umm... Mimi is obsessed with my mouth!

[snackies]

So lately, completely out of the blue, Mimi has become fixated and utterly obsessed with my MOUTH! I will be sitting there with her and she will literally try to pry my mouth open with her beak LOL. It drives me crazy and she will NOT stop. I say “no” sternly or make a “ah ah” noise and she stops for a second but then keeps going back over and over until I finally get cross enough to put her away, since she literally won't stop and starts to get actually aggressive about it! It’s driving me crazy for 3 reasons, 1) it hurts! 2) it’s gross! and 3) isn’t spit bad for birds!? She flies over and jams her beak in my mouth within a split second before I’m even able to move my hand to stop her! She is a ninja conure… how can I get her to stop? It’s been going on for almost 2 weeks now and no matter how many times I say “no” or push her away or lightly tap her on the beak or distract her with toys…!!! She won’t stop! Lol… she is a bird possessed and it is getting out of control. Lola just sits on my shoulder "laughing" while all this is happening, of course...

HEEEEEEEEELP!

 

[acortese86]

My sun does this also, shes not as forceful, but it hurts! She's starting to bit down harder now too. I dont have an answer to this question but curious what others have to say.

 

[mangol]

I noticed that the tighter I close my mouth the more my bird tries to pry it open. I think it has something to do with their foraging instinct. They just want to know what's inside!

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

My Alexandrine, Peaches, is obsessed with tongues, so kind of similar to your girlie. He came to us that way (love4birds might be able to explain the origin better as his previous owners daughter).....but yeah, he will get transfixed on your mouth....he will actually flick his tongue back amd forth on the side of his beak, and then expect you to do the same, and he can play this game for HOURS!!! Pinning in glee the whole time....he never tries to do anything other than watch, but if you stop before he thinks you should, he will hiss and lunge at your ear until you turn your head toward him again, and when you do, he will start all over, flicking his tongue, and then waiting for you to flick back. LOL


Sometimes its cute, but sometimes it tiring, and he is relentless, LOL
I often wonder if we should even encourage it.....you know, when Dogs are obsessed with things, we ask people to discourage it as its an unhealthy obsession (chasing bikes, barking at passers-by, etc) so I wonder if its the same with Parrots.....transfixing on something to intensly might be a sign of unhealthy obsession...but I dont know.....

You little one certainly sounds fascinated! LOL Maybe she thinks that where you hide your nuts.......?

 

[acortese86]

Penny doesnt pry my mouth open, but when it is open she grabs my bottom lip and bits down! And its more often then usual and She never used to bit down till recently. I also started a post about her aggressive biting lately.

 

[65sunnyday]

Nicky SC is also more fixated on my mouth than usual. There are times when, if I'm not getting him bites of what I'm eating fast enough, he tries to pry my lips apart to take some out of my mouth (esp if I'm eating a Skor bar.) It's getting to the point where he has to be put in his cage if I'm eating chocolate--better to avoid a severely bitten lip than all the complications that'd ensue if that happens.

 

[DQTimnehs]

It can be a bonding thing. Mates feed each other so he might expect you to offer him a treat from your mouth. I'm not saying you should! But I think that is their mentality. Darwin looks intently at my mouth if he is on my shoulder when I am eating something (it's a little creepy & vulturey). I turn my head away and if it is something he can have I will give him a piece I haven't bitten. Or put him on his playstand & give it to him there if it is something messy.

 

[65sunnyday]

Forgot to add--it must have something to do w/breeding season, & mates feeding each other to affirm their bond?

 

[snackies]

Maybe she is trying to feed me... lol! She is constantly trying to regurgitate for me... maybe that has something to do with it, haha. I think she is trying to get at my spit, too... ugh! it's so gross! I really want to try and discourage it but she seems to get really nasty when I try to stop her! She almost full on attacked me last night when I kept pushing her away... it gets to the point where I have to put her away for a time out because she literally will NOT stop!

 

[Macawnutz]

Our scarlet macaw does this to my husband. I find it gross and at first he thought it was cute. I would never let him "slip me some tongue" and he won't even try. My poor husband has (after a month) started to find it annoying. Re training is harder than training.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

She either wants you to feed her or she wants to feed you. Usually you to feed her. It sometimes starts when a bird on your shoulder reaches over and picks a crumb of food off your lip for face and then they get the urge to be fed by their paront. One of my tiels became obsessed with eating from my lips when I was a very new bird owner. I thought it was cute until she really got obsessed with it. Took me a long, long time to retrain her not to try and force my lips apart or nip me out of frustration because I would not feed her. The key was I started redirecting her by feeding her treats from my hand. When it looked like she was going to start begging and bugging my lips, I would redirect her by offering a tiny treat. That would break the begging and biting action and eventually she completely gave up bugging my lips. I was very careful to not allow my other birds learn this quirk. Every now and then when I am in the birdroom, I will get a crumb on my face unknowingly and Sunny or Trix will remove it and eat it. But they have been trained when I say no, I mean it; and to continue to bug my lips or beg for food from my mouth lands them back in their cage for a time out. So they understand no is no and stop bugging. Later I will give them a treat for behaving.