My cockatiel's scared of my acryllic nails and therefore my hands... :( please help!

[maryoten]

Im so sad. I have a baby lutino cockatiel that as soon as I got him wanted to play immediately, stepped up with ease, loved scratches on the head and I could make pretty fast movements and he didnt care.

But recently I got these red and green nails (merry christmas/Hanukkah/whatever u celebrate!) and hes been terrified of my hands He hates going on my hand and I end up having to chase him a little bit because he needs to go into the cage eventually....I hate it so much ( I feel like he hates me, even though logically he hates my nails it feels like he doesnt trust me and that makes me so sad it eats me up inside ((( He bites and hisses at my hands anytime I try to get him to step up like usual.

I've tried to do some positive exercises - got him to step up onto my fingers by bribing him with millet and first time took him 5 mins, second time took him 1 min so...should ii try that everyday...i dont even know im lost plwase hel,p (

 

[JjEjFjF]

Ive read different stories about birds being afraid of certain color nails. You might have to paint them a different color. My cockatiels are afraid or red food such as peppers etc.

 

[wrench13]

Decide which is more important - fancy nails or good relationship with your bird. This is not an unusual situation. Parrots see well into the spectrum of light that is not visible to us. I'd get rid of the nail polish ASAP, you do not want that fear of your hands to become a permanent part of your birds psyche, long after X-mas frippery is gone.

 

[GaleriaGila]

What Wrenchie said.
I consider my hands to be one of my more attractive features but... I haven't had fancy nails, OR jazzy jewelry, OR anything else beside my wedding ring... in 40 or so years. The Rb hates any changes to my hands. And as usual, I just surrender to him.

 

[maryoten]

What Wrenchie said.
I consider my hands to be one of my more attractive features but... I haven't had fancy nails, OR jazzy jewelry, OR anything else beside my wedding ring... in 40 or so years. The Rb hates any changes to my hands. And as usual, I just surrender to him.

Yeah, you're right. It just does suck because I finally treated myself after a long term and spend $90 only to get rid of it a couple days later! But ah well. I love my bird way more than any nails but I hope that anyone who has gotten acrylic nails before understands my turmoil lol

I did try gloves yesterday - he seemed less freaked out but I'd rather get rid of his sudden fear of my hands now before its too late. Do you guys think its too late? I got them on Tuesday. Hopefully he isnt forever traumatised

also, he didnt seem to mind my light pink nails. seems like bright green and red doesnt sit right with him

 

[rheashard2]

What Wrenchie said.
I consider my hands to be one of my more attractive features but... I haven't had fancy nails, OR jazzy jewelry, OR anything else beside my wedding ring... in 40 or so years. The Rb hates any changes to my hands. And as usual, I just surrender to him.

Agree, my CAG won't tolerate acrylic nails, rings, earrings of any color or design. I once had my hair streaked and had to wear a hat until dyed back. He'd carefully cut the streaks out. That was less painful then him trying to remove the nails.

 

[maryoten]

Decide which is more important - fancy nails or good relationship with your bird. This is not an unusual situation. Parrots see well into the spectrum of light that is not visible to us. I'd get rid of the nail polish ASAP, you do not want that fear of your hands to become a permanent part of your birds psyche, long after X-mas frippery is gone.[[[

Ive changed them to light pink but he still seems scare d...should i give it time? im thinking if he doesnt get used to it today ill just get rid of them tmr.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I'd give him time and keep reinforcing his good behavior when hands are involved. If he doesn't get used to them in a day or two, I'd go au natural and skip the nail polish.

 

[wrench13]

Parrots thrive on routine and stuff they can count on, and most hate change. Think about it - one of the reasons nature made them so smart and have long memories. They know every year just where the best fruit and forage will be and when. Parrots exhibit what is known as permanence, the ability to retain knowledge about something , even when it is not in their immediate view. Thats a rare thing in animals. Critical in parrots because they dont really smell stuff well, so finding food relies on this, the memory of where and when a given food will be available. Thats not to say you can never change anything once they are used to it. Just takes time and patience. Example - my Salty and I trick train every night at 8:45PM. A few years ago I started to go to a jam session on Tues nights, so we missed our session. At first, Salty was enraged at me when I returned at 11 or so, and tried to put him to bed, making a lot of effort to give me a good bite, a real solid one (rare for him). But I kept trying different ways to get him in his cage, safely and with minimum stress. Once I had that, and I made sure he still had his little treats that he would normally earn during training, over time he has come to accept that one day a week, we don't train. He is still not happy about it, and might lunge when I offer a hand to have him step up for bed time, but for the most part we worked together on this. He used to harbor resentment in the mornings next day, refusing his good morning scratchie and turning his back to me (in Amazon body language that means " I am DONE with you!"). Now, no sweat and he still eagerly wants his good morning 'rub down'.

So with time and patience, the OP MIGHT get her bird used to the X-Mas nail polish, but why put that effort into something so nonessential and might even affect her birds thinking about hands in general.

 

[saxguy64]

I don't know about nails, but my amazon hates it if I have a bandaid on my hand. Especially if it's one of those kid ones like smileys or SpongeBob. The first time, it took me a few minutes to figure out why she was acting like I had the plague. She's generally flawless with me. What's different?... Duh! Covered up the bandaid and it was like flipping a switch. My sweet girl was back

 

[texsize]

The problem I have with my Yellow nape is wearing glasses.
He gets really upset and angry if I wear glasses.
And the older I get the more I need them.

It takes about half an hour for him to calm down and become friendly.

He gets angry when I come out of the shower with wet hair.

None of my other birds care about these things.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

I did try gloves yesterday - he seemed less freaked out but I'd rather get rid of his sudden fear of my hands now before its too late. Do you guys think its too late? I got them on Tuesday. Hopefully he isnt forever traumatised

Well, you're a predator (predators have eyes facing forward, for better stalking. Prey has eyes facing to the side, for better coverage) and you suddenly grew bright red claws and reached for him. How would you react if you were the bird?

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

I don't know about nails, but my amazon hates it if I have a bandaid on my hand. Especially if it's one of those kid ones like smileys or SpongeBob. The first time, it took me a few minutes to figure out why she was acting like I had the plague. She's generally flawless with me. What's different?... Duh! Covered up the bandaid and it was like flipping a switch. My sweet girl was back

Watch for PFOAs in bandaids.https://techthelead.com/all-the-bandages-with-pfas-the-full-list-of-brands-found-to-have-forever-chemicals/

 

[maryoten]

Parrots thrive on routine and stuff they can count on, and most hate change. Think about it - one of the reasons nature made them so smart and have long memories. They know every year just where the best fruit and forage will be and when. Parrots exhibit what is known as permanence, the ability to retain knowledge about something , even when it is not in their immediate view. Thats a rare thing in animals. Critical in parrots because they dont really smell stuff well, so finding food relies on this, the memory of where and when a given food will be available. Thats not to say you can never change anything once they are used to it. Just takes time and patience. Example - my Salty and I trick train every night at 8:45PM. A few years ago I started to go to a jam session on Tues nights, so we missed our session. At first, Salty was enraged at me when I returned at 11 or so, and tried to put him to bed, making a lot of effort to give me a good bite, a real solid one (rare for him). But I kept trying different ways to get him in his cage, safely and with minimum stress. Once I had that, and I made sure he still had his little treats that he would normally earn during training, over time he has come to accept that one day a week, we don't train. He is still not happy about it, and might lunge when I offer a hand to have him step up for bed time, but for the most part we worked together on this. He used to harbor resentment in the mornings next day, refusing his good morning scratchie and turning his back to me (in Amazon body language that means " I am DONE with you!"). Now, no sweat and he still eagerly wants his good morning 'rub down'.

So with time and patience, the OP MIGHT get her bird used to the X-Mas nail polish, but why put that effort into something so nonessential and might even affect her birds thinking about hands in general.

Thank you for telling us your story! Your bird seems so sweet.

Amazing news! I got rid of the nail polish and it was like it never happened. Hopped onto my hand without a care! Im so happy I honestly cried. I didnt realise how fearful I was of losing my bond but it turns out it was just my nails. Thank you all sm for ur advice!

 

[maryoten]

Well, you're a predator (predators have eyes facing forward, for better stalking. Prey has eyes facing to the side, for better coverage) and you suddenly grew bright red claws and reached for him. How would you react if you were the bird?

yes, thank you for speaking to me like I'm ignorant! Of course I understood immediately. I wasn't mad or upset or confused why, I was sad because he was scared! Its not like I wasnt understanding of him or something.... I dont really appreciate that. Thank you for your comment, though. <3