Harley has been... Digging?

[StarryEyedGirl]

I was laying in bed today with Harley and he started to act funny. Normally he is afraid of the pillows I have on the bed. But today he started exploring them. And even went as far as trying to burrow into the pillowcase. I pulled him back to me (I was laying on my side with my arm under the pillow) and he starts digging and pulling all the hair on the pillow out from underneath me, then started to nestle in my hair. Then burrowed right into the hole where he just pulled all the hair from. Also, he was making this chattering stuffy nose sound, but his nose is clear. Is this some type of nesting behavior for a male or just him being a conure.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I think it's just conure behavior. LOL. It could potentially be nesting behavior, but it's hard to say for sure. Skittles loves to burrow into my shirts. Though he goes in head first and just his tail is sticking out. He'll 'tug' at my chest hairs.

As for the nasal sounds. Skittles sneezes regularly at different times yet his nasal passages are clear as well. I can actually feel the 'air' coming out of his nose. He sneezes when he is being preened as well as before a bath (I think that's part of his 'signal' that he wants a bath).

Not sure about GCC, but I have read that for sunnies - sneezing is a common 'attention' getting technique.

I know Harley and Skittles are separate species of conures - but we've both observed similar behaviors with our conures over the years.

I think conures, in general, are just majorly interactive. They have NO problem expressing their opinions one way or the other.

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Oh I hope it's just him being a conure. Lol. I mean all his paperwork says male so I assume a DNA test was done on him at some point before I got him. But it was the weirdest thing. He wanted Nothing to do with my boyfriend and fought like hell to get back to his burrowing spot. And that's how he was! His head was burrowed and his tail feathers were sticking out in the open! Lol. He also was breathing very rapidly and heavily. Maybe from all the work he just did moving my hair out of his way.

 

[Flboy]

My JoJo does the same thing! This normally, hey that will eat me, bird will crawl into a slightly opened drawer to explore!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Well, nesting behavior isn't limited to just female conures so DNA shouldn't apply. Both genders participate in the nesting process. From making the nest, sitting on the eggs, gathering food and feeding the young.

Birds are MUCH more reciprocal than humans. LOL.

As for your BF, if Harley is bonded to you then it wouldn't matter who it is. Skittles doesn't let anyone get near me. He will be fine if they are standing outside the apartment door. He'll just be 'on guard'. But if someone tries to enter or god forbid give me a hug, he'll go ballistic.

That's why I stay on good terms with Skitty. I'm afraid he might kick me out and have the locks changed. I don't think he realizes that I pay the rent. Or maybe he does and that's why he lets me stay. LOL.

Skittles likes to roll around in the laundry basket.

 

[ZephyrFly]

Conures don't build nest like some birds, they find a nice hole and make it their own! Least that's what I've read til now. Pazu is the same, occasionally burrowing into my hair in the crook of my neck so he can cuddle/nap. Though he does this and the gets jittery and wing flips/slaps, which may or may not be a possibly horny female thing....

 

[mh434]

Yep - they're cavity nesters...give 'em a cavity, and they'll dig around in it! We got ours one of those hanging tents, and he loves it to pieces. He digs around in it, scratches away...until he sees us watching. Then it's suddenly...silence...and he looks out at us as if to say "What? I wasn't doing anything. It wasn't me!"

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

Haha! We have a hanging tent for Harley but he hates it. Wants nothing to do with it. Don't know if it's because of the material it's made from and he doesn't like how it feels on his feet or what. But he huddles under my hand sometimes at night. More often than not though, at night he snuggles with my boyfriend. Right up to his eye socket and cuddles with him for a few hours.

On a completely different note, we have recently discovered Harley likes to flip himself onto his back and scoot across the bottom of the cage. It's hilarious! He kicks his little feet in the air and scoots himself around.