Sun conure doesn’t like to be touched

[Jesse100]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and am reaching out because I have a sun conure that doesn’t like to be touched.
I recently got a sun conure about a month ago. She is approximately 2 years old. She loves to come out and sit on peoples shoulders, however she does not like fingers or hands or to be touched. Whenever we try to pet her or to get her to step up off of our shoulder, she backs away or bites and squawks. I’m not sure why she does this, when she enjoys being on our shoulders. She plays with our hair and will sometimes fly to us to be with us.

Do you have any advice or thoughts on what to do about this behavior? I really would love to cuddle and pet her but I am unable to since she bites. I can’t say I’ve really touched her or petted her since she won’t let us get that close (other than being on our shoulder).

Thanks!

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to the forum! Your sun conure may not have been taught to step up on fingers. You can try training it by holding out a treat and have it stepping onto a perch that you are holding. The treat should be just far enough away from the end of the perch that it needs to step on it to get it. Now the bird may or may not respond and may take some time to trust enough to step close to your hand. If it does step on the perch, don’t rush it, but take a few days to keep it coming closer until it is stepping on your hand/finger.

I have a few birds that are not hand trained. They step up on my shoulder or my arm. My Barabands just like to sit on my shoulder and watch me on my iPad. Parrots have their own personalities. Some are super friendly and easy to train, others not so much. You may have to settle for having a bird that may not be as friendly as you would like.

As well, a month is not a long time for a parrot to settle in. Do you know how many homes it has been in?

[Jesse100]

Thank you so much for the help! You may be right about not knowing how to step up. She steps up onto our shoulders and arms, but not fingers or hands. I’ll try to work with her on that.

I believe she has had one previous owner before me. This may or may not be accurate but the lady who had her before me mentioned that they had her at a young age and the reason they had to give her up is because a family member was going into the military.

[Dragonlady2]

Well....maybe part of the issue is for the bird to settle and learn to trust. Let us know how it does. Feel free to post pics:th_smile: