Shoulder bird, good or bad??

Miss_kaos · Post by **Miss_kaos** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:20 pm

I have my bird on my shoulder all the time... he does sometimes annoy me and get cheeky which i've tries correcting but being my first i am learning everyday any good suggestions?.. is it a bad thing to have them up there everytime they come out?? (which is everyday, he also sleeps next to me on a perch) everytime i bring him in when i get home he insists being on my shoulder I have been doing that since I got him at 8 wks, now he’s nearly exactly 5 months.. sometimes it has discouraged me in a way about getting him out somedays because I like to have him out but I cant always have him on my shoulder when doing certain things… So is the shoulder a good or bad thing?? Don’t get me wrong I still spend my days and nights with him/her but was wondering if this was normal behaviour from an irn..

So from some more irn owners I would like to hear some advice and your opinions

Many thanks

Post by **kyria** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:28 pm

Peronally I don't think its a bad thing , unless he begins to bite at your ears. I would begin to get him use to being on your hand sometimes, keep taking him down and onto your hands, and get him use to knowing when you want him to stay on your hand and when you want to put him back to your shoulder.

It took a while but my Jordan will ride around on my shoulder, but when I want him to stay on my hand, I had used word commands to show him when I am serious about him staying on my hand. If he was taken down to my hand and I wanted him to stay, I would use the step up command and then say "no stay" if he tried to climb up to my shoulder as I proceeded to take him back to my hand I would say again "No Stay", I would do this over and over until he stayed and then treat him.

Now when I take him off my shoulder and say "No stay" (in a firm voice) he stays.

ultimately I don't think its a bad thing to have a shoulder bird if you don't mind a bird hanging off you while you do things. My Jordan has learnt to hang on and swing around as I do all kinds of things, but then he is flighted and if he loses his grip (which he rarely does) he can fly around and back to me.

:wink:

Post by **Datsun and Family** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:46 pm

My only shoulder bird is my male budgie, the others, my female budgie and lovebird and Dats my IRN are all trained to stay on my hand unless placed on my shoulder and I find that works better for us but really its what you are comfortable with and suits your lifestyle.

If your bird does hang out on your shoulder ensure you never have trouble getting them down and no aggressive behaviour presents itself, if so then you will need to re-evaluate.

julie · Post by **julie** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:01 pm

I allow indie to be on my shoulder, I love how he snuggles up to me. I dont really like it when he decides to yell in my ear or look in my ear like he can see straight through while saying hello. It did however take a while for me to trust him enough to have him on my shoulders.

catschair2 · Post by **catschair2** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:08 pm

Magellan is so nicely velcroed to my shoulder that there are rumors she is a stuffed accessory.

Miss_kaos · Post by **Miss_kaos** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:32 pm

thank u for all advice and opinions i have found it useful and have yet gained some more knowledge and options for bird bird (such an original name lol). Birdbird is quite content upon my shoulder and i can trust him enough to go outside with him accompanying on my shoulder.. but i do have his wing clipped. i feel alot more comfortable with his wing clipped, i think that it is is more of a precaution than anything else.. He is not aggressive towards me but he simply rejects anyone else (even family who i live with and who feeds Birdbird sometimes when i'm home late) and is quite vicious towards them lunging at them through his cage and when he is with me... But i really prefer my bird to be like that towards other people because that seems to be the only way to stop people from taking my bird out when i am not present which i get quite aggrivated about. My bird knows me pretty well and i believe i know him pretty well too. and if something happens to him when i have him out i can accept that because it would be my responsibility, but for it to be another person...well.. i am just not comfortable with it.

many thanks to all

Miss kaos

Post by **Lauren** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:50 pm

I personally don't think its a bad thing either. I allow Jibby on my shoulder and he loves to snuggle up to my face and preen my hair. He knows biting the face is very bad and hes very gentle even nibbles my ears very gently! Ive never had a problem with him on my shoulder behaviour wise. Yoda even sat on my shoulder the other day for the first time and was having a nice conversation with my ear. No biting too! :wink:

I think if you find it uncomfortable, you can teach the bird that thats not a good place to sit. A bite on the face is not pleasant either! But with enough training they can learn to be very gentle.

Post by **kyria** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 5:31 am

Birdbird, I love it

.. just a thought on the aggresive to others part .. for an IRN its better to be taught that aggression is not permitted on any level to you or anyone else, I would socialise your bird and discipline your family and friends :wink:

Wing clipping is just fine when the circumstance calls for it. We have Jordan flighted but Pickle clipped until he is trained. But then our house has two doors and a hallway then a back screen door and main door before you reach the outside so, having flighted birds is not too much of a risk. But if I ever feel the need to clip again I have no worries about doing so.

catschair2 wrote:Magellan is so nicely velcroed to my shoulder that there are rumors she is a stuffed accessory.

Bryan · Post by **Bryan** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:28 pm

I have had chook since a chick and have always had him on my shoulder, I believe leave it upto the bird, if they feel comfortable and safe on your shoulder than let them be, if they feel comfortable on your hand then let them be on your hand. I have never had a problem with chook and even when training my galahs who were aviary bred and had never had any human contact, three days they were sitting on my shoulder because that was the place they felt safe and have never bitten me. I even took them out side in their harness and they happily sat on my hand. Misses chook likes to sit on my arm, not hand or shoulder that is were she wants to be so that is were I leave her