If you’ve done any research online about parrot care, you’ve likely already had it beaten into your head that parrots are social animals that need interaction from their humans and one another in order to be happy. In this post, I’d like to take some time to talk about how to meet some of their social needs by involving them in our daily lives in ways that are conducive to a healthy bond.

If you’re wanting more information about why it's important to meet those social needs and to learn more about their behavior in a flock, see some of our other posts on the Bird Street Bistro Blog exploring these topics such as: How Parrots Communicate in a Flock or How Loneliness Ages Your Parrot.

How We Interact with Them Matters

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about spending time with their pets is having them close and touching them through petting. Many times, they believe that in order to form a strong bond that they need to have them on their person or in very close proximity. It makes sense that as humans that we really value physical affection since that's how we tend to show our love. However, when it comes to parrots, close, physical affection can lead to confusion and frustration for our bird since it can encourage what is called a pair bond.

Birds that live in a flock tend to reserve physical closeness for their mates. Birds that are mates often perch very close, preen and feed each other, and generally remain in close proximity for long periods of time. For parrots that are pets, and especially those that are in an environment where there is an absence of other birds and thus a suitable mate, they can become pair bonded to a human in the house. This becomes much more likely if that bird is allowed to regularly sit on that human and if there is a lot of physical touch. It is advised that petting below the head should be avoided in order to prevent this, but even petting on the head often enough can encourage a pair bond relationship for the bird.

The truth is, there are many ways to share our time and space with our birds in ways that encourage an appropriate relationship. We can absolutely have a strong, meaningful bond with a bird without having them on our person or them seeing us as a mate. The goal is to build a foundation of trust and companionship in ways that are healthy. This kind of relationship will make for a much happier bird and human. It will encourage independence and help prevent things like excessive egg laying and problematic behaviors such as aggression and undesirable vocalization (“screaming”).

Parrots Want to Be Involved!

We are just starting to spend a meaningful amount of time researching the social cognition of parrots. In the past, most research has been on physical cognition and their abilities to solve puzzles and carry out complex tasks. But in recent years, we’ve started to take a deeper look at the social aspects of a parrot’s life - and it’s been fascinating. Parrots are very intelligent creatures, so it makes sense that we’re discovering that their social needs are complex. Ricardo Lemos de Figueiredo, a zoo researcher in animal behavior at the University of Birmingham, UK stated recently that “Parrots have advanced cognitive abilities, sometimes matching those of primates, an evolutionary advantage that allows them to adapt and thrive in the diverse and complex environments they live in the wild.” But the intelligence that benefits parrots in the wild can make it hard for them to thrive in captivity when they aren’t able to exercise it. 

Involving the birds in our home by having them around us and allowing them to engage in natural behaviors is important to their wellbeing. It is far from ideal when a bird is left alone for extended periods of time or secluded from the people in the house. The trend of creating “bird rooms” where parrots are confined to for most of the day has in part contributed to the stress of many domestic parrots by separating them from a centralized location where the flockmates (humans) in the house spend their time. Many people also become frustrated with a bird that has developed undesirable behaviors and so they might keep the bird covered for much of the day or place them in a room away from everyone in order to restore some peace to the humans in the house. However, this usually only makes the symptoms of whatever underlying issue is creating the problem behavior worse. 

To get a better understanding of why it is important to consider having birds in a central part of our home, we can look at how parrots live in flocks in the wild. Activities are carried out with flockmates in a parallel way, or side by side with one another. They roost, forage, bathe, and eat together. The environment and seasonal changes can affect when and how day to day activities are carried out, but as a general rule, those activities are carried out at the same time alongside each other. 

Our birds see us as a part of their flock. Not only are we a part of that flock, but we are a critical, if not the most critical part of it. We directly provide them with important resources like food, water, and socialization. We also provide a sense of security and routine to our birds. Years of caring for parrots has shown me that they are always watching, and they seem to genuinely enjoy it when I involve them in my day. My birds probably know my routine better than I do, and will often seem to anticipate activities that I carry out before I even begin because they are so accustomed to my household routine. Because of how important we are to our birds, they would naturally want to be around us to continue to receive important resources and engage in natural (as much as is possible in captivity) flock behaviors. By separating them from us for extended periods of time, we could be creating distressed birds.

Ways to Involve Them

There are many ways that we can involve our birds in our day and help them to feel like an important member of the flock. Here’s a few things that I’ve found work for our household. They are by no means the only ways to involve your bird, so get creative and fun! Observing and understanding your individual bird so that you understand their needs should be the most important factor in what you ultimately choose to incorporate into your routine. You should also make sure whatever you do is safe for your flock.

Bring Them Along!

Even mundane activities like washing dishes or making your morning oatmeal can provide opportunities to involve your birds. You don’t need an expensive playstand or elaborate setup in every room for your bird to get enjoyment from being around you. Providing them with a safe place to station in the room while you perform tasks can be very enjoyable for them. For example, I have a small perch that sits on a platform above my kitchen sink. My conures love to fly over to it and watch me wash dishes or cut up vegetables. Having them stationed in an appropriate place instead of on my shoulder helps to encourage a healthy bond with them. They will often chatter and vocalize when I turn the water on and will sometimes even jump down for a quick afternoon splash session on the sink.

You don’t have to buy expensive perches or stands. Just find a safe place for them to be around you while you perform your daily activities. If you’re fortunate enough to have an outdoor aviary, take them along with you while you garden or sit outside with family. If your bird is harness trained and it’s safe to do so, take them with you to the park or other outings. You can also set up an area for them to station with some toys in the living room while you watch your favorite shows. There are many ways to involve your birds in your day!

Training

Training isn’t just for learning tricks to show off to friends and family. It provides your bird with a way to interact and bond with you and make use of those impressive brains. It also allows them to make choices and weigh options and that is very enriching and important to an animal as smart as parrots. You can start with something simple like teaching your bird to “step up” which is an important skill for your bird to have anyway. As you build trust with your bird, you can also train them to fly to you through recall training. Many people also train their birds to perform tasks with objects and toys as well.

Using positive reinforcement is the best and most effective method of encouraging any behavior through training. You can learn more about how to use positive reinforcement through experts like Barbara Heidenreich and Pamela Clark, both having extensive experience in practicing and teaching training skills.

Talk to Them

This one is more my own method of involving my birds and less so something that is widely suggested. However, I’ve found that talking to my birds throughout the day seems to bring on a sense of curiosity and interest. While I’m cleaning their cages or reading a book, I’ll often explain to them what I’m doing or vocalize my thoughts on a topic. Even if it’s just you and your birds in the room, I firmly believe that talking to them can be a great way of involving them in your day.

I also sing to my birds every night before bed as I’m performing our nighttime routine before they go into their cages for the night. Because I stick to a predictable routine, my birds put themselves to bed at almost the exact same time every night. All I have to do is give them cues such as dimming the lights and singing softly in the room to them. I admit, I have a “goodnight song” for my birds. I won’t be caught dead sharing it, but it does exist and they seem to react positively when it’s time to sing it. They will start to grind their beaks once the lights dim and those LED candles come out, and as soon as the goodnight song starts, they climb into their cages to settle in for the night. This is one way that I engage in and involve them in my nighttime flock activities.

Thank you taking the time to read this post and learn about your bird and some ways that you can help meet their needs. To contribute to their nutritional wellness, try one of our high quality, healthy food options as part of your bird's diet. One of our most popular foods is our Cinnaspice Delight bistro!

References:

Chitty, John. “The egg-laying pet parrot: Prevention and treatment.” Companion Animal, vol. 18, no. 8, Oct. 2013, pp. 396–398, https://doi.org/10.12968/coan.2013.18.8.396.

Clark, Pamela. “Parrots and People: The Critical Importance of Proximity (Part One).” Pamela Clark - The Parrot Steward, 26 Oct. 2023, https://pamelaclarkonline.com/2023/10/26/parrots-and-proximity/comment-page-1.

Rössler T, Auersperg AM. "Recent developments in parrot cognition: a quadrennial update." Anim Cogn. 2023 Jan;26(1):199-228. doi: 10.1007/s10071-022-01733-2