Err... am I Mrs. Harley now?

[Danielle]

Ever since I returned from interstate Harls has become increasingly clingy.
He's always tried to steal biscuits from me, including from inside my mouth. Now he both tried to take food from inside my mouth, and now he tries to give me stuff too.

Is he just being friendly, or has he decided that I'm Mrs. Harley?

[Solace.]

He's difficult that one, lol. I don't know, 'cause Charlie is very clingy too, but he doesn't do the food thing.

Maybe he's being clingy due to you not being around him for awhile and now's his chance to be clingy as much as he can to show how much he missed you. http://planetsmilies.net/confused-smiley-17705.gif

[Danielle]

As flattering it is to be 'fed' by him, we don't have the same tastes in raw, undigested seeds ;)

[Solace.]

OH if he's regurgitating then that's different!

if your bird regurgitates on you it is a sign that he is very much bonded to you and he's trying to feed you. Sadly, birds do not comprehend that we might not want to eat their gift.

[Aly]

I think he's in love! :love:

[Danielle]

Aww, dopey boy. He's meant to fall for Mozart!

[kimmikefids]

lol....how can he resist u Danielle???? ur hair and no feathers....thats totally hot

[Danielle]

LOL Kim. I bet all your boys are after you!

[Danielle]

Hmm... no hair... maybe THAT'S why he's been plucking himself silly!

[kimmikefids]

lol he's trying to make himself more attractive to u!!! and yeah...i do have a few boys after me....all tiels tho....i caught the human one!!! ive never had a tiel try to feed me tho.....take food from me yes...but no regurg...maybe ur better looking tielwise than me!!

[Danielle]

I do wear a lot of shiny stuff! Harley loves my nose stud in particular. He also steals stuff from my mouth. He'll try any food in the world as long as it's hanging between my lips.

I guess I'm more attractive to tiels than people, LOL. All my tiels love to sit between my boobs, even the girls.

[kimmikefids]

lmao....i hear ya...i tell everyone i ahve my boob growths on...i get some funny looks till i explain its a tiel.....they sit right on them...i have to be careful cause if its too flimsy a top it really hurts!!! little mikey HAS to be right in front of my face....and if i talk he jumps from whereever he is right up to my lips and gets real close for me to talk more he is my most interactive....tho comet and celeste want to be on my shoulder all the time...comet loves scritches and yesterday celeste let me scritch her for only the 2nd time since ive had her....of course that scritching lasted over an hour...she makes her baby noise and all of a sudden comet comes down like HEY!!! how come ur scratching her!!! so then i have to have one in each hand lol.....tiels can be all consuming at times....lucky they are so cute with it....i love the baby sound...its so sweet.....

[Danielle]

Harley drove me nuts with the baby noise because he just wouldn't stop. I miss it now! Flash and Ivy don't make it unfortunately.

I've taken to having to wear high necked tops because I'm covered in scratches, Harley in particular love sitting there and demanding kisses and scratches like Mikey does with you.

[kimmikefids]

oh speaking of scratches my babies were really painful cause they like to sit right on my neck and if i move they scratch....so i decided a nail clipping was in order!! it went better than i expected! Comet was really easy but Celeste was a bit harder...then again thats how they are in life too! thankfully they only make the baby noise during scritching time....man u should see me when all 3 wants scritches....i have to share my two hands between them and the one not being scratched is not impressed!!

[Danielle]

I'm seriously conidering the big clip myself, I'm covered in scratches! What method do you use?

[kimmikefids]

well i tried just clipping as they sat on my hand...mikey does that with teh canada birds...but no go unfortunately....because of my arthritis i have to get dad to hold them sometimes in a sitting position other times on their back....and i grab the foot gently but firmly and quickly clip a teeny bit more than the tip off unless i can see like with celeste....i use a special pair of scissors i ahve that are sharp and made for ppl with arthritis...u can buy clippers at pet stores i think or a small sharp pair of scissors/human nail clippers....thats the best option...if he would bite i towel them and keep their faces covered so they settle a little and again clip as quickly as i can safely...then let them sit up and give either kisses, scritches, hugs or treat depending on the bird....angel is the only one that freaks out alot...but its more about being held than anything else...all the others get over it quick and im scratch free!!! thats my method anyway!! i do tend to trim little mikeys without help and most likely will try to do the babies next time without dad now i know how they react

[WonderBird]

ahh.. I'm so jealous that everyone's tiels are in love with their mommy. It'd take a while for Charlie to realize that I'm not a threat to him. If I got Charlie to feed me, I'd be in love with him even more! GAHH!!! *puts on a jealous face* =D

[Danielle]

LOL, Harley's the only tiel I have who loves me and I've had him the longest. Mozart doesn't want much to do with me, Quinn will only fly over to me on her terms and hisses if I even look at her, Jinx HATES me and bites me hard enough to draw blood at every oppertunity, the new babies will step up and sit on my shoulders but they peck at me and hiss at me, and often run away.

Harls doesn't even know he's a tiel. He doesn't sit with other tiels, doesn't let them near him except to eat, barely makes a sound, doesn't really play with toys.
I think it's just that he was already sweet natured, hand reared and has grown up with me. I'm sure the other hand reared babies will come 'round eventually. Ivy's really witchy, but she's from Harley's breeder so I'm sure she'll turn out lovely.

Charlie already seems bonded to you, it will only get better. Not too many tiels seem to do the feeding thing, but Harley thinks he's a person and I'm his mate, so I think that's it. He also kisses my dad so it's not just me he likes!

[Aly]

I'm seriously conidering the big clip myself, I'm covered in scratches! What method do you use?

Here is a guide I wrote: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=448

[Danielle]

Thanks Aly! I bought some bird nail clippers and decided to try them out on Harley, since he sits still. I'm apparently cursed with both dog and bird nails because despite looking at his nail literally under a magnifying glass, I nicked the quick. It was only a little so it stopped almost instantly, but I didn't have the nerve to try again by myself or without toweling him.