# Shoulder=Behavioral Problems



## Justin (May 15, 2009)

I have heard this theory before and always thought it was down right silly, but now that I've experienced it first hand I'm a believer. Allowing your parrot on your shoulder CAN cause behavorial problems. 
When I first got Rocky, he was very sweet in the sense that he would contentedly sit on your finger or your shoulder, he didn't care, and preen, take naps, etc, be a cute lil baby. But he soon grew attatched to my shoulder. He always immediately when he steps up scurry up my arm and to my shoulder or neck. Whenever I try to get him off up there, he'll run away or drop down my back or very very lightly nip me as a warning that he didn't want to. When it comes to getting him back in the cage, and he is almost always on my shoulder, the job is incredibly difficult and it takes like a whole five minutes. This isn't that long, but it really can be sometimes. On a couple occasions I spent several minutes, and then gave up, cupped him in my hands, and placed him in the cage by force. He doesn't like it, but he immediately forgives me, the cute lil baby... 
So what I decided to try on a desparate thread of hope was restricting my shoulder. I couldn't believe the magic it worked. After realizing he couldn't get to my shoulder(I was blocking it with my hand) he returned to the state he was when I first got him; happy to sit on my hand and preen, nap etc and be a cute lil baby. 
So, from now on, he is no longer allowed up on the shoulder. I'm amazed at the instant change he made... I was more than skeptical about this theory before, but it IS true.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I just read an article in bird talk about shouldering. When a bird is on your shoulder you can't really see what they are doing and you risk getting bitten, since you can not see the warning signs your bird will give before they bite. Spike does really well on my shoulder but if he were to bite or not step up when I asked him too, I would not allow him on my shoulder.


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

Halley will try to get on my shoulder when he's scared, the cutie.  He's fine elsewhere any other time, though. It's purely a comfort thing for him.

Echo, on the other hand, is obsessed with my roommate's shoulder. I dunno why she loves his so much...I mean, she's content to be on my finger or hand, but as soon as he picks her up she makes a mad dash for his shoulder. I haven't noticed any behavioral problems involving it though so I haven't done anything to change it.


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## PiedPiper (May 5, 2009)

Hmm I've heard the story too, but all my birds are regularly on my shoulder... the difference is I place them there so they know that they don't own it. I think what happens is being on the shoulder makes pre-existing problems worse. If a bird is bad with step-ups to begin with, to be placed somewhere where you can't see them and they're high up and hard to reach then the bird isn't going to listen and will feel free to do whatever it wants. To keep all my fids shoulder friendly I do step-up practices at least a couple times a week if not daily for five minutes or so.


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## Birdlette (Feb 25, 2009)

Good advice about shouldering... I have been limiting access to shoulders in the last week and have seen a little improvement in attitude... My two tend to get behind by head and fight  If I put my hand back there I am the one who gets nipped!


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

Having any bird above eye level (including on a shoulder) causes the bird to become dominant and think its the boss and they will bite/peck run away etc. Instead of stepping up like they're being told to 

I've ran into this problem with Hand fed and Tame tiels, they'll get on top of a cage clear in the back where there is no way in the world i can reach They'll come running at my hand and hit their beaks off my hand, or nip at me then run away 

As soon as I get the chair out and get up on it so i can reach their attitude does a complete 360 and they come over and step up right away and become all lovey 

Same thing with my Quaker Gumby who Loves me and adors me and will do anything I tell her to do BUT if she is higher than I am Forget it she has bit me and more then once, Refuses to step up instead she puts her head down and pushes my hand away (looks like a bull getting ready to charge) 

if she's doing it on her cage I can usually get away with standing on my tippy toes (but I have to be on the very tips of my toes so I have to be quick I am not good at balancing myself) she'll step right up If she's on the very tip of the play tree I have to get my trusty chair 

Or a dowel rod every now and then she'll step up even if she's higher than I am.


it used to be said this behavior was just for the bigger parrots but I have always used it for All sized birds because from Personal experience it happens with all birds

I know I don't want a Quaker, or anything bigger off to my side where I can't see them. and I sure never let none of the Cockatoos I was fostering any where near my shoulder, they only got to sit on my hand if they started up my arm they were told no and placed back on my hand.


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## Peanutbutter (Jun 29, 2009)

I have to keep my girls off my shoulder... they will both throw a hissy fit & nip my ears like mad if I don't give them enough scritches.... 

 

Meena, she is determined to perch on top of our heads... but she's new around here. Hopefully she'll learn its a NO GO soon.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Having any bird above eye level (including on a shoulder) causes the bird to become dominant and think its the boss


This used to be a popular parrot-keeping theory but it's outdated now. Studies of wild flocks have shown that birds don't have a dominance-based social structure and don't understand the idea of a boss. There are squabbles within the flock of course, and birds with a more aggressive temperament might win more fights than the milder birds, but there isn't an overall flock leader.

Birds do like to be up high because it feels safe, and they might resist your efforts to make them come down. But it's not really dominance, they're just treating you like a flock member who's trying to take something that they want.

Here's an article on height dominance: http://www.naturalencounters.com/images/Publications&Presentations/Height_Dominance-Steve_Martin.pdf


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