Is This Normal For Sun Conures?

[yoko]

I was in a pet store yesterday and they had a Sun Conure in one of the cages. His name was Sunny and no matter where he was in the cage if you called him he'd run right over to you. when you scritched his head he'd flop over onto his side and rub against your and when you stopped he lay by the side you were on and flip on his back and let you rub his belly. He was the biggest sweetie I'd ever met! I don't know much about Conures so I was wondering if this was normal!

[Monica]

Generally speaking, no it's not normal. It's not normal for a bird to lay on it's back, however this conure sounds like he/she was raised by a great person and handled quite a bit!

[ray1457]

I've read that a bird being on its back isn't considered "normal", but I've certainly seen that behavior in enough other birds (everything from conures to macaws) to believe that it is part of their normal 'play' behaviors. (I've seen and heard of lots of different birds that will sleep on their back, too...) My own sun conure is still young (10 months old), and has been flipping onto his back when we play with him since he was about 6 months old. We didn't teach him that 'trick', and were tickled pink when he started doing it on his own. I agree with Monica in that it seems as though birds who are handled frequently (and trained well) as youngsters seem to be more 'ok' with being on their backs, but most birds won't stay in that position very long...

[milihandra]

Buddy is a "back bird", he's a Nanday Conure and loves to roll onto his back.
That's one of the things that attracted us when we first saw him.
He loves to wrestle and play and will tumble all over us, chasing toys or fingerss. I've also noticed that when he's really happy he leans into me, back first. In other words, he rubs his back against my cheek or flops on his side so that his back/side is cupped by the nape of my neck. He also likes sitting on my lap, his back leaning against my stomach, feet up, and tail forward towards my legs.
You'll see quite a few pictures on this board of Conures on their backs, sleeping, playing or performing!
I bought Buddy in a pet store at about 5 months old, his caretaker handled him a LOT. I would only imagine (and derive from experience) that this bird was well taken care of, and not just stuffed in a cage and ignored.

[gonefnuts]

I have a sun conure, who gets handled almost every min. of the day, yes he's a brat. We play together alot and he likes me to chase him and he'll even roll on his side and on his back as to tell me he wants to be tickled. He seems to like it, he'll even let me roll him around as well, he's very playful in this manner.

[Machelle]

Kiri plays on her back when she is playing with Charlie Brown or Snoopy. My daughter got the stuffed version of them in kids meals and Kiri just LOVES them!!!! They are as big as she is and she will roll over on her back and play with them while she holds them. Its pretty funny to watch.

[gonefnuts]

Originally Posted by yoko

I was in a pet store yesterday and they had a Sun Conure in one of the cages. His name was Sunny and no matter where he was in the cage if you called him he'd run right over to you. when you scritched his head he'd flop over onto his side and rub against your and when you stopped he lay by the side you were on and flip on his back and let you rub his belly. He was the biggest sweetie I'd ever met! I don't know much about Conures so I was wondering if this was normal!

By the way my sun conure is named sunny, and he's a true sweetheart of a bird, not to kool being handled by other people (very shy), but other than that he's a very affectionate bird.

[veryorignal]

My sun conure wont go on his back yet but he kinda just flopps over on his side the for scratches and runs around and flops over to play with fingers or whatever its really amuzing

[Doyle'sMommy]

Doyle plays on his back all the time, lol. That way he can use both his feet and his beak at the same time. When I hold him he often lays on his back and likes to be rubbed on his belly. Maybe I have a weird bird, lol.

[gbird]

Not a wierd thing at all. Pita loves snuggling with me under my shirt, his back against me, while I hold his feet, and rub is tummy with my thumb. We also do what I call boxing. When he's on his playgym, I'll pretend box with him, and he'll roll on his side and punch at me with his foot. Conures, especially Suns are very affectionate, and snuggly. They love to cuddle. So like evryone else said, sounds like he was loved in the pet store, by a good employee.

Ask Valo about her Sun....lol....I managed to spoil him rotten, before they bought him.

Don't ya just love thier feet....lol