New Parrotlets!!! Dont get along!!!!1

[scmetterling]

Hello,
I just got a parrotlet (Clyde) 2 months ago and he was doing really great. He learned how to step up and he was coming out of his cage and playing with us. Hes only 4 months old so he's nippy all the time. Well my friend asked me is i could take her parrotlet...so I did 2 days ago. We named her Bonnie and shes 9 months old. Clyde and Bonnie want nothing to do with each other and Clyde ignores her. Bonnie just stays in her cage and sits on her swing. She is not very social because we have to catch her to play with her. Even my friend had to do that.
First off, how can I get Clyde to stop biting? I have tried to give him something else to chew on but he would rather chew on my skin. I still say "NO" in a stern voice and give him something else but its just not working. Hes so young he really doesnt have a favorite toy.
Second, How can I get Bonnie and Clyde to be friends? It seems like they are curious of each other. Anytime Clyde goes near her she runs away. I have held them both next to each other in my hand and they "fight" and when i say "No" they stop and they eventually start preening each other. Clyde preens her more than Bonnie preens him. She does it for literally a second and stops. They do talk to each other but that is the only interaction that they have. They are in separete cages that are about an inch apart. Clyde is in a conure cage and Bonnie is in a cockatiel cage...so, i know they have plenty of room. What do i do?
Also how do i know when playing turns to fighting?

thanx,
schmetterling

[Renee2140]

I too just got a new little boy parrotlet, he is 12 wks. (blue) from abreeder. in buffalo. I rescued a older female parrotlet, 2 yrs froma bad divorce. learned about the species and fell in love with them... then I got brady. well mandy is not to friendly, they are in seperat cages. and out on a big three tier playgym I ordered over the internet for them together but they fight and brady will try and feed mandy.. at his age!but mandy does not want anything to do with him for long periods of time. would like to know what I can do to get these guys to like each other better. mandy is another that does not play much.. never has. and brady is all over the place investigating everything..

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

as far as biting, When they get nippy I do the little earthquake thing
(drop your hand down a little bit so they loose balance)
or I blow on them and say NO bite! and they get the message

If they keep it up I figure its just not a good time and i bring them back to the cage
and try again later. this has worked with both my parrotlets so far.
Sometimes they just dont want to be held and that's okay.
When they are being good I give lots of praise and kisses
they even started making little kissy noises to each other.
it's really sweet. You just need lots of paitence and consistancy

good luck

[Lori~D]

Parrotlets bond and "pair" when they are very young. When I want to bond a pair under a year I put them in a side by side divided breeder cage and leave them that way until I see them sitting side by side on the perch at the divider before I let them be together. Putting an older bird (2yo?) with a baby can be a disaster male or female. Parrotlets are very aggressive and territorial. Some can NEVER pair and handfed birds are even more difficult because they are confused. Also, if your pair your pets it is likely they will get more nippy and eventually bite the livin crap out of you,LOL. Generally if I pair new babies at weaning time they bond forever. My suggestion is to keep them both as pets in seperate cages and give them seperate time. They will still benefit from the company of the other bird in the house but if you allow them to have daisly contact with each other you will NEVER stop the nipping and it will only get worse.