My Pet Bird is Jealous — What Do I Do?

Pet birds often become jealous of other newly introduced birds or family members, which may cause him or her to show aggression towards you, the other person and/or bird. There are things you can do to resolve it …

• The best thing to do is to show your bird the advantages of having the other bird or person around. Whenever the object of jealousy is around offer a treat, shower the jealous bird with special attention or give him or her a gentle head scratch. This will reassure your bird, and before long s/he will associate the other bird or person with good things.
• If your bird is jealous over another person, then that person would hopefully try to build a special relationship with the bird. Gently talking to the bird and offering special treats, and spending quality time together – for example, while watching television. All this would best be done when the beloved owner is not around — to allow the bird to focus on the other person.
• If both the owner and the “other person” are around, the owner should make sure to follow the advice given above to offer special treats and shower their pet bird with attention to reassure him or her.
• Be patient: This all will take time as it should happen within the bird’s comfort level. You can’t force “love” and “trust” on any being. It takes time to develop and build.