Is it OK to shoulder a parrot?

[LoveMyParrots]

I have saw articles that says to never shoulder a parrot. Because you can't see the parrot's body language, and can be badly hurt. But others say that a adult parrot that is well trained can be shouldered.

I have always shoulder my cockatiels with no problem, but I never try shouldering with Ozzie since I only had him for 5 weeks, and he sometimes won't step up.

What do you think about this topic? And do you shoulder your parrot?

 

[SandyBee]

We shoulder both our birds, but we didn't at first. You need to know your parrot and how they react to unexpected events like sudden loud noises, people coming in the room etc. It is a risk and you need to be aware. Other rule I live by is they must get down when asked or they lose the priveledge. I am not fighting an amazon by my face.

 

[Retro21]

Well, I remember reading an article from a guy who had owned many birds, and the macaw in question for 20 years. He had always allowed his bird on his shoulder with no problem. Then one day they were out and another bird flew overhead. It startled his bird and he was left with his ear still attached, but hanging there :11:. That convinced me that it was not a habit I wanted to start. I have let Lola up there on occasion, but very rarely, always for a short amount if time and I'm always a little worried.

 

[weco]

Another thing to think about is that a sudden turn of your head can also spook your feathered friend & if you are turning toward the bird, there is the potential of the bird catching your eye.

Several years ago an elderly neighbor fell on her porch steps & my Patagonian was on my shoulder.....I snapped my head to the neighbor's call, spooked Heidi, but half way through the turn I realized what I was doing, closed my eyes & was able to move my head enough that I just got bit on the cheek bone.....enough to draw blood, but I did sit down & reflect on how lucky I was to still have both eyes.

 

[MonicaMc]

If my birds want to sit on my shoulders or my head, I don't mind!

Casey, my first tiel, often flies to my head, my shoulder, my arm, my hand or any other part of my body (little awkward when she lands on my butt...). She doesn't know how to bite (and she's 11 1/2 years old) and readily steps up for scritches! In the morning, when I'm getting their food dishes ready, she often flies to my head, flies around the room, flies back to my head, flies to the closet, etc. Sometimes she'll stop and wait in the closet (it has no doors and a bunch of bird stuff!) or on one of the cages. When it's time to put her back in the cage, she readily comes to my hand for scritches, then in she goes! No fuss!


Charlie on the other hand, he'll fly to my head, my shoulder or my arm... but he often prefers my shoulders or arms to sit on. There are things that can piss him off and he'll attack me, so rather than not allowing him on my shoulder, I simply try to avoid things that will set him off and avoid the situation entirely.

 

[7birdbilly]

Any animal (or bird) has to have their defense mechanisms respected.
Disclaimer out of the way.

I have 7 birds, and have shouldered all of them at one time or another. When they are out they do it themselves. As was previously said you have to know ur bird. I have one conure that has a bag issue, so I know not to dig in the lays bag when he's in striking distance.

Yes I have had a bloody ear before, but strangely enough my more severe injurys have come from beak swiping ( a fav of macaws). I've seen people bit kissing their dog.

The body language thing is very true but knowing your birds idiosyncratic issues are even more important.

However, I do wear prescription safety glasses.

 

[goalerjones]

Mine lives on his playstand and on my shoulder. When he gets fussy he goes off my shoulder. I know what spooks him in our home so I either prepare him for the noises or put him back on his cage. i.e. when I grind my coffee beans or use the blender I increase my volume until I match the new noise then let the machines noise take over without him getting spooked.

 

[Oedipussrex]

Pickle is on my shoulder all the time. He does get angry at my gaming headphones though XD
My mother trained him to only sit on her left shoulder so she has full use of her right arm and he sticks with this for everybody now. Usually he is extremely well behaved, and i dont think there are any dominance or aggression issues at all which i know is one of the things people warn against it for.
He also likes faces a lot, more than hands i mean. He will feel threatened if you raise your hand over him to scratch his head but will be completely okay with you nuzzling into him and scratching his head with your cheek or nose. This requires a lot of trust on our part and i only feel comfortable with me, my sister or my mother doing this with him. but he loves it.

I have only had 2 near-misses that could have become serious. Since he pulls his feathers he has gotten into the habit of trying to catch them and stabs at them when they land. So on two separate occasions when he was on my shoulder and also scratching/picking his feathers ( and completely by accident, not out of aggression or anything) i turned suddenly and he mistook my eyelashes and tried to stab at them. This obviously might not have ended well at all either time, but he is still allowed on my shoulder, though i do remove him to my lap if he becomes too agitated by his feathers. I mostly became more careful of when he is on others.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Thanks for all the info! It really helped.

 

[wenz2712]

I never allow Codie on my shoulder as I value my ears and face too much!!
He knows he is not allowed up there, so he does not even attempt it now.

 

[JerseyWendy]

There really is no easy answer to that question.

My 13 year old YN is allowed anywhere she pleases because she's proven herself to be trusted 100%.

My 10 month old DYH hasn't tried climbing up there yet, but I'd be cautious with him since he can be quite rambunctious.

Niko, my B & G? Over my dead body. He's by no means a viceous bird, but MUCH too ornery.

Ripley, my new GW HAS been on my shoulder already, and he seems to love it. I sure hope I'm not in for a BIG, unpleasant surprise though.

 

[aliray]

I shoulder all three of my parrots but I have small parrots. And yes I have gotten nipped a couple of times. If I had a large parrot I would have to think twice but then I am afraid of large beaks

 

[SweetPeasFriend]

We always did with our conures. I haven't had blood from anytime they got startled or angry; they tended to pound on me with the beak more than pinch or grab.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

My birds have all loved shoulder time. I have also never had a LARGE bird, but Georgie was definitely quite nippy at times. What used to happen with her is she would 'refuse' to get down and i would have to 'fling' her a little and let her fly off me. She always tended to be obstinate and when i first got her, admittedly, i spoiled her rotten for her first couple years of life. She NEVER nipped at my face or ears though. Somehow it was like she understood that was off limits and she never really did bite to hurt me or truly be aggressive, it was more a hard nip on the hand to let me know she wanted what she wanted when she wanted it.

Gilbert, being such a baby, is still so pliable. He tries to insist he get more shoulder time than i want him to have, and i try to offer him other activities and save the shoulder time for certain special 'together' times. I don't want him to 'go Georgie' on me from being excessively given whatever he wants when he demands it.

Have to say, it's hard, because i tend to want to give my pets whatever they want, so it is more of a discipline for ME than them. hahaha.

 

[WharfRat]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. (I need to put this in my sig)........It ain't a matter of "if" you're gonna get bit, its a matter of when!

No having said that again, yes I do shoulder mine (GW's). The biggest downside is not being able to read their body language and YES, be careful turning your head too fast. Both of mine will "nibble" on me, especially ReaRea on my collar bone but it ain't in a mean way. I have had one "accident" so far though and it wasn't fun.... They decided my shoulder was a good place to get in a fight with each other. That was absolutely NO FUN at all!!!! It was over very quick but it definitely left some marks (claws digging into my skin).

It ain't for everyone (or every bird).

Of course, I've been told numerous times that my "elevator doesn't go all the way to the top" too!

Last thing, if you have ANY fear of that beak being close to your face, DON"T DO IT!!!!! They will know!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

If that's not the truth. Georgie would ALWAYS bite anyone who displayed fear when trying to touch her. It wasn't even a 'maybe' she would bite--she WOULD bite, and fairly hard (they would definitely be bleeding). But if they seemed calm, commanding and friendly, she would often simply oblige.
Oddly enough, she loved my ex from the time she met him (and he wasn't an animal person). She never even nipped him, and sat on his shoulder constantly. LOL they do pick their own favorites.

 

[Doves1]

I think if your parrot is well trained then it's fine. The only reason I don't shoulder my Scarlet is because if he goes to loose his balance he spreads and flaps his wings, if he's on your shoulder guess what...you get a wing in the side of the face...that can hurt!

 

[WharfRat]

I'll take a wing over a beak or claw ANY day!!!

 

[NWQuakers]

Of all my birds I really only let my quaker Mark on my shoulder, and only as a treat. She has never bitten or threatened to bite my face, but I've gotten nipped on the hand trying to get her off my shoulder.

My other birds I just haven't trusted the same way, for various reasons.

 

[xTRIGx]

i have Zeph on my shoulder ALL the time..
or should i say, Zeph has a leaning post (my neck) all the time, lol..

but i somewhat understand the idea of that,
maybe not so good to have a bird that you're not familiar with (and in turn is not familiar with you) on your shoulder, if you don't know their typical behavior and personality..