Play top time, and shoulder question.

[Gos]

In the interest of wanting to "do it right the first time" I have a question. Ok, it's one in a long line of questions yet to come, but it's a question nevertheless.
With a Lilac Amazon Male, how much time is ok to spend on a play top on his cage? One information source says only an hour at a time, the other has no limits. Seems there is a concern that the bird may become aggressive about his play top if he spends too much time there and will want to defend it? I would think it depends on the nature of the bird, then what sort of activity he uses the play top for. Training and treats I would think are ok, just hanging out perhaps not as much.
My second question is about allowing an Amazon to ride on your shoulder. I would think it would be a no no and could lead to dominating behavior thus aggression, but you see folks doing it all the time. In falconry, you'd never allow that to happen unless your trying to train a male to donate semen for artificial insemination.
Your thoughts please,

 

[dakisgirls]

You can keep your parrot on it's playtop as long as you like. The things you have heard of are referring to dominance behavior, which I strongly believe dosn't occur in parrots. Bird dominance dosn't exsist. Parrots, in the wild, don't want to be the "leader." they are always in a whole flock that rely on each other. If you trust your parrot not to bite you if it gets scared on your shoulder, then let it be on your shoulder. Falconry, I believe, differs when it comes to bird dominance. Sorry if I'm rambling on!

 

[ScottinVentura]

Boo, my Blue Front Amazon, is never in a locked cage, the door is always open so he can go in and come out as he pleases. At night, he sleeps on an open perch in my upstairs office. When I pick him up, he rides on my shoulder, and he leaves my earring alone because he knows I don't want him to chew on it. He's affectionate, he's gentle with me, and he loves to nibble on my fingers and play with my hands.

 

[Beatriz Cazeneuve]

Dakisgirl is correct. There is no such thing as alpha roles in a flock of social birds so there are no dominance behaviors because they simply don't have the genes for them. I have no idea who was the meathead that started this rumor which, unfortunately for parrots, has taken firm hold in the pet bird world but parrots do not 'dominate' other parrots or their owners. There is ALWAYS a reason why they bite. The reason might not be apparent to us but it's there and it's not dominance.

As to time on top of his cage or out-of-cage time, personally, I think it should be all day long. And, as to allowing him on your shoulder, I allow whoever wants to perch on my shoulder to do it. Even the ones that bite. I believe that one needs to give trust to receive it and this philosophy has worked very well for me. There was one single parrot (an incredibly aggressive male senegal) that I thought was going to prove me wrong because three years after he came to me, he was still attacking me but, in the last couple of months, he has been flying over to perch on my shoulder without a single bite.

 

[Gos]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll allow some shoulder time so he can get used to his new home; slowly...