Velcro Bird?

[kendrafitz]

Have you ever had a day that your parrot is a Velcro Bird?

We are having one of those days today. Rosie wants to be ON me. Being near me is not acceptable and screaming ensues. So she has been with me, on me, ALL DAY LONG. It sounds sweet, and I guess it is sweet, but it is very difficult getting chores done with a large macaw "helping". We had a disagreement this morning when I was trying to fix my hand vac. I had taken it apart and Rosie kept grabbing the small plastic pieces. We must have looked ridiculous, her sliding down my arm, twisting and reaching as I was twisting to keep her away. Needless to say, I didn't fix it. I couldn't concentrate while dodging and weaving to keep the crazy parrot squealing with glee away from the parts.

That pretty much sums up my day. I can only get her off me when she needs to poop and even then I have to promise to take her right back. (And stand no more than a foot away so I can immediately retrieve her...but I can't look at her bc she doesn't like me to watch her poop) Sometimes I just smile and shake my head at how ridiculous my life has become. This morning I was sitting on my heating pad with my Velcro bird on my shoulder and my Velcro dog on my feet. I wish I didn't have so much to do, it's like fighting the tide. :)

Would love to hear that others have had days like this.

[Dragonlady2]

When we didn't have the cats and I was free to go around the house with birds, my conure would stick to me like glue and given the opportunity Joey definitely would. Both are small birds. I can't imagine walking around with a Velcro macaw and I am tall for a woman at 5'11".

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I should imagine that all the parts of a vacuum cleaner would be fascinating for a parrot, a smart African grey would probably have the problem sussed and the unit reassembled in no time. Casper would just rearrange them like a whirlwind :)
As Casper doesn't usually mind which of us he is sticking to, we can work in shifts, playing parrot ping pong.
This morning Casper was helping Margaret make a cover for the cushion on her friend's wheelchair. Margaret was trying to get the tacking pins in faster than Casper was taking them out. Later she gave him a bath but he didn't want to be dried with the hair dryer this time and climbed down and sat under his cage at the back just to prove the point. He remained soggy most of the afternoon.
Having seen other birds on you-tube enjoying massacring a tangerine with treats stuck into it Margaret thought she would give it a go with Casper and stuck pieces of nut in a tangerine that she suspended in his cage. Casper has ignored it for the whole weekend.
All this has quite worn him out and after sitting on my shoulder for a beak grind and a nap he has now gone back to his cage for the night.
Peace has settled over the cottage once more... except I can hear seed crunching sounds from under the cage cover.

[Lady]

I don't have a velcro bird in the same sense as you guys do, but Lady does have her days when just being out of her sight is enough for her to scream and fuss till you re-appear. I've tried staying away till she would stop then go into the room and that works for the most part if I can be patient enough. But some days I don't even have to leave the room and she will start. No walking away more than two feet will do. If I try to put something away in the closet or tidy up my bureau she has a fit. When I come and sit in front of her she's fine. Then I give in and read to her or start cleaning or rearranging her cage and she has enough of me and will let me move about the room.

[kendrafitz]

I'm glad to hear I am not alone. I finally told her I had to go and stuck her in her cage for a nap. I then ran to the basement and watched a movie in peace. She is now back on her tree, snacking. However, she just noticed Bailey on my lap. She is cleaning off her beak and clucking, sure signs she is about to yell UP any second.

Helena - do the birds mind the change in routine since the cats?

Jean-Pierre - Sounds like Casper had a busy day keeping Margaret on her toes. It's nice that you can share Casper duty - it certainly helps with getting things done. :)

Alice - the yelling with Lady reminds me very much of Rosie. It drives me crazy. I can be 3 feet from her but if I am not where she wants me, screaming ensues. I started sticking her in my room for time outs. I think she prefers it there so some days she ends up there watching Disney Jr while I get laundry, cooking, cleaning done. So crazy!


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[Dragonlady2]

The major change for the birds is that I am present in the room at all times instead of being able to leave and take the troublemaker of the day with me. I miss being able to move around freely with one or two birds on my shoulder. I do have two connecting bird rooms so it isn't as contained as it was before.

[kendrafitz]

The major change for the birds is that I am present in the room at all times instead of being able to leave and take the troublemaker of the day with me. I miss being able to move around freely with one or two birds on my shoulder. I do have two connecting bird rooms so it isn't as contained as it was before.

So it is actually harder on you than it is on them. They still have you all the time. :)


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[Dragonlady2]

So it is actually harder on you than it is on them. They still have you all the time. :)


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Yes, it's harder on me, especially when I need to go to the bathroom...lol

[PlaxMacaws]

Have you ever had a day that your parrot is a Velcro Bird?Just one day? Nope. It's every day with Zaf! He literally has to be ON me on a constant basis. He simply refuses to step away from my arm or shoulder and I'm usually even unable to get him to step off of me when it becomes somewhat urgent. He's like "blue glue" ... which is one of his nicknames.


I can only get her off me when she needs to poop and even then I have to promise to take her right back. (And stand no more than a foot away so I can immediately retrieve her...but I can't look at her bc she doesn't like me to watch her poop) It's exactly the same with Zaf. When he needs to poop I have to verbally assure him that if he steps off of me onto the perch he can step right back on me as soon as he's finished. If I don't do that... you guessed it, he refuses to step onto the perch. So I tell him, "I'll stay right here! I won't go anywhere! And you can come right back when you're done!" before he'll take the chance and step off to go do his thing. And of course, I must honor my word to him every time or it would ruin his cooperation for future such requests. The only difference between Rosie and Zaf in this regard seems to be that Zaf doesn't care if I see him poop. He's not shy in that way.

Speaking of hand-vacs, the way that I get Zaf to leave his mobile command post (i.e., me) when it becomes absolutely essential, and when I don't want to promise to remain right next to him until he poops, is to pull out an old red dirt devil hand-vac that he's absolutely obsessed with as an attack target. I just set it on the floor of his cage and he'll run down my arm, leap off of me and into the cage, then violently lunge at the thing. This has actually been working with him for many years. I just have to be sure and reclaim the poor old thing very quickly so he doesn't destroys it.

[Dragonlady2]

I have a colourful feathered duster that does the trick for me.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

If we ever needed to use an item like that, it would be the drum of poop-off wipes. I don't know why but Casper believes it needs to die.

[luckyandjenn]

Ha ha ha all these storys are great i too have a velcro bird it seems lucky tends to be clingy and boy let me tell you if hes having one of his days and im not doing thing quick enough for him hell start holoring and screaming at me lol at this point i think hes done a good job training me lol. It gets so bad sometimes i have to ask my hubby to help get him off lol lucky will do this thing where hell step one foot onto my hubby then grab on to me harder with his other little foot i have to tell him to let go youll be ok with dad for a sec lol also sweeping and moping are near impossible on such days

[Stephen12]

I never faced such an issue with my bird.