Allowing birds on your should - good or bad?

[laurend]

I've lately been noticing some comments suggesting letting your bird on your shoulder is a big no-no. Is that true?

I'll be honest - I let missy get on my shoulder quite a bit. She likes to perch there and just hang out while I'm doing my thing, and sometimes she likes to dance and chatter away to me on my shoulder... I've never even thought about it possibly being a bad habit.

 

[Echo]

It's not a bad habit, it just depends on the bird, his personality and size.

I trust some of my birds on my shoulder, others I don't. However, it is always a risk for a bite and that's why I mentioned the size of the bird, to me, matters then. In the event that my bird gets startled or bite me because of displaced aggression, I am willing to take the risk of a bite knowing that the beak I'm dealing with is on the small size. Still gonna hurt, but I'm willing to risk it.

A Macaw or Cockatoo's beak? Not likely willing to take that risk with my face!!

 

[Echo]

Also, the birds allowed on my shoulder need to step up ALWAYS when asked to come off the shoulder! No exception! If they hesitate, we train until it's second nature to step up when asked. That's the only rule I enforce when on the shoulder.

 

[crimson]

I second that, depending on the bird and it's temperament. some I totally trust and want them on my shoulder, others like my Senegal Safari, only is allowed up to my elbow, and no further....I like my face just the way it is

 

[xoauderiiox]

I have a scarlet macaw who I always let up on my shoulder. I know it's a bad habit but i honestly like to believe it's not. I'm aware i'm risking a chunk in my face but I make sure when she goes up it's in a calm environment. I feel so accomplished knowing my tookie girl can sit on my shoulder without having issues If you're like me it's all worth it to you the feeling you get of having your bird up there bonding with you! I just love it.

 

[MikeyTN]

You never know what they would do so its not advised letting them on your shoulders! Especially during hormone period. I know people who have chunks of their face, finger, ear, etc taken off by their large parrot! One lady had her grey for 30+ years since he was a baby, he bit her lip off and she held her lip against her face while driving herself to the ER. Do you want to take that risk?

 

[thekarens]

I think it depends on what type of bird you have and what risks you're willing to take. Personally, for me zons and macs would be out of the question. I do let my sennie up there. It's still a risk, but not as big a one IMO.

 

[legal_eagle]

I allow my GCC to climb up on my shoulder freely because she can't inflict serious damage if she bites, and because she always comes off willingly when I tell her to

I would not allow anything much larger than a GCC on my shoulder because of the risk posed by biting. A friend of mine required stitches to her lip when her YCM decided to chomp her face without any prior warning.

 

[Jayyj]

I'm ok with Alice on my shoulder. She obviously feels safest on my shoulder because that's where she goes if anything is making her nervous - and early on everything made her nervous and I didn't have the heart to block her from climbing up there. Now that she's happily settled in she likes to go everywhere with me, so to be honest it's convenient for me to occasionally have both hands free, and she knows "shoulder please" means she needs to scootch up there for a few minutes while I do something.

The big thing that puts me at ease with her is that if she's going to bite, she works herself up to it and her body language changes well before she tries to land a blow, so even out of the corner of my eye I can see the signs and react to prevent anything happening - normally this is when she's on my lap rather than on my shoulder. When she does lash out 90% of her lunges are shadow boxing to get her point across rather than serious attempts to grab some flesh.

At the end of the day, I know I can't guarantee she'll never lash out and hurt me, but I think the chances of that happening are pretty low. I take responsibility for her being there, and if the worst does happen it's my fault, not hers. I wouldn't allow her on anyone else's shoulder: she always tries when she's meeting a new person (she's a very sociable little thing!)and I always show people how to block her, and lift her off if she's persistent. I don't think I'd want to chance a macaw or U2 on my shoulder, but I think it's down to the individual to choose whether they feel it's an acceptable risk, and in our case I'm happy that it is.

 

[getwozzy]

IMHO it depends on the individual bird- size, species, temperament, etc. I let chili on my shoulder because I trust her up there. The larger birds, I would probably never let one on my shoulder, or if it's someone else's bird then absolutely not.

It's a personal call you need to make yourself, and come to terms with that the worst case scenario *might* happen...I'm not saying it will! but might. Are you prepared to deal with that??

 

[Abigal7]

It depends on the bird. While some large birds probably do fine on someone's shoulder I could guarantee you that most people with large bird experience would not advise on allowing a large bird on your shoulder or not until the bird has proved itself trustworthy.

 

[henpecked]

You should use the forum search and look up this topic. We've had some very good discussions about this. There are a very few birds i will let on my shoulder. My pet birds don't prefer to be on my shoulder because i never let them there when they were young. Yes sometimes i'll put one of my pets there if i need to but they prefer to be on my fore arm. My hen nape will climb right back down because she knows all the action and things to get into are down near my hands,LOL. Birds that you are not well bonded with will prefer shoulders because it gives them more control over their situation instead of you making the decisions. It's much harder to have any control over a bird on your shoulder. You can't see them to gauge their mood. You need to be the leader in your relationship with your bird, set the rules and don't allow birds on your shoulder. I look at all the scars on my hands and arms, sure glad they're not on my face.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I have a scarlet macaw who I always let up on my shoulder. I know it's a bad habit but i honestly like to believe it's not. I'm aware i'm risking a chunk in my face but I make sure when she goes up it's in a calm environment. I feel so accomplished knowing my tookie girl can sit on my shoulder without having issues If you're like me it's all worth it to you the feeling you get of having your bird up there bonding with you! I just love it.

Is this the same Scarlet that you describe and talk about here??

Hey, i'm new here and really need some help. I just rescued a scarlet macaw who is a female and 6 years old. She apparently was always distant with her old owners but was great with me and my family. I've only had her three days now and she started by stepping up to everyone and letting us pet her to climbing off her cage just to lunge at us. She even attacks her own talons when she gets upset now. She was doing so good until she just snapped. She eats normal and is out of her cage almost all day. She will also still take treats from our hands still, I'm so confused!!

I wonder how accomplished you will feel once she gets a hold of your face.

 

[brianlinkles]

You should use the forum search and look up this topic. We've had some very good discussions about this. There are a very few birds i will let on my shoulder. My pet birds don't prefer to be on my shoulder because i never let them there when they were young. Yes sometimes i'll put one of my pets there if i need to but they prefer to be on my fore arm. My hen nape will climb right back down because she knows all the action and things to get into are down near my hands,LOL. Birds that you are not well bonded with will prefer shoulders because it gives them more control over their situation instead of you making the decisions. It's much harder to have any control over a bird on your shoulder. You can't see them to gauge their mood. You need to be the leader in your relationship with your bird, set the rules and don't allow birds on your shoulder. I look at all the scars on my hands and arms, sure glad they're not on my face.

If I could have hit the "thank you " button more than once I would. We have to remember that our birds are wild animals, they do not have good self control. They often react quickly and badly to different stimuli. They are living in very "un-natural" habitats. (cages, homes) Hard as we try to re-assure them and make them feel confident we must remember they are prey animals and are always on the look out for danger. If they perceive something as dangerous they react. Sometimes it is to fly away, sometimes it is to screech but often it will be to bite. They can bite for many reasons and sometimes it is to get us to get out of dangers way. They will go for the closest area to them. Yes, I have allowed several of my birds to occasionally go to my shoulder. My grey that I have raised from a little baby is allowed up there occasionally when I need to use both of my hands for something. In fact I posted a thread where we had a game night and I noticed that she was on my shoulder in those pictures. I trust Dorothy more than any other bird I have ever owned or been around. That said I would not put it past her if something she perceived as dangerous led her to a bite. (this is a bird that has never bitten me)
There was also the post above that stated they felt accomplished when their scarlet macaw was on their shoulder. I find this odd. I don't want to be negative but what type of accomplishment is there from allowing a bird on our shoulders? I think if you would research this topic more you will see that most experienced bird owners do not allow this type of behavior. I'm sure it will happen now and then however as a general rule it is not the norm.
I also want to address the allowing a gcc on your shoulder. I breed gcc's and I can tell you the worst biter in my house is one of my male breeder gcc's. This little guy packs a punch that is unbelievable. I have a very, very high pain tolerance and I have been bitten by everything from conures to a hyacinth and this little gcc packs one of the worst bites I have gotten. I think they are all capable of ripping into our faces, eyes, ears etc. I just want to caution everyone about letting their guard down.

 

[SoCalWendy]

I too think it depends on the bird, as well as it's temperament and personality. I don't care for my birds to be on my shoulder. It limits my control I have over them. My husband on the other hand loves it when rio sits on his shoulder. He likes to walk around with her, and take her outside. She seems to like it too unless I am around, then she only wants to be with me, but not on my shoulder.

 

[BACON]

I allow my BFA on my shoulders, it's where she's comfortable. If I have to get her down onto my hands or arms she goes tense. Feathers flat and nails dig in a bit, once she's up on my shoulder she snugs down and is more than content.

As others have said it depends on YOUR bird and YOUR relationship with it. Without seeing Blue I can tell what she thinking, I know the noises she makes when she sees something she doesn't like, I can gauge by the grip she has on my shoulder if things are more serious..... I just move, talk to her and offer my hand, she settles fairly quick.

I'll even kip on the couch with her on my shoulder/chest.... (Sunday afternoons of course )

 

[Blueridge]

If you have a nice birdie, then it's fine. My little quaker is the nicest bird ever so I let him on my shoulder pretty much all day long. It's more of a safety thing for you if the bird bites.

 

[thekarens]

Has nothing to do with whether they are nice or not. A lot of nice birds have given severe bites.

 

[MonicaMc]

I allow Charlie on my shoulder, and he often flies to my head before climbing down to my shoulders... but he's not really a shoulder bird. He prefers being on my hands or arms and sometimes in my lap. Don't really know why. Having said that, he does have an issue with me trying to blow my nose with tissue or at times running water - especially if it's fast running water. If it's slow running water, there's no issue. Easy to avoid situations where he would get upset.

Casey often flies to my head, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, butt.... really, any place she can land!!! Doesn't bother me in the least!

Tomi Girl isn't really tame but she's not wild, either... she has been on my shoulder before but she prefers being around, on or in her cage.

Jayde I've had on my shoulder before I even trusted her! And yup, she bit me, too! She's not hard to get off of my shoulder, even if she doesn't step up from my shoulder, and her biting/nipping is really to a minimal now anyway so I do trust her to be on my shoulder now. I think allowing her onto my shoulder helped her to really come out of her shell and learn to trust me.... saying that, I *WOULD NOT* recommend anyone else to do as I did! I took that risk because she took the risk that I wasn't half bad and climbed to my shoulder. The first physical interaction (besides scritches and kisses) that she initiated in over 6 months! (her foster mum had her for 6 months, and Jayde would not leave her cage! I have no clue before that!)

 

[Birdman666]

Depends on the bird, and how well the birds are socialized... and whether they tend to displacement bite, or act up when they know you can't control them.

4 out of my 5 - including my amazons, which goes against conventional wisdom - are shoulder birds. And I can put my hand up there and step them up off my shoulder, so they behave when they are up there. So, why not?

The only bird that isn't is my CAG, and this is because he has a tendency to displacement bite if he gets spooked. So, you're a hand and an arm bird, not a shoulder bird.

But that's an individual temperment thing and an individual risk thing...