pinching and other problems

[urigard]

Amos is doing well other than when he is on my hand he starts with birdy kisses and then pinches my thumbnail and then my skin. when he starts pinching my thumbnail it dosent hurt but i can feel pressure. when he pinches my skin it dosent hurt at first but after a few pinches it starts hurting and i usually tell him no and put him back on his cage. also i have a expensive computer mouse that i use for my games and i think he is attracted to the ble lights on the mouse. he chews on them. i dont think he could bite the buttons off but i would rather not risk it as it cost $80 and thats alittle expensive for a mouse. i was wondering if the chewing on my mouse could be stoped or should i just not hold him while at my computer. i say no in a sharp voice not to sharp but just to get his attention. is this ok? its a habbit from growing up with cats and dogs. it stops him from chewing my mouse and on me for a second or two but then he goes back to chewing. am i doing things wrong in saying no and putting him back in his cage? i like to hold him when im at the computer and he dosent chew on me when he is on my shoulder but just when he is on my hand. if it helps he is a senegal

 

[BlueToast]

Anything with lights, buttons chords are on my birds list of thing to be chewed on in 2010. Not at all an expert but I'm thinking that kind of thing is more instinct than aything else. Probably take less time and effort to put things like that away rather than convince the bird to ignore them. Like My tv's remote control. My bird has had her eye on that thing since day one and the remote has been surviving on borrowed time since then. Buttons seem irresistable to Pepper so what i did was disassemble a old cheapy calculator removed the guts and lcd screen for the birds safety and rigged it up to her perch. That keeps her occupied for tens of minutes everyday.

 

[antoinette]

A bird is a bird no matter what species.
Just like babies, love lights and buttons.
Perhaps try placing Amos in a playpen when you on the computer, attach toys for him to play with.
Even better still, give him his own mouse NOT A LIVE ONE !!!!!!!



Mishka on her playpen.
Take care

 

[BlueToast]

I've found that Pepper is on her best behavior when she is mentally engaged and occupied. Idle hands as the saying goes and that playground happens to be my apartment. Mp3, USB, eithernet cables and cell phone chargers are expensive toys. And something as simple as hollow tube from a disassembled Bic pen keeps her happy for 30 min at least. She doesn't even want to be bothered while she has a chew toy. See my Beak and Destroy picture in the Macaw section of the photo gallery. Also computer keys. Pepper gets very excited over an opportunity to remove these pesky keyboard keys for me.

 

[antoinette]

How sweet, that is so awesome
Looks like someone does your work for you ??????
Pepper 's got such beautiful colour, not forgetting his character.
Great pic
Thanks for sharing

 

[Spiritbird]

Urigard: Rather than saying no to Amos which only makes him want to do what he is doing again distract him with a goodie. Or as toast says just put him on a stand near you with something to keep him busy. I did purchase a toy telephone which talks and has buttons. It is a good substitue for the electronics they so love. You need to keep thinking birdie is a young child = needs stimulation with safety in mind. We should not be demanding of our birds because that will only excerbate the problem.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I just bought a new keyboard and mouse for my computer. My new years resolution is to keep these safe from Auggie so they last at least a month unlike their NUMEROUS predecessors.

Sounds to me like you have a parrot, welcome to the club.

Now your life is divided into two parts that need to be kept completely separate. One where you can have electronics, decent furniture, shirts without holes, carpets without stains; and the other where you can have a parrot.

The two do not mix.

 

[william]

pinches my skin it dosent hurt at first but after a few pinches it starts hurting and i usually tell him no and put him back on his cage.

Be careful of repetitive behavior like that with a parrot. What you are basically doing is teaching him to bite you when he wants to go back to his cage. Or more importantly to another spot which grabs his attention. I am no bird behavior expert but have owned quite a few. When the parrot bites he is trying to say something. If it is irritated because you don't seem to get the message an elevated vocal tone sometimes makes matters worse. You are responding like for like. A bird sitting on your hand can feel the muscle tension increase, I do believe they react to that. (Please note I have no proof of this but have noticed this when dealing with other types of animals as well) Add the elevated voice to the mix and you send a signal of tension to the bird. Try relax, keep your voice calm and then start over and see what he wants to do.
As regards the mouse and fancy lights you can't really blame him, parrots love to play as much as we do and are just as curious. Thankfully we don't have the compulsion to chew our toys to bits