Cuddling

[Zeusconure2]

Is it bad to let your conure cuddle you for ages when your home? When I get him out of the cage all he seems to want to do is run over to and bury himself in my arm and fall asleep while getting scratched, (he is 11 weeks old)

 

[wrench13]

What's wrong with that?? When he gets older, you'll yearn for the days when he did this.

 

[Zeusconure2]

Other people have said that it can later on make him aggressive ....

 

[DoubleTake]

All of my guys got over the cuddling phase. Now they would rather sit on my arm or shoulder, clean me or each other and run around like chickens playing with their toys and sticking them between my toes. Every now and then they will come up and rub their beaks on my cheek or neck to say hi and gesture for a kiss.

I could see huge amounts of cuddling may make it a one person bird and aggressive towards other people. "This person is mine and you back off!" That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Zeusconure2]

But do you reckon they only got over it because they had each other as well as you? I just don't want to cuddle him too much and make him an aggressive bird at all in the future !

 

[DoubleTake]

I think my guys just go over their baby phase and started acted more like birds. I will note that now that my mated pairs are 4 years old and they will still rush between my legs if I put a blanket over it so they can cuddle with each other in there against my leg.

Not sure how much you are cuddling with your little guy but when my guys were 7 weeks old, they would always be in my lap or wrapped up like a parrot burrito and I would take them everywhere. At night them would lay under my sheets against my side as I watched TV, of course I would put them in their bed when I went to sleep. My suggestion is to cuddle with your little bird as much as you want and also try and let it socialize with other people if the situation allows it. I take my guys to a local exotic bird store every weekend so they can see other baby birds and interact with other people, they even get their own stand when the peak breeding season is over so people can say hi. My male is a huge flirts with the ladies, does his mating gestures and gives them kisses.. all while his mate is screaming him to get back here or she is trying to get over there for a 3 way kissing session. I am sure there are more informative parrot lovers on here, I am just speaking from my own experiences.

 

[itzjbean]

This sounds perfectly normal for a baby such as yours. You'll want to be sure to socialize them very well with other people (members of your family, friends) so that when they do mature, they won't pick you as their mate and attack other people who try to approach or touch you. It happens. Around the time of sexual maturity you'll want to refrain from excessive touching/cuddling if they express any change in behavior, ie. regurgitating, trying to mate with you or your hand, etc.

 

[T00tsyd]

For what it's worth I thought mine was a bit besotted with me until last week. I got him as a rehome at 14 weeks and I allowed shoulder time until I felt he was old and settled enough to take no for an answer. That is I simply showed him a much more interesting place.

My shoulder is still first choice when he is first out but then I keep returning him to his play station as I call it and now suddenly he is happy to play and fly from there. Perhaps it's just keeping him 'growing' in experiences and choices to keep stretching him as he gets more confident. Today I took him in a cuddle wrapped in his harness to let him associate the harness with outside. I guess we are both learning.

 

[Zeusconure2]

Wow you have both given a lot of information which is so helpful! Yeah he is only 11 weeks old and he is doing exactly as you said, lays with me while I'm in bed rubbing his face along my hoody of legs until he finds a comfy spot (normally head under something with bottom half sticking out) I will be sure to socialise him with other people too which is what I have been doing with my family recently !

 

[clark_conure]

Two things

1) it's young

2) it's a conure

Everything I read in your posts seem normal to me. My first post on here was this: http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/69829-my-bird-too-attached-me.html

It seems related.

If your bird loves and trusts you then you're doing everything right. Issues will come up in time, maybe, but the bond you make now is the most important.

 

[LordTriggs]

as far as I can tell the only real thing that makes them more inclined to want to mate with you is constantly touching their lower back due to how birds climb on top of each other to mate.

Enjoy cuddle baby while you can, before you know it the terrible two's will set in and he'll become a grown up who doesn't want cuddles as much

 

[Zeusconure2]

Yeah I'm dreading the day that he doesn't want to cuddle anymore ! Well it's made me relieved that I can carry on having cuddles

 

[LordTriggs]

he'll still want the occasional cuddle just not as often and more on his terms

 

[clark_conure]

Maybe I'm the lucky one but my bird is two years and two months and I don't find him cuddling any less.