New Green Cheek owner need a little help

[lights106]

Hi! I was recently given my Green Cheek Conure Awnry (said kind of with a French accent). My sister ga e him to me after she realized she needed to spend more time with him than she though. She though he/she was handled more, but he wasn't. He almost immediatly let me pick him up and pet him vs would bite non stop with my sis. So now I have an unexpected bit very welcome bird.

That was Saturday. Today he can step up almost on demand. More progress than I though I would. He's also let me full on pet him for minutes. but my problem is he ALWAYS wants to be on my shoulder. I've read I shouldn't because its a dominance thing. When I say he always wants on my shoulder I mean when I am just holding him, he is stretched out as far as he can to see if he can reach. If I put him down, he will bounce and bounce till I pick him back up and he then tries to walk up to my shoulder. What should I do? The time I did let him, he LOVED it and would chatter away and snuggle in my hair. Is there a point in his training that I can let him there? Like in a few mints when he knows I'm in charge? It would help me out because I'm a single mom and letting him be on my shoulder while I work on things and be with my son would be far easier.

[pennyandrocky]

if you like him on your shoulder let him be there. I see people say it's a dominance thing all the time but it's not true. birds just like to be in a high place.

[Pajarita]

The dominance theory is bunk, plain and simple. I don't know who was the doodoo head that started this notion but, for some particular reason, it has taken hold of the internet and it's not even true. GCCs LOVE to cuddle against your neck (some like to scoot down the neck of your shirt/blouse/sweater and just hang on in there for hours), that's what they want to do all day long and, when it comes to parrots, keeping them happy is essential so let him do it. That's what I do with mine which were all rehomes given to me because of aggression and screaming but the only problem they had was that they didn't get enough love, once I gave it to them, they turned into love sponges who give kisses and tell me 'I love you' in their tiny (and adorable) raspy voices.

[lights106]

Oh thank goodness!!! This makes life so much easier!!!!

[marie83]

I differ in opinion slightly but I'm not opposed to shouldering birds at all. I do think its important to know your bird before you do though. Mine only get to go on shoulders if they are not prone to biting (I value my eyesight too much) and if they step up from my shoulder reliably.

A bite on the face destroys far more trust than one on the hands and you cannot read your birds body language if s/he is on your shoulder.
The other point is that birds will frequently learn to run down your back where you cannot reach him.
This is why I think its important to know your bird first, Ollie got me literally a centimetre or 2 below my eye when he was going through a nippy stage. It was safely the most painful bite I've ever had.

[GreenWing]

I don't think it's a dominance thing, I agree. When a bird is on your shoulder they're there to be close to the flock. However, it's a privilege for the bird to be on the shoulder.

My spoiled Sennie -- who is going through sexual maturity, yet is rarely aggressive because she gets plenty of attention and is flighted -- ONCE gave me a nasty bite on my neck as I typed on the computer. She didn't bite me because she was being domineering, she bit me because she was hormonal and pissed that her "mate" wasn't paying attention to her; there was food around, and she wanted the food. What she did was not okay - but that's what happened. So, yes, know your bird's triggers if they will be on the shoulder.

[Pajarita]

The only bird who bit me while perching on me was a male GCC which had been sorely abused in his previous home and had a grudge against all humans but he got over it. What I did was every time he bit me (he would bite my chin, my jaw and my ear), I would firmly tell him 'Don't bite me!' and put him back in his cage -the door was open and he would fly back to me but I would not allow him on me for 5 minutes and, as he loved been on people and the conditions here were 100 times better than in his previous home (large cage, girlfriend, strict solar schedule, good food, three hours of flying around, full spectrum lights, etc), he soon stopped.

[JaydeParrot]

If you have trouble getting your parrot off your shoulder, do what I do and always keep a 21'' rope perch close at hand. If you put that towards them on your shoulder they can't cause pain by biting it so they have no choice but to step up, I use this cuz my birds will bite if they don't want to come down even if the situation means it's necessary for them to come down. The rope perch can be bought at most bird stores, they can be a little pricey but to me they are essential. Good luck with your green cheek, .

[GreenWing]

The only bird who bit me while perching on me was a male GCC which had been sorely abused in his previous home and had a grudge against all humans but he got over it. What I did was every time he bit me (he would bite my chin, my jaw and my ear), I would firmly tell him 'Don't bite me!' and put him back in his cage -the door was open and he would fly back to me but I would not allow him on me for 5 minutes and, as he loved been on people and the conditions here were 100 times better than in his previous home (large cage, girlfriend, strict solar schedule, good food, three hours of flying around, full spectrum lights, etc), he soon stopped.

Yes, these birds live for our attention and I can see how such actions would work. Michael is an advocate of not reacting to bites, but for me, personally, if I put my Sennie in her cage and turn my back on her for a moment (as SHE has done to me when she is angry with ME), it actually works with unwanted behaviors.

[lights106]

Thank you all!!! I started letting him and his and I bonding has been amazing. For about a minute he'll wander around but then he will just snuggle the heck out of my neck! Since starting to let him be on my shoulder he will let me pet him more even. I did create a rope playground on my ceiling that he starting playing on and act like other conures I've seen. His progress has been faster than I thought it would be. The only time he "bites" is when he doesn't want to come off my shoulder and even then it's more squaking and just nibbling on my finger but he hasn't bitten me or a couple days now. Closer to 5.
He doesn't seem to be a morning bird. He is grumpy in the morning!!!! He seems to warm up as the day goes on. Is that normal? Usually by bed time he's ready to snuggle up and co sleep with me (which I don't allow. But he seems to want to all the time)