Lineolated Parakeet (Linnie) Information

Deterring Cage and Territorial Aggression in Parrots

Written by Shandi (skthurley)

Crystal's linnie named Mickie

Parrots are prey animals; in the wild, they are preyed upon by larger animals. Even though parrots have been brought into our homes as pets, they still maintain and hold their instinctive reactions.

When faced with a stressful situation, they can react two ways: fight or flight. Their first reaction is to fly away, but in many cases this is not possible: their wings may be clipped or they may feel trapped in their cage. As a result, biting occurs, along with other aggressive behaviours.

In this article, I want to look at ways to understand, and then deter cage and territorial aggression in birds.

First off, it is important to understand the significance of a bird’s chosen roost. In the wild, birds choose a specific area of land as their home/roost. It is in this territory that they sleep and live with their mate and flock members to raise a family. They become very protective of this area, and fight to protect it from predators and other parrots. Their survival depends on being able to protect this roost.

Secondly, it is important to understand that in the wild, birds spend their entire day flying about and scurrying along the ground searching for food. All day they are foraging. They spend hours traveling far and wide through forests and areas looking for food. Then at night they return to their roost and chosen home.

Take a look at our pet parrots. In most situations, they spend 3/4 of the day in their cages: the same cage they sleep in every night. Our pet birds do not spend their entire day foraging for food. They wake up each morning, and stay in their ‘roost’, and find food in their little dishes every morning and maybe again in the afternoon and evening. They are denied the ability to live an enriched life. They eat what is given to them, and are expecting to play with their toys and humour themselves. Because our pet parrots live and explore life in their cage/ roost, their protective instinct is heightened. It is no surprise that they would become protective of their cage when you understand the way a bird works.

Understanding the instincts of a bird, helps one to see ways to deter territorial issues.

First off, have a small cage with a few perches, water dish and maybe a toy or two. Use this as a sleep cage, or ‘roost’. Your parrot should only be in this cage while sleeping. In my opinion, there is no need to put any food, except water in this cage.

Secondly have a second larger cage, furnished with a wide variety of perches, toys, and most importantly, options to forage for food. This will keep your bird occupied and busy all day.

It is also suggested to have a third cage or playstand outfitted with even more abilities to explore and interact with the world. The best thing you can do for your bird, is keep it occupied by having it search for food. This is what it would be doing if it was free and in the wild.

By providing him with a natural system of one area to sleep and one or more areas to explore during the day, you are setting things right in his mind. Odds are, within a short period of time, the cage aggression will lessen or stop.

In addition to these suggestions, I also remind you to be patient. Never force your bird to do anything that it doesn’t want to do. Biting is never done without a reason. In most cases it means fear, and the way to gain a bird’s trust is not by using fear.

Sources:

Cage Territory

Manual of parrot behavior

Category: Lineolated Parakeet Behavior, Maintenance, Care & Safety