Aids HIV FAQ

Nice Quaker

Question:

 He preens the long hair on my head gently enough–but yanks out >: >  MH>any >: >  MH>short hairs.  He’s taken little bits of flesh out of my neck, chin, >: >  MH>and >: >  MH>lips and tries to pluck my eyebrows and eyelashes if I let him that >: >  MH>close. >My first ‘tiel liked the afternoon shadow on my bird sitter’s face.  The >bird would nibble and tickle and tickle and nibble, then get a good grip >and YANK!!  Didn’t actually remove any hairs, but from the way my friend >flinched, I’d say it hurt plenty. >–

        This reminds me of when my ‘tiel discovered that humans have body hair.  I am very fair so the hair on my arms and legs is very light, and Spike never took much notice of it though he loves to preen my eyebrows.   Several years ago I had a boyfriend that Spike was wild about, and this guy had a fair amount of body hair.  Spike discovered this and would spend as much time as he was allowed plucking hairs from the poor guy’s arms, shoulders, chest, legs, etc.  After a while Spike, little hedonist that he is, began to look for body hair on other humans and discovered, to his great delight, that we *all* have hair if you look carefully enough.  This little triumph of inductive reasoning has not greatly endeared him to subsequent boyfriends, members of my family, or other visitors to my home.  

Response:

  Is this  MH>typical of Quaker behavior?  Sam’s almost a year old and seemingly  MH>very  MH>happy. He preens the long hair on my head gently enough–but yanks out  MH>any  MH>short hairs.  He’s taken little bits of flesh out of my neck, chin,  MH>and  MH>lips and tries to pluck my eyebrows and eyelashes if I let him that  MH>close.  MH>Now I suppose I could just keep him away from my face, but I really  MH>don’t  MH>think he’s being malicious, just a little rough.  Insights anyone? I can’t say if it’s typical Quaker behavior, but our late conure used to keep the hair on the backs of my hands well trimmed. She loved dry skin and hated band-aids. My guess is the bird is ‘taking care’ of you. Grooming is a social thing and shows that Sam likes you. You might try saying ‘OW!’ when he gets too industrious, in a way he will connect with his grooming.          Steve

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >   Is this >  MH>typical of Quaker behavior?  Sam’s almost a year old and seemingly >  MH>very >  MH>happy. He preens the long hair on my head gently enough–but yanks out >  MH>any >  MH>short hairs.  He’s taken little bits of flesh out of my neck, chin, >  MH>and >  MH>lips and tries to pluck my eyebrows and eyelashes if I let him that >  MH>close. >  MH>Now I suppose I could just keep him away from my face, but I really >  MH>don’t >  MH>think he’s being malicious, just a little rough.  Insights anyone? > I can’t say if it’s typical Quaker behavior, but our late conure used to > keep the hair on the backs of my hands well trimmed. She loved dry skin and > hated band-aids. My guess is the bird is ‘taking care’ of you. Grooming is > a social thing and shows that Sam likes you. You might try saying ‘OW!’ > when he gets too industrious, in a way he will connect with his grooming. >          Steve

I have a male quaker (TEKO) that is 4 and he does all of the above.  I have discovered that if he goes after my lips he’s probably been out to long and is hungry.

Response:

: >   Is this : >  MH>typical of Quaker behavior?  Sam’s almost a year old and seemingly : >  MH>very : >  MH>happy. He preens the long hair on my head gently enough–but yanks out : >  MH>any : >  MH>short hairs.  He’s taken little bits of flesh out of my neck, chin, : >  MH>and : >  MH>lips and tries to pluck my eyebrows and eyelashes if I let him that : >  MH>close. My first ‘tiel liked the afternoon shadow on my bird sitter’s face.  The bird would nibble and tickle and tickle and nibble, then get a good grip and YANK!!  Didn’t actually remove any hairs, but from the way my friend flinched, I’d say it hurt plenty. —  |/ ^(_)^   spector had a little bird, a ‘tiel hen named Merlot, _||__   and everywhere that spector went, the hen was sure to go!

Response:

We have 2 birds: Gizzy the Jenday is, of course, very sweet and gentle–he will explore with his beak and tongue but never bites;  Sam the Quaker on the other hand, rips out arm hair like there’s no tomorrow!  Is this typical of Quaker behavior?  Sam’s almost a year old and seemingly very happy. He preens the long hair on my head gently enough–but yanks out any short hairs.  He’s taken little bits of flesh out of my neck, chin, and lips and tries to pluck my eyebrows and eyelashes if I let him that close. Now I suppose I could just keep him away from my face, but I really don’t think he’s being malicious, just a little rough.  Insights anyone? …Min "In the end, we will conserve what we love,  we will love what we understand,  and we will understand what we are taught."   –Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist

Response:

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