Posted by anniespoms on Wed, 01/02/2008 - 08:31 :: Conures
Hello everyone and Happy New Year. I have a problem and I'm hoping someone can help me with it. I have two one year old Sun Conures Rainbow (female) and Rascal (male). They are both a lot of fun to play with. My problem is that when I have both of them on my shoulder my little girl rainbow likes to chew holes in my shirt. I heard that when they chew like that they are missing something in their diet. Can anyone tell me what it is they are missing so I can add it to their diet? Thank you so much for all your help and have a great day.

Ann-Marie
Rascal & Rainbow
Posted by karen on Wed, 01/02/2008 - 22:08.
It's really pretty normal behavior. Parrots need to chew. Mnay parrot owners put on 'bird shirts' to handle their birds so good shirts don't get chewed. As long as she is just chewing and not actually swallowing anything I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Since you know she likes to chew fabric though, you do need to be careful about any fabric cage toys she may have, as she could chew on them, get tangled in threads, and injure herself if you aren't around. Fabric toys should be checked daily for loose threads.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI
Posted by allmylove on Thu, 01/03/2008 - 21:27.
i have a red fronted conure(Bubba)and i know he loves to chew on his perches and tear stuff apart. My mom and i have figured out that he loves to shred news paper. it keeps him entertained and he is not ripping our clothes. at our local petsmart i found a parrot pinata. and got it for Bubba for Christmas. It has taken a few days for him to get used to it but now he likes it and he has started to pull it apart. Another great thing about it is that you can put your birds favorite treat inside. I have found that Bubba likes to chew on wood as well. number one it keeps his beak the way it should be and he isn't shredding other things. i hope this helps you and have fun with your birds! -allmylove-
Posted by The Beav on Thu, 02/21/2008 - 00:49.
Heya! I'm new on the forum. I have a 2 year old Sun. His name is Sammy. He just started about about 2 months ago chewing holes in our t-shirts and sweatshirts. Likes the cotton clothes. At any rate, I am not going to accept that its "normal" behavior. It is unacceptable behavior in my book. Clothes cost money. For 2 years, he has lived on my shoulder or inside my tops most waking hours with a few breaks on top of his cage. (It takes about 15 minutes before he starts screaming for me again.)- Without any problems other then the normal plop plops. Why all of a sudden the clothes fettish? He eats all kinds of food and fruit. His diet is varied, but mostly he loves the Lafebrer Nutri-Berries. So, the diet may be coming into play, I don't know....not changed for over a year. Also, his toenails are really ripping me up. I can only clip one now and again, because I can't hold him still long enough. Once in awhile, I can actually fool him and get one or two done as they poke through my shirt when his back is against my skin. Not often enough. I am even starting to wear a cap in the house because he likes it on top of my head. OUCH!

So I am asking others how to get him off the clothes chews and how to cut his nails without putting both of us in a tither.
Thanks.