right he probably believes the tissue is going to hurt you or he has a negative association with the klenex. When birds in nature warn each other of danger they do it by biting them so they fly away quickly out of harms way.

Interesting information, I did not know that! Hotrod doesn't do it with paper towels, but with clothes. Towels, blankets, etc. He will start trying to attack it if I cover up with a blanket or even when I am carrying clothes when he is on my shoulder. He is fine once I am covered up or when I am wearing clothes, but he doesn't like seeing big pieces of fabric moving around close to him. If my fingers are near the item sometimes he bites them. But usually he is trying to attack the clothes. So I am guessing that he is scared of the clothes, and when he bites me it must be because he is trying to protect me too! Aww

 

[getwozzy]

Maybe he doesn't like the Kleenex itself, or it being close to you, or possibly the sound of you blowing your nose.... Or all of the above

Not bird related, but we all know they're toddler like- my 2 yr old son absolutely had a conniption fit last time I had a cold a couple months ago... Every time he heard me blow my nose he would start crying and try to rip the Kleenex away from my face (he probably thought I was being attacked or something lol). By the time my cold was gone a couple weeks later he was somewhat used to me blowing my nose but was still pretty skeptical about it. Most of the time I would sneak away to blow my nose though lol

 

[EnglishMuffin]

reminds me of this!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9oxmRT2YWw]Emerson - Mommy's Nose is Scary! (Original) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[getwozzy]

LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!! Ahhhhh so cute!!!

Now imagine a 35 lb toddler screaming bloody murder with tears streaming down his face, trying to climb up my legs to rip the Kleenex away to save mommy LOL

 

[MonicaMc]

Actually, birds don't bite each other out in the wild to warn another bird about danger. That doesn't make any sense, when the birds can just scream "DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!" and fly away.

If birds had to bite each other to warn another bird of danger, then they could possibly be putting themselves at danger by *not* flying away and hanging around for too long. I mean, after all, what if the closest bird to them was 5+ feet away? They would have to spend valuable time flying over to the next closest bird, biting them, then flying off... valuable time that would be better spent getting away from danger.

 

[4dugnlee]

Just an observation that I just realized...Chico, who attacks kleenex, (or the hand holding the kleenex) does not attack paper?? He chews on it?? I don't get it

 

[MonicaMc]

As far as Chiko understands, they are completely separate things. Tissue is soft and pliable. It's also held up to the head by humans and makes a funny noise. Paper is stiffer and humans don't blow their nose into it.

 

[BoomBoom]

Sounds like a sun conure lol! I'd say its normal. He probably thinks it's a danger to you or a rival to him. Each bird has something that just sets them off. My sun conure, for example, does not like me holding cds and brown paper bags. He is okay with pieces of tissue or paper towel but gets upset when I handle a whole roll of tissue or paper towel.

Birbs!

 

[lquan]

I have been observing this behavior in my Lily ever since I got her (over a year now). I think some conures, especially those that are possessive of their mates, are being jealous of any object that comes near their mates' heads/faces. Try to put that same tissue near your nose without blowing into it. I think you will get the same reaction from your conure. My Lily doesn't like it when I wear a hat. She would fly down from anywhere to attack the hat and my ears. I pull my shirt over my head and she would attack it too. Nothing can come near my head but her.