Most birds love to “massage” their head because birds can’t reach for the feathers on its head. Meanwhile certain parts of the bird’s body should be avoided to touch because it may disrupt bird’s hormones and increase the number of eggs laid and affect its health.

The body parts that birds like to “massage” include: head, around the eyes, around the mouth, around the ear hole, neck, and toes.

Parts to avoid touching birds include: back, wings, underarms, excretory site, and tail; these areas trigger the bird’s need to mate and disrupt the bird’s hormones, that may encourage birds from laying eggs. Some literature even mentions belly and chest, but I personally think that birds don’t like being touched belly and chest because they don’t feel comfortable.

How to reduce the number of birds laying eggs, you can refer to 【How to discourage birds from laying eggs? 】

If your bird doesn’t like your “massage”, don’t force it to accept. Build the trust with your bird by trying to hand-feed your bird’s favorite food. Remember, each bird has a different personality, so bird owner need to have patience and love to build the trust up.

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