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Hugs and cuddles???


Marlene

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I keep seeing posts where people are saying how they hug, snuggle or cuddle their birds. This may be a crazy question but what exactly do you mean? Gus will happily sit on my lap, finger or shoulder and allow me to stroke him, scratch his head, play with his feet, stroke under the wings or even play with his "soft fluffies" around his tail and lower body. But somehow, he just does not do hugs. It seems he does not really like to have his wings restricted in any way. I notice this to be the same with my tiel as well.

 

I can put my hand over his back and hold him but he does not snuggle into my neck or anything that you guys seem to talk about.

 

Am I mis-understanding?

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LOL Marlene, trust me mine won't even do half the things on here that others say theirs do lol. But I found a video on youtube for you, cause I have seen a bunch of them like this, even though they are NOT suppose to be known for being cuddly!

 

 

But trust me what you are able to do is just great! Keep it up!

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Awww Nychsa :ohmy: Bella loves you sooo much!

 

At night, my bird Coco is most cuddly. He will rest his cheek against mine. I can kiss his head or cheek. He just gets really affectionate at night. He's similar through the day, but not so much. It's almost like snuggling with someone at night!:)

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Nice Maddness - Yeah Coco! I love that picture of him in your avatar.

 

Bella is more snuggly in the evening as well. She'll snuggle during the day, but usually she has it urgent and she's off to get into something and can't be disturbed :P<br><br>Post edited by: Nychsa, at: 2008/03/10 03:05

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Maui is a snuggler too. Usually if he is tired, he will snuggle up and go right to sleep. I think the younger ones do this more and especially if you have had them since they were babies. I have heard that they do grow out of this somewhat unfortunetely. I sure hope not.

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My TAG's name is Gus too! Sometimes he harasses me too much for "snuggly-wugglies."

 

When your bird is relaxed on your lap, try to cup your hand over his head -- cover the whole thing but don't squish his eyes! You might have to scratch his head to get him to stop squirming or convince him to stay.

 

I've heard by many grey owners that their bird likes this head-cup. Gus loves it and it calms him instantly, like a drug. It's like a drug for me sometimes, too.

 

That's a good first step to snuggling if its a foreign activity for you and Gus. The idea is to make him feel good during this snuggling time, and to teach him that 'hands don't hurt.'

 

This snuggling time is also a good opportunity to continue the taming process - when Gus is very relaxed, he lets me touch him all over. I massage his legs, wings, back, tail, feet, I scratch his beak, etc. This is essential for the bonding process as well as for taming. Someday you may need to handle him extensively.

 

I have Gus so tamed, I can do anything, or touch him anywhere. He even lets me file his nails. So, if I have to yank a blood feather or something tragic, I can handle him with no problems and without his being scared.

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Yes Gloria, Dayo used to actually push his head under the cup of your hand or if you were laying on the floor or couch, he would walk up and want to take shelter under your Arm. But, his favorite is having his head gently cupped over by your hand. This is normally in the evenings now as others have said, During the day, he is just to busy playing and getting his "Mojo" on for the cuddle stuff. :-)

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Elmo loves the "total head rubs" and will follow your hand to get them! I can kiss his face and give him little hugs...he lets me do it for a moment but then he lets me know he's had enough. We are still working on being on his back, he's almost there. It seems the more they are cuddled as babies...and I'm talking baby babies...they more they will cuddle as they are older. I'm sure the personality of each grey plays a huge roll in it too.

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Dorian's cuddly, on his terms of course, which means he doesn't let go of his cage. But he lets me touch him anywhere, and at night he loooooves head scratches. He sits on his exterior perch, puts his head down, holds onto a bar of his cage with his beak and lets me rub and scratch his head and neck. He really loves it when I massage against his feathers, starting at the base of his neck and going right to the tip of his beak and around his eyes. He closes his eyes and butts his head against my fingers for more. It's become part of our nightly ritual.

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So then my Gus does snuggle. He loooooves his head being covered and tickled pretty much all over - legs, tummy, under the wings etc. I am getting him to lie on his back but this is only briefly. When he rolls over (when he's playing) he's quite happy to lie on his back for up to almost a minute - but then thats on his terms and he's generally clutching a toy. He's just soooo sweet - I simply adore him!

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Ronda477 wrote:

LOL Marlene, trust me mine won't even do half the things on here that others say theirs do lol. But I found a video on youtube for you, cause I have seen a bunch of them like this, even though they are NOT suppose to be known for being cuddly!

 

 

But trust me what you are able to do is just great! Keep it up!

 

Cosmo will do exactly the same thing as in this video. There are defiantly times where I want him to be more cuddly and he doesn't want to though.

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I like to think Athena snuggles with me. She doesn't curl up under my chin anymore like Bella does for Nychsa (she used to do that when she first came home but seems to have grown out of it)- most of the time she just wants to sit on my shoulder. But shoulder sitting involves (in HER opinion) a great deal of attention, meaning she gets head rubs - the famous head cup routine is her favorite, allopreens (not just my hair but ALL OVER my face), and generally spends 1-2 hours a day allowing me to scratch her beak, eyes, chin and head. She solicits a lot of kisses from that position too!

 

Sometimes in the morning I'll give her a few minutes of "quiet time" where I sit on the couch and she sits on my shoulder and snuggles up to my ear. She really likes it when I lightly stroke her breast or down the middle of her back during these times. Once I fell asleep like that and she was just content to stay snuggled. It's so amazing to hear her little bird heart thumping away!

 

Oh, I also give her hugs which she tolerates, but only when she's on her cage perch. She's higher than me up there(I'm pretty short as it is!) so when I wrap my arms around her she knows I'm not a threat. :)<br><br>Post edited by: zandische, at: 2008/03/15 07:40

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