Bird's Aren't Always Nice to House Guests

Guests come over and say “wow your birds aren’t really that friendly” and this does not offend me in the slightest.

Parrots are not like dogs. When people come in the house, dogs are exciting, full of love, and crave your attention. Yes, parrots can be like this with people they know, but parrots take a long time to “warm up to” their people. Now, there are exceptions like how Munchkin (double yellow headed amazon) instantly fell in love with me and I was able to pet and preen him, something his rescuers never dreamed of being able to accomplish with him, but I’m speaking generally.

On top of this, most of my birds are in my care because they had no other shot of finding a home otherwise. Most of them are here for severe aggression issues and concerns towards people. They’re all really good with me because we have years of a positive working relationship and made a lot of progress. But, that doesn’t always means that it will instantly translate to a stranger.

Birds need to go at their pace. They need to feel comfortable. We always want this for all animals, but birds especially are sensitive to these things, and it can severely manipulate a relationship for the long haul.

It’s great to have those love connections and love at first site moments with parrots, and you see it more commonly with domesticated species compared to undomesticated species (like parrots). But, in most cases, it takes a while for the bird to warm up and get used to the environment and new people around them. Don’t be discouraged if you got a new feathered friend and they aren’t this big ball of love like you imagined. You will get there! It just takes time, training, understanding, and clear communication between the two of you.

To add, there is training that can be done to help your bird feel more comfortable with strangers. Working off contact so your guests can still interact with your bird in some way while respecting your bird’s comfort and keeping everyone safe is a great way! If you are looking to increase your birds social skills with house guests, feel free to contact us to set up an online consultation to teach you how!