My Female African gray Parrot tries to feed me when I cuddle her
I have a female african gray parrot, she has been at my house since 6 years. I am the only one allowed to put his finger in her cage and cuddle her, if any body else tries to put his finger, she will attempt to bite, even if my wife attempts to do so, knowing that my wife spends much more time with her than me, Is it normal?
Another thing, when i give her my finger, she grabs it with her legs, then she folds her wings a little bit to the front, as if she was hugging a small chick, then she begins to get half-digested food from her mouth and puts them on my finger, making small noises funny sound in the process, similar to a chicken sound, what is this behavior, and how can we describe it.
(2)2 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
She thinks of you as another parrot, another member of her flock, a relative, and possibly as her mate, and is treating you that way when trying to feed you. It's weird from our human point of view, but it makes perfect sense to a bird.
Not liking other humans: she may see them as competition, or she may just not trust them. I don't speak bird well enough to offer advice the best way to get past this; hopefully someone else can do so.
There are a couple of factors at play here;
1: African Grey parrots reach sexual maturity at ~4 years of age. Your bird is sexually mature.
2: African Grey females feed their young by regurgitating into the babies mouth. Males feed females mates in the same way, while the female is brooding a clutch (sitting on eggs) and while the chicks are very small.
When the chicks are very small they can not thermoregulate on their own, and the female remains in the nest to keep them warm. During this time the male feeds her. Once the chicks get bigger and sprout feathers, the female will be able to leave them for short periods to forage as well.
3: African Grey parrots form heterosexual monogamous pair bonds. Your female bird is bonded to you, and anyone else is a challenger. Especially your wife. You may notice that she reacts in a more strongly negative way to all females, not just your wife.
4: If your parrot spends all or most of her time in her cage, all of the above behaviors will be markedly stronger than if she comes out of her cage to socialize with the family. It adds a strong element of territoriality to the equation. To decrease the agression and feeding behavior, bring her out of her cage regularly to socialize with the family.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.