sun conure bites clothes

[louielouie]

Hello everyone! I have a sun conure, Louie, who I recently posted about attacking all my male friends...now I have another question I thought I'd throw out there. For a long time, (he's 2 1/2 and have had him myself for 2 years), he just loves biting holes in clothes. We've been trying for as long as the problem has been happening to teach him "no bite" which he responds to in a way that lets me know he understands what it means, then spites me soon after by biting a huge hole in my shirt, not every time, but a lot of the time. (when I tell him "no" or "no bite" he stops and does this little huff and quick head bob, basically like a "screw you" response)....
The thing about Louie is, he's a very manipulative bird and on so many occasions he's proven to me that he knows what's good and bad, and chooses how he'd like to behave. It's gotten to the point of having to stall trying to train, due to not wanting our clothes torn up, and only wearing the already-ruined shirts when at home with him. This is really the only behavior issue he refuses to fully overcome (other than attacking people which I now know is mostly out of my control)
Please help!
I know it's not good to give up on training, but clothes are expensive! I don't think this is due to hormones either, since it's every day for the past almost 2 years...anything anyone could suggest would be very appreciated.

 

[Amber]

My jenday has a bad habit of doing that. Anything shiny or interesting on your clothes and he's on it almost instantly. Telling him off works for about... 5 seconds max. I have holes in a brand new dress thanks to him.

I have found moving him down onto the couch/chair/bed/etc and away from me does work though. "If you chew you lose your shoulder privilege" type thing. I don't know how that would go with a more aggressive bird though (Alex is very passive) but might be worth a shot!

 

[Spiritbird]

Many bird species will love the texture of cotton or other clothing. I have two piles of T shirts. One is to wear around my bird (has holes) and the other pile is to wear when not around my bird. Just one of the things we put up with.

 

[suebee]

have to agree with spirit on this one, but she does leave my necklace alone! its funny coz she still tries to go for a sneaky nibble, but i just make a hummmmm low hum of disapproval and shake my shoulder a little

she loves denim to chew on and not keen on fleace lol so most of my lounge wear is that fleacey stuff, and it washes well and dries quick!

 

[Enjru]

We don't want them biting, we don't want them screaming, we don't want them doing drugs and we don't want them racking up huge phone bills...

Let's give them a few clothes to chew, shall we?

 

[Amber]

We don't want them biting, we don't want them screaming, we don't want them doing drugs and we don't want them racking up huge phone bills...

Let's give them a few clothes to chew, shall we?

Not when it's a brand new dress, lol.

Alex has plenty of chew toys, and some with fabric and buttons, if he so feels like chewing that texture. He can even chew on the furniture if he so desires. Just not my nice clothes!

 

[Spiritbird]

Best not to wear a brand new dress when you are with your bird. Get the old stuff out.

 

[Amber]

Best not to wear a brand new dress when you are with your bird. Get the old stuff out.

Not really an option here, I duck in and out of the house for classes and work constantly (Say home for a few hours, then to a class, then back for a bit, then out again for errands, then back, etc.) and Alex is always out when I am home. It's not feasible to change my clothes 10 times a day, and some clothes are bulky (I live in a cold place) so throwing an old shirt over the top is usually also out.

I never get mad with him though for chewing. He's just being a bird. But by not reinforcing it and moving him away when he does it, he has learnt that its not on... Unless it's my pjs, then its fair game. Using the same tactic he's also learnt not to poop on me, screech in my ear, or any of that. He does however, love hiding in my shirts and jackets and preening me, which is all a-ok! jewellery is also off limits though, but thats more for his safety (fashion jewellery alloys often contain lead an other nasties) then anything. It's when buttons start being ripped off, etc that I draw the line. I understand some things may be oh so tantalising for him, and he is more then welcome to explore them and nibble, just not to wreck!

Given that he has free run of my house for most of the day, toys up to his ears and is spoilt and very much loved, I'm sure he can deal with my ground rules/training. Poop in the cage instead of on me or on the furniture if possible (no negative consequences for doing so, but LOTS of praise and goodies for going in the cage, so he does 95% of the time), don't scream unnecessarily (greetings and goodbyes and alarm calls, etc, yes, of course, natural vocalisations are more then ok! Screeching for no reason all day/for attention/as a habit, no, you will get ignored.) and don't chew on me (bite me, or my clothes! Or you get put down on the couch/etc.)

Because he knows what is expect of him I think he (and me!) are much happier for it. I have a loving companion and a lifelong friend, and because of our ground rules we have a sense of harmony and very little conflict or behavioural issues.

(That goes both ways too, though. I respect Alex's space, that he may not want to be handled sometimes, and that his cage is HIS area to retreat to and never force him out, etc. He had his own boundaries as I have mine and we both have to respect that. )

 

[HannahW]

Glad we found this thread before I posted the same question. Fawkes, my 21 month old sun conure loves to bite clothes, blankets, towels, pillows, well anything he can get in his mouth really. We have clothes like Spirtbird said that we wear around him, but we take him visiting when we go see our families and don't really like wearing 'his' clothes there. Redirection doesn't always work, but starting tonight I will try putting him down or away from me and see if that helps. He doesn't like to be away from me, so hopefully he will understand that it means stop.

 

[weco]

What, you never realized that parrots were chewers…..it’s one of the things they’re good at ! ! !

I suppose one could train their bird(s) to not chew a shirt, but I really don't think that's a realistic goal.....and it is not just conures.....my parrotlet goes through a T-shirt in a couple of weeks if I let him spend a lot of time on me everyday. Plain white T-shirts can be had for a couple of dollars, as opposed to what some toys cost.....plus you are having one-on-one time with him/her/them.....

If changing into bird shirts is too inconvenient for you, don’t let your bird on you or put up with it…..heck, you can use it as an excuse to go shopping or maybe you’ve got an understanding insurance who might be able to get that claim approved for you….

Those of you who require supportive equipment may want to use old, worn out models or strapless versions, because both of my sun conures and my parrotlet like bra straps too. Step daughter had all three on her shoulder before Thanksgiving, when she was home from school. She’d gotten one of my bird shirts, to wear, but she’d never been warned about anything else being fair game…..hey, I don’t need that kind of equipment, so how was I to know ? ? ?

While we’re talking about bird shirts, The Complete Bird Owner’s Handbook, by Dr. Gary A. Gallerstein and Heather Acker also lists fabric softeners as toxic to birds, so be sure that your bird shirts and any other clothing you let them chew on wear has not been washed and/or dried with fabric softeners.

And, the January 2005 issue of Bird Talk magazine carried an article entitled Poison Safety, where fabric softeners and automatic dishwasher detergent were listed as potentially toxic to our feathered friends.

Parrots don’t know from Chippendale and Popsicle sticks and Barney Fife, but they do know they like to chew and they’re good at it. If left uninterrupted, a parrot can take that prized Queen Anne chair and turn it into kindling in no time – then step back to admire his handiwork and squawk for his treat.


)

 

[HannahW]

He does like to add his own designs to our clothes. I am cool with wearing 'his' shirts most of the time, just hoped there was a way to slow him down. We just rinse his shirts out with hot water, no detergent, fabric softener, or dryer sheets. We do the same for our Blue and Gold's clothes that she is allowed to chew on. They both seem to prefer something we are wearing as opposed to a toy.

 

[djdancer]

A little of topic but Amber how did you get your bird to not poop on you? I am constantly cleaning up bird poop from 2 conures. Thanks!