Height Dominance is Bologna

Can height dominance with parrots just be thrown out the chat.. forever.. please and thank you. Your bird DOES NOT want to “dominate” you. It’s not that kind of relationship.

Parrots do not dominate humans. We don’t need to be “alpha” or “take charge.” It makes me cringe inside when people talk this way and actually believe it. There is ZERO science that proves this. Actually the scientist that first publicized dog dominance later redacted their findings to be untrue. The mindset allows force to be used often. So, why are we using untrue science about dogs for parrots.

What is scientifically proven is birds are much more comfortable up high. It’s an evolutionary trait to keep the bird safe, as there are less predators in the canopy than down on the ground. Of course, there are ground foragers, and your bird being perched at hip level or our height doesn’t mean your bird is uncomfortable.

A lot of people get aggression when the bird is up high because they’re far more confident (or maybe not as confident like stepping down onto our hand compared to stepping up or level) up high. They have more choice when above our head because it’s harder for us to reach them. Any aggression or ignoring behaviors you get is mostly from the holes in the training you’ve done with your birds.

Now, shoulder time. Do it with your bird if you want, or don’t, I don’t care. I think with any bird there is a time and a place to be on a shoulder, and for some that time and place is no where to be found. But we get aggression on our shoulders because we are unable to see their body language as well as on our arms. Also, the smallest of warning bites can mean stitches in our sensitive face skin, ear cartilage, and neck. They’re the most memorable bites. Also, with stepping off of a shoulder being an issue for people, it’s likely because the bird doesn’t want to loose the social interaction they’re getting, as they’re highly social creatures, or your step up cues are not as strong as they need to be.

All in all, let’s stop spreading false information and start sharing true information. Height isn’t the issue. It’s training and reading body language that is the big contenders.