Acceptable cuddling?

Hello guys,

Relatively new owner here. I've had Tiki around 3 weeks now and things are going great. He loves to follow me, sit on me, and cuddle with me.

He really love it when I put my hands totally around him and then scratch his neck/head/cheeks with my thumb or other hand. He closes his eyes and even makes little happy squeaks sometimes, it's so adorable! I know he likes it as well because if I loosen my grip and move my hand away he will nudge up against me and nibble a bit to get me to start again!

However, I know that petting on the back/tummy is generally not advised due to links with mating behaviours, so I wondered if holding him like this is a bad thing? I really don't want to stop because its so cute, and I think he loves the warmth now it's getting a bit colder here in the UK.

I'll attach a photo of how he likes being held.

Thanks guys

No it's not bad.

If he basically puts his "face down A** up" then he's trying to do mating behavior....theres nothing wrong with petting any part of him unless he does something like that enticing you to.....well you know.

You can pet him or hold him or as I do "ice cream cone" him all you want. Just look for the obviouse behavior, and not for nothing should be a couple years....

I pet my birds anywhere they want (which is everywhere). I know that "by the book" this is a no no, but I have never had a problem. Your also not supposed to feed horses by hand as it can cause them to be pushy and nippy, so I pick and choose who has a more dominant trait and their treats go in a bucket. I would just carry on with what works, you can always stop if it becomes an issue.

haha, ice cream cone, I like that!

I'll just keep doing what feels right then, I guess I just overthink things and think there's a correct way for everything. Quickly learning this isn't the case, each bird is an individual and we just learn and adapt together.

Good to know we can keep cudding though!
Thanks

Agreed... Ive violated "the rule" fervently over the years. My birds cuddle like kittens with feathers. Actually methinks there is a positive to handling them this way...even beyond the bonding... If a bird is ever sick or injured and needs to be held for doses of meds or whatever... at least they wont have a panic attack. Hate the idea of having to "towel" a sick or injured bird, stressing them even more. Its also a good idea to "teach" a young bird to take stuff from a syringe.. so you don't have problems medicating them if/when its ever needed.

My female conure (at least I think she's a she) occasionally gets excited (at least I think she does) when we are playing "hand".
In particular, she loves it when my hand comes from behind, she lifts her wings, and I can get a finger below each wing and one in the middle on her back all at the same time. Her body is encased in my 3 fingers. She goes nuts. I have learned to simply not focus on her rear half when petting/playing with her.

Skidood said:

My female conure (at least I think she's a she) occasionally gets excited (at least I think she does) when we are playing "hand".
In particular, she loves it when my hand comes from behind, she lifts her wings, and I can get a finger below each wing and one in the middle on her back all at the same time. Her body is encased in my 3 fingers. She goes nuts. I have learned to simply not focus on her rear half when petting/playing with her.

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This type of caress maybe seen as parental rather than sexual. My momma conure places her weight on her 4 week old (mostly to keep the baby warm) then gently preens her baby under it's wing. The baby's eyes close slightly as it makes a cute squeaky purr sound. What you are doing is providing the same pressure points as my momma conure with her baby conure.

When I handle the baby by scratching the top of its head and just above its beak, the baby conure makes that same squeaking purr and blissful eye slits that he does with his mom when she is preening and cuddling him.

Kiwi finds no form of cuddling acceptable and any attempts will be met with a swift chomping to the offending human

Common sense applies here. If your bird shows a sexual response to petting a certain area of the body then avoid petting there. If your bird is fine being petted and it causes no issues, there is no need not to. Generally head/neck are considered "safe" whereas wings, neck and belly are considered no-go, but where a bird can accept being petted varies by individual and sometimes by time of year (if it's breeding season, avoid sensual areas as a precaution!).

Kiwibird said:

Kiwi finds no form of cuddling acceptable and any attempts will be met with a swift chomping to the offending human

Common sense applies here. If your bird shows a sexual response to petting a certain area of the body then avoid petting there. If your bird is fine being petted and it causes no issues, there is no need not to. Generally head/neck are considered "safe" whereas wings, neck and belly are considered no-go, but where a bird can accept being petted varies by individual and sometimes by time of year (if it's breeding season, avoid sensual areas as a precaution!).

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Agreed!

My 17 year old male Sun Conure is the aggressor no matter what season. In captivity, outside of his native climate, any season is mating season to him. If he is out of his cage, he will fly over to me and go: "Oh Mama!" And attempt to molest my ear while cooing and purring. I don't handle him much. My son and hubby handle him. They do not pet him, they just put him back in with his female mate. I have no clue why I am his mistress other than I am the one with the tasty almond cracker treats.

Then there is my oldest Zebra Finch who is going on 6 years. Zebra Finches normally have a life span of 2-4 years. This senior citizen thinks my Blue Crown Conure is the woman of his dreams even though he has a female mate. He will dance and sing for her if his cage is put anywhere near her. The Blue Crown Conure just tells him "Ee yak!" which translates to: "Wrong!" The Blue Crown Ee-yaks if I sing off key or change the lyrics to a favorite song.

this sounds awful familiar to a favorite game of mine and Rio's dubbed "snuggle bug" I'd cup my hand, he'd flop into it and start getting himself comfy poking his head through my fingers which would get an excited "snuggle bug" come from me

I know that people say never touch the "bad spots" but really just use your head, if they're being amorous then stop it, if they're still being a happy playful bird then why not play

The wife’s Bongo is a snuggle bug with her, 24x7! My JoJo’s preference is a beak rub!

Clark favorably responds to to what skidood said with the back and under wings petting. Occasionally he gets a bit (joey from friends) "how you doing? 'wink' but I just stop when he gets flipity.

I can pretty much touch clark anywhere, hold his winds up and out, play with his tail, scratch his breast....I just don't even think about his poop area. Yuck