Conures are social birds and will display emotions to their owners and other conures. Licking is one way a conure will express their emotions when you hold them. Therefore, you need to understand why your conure is licking your skin and what it means.
So, why do conures lick me? Your conure could lick you to display their affection. They could also lick the salt on your skin due to vitamin and mineral deficiency. If a mineral deficiency is causing your pet to lick you, try giving them supplements to see if the licking goes away. You can get them an iodized lick for birds from any pet store and place it in their cage where they can easily access and lick.
If you want to know why your conure is licking you, this is the ultimate guide for you. We will help you understand what it means when your conure licks you, how to tell if a conure likes you and how conures show affection. Read through the rest of the sections to find out all the answers you need.
What Does It Mean When Your Conure Licks You?
Conures use their tongue and beaks to explore the world. The younger ones are very curious and inquisitive. Thus, like human babies who place items in their mouths during exploration, a conure will lick most of the things in their environment, including you.
A conure will lick you to familiarize itself with you. Also, it will use their tongue to determine the texture and temperature of substances and surfaces. Thus, if your pet constantly licks you, they probably love your skin texture and want to feel it often.
Licking is also a sign of contentment and comfort, and your pet will only lick you if they are comfortable around you. If your conure licks you, it could also be tasting you, or it could be a display of affection. Your pet may like the saltiness of your skin when they lick you. However, you can discourage licking since the human skin can host bacteria harmful to birds.
Discouraging licking will also prevent your bird from ingesting your skin products, which may affect their health. Foods you can give your birds to reduce licking include snacks, beans, or carrots.
How Do You Tell If a Conure Likes You?
Conures will use body language to communicate with their owner. Thus, you should interpret what each means to know when your conure is telling you that they like you.
If a conure likes you, it will preen themselves, flap their wings and tail, have a relaxed body posture, dilate their pupils, and grind their beak, among others. Birds preen themselves to get rid of parasites and dirt. Preening also keeps their feathers aligned, making them appear groomed.
Conures will only preen themselves in an environment where they feel comfortable. In the wild, they could easily face attacks during preening as they focus on looking good. Thus, if your pet is preening around you, they feel safe and comfortable with you, which could imply that they like you.
A conure is famous for the noise it makes. However, conures can do more with their mouth than just noise. If your pet likes you, they may move their tongue or flutter their beak to alert you that they are content with your company.
Your conure will also sit comfortably when you approach them and will be positive when you stretch your hands to pick them. Thus, if you notice your bird is comfortable when you are around, it is safe to assume that they like you.
Your conure may also wag their tail in an up and down motion when you walk in on them to show you that they like you. If they wag their tail when you are playing, it shows they are having fun, and the game should continue.
However, you should be cautious with tail wagging, especially if you are handling your pet, as it could be a sign that they want to go to the bathroom. If you have not trained your pet, they may end up relieving themselves on you. However, if you have trained them, it would be wise to return them to the cage once you notice the wagging.
Your conure may also flap or stretch their wings when they see you. Flapping the wings is a sign of happiness and indicates that your bird is excited. Wing flapping is also useful in capturing your attention and responding with love will make your bird happy.
A conure will use their eyes to show you that they like you. Their pupil will vary in size depending on their mood. If your pet is happy, it will either flash or pin its pupil. Thus, if you notice flashing or dilated pupils when handling your pet, it means that they are excited or comfortable to be with you.
Your pet may also fluff their feathers when they see you. However, you should be careful with feather fluffing as it may also indicate aggressiveness. If you know your pet well, it will be easier to tell between excitement and aggressiveness.
How Do Conures Show Affection?
Conures are good at communicating their needs, and so are they with their emotions. Therefore, if you are keen enough, you will most likely note when your conure is showing affection. However, what signs should you be on the lookout for?
If a conure loves you, they will cuddle with you, preen you, kiss you, and mouth you. Given that conures are affectionate birds, they will want to bond with those close to them. This includes their human owners. If your pet likes nuzzling against your hands or rubbing against your neck when you hold them, you are probably in their good books. Cuddling also enables your pet to enjoy the heat from your body. It also reduces stress and anxiety and lowers blood pressure.
If a conure loves you, they will be picky on you even in a crowd. For instance, your pet will fly right to you and no one else, and you will not need to call out their name for them to come to you. While your pet may like everyone else in the room, they will always fly to you first if you are their favorite human. This action may also show that they need your attention, and you should focus on spending quality time together.
Conures will show affection to their owner by grooming them. If your pet chews on your ear, beard, or hair, it is a sign that they like you. A conure will preen their owner in a gentle way that does not inflict injury as a sign of affection. However, if your pet preens you so hard, you can discourage them by removing them from your shoulders or involving them in an activity that will distract them.
Even without lips, conures will dole out kisses to their loved ones. A conure kiss comprises the bird putting its beak against your cheeks or lips accompanied by a gentle nibble. Some birds will even stick out their tongue and lick their owners when they kiss them. This behavior could be an imitation of their human counterparts.
Conures, like human beings, will also check on their favorite humans from time to time to confirm they are okay. If your pet notices your silence for a while, they will try and make contact with you to check on you and let you know how important you are to them. Contact calling could be a squawk or a scream, especially when your bird does not hear or see you.
Thus, when they contact call you, you should call back to assure them that you are fine. In other cases, your pet will verbalize its message of love by singing for you. Singing also indicates the desire to share happy memories with you. At times, your bird may also chatter or click its tongue instead of singing.
Conures, especially in the wild, do not randomly fall asleep for fear of attack by their predators. In captivity, they will be picky on whose laps they fall asleep. Thus, if they fall asleep on your shoulder, hands, or lap, it is a display of affection. Sleeping on you also indicates the trust your pet has placed on you, given that they are most vulnerable when asleep. To encourage and foster this trust, you should continue caring and playing with your conure often.
Conures Are Affectionate and Social
Conures are social birds and love to interact with their human owners. Therefore, it is important to establish a relationship with your pet by caring for them often. To do this, ensure you spend quality time with them, feed them, pet them and allow physical contact with your pet by carrying them on your shoulders as you do other activities within your home.
Once your pet likes you, it will always be excited to see you and spend time with you. Your pet may also cuddle and kiss you when you hold them as a sign of affection. However, if your pet does not display the above signs, perhaps it needs more time to know and understand you. Thus, you should take time to understand your pet’s body language and avoid forcing it to like you as they may turn out aggressive and fight you.
