Afraid of towels???

[KatherineI]

So, as some of you know, Sugar has been home with us for almost a month. When we first brought her home, we noticed she seemed fearful of a great many things. As the weeks have gone, there's still many things she's afraid of, some things she's now fine with and obviously still things we're figuring out.

One of the most alarming things we've noticed is that she's fearful of being in a towel. And not just fearful, it is like the end of the world to her. She has never bitten us to hurt (she occasionally wraps her beak around our finger(s) and presses down a bit, but it's only pressure and not usually very much and a simple "no" gets her to stop), until she was put in a towel. She fights as though shes fighting for her life, she has managed to bite through a thick towel and draw blood

Is this even remotely normal? Loki absolutely loves being wrapped in a towel and will happily jump in to one for either "burrito" or "taco" time (term is depending on how he's wrapped up). I've always been told that toweling is important for them to be comfortable with in case there's ever an emergency and you need to wrap them up in something, such as a towel or a small blanket. Not to mention, that it's a tool used to help in wing and nail trimmings. I've never encountered a bird who hated being in a towel quite this much. I mean, I've known birds who weren't thrilled with it, but they didn't fight to the point where we had to let them out of it for fear of them managing to do more damage to themselves fighting you Now that it's over, she has refused to leave my side, snuggling up as close to me as it possible, in desperate need of reassurance (which I'm happy to give her). She's been like this for over 30 minutes, highly unusual for a bird who is always on the go unless she's napping.

Is there any suggested ways to help her learn that toweling doesn't have to be stressful or feared??

 

[GiosMom]

Somebody must have spooked her really bad with a towel or hurt her when she was in towel, maybe a bad grooming or something. I would leave small hand towel like washcloth size around her let her throw it around...play peek a boo maybe so she sees it as a fun thing then just gradually go up on size and let her cuddle with it. Time and patience. Definitely reassure her though.....poor Sugar xo

 

[KatherineI]

IMO, someone has done some serious things to her. The towel is just one of a few things that make Hubs and I wonder what her previous owners were like. Obviously, this isn't a deterrent, we're more determined than ever to give her a good life. To only be a year old and be so frightened by something that most birds have no issue with... well, it breaks my heart

I'll try playing with her with wash cloths and such. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[greycloud]

Poor sweetie. I would make the towel a game. Hide treats in it, play hide and seek, sing with it wrapped around your hands and so on. Also, try changing the color of the towel. I cannot use anything white around Sammy my U2.

 

[KatherineI]

Poor sweetie. I would make the towel a game. Hide treats in it, play hide and seek, sing with it wrapped around your hands and so on. Also, try changing the color of the towel. I cannot use anything white around Sammy my U2.

It doesn't seem to be the color (we've tried a few times), just being wrapped up in anything really

I'll definitely start playing some games with her with small towels and wash cloths. She is just now moving away from me and acting like herself again. Almost an hour later. I feel awful, but her nails needed to be done desperately

 

[evesta]

Poor baby Sounds like you are doing everything you can, will just take time. My boys don't like towels either but not that bad. I had to use them to get them in the cage in a hurry when they didn't want to go and they remember everything!! I am working on it. Letting them burrow and wrapping a towel around my shoulders, their favorite place to sit. We will see if it helps. Nails are starting to get long here too and no bird groomers around here. It's the vet or me doing it and I hate clipping my dogs and kids' claws so I can't imagine doing a birds!!!!

 

[KatherineI]

Poor baby Sounds like you are doing everything you can, will just take time. My boys don't like towels either but not that bad. I had to use them to get them in the cage in a hurry when they didn't want to go and they remember everything!! I am working on it. Letting them burrow and wrapping a towel around my shoulders, their favorite place to sit. We will see if it helps. Nails are starting to get long here too and no bird groomers around here. It's the vet or me doing it and I hate clipping my dogs and kids' claws so I can't imagine doing a birds!!!!

I absolutely HATE doing nails for anyone, but the closest place to get the fids done for free is over 45 minutes away. The vet is much closer, but costs $40! So, we didn't have a choice, we had to do them ourselves.

I refuse to clip my dogs nails - I use a dremmel! It's the only way I'll do them. I wish fid nails could be dremmeled but it's just sooo much easier to clip.

 

[evesta]

Thank you, I might have to get a dremel. I always make my dogs bleed(not to mention my kids!). My chihuahua is the only one who doesn't have long blood vessels in her nails, my terriers are a nightmare and their nails get so long.

Our bird vet is 45 miles too but that is all there is. I don't know any bird people either but the breeder I bought my boys from which is farther. I'm gonna have to learn but i'm putting it off till the boys are more comfortable with the towel and my hands. I would perfer them to hate the vet, not me lol

 

[KatherineI]

I have a Boston Terrier and yeah, those quicks are LONG!! That's why the dremel is my favorite tool

 

[evesta]

Awww....Bostons are so cute! I love anything black and white animal wise. We had a Westie(he had the worst nails!) and currently have a Scottie who is 10 and our new Carin rescue who just turned 1. They dig all the time and still have claws of fury BTW, everytime I see Loki, I am sure I need a GCC hahaha.....

 

[luvmytooo]

Aww ,poor little baby . That breaks my heart also ,I cant stand to think what might have been done to this angel ! It's just so sad.

From the sounds of it ,you may never get her used to be toweled.
Maybe the next time you have use a towel , try using gloves.
She may not react to the gloves as bad. I can understand the need to get her used to a towel , but sometimes you have to make changes
Give her a hug for me ?

 

[lene1949]

I use a towel to dry off my birds after a shower... Small birds I use a washer... Max, Alexandrine, I use a hand towel... None of my birds are afraid of a towel, and if I need to, I could easily use a towel for restraint..

 

[greycloud]

! I am a licensed dog groomer for 35 yrs and I do bird grooming too. First of all, wow! I cannot believe a vet charges $40 to clip a birds nails! That is outrageous! Here vets charge $15 for small and $25 for large. I charge $12 and $18.
I do not recommend using gloves! In my experience 99% of birds are more terrified of gloves then towels. The hand shape of the glove can cause them to be fearful of our ungloved hands.
For both birds and dogs I recommend just taking the very tip off and slowly working your way back. You will see the nail change from a dull shade to a shiney stage and then it will start to look"wet". This occurs as you get closer to the quick. Stop at this point. If you work repeat this about every 2 weeks the quick will begin to work its way back and the nails can become shorter.
If a nail bleeds the best coagulant is cayenne pepper. You can apply dry or make a past. It has anesthetic properties as well as stopping the bleeding. Quick stop actually burns the pet.
I hope this is helpful.

 

[Mayden]

The towel wrapping around her is similar to that of being 'eaten' or 'grasped' as prey. Sounds like she's not only scared of being killed but she's had a bad experience anyway.

You're just going to have to do some towel training with her, put it on the opposite side of the sofa, eventually get her to stand on it, brush her feet with it etc. Doing all this very slowly and if she shows a bit of fear, slow down a bit again. Hope it goes okay, it's hard when they're scared of towels! We wrap Merlin up for fun so that he stays used to it, seems like you've got the right idea with Loki, you just need to make it not scary for Sugar. Good luck!

 

[luvmytooo]

I as a vet tech for a ton of years and agree , some vets get away with murder charging for nail trims. But if it takes the techs longer then a appt. to restrain the animal , some animals are just beyond restraining safely for both parties involved. And most times it takes
a few techs away from helping the vet and that may be all they have employed
The vets charge a office visit or partial visit.
I'm not agreeing with it , but understanding why they do it should be mentioned here.
Thank you for the tips !

Greycloud ,I would love to drop off all my dogs at your place for a first class treatment
Need appointments for : 5 GSD , 6 Border Collies and 1 Beagle
Thanks , lolol.

 

[greycloud]

Sure! Bring then down and spend the day sight seeing!