shoulder off or on?

[Harleyboy]

i was wondering if its okay or not to allow my b&g on my shoulder? hes only 17weeks now, so I want to start working on it. I have hear yes from some and no he should not be on there from others... does it matter? or is it just a personal choice... I look forward to hear from everyone thanks Rae

 

[HRH Di]

I've heard both arguments for shoulder perching. Personally, all of our birds are allowed to perch on shoulders. They have been taught what is acceptable behavior when they're on shoulders and, for the most part, pretty good. Our breeder allows her birds on her shoulder and gave us some good tips.

It does show a significant level of trust to let a beak that sharp near your eyes. I feel it's a personal choice, kind of like clipping. Remember, parrots do not have any height dominance, that's a myth. They like to be high up to keep an eye out for predators...so your shoulder and the top of your head (which our birds are not allowed to perch on) are very appealing.

 

[jew1187]

That is a personal choice. As you will read from many, they enjoy having their birds on their shoulders. I allow Skyler to get on my shoulder and I enjoy his company as he is riding around. Granted he's not yet potty trained so that part is always fun. hehe. I can see it being an issue if ever you need to rehome him and the interested person/party does not want a b&g that was allowed to ride one someone's shoulder. But again, that is entirely up to you.

 

[DustyDusky]

I allow Dusty on my Shoulder. He knows there are rules to it. If he bites me he gets taken off my shoulder and if he screams he gets taken down. (He screams and it kills my ears)

There are times that he will climb up on top of my head and preen my hair. I allow him to as long as he is nice about it.

 

[jew1187]

so your shoulder and the top of your head (which our birds are not allowed to perch on) are very appealing.

Skyler is not allowed on mine, or anyone else's head either.

 

[mellykyitus]

all of mine sit on my shoulder, i trust them completely, any biting and they go back on a perch, they soon learn x

 

[Boo]

I let my cockatiel on my shoulder, and I'll let me conure on my shoulder when I get her (when I met her she climbed up onto my shoulder anyway ). They keep my face warm in the winter lol!

 

[suebee]

lol nut likes to ride on my shoulder to spare her wings

i am now thinking of making a shoulder pad for when she's in the mood to perch on my shoulder, cos her nails are sharp and can sometimes break the skin

nut also tried perching on my head but i just lowered her to a perch, after 1 day she no longer lands on my head :11: ok maybe the back of my head if my hairs tied back cos she wants to destroy my hair band

even when she was biting every1 she never bit my face, but it can be alarming as she will sit on my shoulder at times staring intently at side of my face! :52:

 

[JJones1719]

Both my boys are allowed on my shoulder but both of my boys are very tame. I do not allow them to get on my shoulder right after playing as they are way to excited. Sometimes my Eclectus gets on my shoulder then likes to feed me, yuk, but anyother time when they are calm and just want to hang out on me, no problem. JJones1719

 

[JJones1719]

Not sure why my picture is not posting. Joe

 

[Harleyboy]

Thanks to all...i guess I will see how things go I would really like to have him ride on my soulshoulder

 

[Lesleybird]

Gee, I would like to see some more answers myself. I allow my umbrella cockatoo on my shoulder because she never bites me, and my moluccan cockatoo on my shoulder when he is not acting hormonal. I have a new Harlequin macaw and my husband and I have decided not to let her on our shoulders because of the damage that she could cause to our faces.

My husband has had a nasty bite on his face from our moluccan so usually he does not go on his shoulder anymore because he bites mainly from jealousy and he if often jealous when the other birds are around getting attention. I have one of my amazon females that is a sweet doll that does not bite unless something scares her and then she bites....never let her on my shoulder anymore because she got spooked by something and bit my ear very badly and I was bleeding for quite a while. Should have learned the first time when we were out watching fireworks and she was on my shoulder. Some little kids came up and started waving their hands around in front of her. She could not reach them so she bitt me really hard on my collar bone and it was a really nasty bite that hurt like h... and bleeded a lot also. And this is a sweet little blue fronted amazon that never bites me unless something scares her. A large macaw bite on a face could do some real damage and permanent scaring.

On the other hand having a bird on the shoulder frees up the hands. My umbrella sits on my shoulder every morning while I am getting ready for work. She is the only one that I really trust there. Lesley

 

[Alwese]

I have 3 macaws. Doogie my Catalina cannot be made to go on my shoulder; he wants only to be on my right arm. Clifford my Scarlet always wants to be on my left shoulder. I have T-shirts printed up that say "Clifford" with an up facing arrow on the left side. Kayko is my timid B&G. He normally stays on my right arm but Clifford tries to bully him and he may run to my right shoulder at times. The nice thing about long term macaw ownership is your birds are fairly predictable about what they will do and not do. The only trait I would like to curb is that Clifford likes to make a dive for my teeth... he likes teeth, probably because I have fed him things from my lips at one time (my mistake) He used to be murder about ripping my glasses off my head, but he has somehow forgotten about that or maybe it's an age thing now that he is 7. I wouldn't want an unfamiliar bird that close to my eyes, but I can trust all of mine. When Clifford was in the terrible twos he would routinely make my ears bleed. My daughter even had me a t-shirt made up that said "Ears Pierced Free" It was mainly because wind at the beach would try to blow him off and he would grab ears to hold on. I normally wear a rather thick T-shirt so his nails will have a better base to grab onto.

 

[JJones1719]

I would really watch out on the 2s, sometimes they are fine one moment then something freaks them out and your face or head being the closest thing to them, the strike. Yikes, It really depends on the bird your placing onto of your shoulder. Both my boys i trust on mine, But then again, i take my boys everywhere and keep them social with people they know and don't know, for example, i take them to Petsmart or Petco where lots of people come around me to check them out, i also take them to my bird meeting where other members bring their birds and pass them around to people they know. neither one ever freaked out while on my shoulder but if I have them on my should while trying to eat or drink something, they do lung at my mouth trying to grab whatever I am eating or drinking so be careful, try to read their body language, don't place a bird that is over excited on your shoulder or your just asking for trouble. Best of luck. Joe

 

[MikeyTN]

My ekkies both sit on my shoulders. I allow my Cockatiels sit on my shoulder. I do not allow my Cockatoo to sit on my shoulder cause sometimes she nips. My macaw is allowed on my shoulders to a certain extent. Like it was mentioned, you have to be real careful with their beak. My macaw nips at me if he feels threatened by someone or other animals.

 

[Harleyboy]

so far so good,,, hes doing good just sitting there, now my issue has become he keeps climbing onto my head. I have probably removed or stopped him from climbing on my head about 100 times already, He is stubborn all right. lol. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[ann]

well a man at my local pet store has a scarlet macaw that rides around on his shoulder on tv and it seems fine. i would just ne REALY careful and set boundries n stuff good luck!

 

[Pedro]

I think it really all boils down to how much you know & trust your parrots. I will let my male eclectus on my shoulder but NOT the hens. Nore will i let my SC Too on my shoulder I do trust him for the most part but there is always that doubt there. Plus he has a huge beak.

 

[doodadz]

we don't do shoulder rides as a rule around here....you have to earn the privelege and it doesn't last long. i can't see faces and bodies to judge what they are paying attention to and what they aren't when they are on my shoulder. You only have 1 set of eyes and damage can happen very quickly with fids. they move much faster than i ever will!

 

[Hound73]

My Zon, Quaker, and alexandrine all ride on my shoulder. I am starting to work with my B&G on shoulder perching now that he is getting through his terrible two and his odd desire to remove ears.