A parrot can be kept alone and be happy, but...

There are a few ground rules.

In the wild, parrots are never alone.

They live in groups, make a lot of noise, eat together, and help each other with grooming. Yet they are often kept alone as pets. Is that really okay?

Yes, that is possible... but only if you as the caretaker take on the role of its group a bit. A parrot is not a pet that just "sits in its cage." 

It is an intelligent, social animal that needs contact to feel good.

It has been proven that their intelligence is between that of a 2- to 5-year-old human child.

Being alone is not automatically sad. It only becomes a problem if too little happens. Parrots that get bored can develop behavioral problems such as screaming, biting, or feather plucking.

What can you do to keep a parrot that is kept alone happy?

-Ensure daily contact. Short moments spread throughout the day work better than one long session. Think of talking together, training, or just being together for a bit.

-Make his or her day predictable. Fixed meal times, rest times, and playtime provide structure.

-Offer challenges. Let him search for food, rotate toys, and give things he can safely chew up. This trains your bird and he or she experiences it as super fun.

-An example: Pino is chewing on the couch, which you don't want, so you gently hold his beak so he knows this is not okay. For example, place him on a chair backrest and give him a knabbelstokje. He likes this, and next time he will associate the chair backrest with something tasty. 

-Eat together. In the wild, eating together is an important social moment. Give him a healthy snack at the same time as your breakfast or lunch – this feels like a group meal to him.

Keeping a parrot alone is perfectly fine as long as you consciously make time for contact, structure, and shared moments. This way, you give your parrot the social life it needs, even without a companion of its own kind.

Love, Malenthe