Having a pet parrot can be very entertaining, especially since most parrots are very intelligent, playful, and most and foremost, they can talk and mimic human speech. Which is a very desirable trait for most parrot owners. In addition, owners will most likely develop feelings of love and care toward their pets, cat, dogs, and of course, their parrots.
So, Do Parrots Love Their Owners?
Yes, most parrots can and will develop emotions toward their owners, especially when owners bond with them. However, these emotions can only show up after providing the parrot with the requirements it needs, like food, safety, and attention.
Which can make the owner think that the parrot hates him or it doesn’t trust him. But if the owner thought about it slowly, he will most likely find out that he wasn’t even close to providing his pet with its need. Unfortunately, this is very common among first-timers.
They get the bird and cage him all the time inside the cage, not realizing that most parrots require daily attention of 1-2 hours, and this can get worse if the parrot was lonely without a cage mate.
And in this article, we will know a little about parrots’ emotions and how they show love to their owners. Let’s get into this:
Do Parrots Have Feelings?
Of course, parrots and especially pet parrots can show a variety of emotions toward their owners, and anything thing else in their environment. A parrot can show love, affection, jealousy, anxiety, and depression. Basically, they are just like human beings. This wide range of emotions can be clear if the owner has enough experience, and this understanding will lead the owner to provide his pet with a better life.
Do Parrots Understand How Owners Feels
There is no general answer to this question, especially with knowing the wide range of parrot breeds out there. However, there were studies conducted on African Grey (Which is the most studied breed of parrots) that have shown that African grey parrots can actually sense the state of mind of their owners, to the extent that they can be very good being service animals.
They can be very empathic, not only toward their owners but also toward their mates. However, most of the studies were about African greys, and if more studies on other breeds of parrots, I believe it will show results equal to what African Grey had, or even better.
I am not just guessing, but after 2 decades of raising different breeds of parrots, I came to realize that all parrots are smart and they can understand if I am sad, angry, or even depressed. But, all we currently got is to wait and see if there will be any confirmations in the future.
Do Parrots Recognize Their Owners
Yes, most parrots can recognize their owners, they actually can recognize people around them. And, for example, Macaw parrots can avoid and show aggression to people that they hate for whatever reason, even if the reason occurred a long time ago.
And to make short, every parrot that is capable of bonding with its owner will probably recognize his face, sound, and the commands he used to hear from the owners.
Do Parrots Miss Their Owners
Yes, parrots miss their owners, especially when they know the owner is the only source of playing and entertainment, the long absences of the owner can make the bird feel bored and even anxious and depressed if the time he is spending alone is very long.
You know that parrots miss their owners when you see the bird gets immediately excited when he sees you coming home. Some will say it’s because you will entertain him and play with him, and this is the reason the bird gets excited. But what would you say if you know the bird is already having fun and not feeling lonely, it’s like “long time no see” right?.
So, yes parrot misses their owners.
How to Know If your Parrot Love You
If you own a cat or a dog, it’s going to be very obvious and easy to notice if they actually love or hate you, it’s because their body language is similar to ours and easy to understand, and these types of pets communicate mostly with their body language.
With parrots, it’s kinda different. Yes, parrots have their own way to show love to their owner, but it’s way different from what dogs and cats do. And here are some signs:
Preening
Preening is a normal behavior in parrots, and the healthy parrot will preen himself regularly. Every day, they will remove any dirt or parasites from their bodies.
however, preening it’s like a luxury for parrots, don’t expect a parrot to preen while being in a dangerous situation, so if you notice your bird preening in front of you then you know he is totally comfortable.
Standing on Your Head
Sometimes smaller breeds of parrots like budgie and cockatiel get very annoying when they love and bond with the owner. They will develop a habit of sitting on your head and making their own stand to relax.
This is really funny, but if you have some work to do, then you may need to return the bird to its cage.
This behavior indicates that the parrot loves, and your head is the place they want to be, maybe they think it is safer, or just to annoy you and get your attention.
Vocalize a Lot
When the pet parrots learn your name (And yes they can), they will start calling you to come and play. vocalizing also includes whistling, singing, and talking. This also shows your parrot loves you.
Dilating Their Eyes
Unlike humans, parrots can control the dilation of their eye pupils, this also can tell how the parrot feels at the current moment, the pinner the eye pupil the cringed the mood of your parrot. Try to pay attention when you show in front of the cage and see if the pupils are getting wider or not, and if so, you know your bird is excited to see you.
The Love To Set Close To You
When the pet parrot loves, he will choose to stay with you, he will feel happy to do that either if you are playing with him or just to relax and to make sure that you are in front of him and not going anywhere else. This can happen when the parrot is strongly bonded to you.
They Will Try to Feed You
This can be really disgusting, but hey, this really important and strong sign that your parrot loves you so much, to the extent that he will regurgitate the food for you. They only do this to feed their new babies.
They Will Fluff Their Feathers
The same with eye dilating, the pet parrot will fluff his feather when he gets excited and sees you coming to the cage. This is an important sign that the bird loves and feels comfortable with you.
Relaxed Body Language
The relaxed body language when you play with your pet parrot and hold him in your hand shows a powerful sign that your parrot trust you, and of course with trust comes love. You can try to touch your parrot’s belly while he is laying down in your hand, and if he allowed you to do that, then you know your bird loves.
Be careful, even the most tamed parrot hates to be touched this way and might bite your hand, and as you know, the parrot’s bite can be very nasty. But if the bird loves it’s going to be ok.
Sometimes, they won’t bite, they will just flip and stand up, and it’s a good idea to touch his belly gradually, don’t just stretch your hand directly, just slowly let him where your hand is going.
Conclusion
In conclusion, yes parrots do love their owners, they can bond to them, and in some cases, they can actually think that the owners are their mates, leading them to lay eggs without any cage mate.
Apart from that, parrots are highly sensitive creatures, they can even show jealousy and anger, if they feel so, they actually have a full range of feelings, almost like human beings, the only difference in my opinion is that they can’t express them the way we do.
And yes, that’s about it. Hopefully, you found this article informative and easy to digest…
Hello, my name is sadeq and I am obsessed about parrot And I am here to share everything about raising pet parrots and how to be good owners to your bird.
