Itchy skin after conure handling?

[AprilJ]

Hello
I have had Ziggy my pineapple colored green-cheek conure, her 8 years. I have noticed over the years that when I cuddle her, if I am wearing a v-neck t-shirt and she touches my skin on my chest, I get small welts and very itchy. I've also noticed this on my back of my hands and between my fingers. It does not seem to happen to my palms or around my neck where she will often snuggle. Does anyone else have allergic issues with this? I have had pet birds for 45 years but she is my first green cheek and I cannot recall this happening with any of my other birds, including the ones I have now besides her.

 

[Jcas]

While I haven’t seen this with birds specifically, it is a common allergic reaction. My sister would respond about the same way to our guinea pigs; hands were fine but the face/neck/ chest area would break out ( not that it stopped her from cuddling them, lol) . Some areas of skin are just more sensitive. I’ve never heard of one bird being more allergy inducing than another except for the dustiness of ones like Grays and Cockatoos, but every bird and person is different and sometimes our bodies change as we age and we can develop sensitivities we didn’t have before. Hopefully you and your conure can figure out how to cuddle without you breaking out

 

[rheashard2]

Allergies can sneak up on you. Years of eating lobster, crab and then 1 day you wake with hives! Ask primary care physician or PA if you may be becoming allergic. It's easy to take some preventive measures. Washing hands after handling and before touching any bare skin, keeping clothes between the two of you, air filtering etc will slow down but not stop effects.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

when I cuddle her, if I am wearing a v-neck t-shirt and she touches my skin on my chest, I get small welts and very itchy.

When you say "touches", do you mean contact with her feathers, or with her feet? It's possible she has something on her feet that you're allergic to. If it's her feathers, it sounds like you have a contact allergy to her feathers.