I have an adorable green-cheeked conure named Griffin who is just past two years old. Now, I give my birds a lot of time out of their cages for exercise, and I do supervise them, but Griffin likes to chew on everything (we think she’s female, and this is normal female bird behavior). She’s recently become fascinated with the cables behind the TV set, and the power cord on the air conditioner, “fascinated” meaning biting and chewing. The fact that it’s forbidden fruit and she gains attention from humans (No Griffin! Shoo! No!) for doing it just increases the appeal.
I would like to have something I could “paint” on the cables and cords that would not harm either machinery or bird that is very unappealing to said little bird, to provide an immediate *“bleeech!” *feedback to discourage her newest hobby. Anyone have any ideas what will work?
Invariably when I ask this in real life someone says “try hot sauce”. Won’t work. She loves hot peppers! Eats them like candy. No jalapeno is safe from her, trying to take a habinero from her is like depriving a pit bull of its favorite bone. I was not surprised to find that in the wild conures are one of the species that eats wild peppers.
Anyhow - any suggestions? I’m getting worn out chasing her around (she, on the other hand, is developing some very nice muscles from all this activity).
Have you tried Bitter Apple? It works for discouraging cats/dogs/other pets from chewing on things, and is harmless but very bitter/nasty tasting. I’ve only seen it as a spray.
While the label may claim efficacy, I have tried it and saw no effect with a yellow naped Amazon . I know of no effective safe deterrent. “Sticky paper” can be used if you are right there the entire time to free up the bird should feathers get stuck.
Have you tried “training” the bird? When the bird chews, re-cage it or spray with a water bottle if the bird doesn’t like being sprayed.
Re-caging can be effective if done properly, e.g., don’t make a fuss and give the bird attention. A simple “NO!” and removal to the cage for a while.
It does take time and close attention, IOW a PITA*, but it does work if you’re consistent.
Definitely be sure she’s got plenty of toys she likes to chew available, also. Trade them around so there’s always something “new” to play with.
Have you tried “parrot-proofing” those items? For instance, our bird doesn’t chew PVC - so in a similar situation, I might cover the cords with a small PVC pipe.
*It’s a bird - PITA is par for the course, of course.
Seems like there used to be some kind of bitter-tasting nail polish, sold to help curb a nail-chewing habit (in people). Anything like that still on the market?
(I got three sentences into the OP and thought, “I bet someone’s gonna mention hot peppers.” They sell suet blocks, for example, with cayenne in them to deter squirrels. It does nothing to deter starlings, though. Something about how they can’t taste the “heat” or whatever.)
My conure is terrified of Mylar balloons. You could try tying one to the wires like a scarecrow for a while.
You could also try wrapping the wires in aluminum foil, but paradoxically this may have the opposite effect. Other shiny things are attractive to my bird; for instance, he loves to attack soda cans. I think there’s something about the way the balloon floats that he interprets as a big predatory bird.
The people who suggested hot sauce clearly don’t know a THING about birds. Even I, as a non-bird-person know that. Birds don’t even detect the capsaicin, while mammals do. This is why bird seed and suet cakes sometimes have hot peppers mixed in to keep the squirrels away.
Bitter apple sounds like it’s worth a try.
Or you could chain a cat up to the cables. I doubt the cat would approve, however
Why does the OP want to repel harmless birds? The really dangerous ones will still get through. (Then again some men like their birds on the dangerous side.)
Something that worked on my 2-year-old cat who likes to chew on things like a dog does, since hot pepper and bitter apple didn’t work -
liquid dish soap
A behaviorist I know recommended it. Put on a pair of rubber gloves, put some soap in the palm, rub together, and then grab the cord and swoosh the entire length. It does leave a residue, but as long as people who may be handling the cords know it’s just soap, then it’s not too big a deal.
Works like a charm. He chewed my speaker cord apart three times, but hasn’t touched it since the soap application.
You know parrots that don’t like being sprayed? They all seem to love it.
You’re talking about an animal that can peel a walnut as easily as a grape and can crimp copper and aluminum wire and sheeting. I’m not sure that anything truly birdproof will be practical.
Yes, she likes Shiny. She is convinced the bathroom plunger is going to eat her, but we keep that as a last resort because we’re concerned that if we use it too often she’ll figure out it’s harmless.
Might try that - soap tastes gross but it’s relatively benign.
I might try that, but I think I’d prefer the soap as it is less likely to attract ants and other critters.
I’ve just started tossing a towel on top of forbidden delights when our bird is in roaming mode (he goes through phases where he Must Chew On THAT Thing, and no others are interesting). Low tech, but I’m lazy and can’t see coating every inch of baseboard and every cable, Birkenstock, book, and furniture leg with something.
IME, most if not all South/Central American parrots (Amazons, etc) love being sprayed. African birds (Greys, Senegals, etc) like it a bit less. Australian psittacines, especially Cockatoos often hate it.
