Is your bird cuddly?? Daughters friend wants a cuddle bug...

[Emma&pico]

Ok. I feel i need to put some in here for the other team . But I'm not trying to kick the hornets nest!

I have allo preener species. Ive had my first green cheek for 17 years and my current girl for over ten. I give luv and head scratch, beak rubs, preen head and neck and kiss the sides of their faces daily multiple times daily. Ive never had hormonal issues in either of my girls. My first gcc was a solo burd for her first ten years of life. She would step up to anyone I asked. But only let a few trusted others pet her , but happy to sit on shoulder. She never laid eggs her first ten years. She did lay eggs right after I brought Ta-dah home and they intensely bonded. But never again in her remaining 7 years with us. Ta-dah has never laid eggs or acted hormonal. While the two girls were best buds it didn't effect their relationship with me at all.
Infact there were no changes during the seasons at all. Just me? Just luck?

When my first gcc passed I added a male quaker. Ta-dah and he became extremely bonded . I was still able to bond wjth my new guy snd it didn't affect my relationship with Ta-dah at all. They both received a lot of preening from me and kisses and snuggles . No back wing or belly touches. My male would go to high places and vocals in spring . But that was it, still friendly no aggression.

My current quaker girls have a split bond with Pikachu. Pikachu and Penny have been with me 5 years . They also hollor more in spring and prefer to do so from high places. No hormonal aggression or eggs. No regurgitating to me. Receive a lot of hands on luv and preening from me.

When I first brought Phoebe home , before she bonded with Pikachu and before I could touch her from her hand phobia she laid an egg. So I think some females just will. The next year she didn't lay an egg and was now letting me cuddle her and was bonded to Pikachu now. At 2 years she laid one egg again. We will see if she does this spring. She also has increased vocals in spring. But no aggression.

My one budgie Cloudy will hang out on me and near me. Sometimes I can stroke his face or chest .

I don't think I have a pair bond with any, I feel we are a bonded flock. They love spending time with me, we probably have an hours worth of preening sessions daily. They also spend hours doing their own thing. All will step up to guests and hang out with them. They choose who else can scratch their heads they all let a few do so. I let them choose.

I guess I'm the odd one out. But all seems to be working for us.
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I think you have a perfect balance and your flick sounds amazing it’s so nice to hear

I am definitely part of my birds flock each will interact with me

pico came to me hormonal it’s one of the reasons his owner rehomed him and from day one he was trying to feed my husband I think I’ve curved a lot of pico behaviours with foraging out of cage time having other lovebirds to interact with baths etc
When I got him I don’t think he was out much before coming here his plastic feeders were chewed a lot big holes in sides I got him xrayed as I was so worried plastic would be stuck in his belly but there was none

 

[Pixiebeak]

I think you have a perfect balance and your flick sounds amazing it’s so nice to hear

I am definitely part of my birds flock each will interact with me

pico came to me hormonal it’s one of the reasons his owner rehomed him and from day one he was trying to feed my husband I think I’ve curved a lot of pico behaviours with foraging out of cage time having other lovebirds to interact with baths etc
When I got him I don’t think he was out much before coming here his plastic feeders were chewed a lot big holes in sides I got him xrayed as I was so worried plastic would be stuck in his belly but there was none

Your pictures and posts show you have an amazing flock and your birds include you and interact with you and look so dang happy! They are so active and engaged with their environment and so much foraging toys things to climb and burn off energy.

Im so glad Pico is with you now and you have improved his life tremendously !

My flock was years in development. We had some minor hiccups along the way. And I worked out behavior issues that many came with .

 

[Emma&pico]

Your pictures and posts show you have an amazing flock and your birds include you and interact with you and look so dang happy! They are so active and engaged with their environment and so much foraging toys things to climb and burn off energy.

Im so glad Pico is with you now and you have improved his life tremendously !

My flock was years in development. We had some minor hiccups along the way. And I worked out behavior issues that many came with .

Aww thank you so much means a lot to know I am giving them what they need

you are amazing parrot owner and I know I value your opinion and posts loads like I am sure a lot of people on here do

 

[Wardy]

Neither of my cheekies are cuddly Mojo will lie on my hand on her back to have a nap, she doesnt allow scritches anymore KeeKs takes care of that usually.

I would describe both of my cheekies as friendly on there terms, we dont do cuddles but we play with toys together, Mojo loves to wrestle with my hand fighting with my fingers.

My two allopreen and allofeed they are not 100 % bonded as they dont sleep in the same cage.

I don't think I have a pair bond with any, I feel we are a bonded flock.

I think this is our dynamic we are a flock of for me my wife Mojo and KiKi.

 

[Wardy]

Thats a flock of four btw.

 

[macaronish]

Ok. I feel i need to put some in here for the other team . But I'm not trying to kick the hornets nest!

I have allo preener species. Ive had my first green cheek for 17 years and my current girl for over ten. I give luv and head scratch, beak rubs, preen head and neck and kiss the sides of their faces daily multiple times daily. Ive never had hormonal issues in either of my girls. My first gcc was a solo burd for her first ten years of life. She would step up to anyone I asked. But only let a few trusted others pet her , but happy to sit on shoulder. She never laid eggs her first ten years. She did lay eggs right after I brought Ta-dah home and they intensely bonded. But never again in her remaining 7 years with us. Ta-dah has never laid eggs or acted hormonal. While the two girls were best buds it didn't effect their relationship with me at all.
Infact there were no changes during the seasons at all. Just me? Just luck?

When my first gcc passed I added a male quaker. Ta-dah and he became extremely bonded . I was still able to bond wjth my new guy snd it didn't affect my relationship with Ta-dah at all. They both received a lot of preening from me and kisses and snuggles . No back wing or belly touches. My male would go to high places and vocals in spring . But that was it, still friendly no aggression.

My current quaker girls have a split bond with Pikachu. Pikachu and Penny have been with me 5 years . They also hollor more in spring and prefer to do so from high places. No hormonal aggression or eggs. No regurgitating to me. Receive a lot of hands on luv and preening from me.

When I first brought Phoebe home , before she bonded with Pikachu and before I could touch her from her hand phobia she laid an egg. So I think some females just will. The next year she didn't lay an egg and was now letting me cuddle her and was bonded to Pikachu now. At 2 years she laid one egg again. We will see if she does this spring. She also has increased vocals in spring. But no aggression.

My one budgie Cloudy will hang out on me and near me. Sometimes I can stroke his face or chest .

I don't think I have a pair bond with any, I feel we are a bonded flock. They love spending time with me, we probably have an hours worth of preening sessions daily. They also spend hours doing their own thing. All will step up to guests and hang out with them. They choose who else can scratch their heads they all let a few do so. I let them choose.

I guess I'm the odd one out. But all seems to be working for us.
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When my cockatiel laid, she never displayed aggression either. No matter what she's was a total sweetheart and very quiet. My worries were about her calcium, she went through a lot of cuttlebones when laying clutches every spring and has been egg bound during the years she also laid in late summer.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Neither of my cheekies are cuddly Mojo will lie on my hand on her back to have a nap, she doesnt allow scritches anymore KeeKs takes care of that usually.

I would describe both of my cheekies as friendly on there terms, we dont do cuddles but we play with toys together, Mojo loves to wrestle with my hand fighting with my fingers.

My two allopreen and allofeed they are not 100 % bonded as they dont sleep in the same cage.



I think this is our dynamic we are a flock of for me my wife Mojo and KiKi.

Yep! you also have a bright active happy flock and I love your pictures and updates .

I don't think people have to g
have cuddle burds to have happy burds. But I also don't think cuddling is inherently bad either

 

[Xoetix]

I wouldn’t say either of mine are cuddly, so much as they occasionally have cuddly moods. And by cuddly moods, I mean they want good scritches. Tteok likes me to practically rub his brain - at least three fingers and my thumb, deep brain massage. Isadora prefers gentle cheek massages. But neither are snuggly in that they want hugs or anything.

If she’s wanting a bird, she needs to do some major research, especially because most birds aren’t going to start out cuddly. She’s going to get bitten, have to deal with the hormonal crazies, and get pooped on. Especially if she wants anything bigger than a budgie, she should get pooped on - it’s what stopped my daughter from wanting a bird

 

[Pixiebeak]

Many burds coming from a home where they werent getting much attention, to a new home where they sre often have a hormonal surge. Ive seen this so often, girls laying, boys getting possessive and guard their chosen one. Often this will calm down in a few months as they settle and realize they don't have to be your mate to get attention. Social connections are so important to burds and they can get so excited to feel accepted. But they have complex social flock relationship and do understand friendship, family, relatives relationships.

 

[MnGuy]

My Meyer’s was cuddly. She liked head scratches and liked to nap on my shoulder pressed against my neck.

And she was never aggressive to my partner, dog or friends. She willingly went to others and never got nesty/broody.

She didn’t like my grey, but my grey is very hands off so I wasn’t even interacting with her much.

 

[birdfloof]

my bird is very cuddly, but that is mostly because she is still a baby. birds are not very cuddly animals, and most of the time if they are, it is typically a hormonal thing (as of my experiences with birds and their owners) there are rare circumstances where a bird is genuinely very close with their owners, but a lot of time those type of bonds can make for a very clingy and needy bird that doesn't know how to entertain itself. i usually see the more cuddly birds with hormonal issues, because in the wild (and in captivity), even stroking down the back or chest is a hormonal thing, same with enclosed dark spaces. i typically recommend if you want a cuddly animal, don't get a bird. get a dog, cat or even a ferret.

even though my bird is cuddly as of now, that does not mean that all other birds (even of her species) will be, or even that willow will be when she is an adult. every bird is an individual. birds in general need very specialized care, and i do not typically recommend to somebody who wants a cuddly animal.

 

[Mizzely]

I think part of the equation too is how they were raised. A handfed bird is probably more likely to pair bond with a human than a parent raised bird. So really, there likely are a lot of factors that go into this situation and we only know or think we know part of it.

 

[Zara]

I had no idea they needed to be kept in pairs, I just thought if I was around a lot, I'd be enough.

They don´t. A single lovebird can live alone, but needs a lot more interaction that a pair would. Same with other small parrot species, having pairs is always better for them, but it is hard to pair up lovebirds as they don´t always take kindly to one another.
So given that you spent a lot of time with your lovebird, I´d say you did it right

 

[Pat H]

@Zara-- I TOTALLY agree... When I used to breed, I told people: either spend alot of time w/ your LB, or get two... or don't get any! Mine LOVED to be w/ people! "You 'wear' a Lovebird"!

 

[Spearmint]

Birds are not necessarily "cuddly", sure, sometimes they love cuddles, snuggling with us and scritches, but they are not like that 24/7. Spearmint is currently mauling my neck as im typing this (send help ), but he also will want some cuddle time later when he gets sleepy, as he's a very people orientated bird and loves attention. Birds are not domesticated, unlike dogs and cats, so even though some are more hands on than others, every bird will bite, yell, make a mess, thats just something to deal with, and if you daughters friend wants a bird to cuddle with only, it does not sound like she's prepared for what comes with keeping birdies, especially ags. best of luck

 

[Spearmint]

My GCC is cuddly. He loves headscratches and snuggling against my neck/cheek. My gold-capped conure is not so snuggly.

I will add that my two conures are not pair-bonded, but they participate in whole-body allopreening. They will preen butts, tails, backs, underwings. They do the parrot version of 69ing when they simultaneously preen each other's butts/tails. It makes me wonder about the whole "preening anywhere besides the head is seen as strictly sexual" rule.

I think us humans shouldnt touch bodies
, but other birdies can. Sometimes Spearmint does like a little scratch under the wings during moulting season, but i make sure its very limited and he's not getting sexually frustrated or anything lol. It just gets a bit too itchy sometimes and he needs some help. Also all birds are different, theres at least one bird out there who takes body preeding in a non sexual way, and there will be some birds who get frustrated by head scratches too. Better safe than sorry tho lol.

 

[Parutti]

My most independent bird is my least well-adjusted at least in terms of confidence and interactions.

I don't think any parrot is going to be cuddly on *our* terms and I interpret cuddly as being different than being a Velcro bird who has to be with their person all the time. Ope still loves bedtime snuggles now that he's out of the baby stage, but he's also blossomed into a fearless social butterfly who I have to remind to contact call and check in now and then

I definitely agree she should visit as many birds as possible, and see how much of their care isn't about the fun bits, as well as meet different types of birds.

 

[Kassiani]

My 3 budgies and 1 cherry-headed conure are definitely *not* cuddly at all. My budgies (except the new guy) will come to me for millet, but no touching, lol. My conure will occasionally let me boop him on the beak. That's it.

It seems to me that the birds who like to snuggle the most are the ones for whom it is most problematic (aka. cockatoos).