22/09/2024
🫂 From Cuddle Time to Quality Time: Strengthening our relationship with our birds.🫂
❌️A common issue we encounter during consultations is birds becoming overly bonded to their owners, often due to interactions focused primarily on cuddling, shoulder-perching, petting, and scratching. While these activities can be part of a healthy relationship, bonds based solely on such interactions are often fragile.
This is because they don't provide the bird with the mental stimulation, independence, or variety needed for a more resilient and well-rounded relationship. From a behaviour science perspective, meaningful bonds are best built through a range of enriching experiences that promote trust, adaptability, and confidence in the bird.👈
❓️So, how can we build a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our birds?
🙎♀️Training: Teaching our birds new skills and practising them regularly through positive reinforcement helps create a strong, lasting bond. This also encourages problem-solving and mental engagement, fostering a sense of cooperation between bird and owner.
🧩Foraging and Toy Play: Actively engaging in foraging activities and toy play together offers mental stimulation and satisfies natural behaviours, while also making time spent together more enriching and enjoyable.
🦜Side-by-Side Activities: Spending time in the same room while the bird and owner engage in separate activities allows the bird to feel secure and included without being overly dependent on constant physical interaction. This promotes a healthy balance between independence and companionship.
By diversifying the way we interact with our birds, we can create a stronger, more balanced relationship that goes beyond physical affection and helps the bird develop into a confident, adaptable companion.✅️
