Whenever we take our little 4 year old ekkie out to play she always desperately tries to sit on our shoulders--which we've been discouraging. She's gotten up a few times when papa isn't home & once up there she coo's & preens me. So is shoulder sitting truly a bad thing to do? She seems mostly just to cuddle in my hair & clean my ears. We are both still taller then her when she is up there, so is it actually a dominance thing like I have heard? Or should we let her up there more often?
Shoulder sitting?
- Thread starter mnsalani
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mellykyitus
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- Oct 22, 2010
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- Angel the blue and gold macaw, mimsy the lesser sulphur too, rocky the galah & willow the blue crowned conure.
the only issue is if the bird suddenly turns round and bites, but i let all my birds sit on my shoulder and have never had a problem. if you trust them completely let them. angel will preen my hair and then fall asleep on my shoulder. x
CAGLulu
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- Jun 8, 2011
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- Congo African Grey (Lulu)
From what I've experienced, the problem with shoulder sitting is that once they are up there and allowed to, they won't go down again. When I first got my CAG she always perched on my shoulder. I never thought that I would get such a big problem like the one I had. After 1½-2 month where she was allowed to perch on my shoulder, I wanted to start some trick training, the only problem was that EVERYTIME I came near her, she would fly up on my shoulder and I could never get her down again. When I put my hand up to her, she would just run across to the other side. The other thing is that she wouldn't perch on my arm/hand at all, which can be very frustrating especially during training sessions 
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If you have trained your bird to step up and the bird is performing at your command then sitting on your shoulder should not be a problem. As stated it is only a problem if you have a bird that bites you or chews on earrings. Forget what you have heard about dominance. A bird is most comfortable on a high perch and that is your shoulder.
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She steps up & down just fine, just takes a bit more coming down from my shoulder at times. Never really tries to bite my fingers though when I do it. Sushi is sitting up there right now, clucking away.
nofearengineer
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- Sep 8, 2010
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Gandalf - CAG (1997-2010) R.I.P. my baby boy.
Bitty - CAG (2 yrs old? and working on spoiling her rotten)
Unless you have been bitten on the face, you will probably not fully recognize the danger a shouldered parrot represents. You really don't want to go through life with only one eye. I have a little scar on my lip where Gandalf bit me for no reason one day. And yes, he was a very cuddly bird that was very good about stepping up. It could have been much, much worse.
I will never trust any parrot on my shoulder, even one that I love completely. They are emotional animals, who on occasion act out in a way that is wholly suited to other parrots with hard beaks. Soft human facial flesh is just no match.
Bottom line...your parrot will love you just as much sitting on your hand. They don't feel abused for not getting to sit on your shoulder.
I will never trust any parrot on my shoulder, even one that I love completely. They are emotional animals, who on occasion act out in a way that is wholly suited to other parrots with hard beaks. Soft human facial flesh is just no match.
Bottom line...your parrot will love you just as much sitting on your hand. They don't feel abused for not getting to sit on your shoulder.
wuvzbirdies
New member
My CAG used to sit on my shoulder and I didn't see any issues with it until one day someone slammed the door while he was on my shoulder causing him to react my biting my ear and taking out my earring. From then on I was very nervous to have him on my shoulder, that bite didn't feel too good but because he was allowed on my shoulder for so long it was very tough to train him that it was not a welcome place anymore.
Eclectica
Member
My breeder warned me on the issue of shoulder perching aswell, it was upto me if I was going to allow it. I didn't, and let's just say, he is totally dumb when it comes to shoulder perching, hehe. Hands his expert at. She used to breed ekkies and rose breasted Too's. She had one very cute and cuddly Too, that one time upon a visit to her, he has actually bitten her on the lips, leaving a cleft in her upper lip. So just like the other parronts on here, its really upto you how you feel going about having her on your shoulder. Some parronts have never had such an experience, but all is aware of what might happen, just as we all know we might get bitten by our birds for some unknown reason, sometimes we did something wrong so small that affected them to feel insecure and react upon it.
charliebrown
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- Jan 7, 2011
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- Charlie Brown- SI Eclectus, RIP. Oliver aka Ollie - Vosmaeri Eclectus
If you can't clearly see them while they are on you they shouldn't be where they are! You need to be able to read your birds body language and see their eyes so you can seeing the warning signs before a bite happens. That being said eventually you will get bite it is just a fact of owning a parrot.
Lokums
New member
Completely agree!
I don't let either of my birds on my shoulder for long. It is a pain to get my B&G off if he doesn't want down. And my Senegal nibbles my ear which tickles me (literally). Also displaced aggression can lead to an icky cheek/ear/eye bite if your bird is startled or sees something they really hate.
BUT, many other people's birds are completely safe and trustworthy. So I guess my point is.... your mileage my vary.
Mike
Jubileeray
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- Jun 29, 2011
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1x Harlequin macaw
2x Greenwing macaw
1x Blue and Gold macaw
1x Jubilee macaw
I have done this for more than 20 years now without any problem I did gain a scratch on my face once when one of my macaws was panicked and it scrambled to get on top of my head and it's talon clawed my face just missing the eye,also l have turned my head quickly and caught my eye on the end of the beak on more than one occasion so there are dangers present with out doubt.
I would never allow a bird l did not know or trust on my shoulder for sure.
I did gain a scratch on my face once when one of my macaws was panicked and it scrambled to get on top of my head and it's talon clawed my face just missing the eye,also l have turned my head quickly and caught my eye on the end of the beak on more than one occasion so there are dangers present with out doubt.I would never allow a bird l did not know or trust on my shoulder for sure.
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