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Living With Parrots
The relationship of parrots and people has a long history and crosses many cultures. This relationship can be very fulfilling and joyful for both the parrot and the human, or it can be fraught with difficulties and unhappiness. Either way, it is not a simple relationship, and it requires concessions and compromises. It is the parrot who enters the relationship at a disadvantage, having neither asked to be a pet nor to live in a cage for its entire existence. Therefore it is the human who must make all the necessary changes, for the rest of the parrot's life, to make the relationship successful. As in any relationship, there are differing perspectives. On one hand, there is the human perspective of owning a parrot. On the other hand, there is the parrot's point of view.
People Living with Parrots
  • Parrots and humans have been living together for centuries, but parrots are not domesticated creatures. They may be tamed, but even captive-bred and raised parrots are only a few generations from the wild, and they retain their wild instincts. Parrots are very appealing with their bright, beautifully coloured feathers, their ability to speak and mimic sounds, playful natures and soulful eyes. People make the decision to bring a parrot into their home for many reasons, but few take into consideration the true nature of these beguiling beings. And that is where the trouble can start, even in the most loving, understanding, and accommodating homes.
  • More than most pets, living with a parrot requires a long, hard, honest look at our lifestyle and the likelihood of the long-term sustainability of that lifestyle. From a purely practical viewpoint, parrots need to be kept in a cage when not supervised, and that cage must be large enough and strong enough for the species of parrot. With a large parrot, their cage will take up a lot of room. Parrots require constant companionship and will not be happy shut away alone in a room, so the cage needs to be in an area where they are part of the action.
  • Parrots should not be left alone for more than a few hours at a time. Parrots are extremely messy. They drop and fling food everywhere, poop frequently, and fill their surroundings with feathers and dust. To prevent disease, their cage and toys must be cleaned and sanitized regularly, and their food and water must be checked and replenished at least daily. Things like air fresheners, candles, and Teflon pans and appliances can be very toxic to parrots.
  • Parrots can be finicky eaters and often waste more food than they eat, but they still require a variety of fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables, as well as suitable pellets and fortified seed to keep their diet balanced and interesting. Parrots require a variety of safe, suitable toys and a variety of size-appropriate perches in their cage. These toys and perches can be very expensive and may be destroyed very quickly. Parrots love to chew on things, and they do not care if they are chewing on a toy or your furniture, baseboards, cupboards, electrical wires, carpets, or clothing.
  • Parrots can be very loud, not only when they are angry, but also when they are happy. This makes most of them unsuitable for an apartment, because they can annoy the neighbours. Once they have learned to talk or mimic sounds, they may practice these new skills nonstop. The sounds they find amusing are not always the ones that we want to hear repeated endlessly.
  • Parrots are companion birds, but that works both ways. Parrots require companionship and interaction from us. They need to be acknowledged and talked with. They need to be picked up, petted, scratched, and preened. Most parrots will appreciate having another parrot around, but if they have been hand-raised and around people for all of their life, it is people that they identify with and want to interact with. Parrots have a sense of time and can tell if we are distracted and in a hurry. They want not just our time, but our undivided time.
  • However parrots choose their friends, whether it is another parrot or a human. The human they choose may not be their owner and may not even be someone who likes birds. This can be very hard on the parrot owner. The parrot may love their owner or may tolerate or even hate their owner. Either way, the parrot may show aggression towards its human, whether because of jealousy or dislike. It is very difficult for owners to love and care for a demanding creature that does not seem to appreciate the effort, and once the parrot is sexually mature, the problems can escalate.
  • Mature parrots experience cyclical hormonal surges and cannot be neutered like a dog or cat. They can become extremely loud, territorial, and aggressive, and exhibit odd behaviours at this time. Parrots that are very attached to their owners will mourn if that relationship is severed, and they may not do well in a new home or may take a very long time to adapt. This often results in them being from home to home or being neglected.
  • Time is at a premium for most people. We lead busy, erratic lives; we work; we have families and commitments; we travel and have activities outside of the house. Our situations and interests change at an alarming rate. A parrot living in a cage has nothing but time, and time is what it wants most from us. Parrots can live 20 to 80 years, or even longer. With our relatively short lifespan and changeable life, can we really commit to not just caring for a parrot for all of its life, but to doing everything necessary for that life to be happy and dignified? We tamed that life, and we are responsible for that life forever. When we fail in that responsibility, we condemn a being with the intelligence of a 4- to 5-year-old child and the emotional maturity of a 2-year-old to a life of loneliness, boredom, fear, frustration, and worse.
  • This can result in aggression, behaviour problems, emotional and mental breakdowns, and self-mutilation. A cycle of new homes, behaviour problems, rejection, and neglect begins and continues until the parrot dies or is lucky enough to find an understanding home. The cycle happens far too often—finding an understanding home far too seldom. Parrots are only the third most popular pet in the USA, behind dogs and cats, but there are more sanctuaries for unwanted parrots than for either dogs or cats. Sanctuaries are strained for space and money to care for these parrots. They are overflowing with parrots that cannot live anywhere else. There are also many parrots in sanctuaries, who crave human contact.
  • Many species of parrots are endangered or threatened in the wild. There is no doubt that the pet trade contributed to this situation, but there are other contributing factors. Many of the parrots' natural habitats are threatened or destroyed, and parrots are killed for food by local populations. Reduced numbers of individuals weaken the gene pool and lead to decreases in procreation. Although importation of wild-caught birds has been banned in many countries, wild birds are still caught illegally for breeding programs. The worst part is that for every wild-caught bird that survives its capture, many more die. Even if these birds are found before they are distributed, they often cannot be returned to the wild.
  • There are many questions that a potential parrot owner must ask and honestly answer before acquiring a parrot. Do you have the room for a cage, the resources for toys, vet bills, and food, the time to spend cleaning, feeding, and interacting with the parrot? And how likely is it that these things will not change for the next several decades? How many years of your life do you have left? And will you want or be able to spend all of them caring for a parrot? Do you plan to travel or take regular vacations? Who takes care of the parrot, as they cannot be left alone for even one day?
  • Where will you acquire your parrot? Will you buy from a store or a breeder and potentially add another parrot into the mill? Will you adopt from a rescue and potentially inherit a parrot with baggage? Do you want a baby bird, and how likely is it that the parrot will outlive you? What will happen to the parrot if you die or are no longer able to care for it? Do you have the time, patience, and knowledge to tame and train a semi-wild creature? Can you live with your mistakes?
  • People can have very happy, fulfilling relationships with parrots, but there are many pitfalls to consider and a very long future to plan for. Parrots are forever.
Parrots Living with People
  • Although parrots are kept as pets, and have been for centuries in various cultures, they are not domesticated creatures. Most parrots are still only a few generations from the wild. Parrots have been brought into our homes, not for reasons of mutual benefit as is the case with many domesticated and companion animals, but because parrots can talk, exhibit sociable behaviour, and are beautiful to look at. They are expensive, unusual, and exotic, and can be seen as a status symbol.
  • They do not choose to be our pets. They may be tamed, be taught to talk and to do tricks, to accept and even crave human contact, but they still possess their wild instincts and natures. These wild behaviours and temperaments become more apparent as the parrot ages and develops into a sexually mature bird. These changes can be unnoticeable or mild in a very small minority of parrots, but are usually very dramatic and can happen after years of successfully living together. The sweet, cuddly, tame bundle of feathers you know and love can turn into an aggressive, loud, destructive, and hate-filled bundle of raging hormones and wild instincts.
  • What do parrots instinctively expect out of life? Parrots are very social creatures. They expect to spend every minute of their life with their flock in visual range. They choose their mate and are monogamous. They spend all of their time with their companion. They are in constant contact, preening, playing, and arguing with each other for about half of their waking hours. They spend about 3 hours actively flying, foraging, and eating, 3 hours napping, and about 10 to 12 hours in sound sleep. For their entire life of 20 to 80 or more years, from birth to death, a parrot is never alone and always in visual contact with other members of the flock.
  • Parrots are tropical creatures, and they expect their day to be fairly evenly divided between light and dark. They are active during the light part of the day, go to roost at dusk, and sleep through the dark. Their body clocks are synchronized with the other members of the flock, and they enjoy a predictable routine. Parrots are prey animals, and the flock provides security from predators. Parrots live in a hierarchy, and they look to the strongest, most dominant member of the flock to make decisions about daily routines and safety.
  • Pet parrots may have their very basic needs, such as food and water, met with regularity, but the fulfillment of the rest of their needs is usually lacking or non-existent. People have busy schedules, and very few have the luxury of being at home all day. This means that many companion parrots spend their most active hours alone in a cage in a silent house. Parrots measure time very accurately and anticipate when an activity should happen and how long it will take. Waiting alone for people with very erratic schedules to come home causes stress and anxiety in parrots. Many parrots are kept in a separate room or away from the main living area. This means that even when people are home, the parrot is still alone waiting for attention and interaction. When they do get some attention, it occurs according to the person’s schedule, not the parrot’s, and is often unfocused, hurried, and of short duration and limited physical contact.
  • For an essentially wild creature, living a life so foreign to all of its instincts and unfulfilling of its needs is very stressful. Parrots living a lonely, boring, erratic life in an unpredictable environment can develop adverse emotional and neurotic behaviours. They become anxious and aggressive. They scream, bite, self-mutilate, and destroy things. They may withdraw and be depressed or exhibit bizarre behaviours. They can go stir crazy! The worse their behaviour becomes, the less likely they are to be allowed to live the life that they need. They will be further ignored or even banished to some far off, dark corner to be forgotten. They will be sold repeatedly to homes that can’t understand them or tolerate their behaviour. They are lost and unhappy.
  • Parrots have the intelligence of a 4- to 5-year-old child. They have the emotional maturity of a 2-year-old. They are intelligent enough to use tools, to solve puzzles, and to not just mimic words, but also to understand the meaning of those words. Parrots do not just exist in their environment; they want to influence, interact with, and manipulate that environment and the people within it. Parrots need to feel secure about their place in the flock.
  • They require an adequate amount of sleep and nap time every day. They need time to forage and eat and to play and be busy. They need a lot of physical contact and individual, undivided attention. Parrots need a predictable routine, but also interesting change and enrichment in their environment. Having more than one parrot certainly helps to create a more natural flock environment, but different species may not get along unsupervised and should not be caged together. Because parrots choose their own friends, even parrots of the same species may not get along well enough to be caged together. Having a cage which is larger than just adequate and well-furnished with interesting toys and various types and sizes of perches also helps to enrich the life of a parrot. So does constant access to a variety of foods and treats. If they must be alone through the day, having a radio or television playing and a window to look out alleviates some boredom and feelings of aloneness.
  • However, they still need physical, auditory, and visual contact with their flock—and that means with people. They need to be talked with, acknowledged, petted, and preened. This has to be a predictable and routine part of their day, and should be on the parrot’s terms in that we do not interrupt their eating, playing or nap time unless they are willing. This interaction should be counted in hours, not minutes, and spread throughout the day. All parrots are individuals with their own personalities, idiosyncrasies, likes, and dislikes, just like people. Parrots will display the common characteristics of their species, but there is also wide variation between individuals. They are not wind-up toys with predictable behaviours.
  • While it is not realistically possible for pet parrots to lead the type of life they were born for, and they certainly cannot be returned to the wild, they must be provided with the opportunity to live a rich, fulfilled, sane, and dignified life.
Parrots and People Living in Harmony
  • Since people choose to have a parrot—an undomesticated quasi-wild creature— as a pet, the onus is on people to adjust to the relationship. Parrots are just as nature intended them to be, and they were not intended to be kept locked up in a cage for their entire life. They are sentient, intelligent, and emotional beings with distinct, individual personalities. They are meant to live in an organized society for their entire life and to find their place within the hierarchy of that society. They interact and communicate constantly with other members of their society. They are prey animals and find safety and security within their society. They are vulnerable and anxious when alone.
  • Even the kindest, gentlest, most understanding human is still a predator. We are quick to become impatient, angry, and aggressive. We are busy, and our lives are constantly changing. Because our lives are so hectic, we welcome quiet and alone time. We become bored, distracted, and disillusioned easily. We make mistakes and move on. We want what we want when we want it, and often we don’t even know what that really is. Our decision to bring a parrot into our life is too often based on very shallow reasons and made with no long-term planning, a realistic assessment of our lifestyle, or an understanding of the extensive and involved commitment we are making. Living with a parrot will change your life, but probably not in the ways you expect.
  • Parrots appeal to people on many levels. They are beautiful, exotic and mysterious to look at. They are amusing when playing. They learn to talk, and many enjoy learning tricks. They are vulnerable and needy. People generally see a fun pet that they can teach to talk and do tricks. They see an expensive, unusual, exotic pet that reflects status.
  • As status symbols or ego boosters, parrots are too demanding of time and space, too messy, too loud, and too aggressive to be appealing for very long. They are expensive, but they are not a commodity. They are like small children for 20 to 80 years.
  • Parrots are very much individuals. Not every parrot that can learn to talk will talk, or at least not on command. They may talk to everyone but their owner or may only talk when no one is present. Not every parrot is interested in learning tricks, although all should have basic training in stepping up and down, etc. Some have extremely dominant personalities and will always challenge authority. Some are very passive or timid. Some are very choosy about their friends or may only like one person and be aggressive with anyone else. Others are more universally outgoing
  • Training, handling and socializing the parrot is necessary, but end results will depend on the individual personalities of both the parrot and the person doing the training. The parrot you buy may not be the parrot you expect or even want. For the relationship to work, the parrot owner has to adjust expectations to respect the nature and personality of the parrot. Like in human relationships, it takes a lot of patience and compromise to overcome personality clashes. Sometimes a truce is the best outcome. This is not enjoyable for parrot or human.
  • Parrot caregivers must appreciate at the outset that they are working with a basically wild, very intelligent creature. Parrots can most certainly be trained, but success and failure are both firmly on the head of the trainer. Trainers must have patience, compassion, insight, and focus. They must always treat the parrot with calm and respect, and understand that parrots measure time. It may take a year or more just for the parrot to decide to like the trainer well enough to interact with calm and interest. Parrots respond to positive reinforcement, but it can be a challenge for some people to be consistently positive and timely with rewards.
  • Previous experience training other animals such as dogs and horses using positive reinforcement methods before attempting to train a parrot can be very beneficial. It is also often a challenge with some parrots to find a reward that the parrot values highly enough. People can be quick to punish, but parrots do not react well to negative reinforcement. Parrots do not hit each other or throw things. If they yell at each other, everyone joins in. Parrots can find this kind of drama very exciting, and they may start to perform the behaviour just to start a riot, just like a child acting out to get attention. The trainer may reinforce the very behaviour that is to be stopped. Even timeouts can backfire, as the parrot soon realizes that timeouts end a training session. Every trainer of an intelligent animal must beware that the tables are not turned, transforming the trainer into the trainee.
  • Again, the onus is on the trainer. The parrot is blameless and only following its nature. Training must always be fun and interesting for the parrot. Endless repetitions or insisting on things that the parrot has no interest in are boring and futile, and will only cause the parrot to resent and resist training attempts, and the trainer to be frustrated. Behaviours rarely manifest fully formed in the first training session. Most take many small steps and much time to refine, and are easier to attain when the parrot volunteers a rudimentary form of the behaviour.
  • It is very important for the parrot caregiver to understand that dedicated training sessions should be kept short and only counted as a small fraction of the time spent interacting with the parrot through the day. Sessions should be abandoned if the parrot is not receptive, and perhaps tried again latter. Parrots still need time devoted to petting, preening, and being talked to (not training to talk). Parrot owners must also be aware that all of their interactions with the parrot, whether or not intentional, will influence the behaviour of the parrot.
  • Like any relationship, with time and familiarity, behaviour patterns develop. This is true of the parrot‘s behaviour and also the person’s behaviour. Often a parrot’s desirable and undesirable behaviours can be traced more to these every day, unintentional interactions and patterns than to actual training. Again, the onus is on the person, first as the instigator of the relationship, and second as the leader of the flock, to modify their behaviour to change established patterns.
  • n a sense, being a successful parrot caregiver means being a better parrot. The strongest, most dominant parrot determines the flock dynamics, keeps the flock cohesive and safe, and finds the best food, the best shelter, and the best amusements. This is not strength, as a predator understands strength and dominance; the position of power is not determined by brute strength and violence. A predator is a member of a group for reasons of more efficient hunting, not for protection. A predator may survive alone.
  • Leaders of prey animals like parrots earn and keep the position out of strength of character, of fairness to all, and the ability to make consistent good decisions for the group. Prey animals stay in groups because it gives them protection and a better chance of surviving predation. Prey animals do not survive long if they stray from the group. As the leader of the flock, a parrot owner must earn the trust necessary for that position by proving that they can protect the parrot and make better decisions than the parrot can. Some parrots can take a long time to convince, and they withdraw trust very quickly.
Caring for Your Forever Parrot
The forever home caregiver must understand the responsibility that is assumed when taking in a parrot as a pet. Companion parrots are completely reliant on the caregiver for every aspect of their care. This person needs to have sufficient time in both the morning and late afternoon or early evening to prepare fresh food for the parrot and to change the water, which must be done at least twice a day, every day. They also need to interact in some way with their parrot for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours per day every day (some types of parrots need more) for as long as the parrot is in their care.
Caregivers must make their parrots feel safe, wanted, and like they are a part of the family at all times. They need to be attentive to and observant of the parrot's individual needs, know what the parrot's favourite foods are, and be cognizant of the parrot's mood swings. Caregivers must also understand that the parrot, like a 3- to 4-year-old child, needs to know who's boss (through positive reinforcement, not punishment or violence), and that the parrot does not run the household. The relationship of the caregiver and parrot is one that is always built on trust, love, and respect, along with guidance and understanding. And like everyone, both the caregiver and the parrot will have good days and not so good days, and must learn to coexist through mutual respect and understanding.
Depending on the species of parrot and the parrot's history, the parrot will need exactly the right person to attend to all daily care and to any special needs that may be required. The caregiver must be able to give the parrot the proper amount of one-on-one time daily. Not all parrots will make good pets, regardless of the species, and this usually comes down to the parrot's individual personality and life experience. It will be incumbent on the caregiver to notice if the parrot is displaying any neurotic tendencies, and to decide if these tendencies are a personality trait or a trait related to the parrot's previous care. These tendencies are something that the caregiver needs to address when deciding the appropriate care to be provided for that individual parrot.
The forever home caregiver needs to make their home safe for the parrot to live in, and must understand the common dangers to a parrot's health and safety. Because parrots are prey animals, they have a fright-to-flight response built in. One needs to be carful not to startle the parrot, as that can lead to a bite or a flight response, which can cause injury to the caregiver, the parrot, or to both. Toilet seats cannot to be left up, as the parrot could fall in and drown. Cleaning products should never be left out or unattended. A parrot’s access to the kitchen should be restricted to ensure that there is no way to get into any hot food at the table or on the stove. The parrot must be kept away from hot stoves and fireplaces. Some parrots like to be on the floor and must be kept from power cords and electrical outlets.
Basically, the caregiver must child-proof their home for the parrot’s own safety. The caregiver must be aware of certain types of foods and houseplants that can be poisonous or lethal if ingested, and make them inaccessible to the parrot. Parrots are also very susceptible to injury and death caused by chemical fumes: i.e., non-stick cookware, ceramic heaters, welding flux, alcoholic drinks, ammonia, antifreeze, bathroom cleaners, bleach, boric acid, etc. A complete list and more information are available here: https://vivopets.com/toxic-items-birds/
The forever home caregiver must understand that trips away from home, even if for only 1 or 2 days, leaving the parrot behind unattended, is not an option. All parrots need constant care throughout the day, and day trips are inconsistent with proper parrot care. If such circumstances arise, arrangements must be made to have someone come in at least twice daily to feed the parrot, change water, and to spend at least 60-90 minutes of interaction with the parrot out of the cage each time. For trips longer than 2 days, arrangements must be made for an appropriate bird sitter who is able to provide the necessary proper care for the parrot, either by having the sitter stay with the parrot in the home, or by taking the parrot to the sitter.
Companion parrots need some routine in their life, but too much routine can cause the parrot to get bored. Parrots become less stimulated by their surroundings and interactions with their caregivers. This boredom can result in the parrots plucking out their feathers, or other coping behaviours. The parrot may also become fixated with the daily routine and unable to cope with small changes.
Routine is not just a repetition of daily events such as when parrots wake up, when they are let out of the cage, when you go to work, when you come home, when they are fed, or when they are put to bed. Too much routine can be as simple as their surroundings being static, with no change at all for long periods of time. The caregiver does not need to totally re-arrange their entire room every 6 to 8 months, but some change in the parrot’s surroundings can be a great benefit in adding a mild level of external stimulation. Generally, this does not include moving the parrot's cage on a constant basis, if ever. If the parrot's home (cage) is in an appropriate place and is not a stressor to the parrot, moving it for no good reason can be very stressful. Remember, that's the parrot’s home you’re tinkering with.
Adding mild external stimulation to the parrot’s surroundings can be as basic as putting up a Xmas tree over the holidays or putting up and taking down Halloween decorations. Simple adjustments in their surroundings, that may coincide with the seasons, can be beneficial in adding stimulation to your parrot's surroundings. The point is, some caregivers do not change anything in or around where the parrot resides for years, sometimes decades. And then when there is a minor change such as a new piece of furniture as small as an end table, the parrot has a bird (so to speak). Many times when these issues come up, people relate the problems to the new pieces of furniture, or to making a slight adjustment to existing furniture. But they are only the symptoms of a larger problem which can be traced back to the issue of a lack of change and stimulation in the parrot’s surroundings.
Just like a parrot becoming cage-bound due to the parrot being in or on the cage for far too long without regular time away from it, a parrot can be 'bound' by its immediate environment. Because parrots are prey animals, they are wired to be on constant guard and in tune with their ever-changing surroundings. The forever home caregiver needs to be attentive to providing stimulating little changes in routine, timing, and environment for the parrot. The caregiver should also vary their daily routines when possible, changing the times they leave and return home, and the length of time out of the house. Parrots measure time, and if the caregiver is too consistent in their schedule, they will either become complacent and bored, or obsessively fixated on their daily routine.
Too much bedtime can also be a contributor to stress and boredom, which can lead to feather plucking and other coping behaviours. Parrots do need their sleep, but the amount they need is relevant to their surroundings, and varies by individual.
If the household is not loud and chaotic throughout the day, which is a better environment for a parrot, then parrots will take naps during the day. If they are able to nap, then they may not need to be covered up for 12 hours a day, everyday. If parrots have sporadic interaction with mild stimulation through the course of the day, they may only need 9-10 hours of bedtime (covered-up time) per night to sleep. If the parrot's household is highly stimulating with lots of interaction throughout the day and little opportunity to nap, then 10 to 12 hours of bedtime a day may be more appropriate. Parrots do not sleep, even covered, if there is activity in the room where they live.
Putting parrots the parrot to sleep too early, well before the day is done and the rest of the family is going to bed, only causes them to wait to get tired, creates boredom, and makes them feel excluded from the family. Like people, parrots are individuals, and the parrot's daily experiences vary from household to household. The actual amount of bedtime, with a covered cage, will depend on the parrot's individual environment and needs. Parrots should only be covered for bedtime, and not for the convenience of the caregiver.
The forever home caregiver needs to be in tune with their parrot's personality and behaviour, and be flexible and able to adjust within reason to the needs of the companion parrot. This develops over time for the forever home caregiver. It is about managing a healthy coexistence for both themselves and the parrot with a routine that is not overly stringent and stale.