For those of you with piercings...

[witchbaby]

Picasso is driving me NUTS! I have quite a few piercings on my ears and two on my nose. All parrots love piercings, I've noticed, but this bird is OBSESSED with chewing on them! He especially loves chewing on the shiny toy hanging from my septum. It's pretty much the only thing he does and I can't get him to stop. It's extremely irritating.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? I'm running out of ideas. If I block him, he gets fussy and goes right back to chewing once I move my hand. I've tried distracting him with a beaded necklace I made for him which he really seems to like, but in the end he prefers my jewelry more. I remove him from my shoulder all together when he starts chewing on my earrings, but if I hold him out in front of me he reaches out for the septum ring. So I've basically got a bird I can't have near me, which is no good.

For the record, this isn't jewelry I can remove easily or quickly, so taking them out while he is around isn't really an option. I'm also doing my best to reinforce the rare moment he isn't messing with them. What else can I try?

 

[Dinosrawr]

Avery is a demon when it comes to jewelry! I was wearing a necklace yesterday and she wouldn't leave it alone, my goodness. She's also gone crazy over my boyfriend's sister's nose piercing... she's received a few nasty bites as a result. I'm not really sure what suggestions I'd have other than taping if Picasso is on your shoulder, or perhaps making sure you have a foot toy or something handy to keep him distracted. Maybe target training him away from your piercings and to the far edge of your shoulder will help, too, and teaching him to stay in that location if he chooses to be up there.

It does mean no face cuddles, but that's much better than losing a piercing with some skin attached! Other than that, I'm not quite sure what to suggest. I don't have piercings so I've never really had to think about it

 

[Sterling1113]

We don't have nose piercings, but my boyfriend and I have ear piercings and lip piercings.
What he(He did it more often than I did) did with Kiwi was he would hold her up to his face, when she went to bite at a stud/ring, he would grab her beak and push her(gently of course) away while telling her "no".
He repeated this for quite a long time. She eventually became hesitant, and now even though she goes for earrings/studs sometimes, once you give her "the look" she stops.
Also, an idea for your septum, I know it's a pain to change/remove the ring. Do you by any chance have a horse shoe type ring? So that way you could just flip it and tuck it so you still have the percing in, but the parts that would normally hang down are actually in your nose. It's hard to explain through text, hope that makes sense.

 

[Kiwibird]

Kiwi isn't allowed on my shoulder, but when I still lived at my parents, Lucy was and LOVED removing my nose stud for me. It was like she had a vendetta against it. In general, she left the earrings alone. With the nose ring, I just started putting her on the opposite shoulder so she couldn't reach it, but that probably isn't going to work if your septum is pierced since it's centered. With the earrings I would push her beak away and give her a firm "no" if she started messing with them, so maybe that would help? Birds should be taught the concept of "no" IMO for a variety of situations. Or, try always have a small foot toy on hand he can play with instead. If your set on keeping your piercings and he really won't learn to leave them alone, it may be best to not let him up there anymore. Get him used to riding on your arm and keep it bent at the elbow. If he tries to climb up put your hand up and tell him "no". He will learn eventually. Kiwi eventually picked up the concept of "no", and now it doesn't matter what he's doing or the situation/where he is, if he gets told "no" he stops what he's doing (and of course is praised and given a kiss because he obeyed).

 

[Kalidasa]

The minute I walk in, the earrings come off, and if there's anything around my neck, it goes as well. That's like jingling keys in front of a baby and hoping it won't make a grab at them. You might be able to distract him with something else if you're unable to remove jewelry, such as a jingle ball or a favorite toy away from your face.

 

[BoomBoom]

Aww your bird companion is just trying to clean you up. He probably thinks he is being nice by trying to remove the 'pin feather' or 'dirt' from his friend.

I don't have piercings but I can imagine how frustrating it could be. I know how it is to go against a determined conure. Boomer is obsessed over shredding my t-shirts. I resisted at first but it drained too much of my energy by telling him 'NO' or getting him off so I just let him have his way. Shirts are cheaper than most parrot toys anyway. But shirts are no piercings of course.

The only thing I can recommend is to find something he loves more than the piercings or remove it altogether. A face mask could work but he would probably just mess with that instead.

 

[witchbaby]

Also, an idea for your septum, I know it's a pain to change/remove the ring. Do you by any chance have a horse shoe type ring? So that way you could just flip it and tuck it so you still have the percing in, but the parts that would normally hang down are actually in your nose. It's hard to explain through text, hope that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense. I do have a horseshoe and I've actually tried this, but Picasso is too smart for me. He knows exactly where his toy is hiding and he's not afraid to search for it. Ha ha. It's so much worse. :09:

 

[BirdyMomma]

I LOVE JEWELRY. I'm not kidding. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. Gold. With diamonds in it preferably. Rings are my favorite, but necklaces, bracelets and of course earrings are awwwwwwwesome. My motto is, "I don't want to be married, I just want the jewelry." That being said, I buy most of my own jewelry, and have very sentimental pieces given to me by my family and my boyfriend.

I DON'T WEAR JEWELRY ANYMORE. After having countless items chewed, ripped off, pulled out etc., I had to get real with myself. It's difficult enough trying to properly socialize a parrot without looking like I fell head first into a pirates chest, why TEMPT them? Handling them while wearing my jewelry is like sending me into a jewelry store with 10K stone cash, and telling me I can LOOK at it, but I can't BUY anything.

So, instead of looking like Mr.Ts little sister, I keep it minimal. Just the stuff I can kind of protect. Two rings and diamond studs. All my other superfluous bling gets brought out when I have a special place to be. Sometimes you just have to make a choice.

Side note; I wanted my Cockatoo, Knuckles SO bad, and didn't know that I could afford her. I put as much money down on her as i could. I sold several pieces of jewelry, so I could bail her out as soon as possible. Some of it was jewelry left to me by my dad......I don't regret it for a second. That jewelry sat in a safe, collecting dust. Now I have a beautiful baby who I enjoy and who I get to make happy every day.

 

[antoinette]

I have a nose piercing thank goodness Mishka has never gone for it.

Ringo loves my piercing by my belly button and always tries to paw it.

I would hate to see the results if a bird gets held of the piercing and rips it.

 

[witchbaby]

Oh BirdyMomma, you sound like me. I usually go nuts with bracelets and necklaces, but not so much anymore. However, I won't take my piercings out for anything. I've quit and turned down jobs over the issue. It's part of who I am. They are with me for life.

Sigh. Fortunately it's never been a problem with any other birds until now. It sounds like I'll have to keep working with him. I can't give in just yet!

 

[Sterling1113]

Also, an idea for your septum, I know it's a pain to change/remove the ring. Do you by any chance have a horse shoe type ring? So that way you could just flip it and tuck it so you still have the percing in, but the parts that would normally hang down are actually in your nose. It's hard to explain through text, hope that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense. I do have a horseshoe and I've actually tried this, but Picasso is too smart for me. He knows exactly where his toy is hiding and he's not afraid to search for it. Ha ha. It's so much worse. :09:

That's just too funny.. now I'm imagining your birdie friend diving head-first INTO your nose to find your piercing!! :09:
I'm sure it would be much less funny when it actually happens, but for a mental image it's pretty dang hilarious.

 

[Kiwibird]

Side note; I wanted my Cockatoo, Knuckles SO bad, and didn't know that I could afford her. I put as much money down on her as i could. I sold several pieces of jewelry, so I could bail her out as soon as possible. Some of it was jewelry left to me by my dad......I don't regret it for a second. That jewelry sat in a safe, collecting dust. Now I have a beautiful baby who I enjoy and who I get to make happy every day.

A tad off the topic, but I so agree with leaving family jewelry to collect dust. Probably NOT what the person who left it to you intended for it to do, they wanted it to be enjoyed. I was left a whole bunch of jewelry by my grandma that I would never, ever wear. I sold most of it on ebay and saved the money to get her 2 big diamonds remounted in beautiful custom rings that I designed myself, that I wear EVERY DAY (literally never take off) and a really heavy gold bracelet I love and wear quite a bit. My dad was so upset, but my grandma left me all her jewelry to wear it- and now I do (just in a different way). I always think of her every time I look at my rings or wear the bracelet. And I'm sure the pieces I sold are being enjoyed and worn by someone else too rather than collecting dust

 

[witchbaby]

That's just too funny.. now I'm imagining your birdie friend diving head-first INTO your nose to find your piercing!! :09:
I'm sure it would be much less funny when it actually happens, but for a mental image it's pretty dang hilarious.

It IS pretty funny. A little gross, but funny.

 

[Birdman666]

If you have piercings, and you have parrots, then you are wearing bird toys.

Be thankful it is a conure and not amazon-sized or larger.

Then you'd be a person who USED to have piercings, and now has a scar.

They have also been known to try and "remove" tattoos... (and the occasional freckle or two!)

 

[witchbaby]

If you have piercings, and you have parrots, then you are wearing bird toys.

Be thankful it is a conure and not amazon-sized or larger.

Then you'd be a person who USED to have piercings, and now has a scar.

They have also been known to try and "remove" tattoos... (and the occasional freckle or two!)

Actually, my Amazon never messed with my piercings at all. None of the larger parrots I've interacted with (or even my conure, for that matter) have liked my piercings as much as this one particular cockatiel. Maybe I've been lucky so far. They've all tried to remove my tattoos though, now that you mention it.

 

[Empath]

i've found most of my birds after initially coming home and playing with piercings leave them alone after a few weeks. the exception is my amazon who's forever pulling the plugs out of my ears. he's not interested in the tragus, rook or anything else, just the plugs. if i remove the plugs he stops annoying me.

my redtail black always went after my industrial, and the bottom ball was missing so she could remove it. she sit there chewing on it before dropping it. one time i touched my ear and it was gone (but she wasnt around) and i realsied the hole had closed up. she must have removed it sometime and dropped it but i never noticed. I never found it either...

i wore my 5 lip piercings for the past month since i was on holidays (normally i wear retainers) and none of them went for them which was surprising. they all seem to like necklaces though.

if the bird is persistent, the only way to stop the behaviour is to remove the piercings when they're being overly naughty