New Parrotlet

[almostperfectlove]

I got my daughter a little parrotlet. I was told its a female so we named her Bella. She fianlly warmed up to her new house today and gave us a few chirps. She doesn't move much, she just hangs out behind her little bed thing and sits on her perch in front of her food. Is she ever going to start playing with all those toys i paid a fortune for or were they a waste of money?

[thejoie]

My parrotlets LOVE their toys. They are very active birds! Give her some more time, she'll come around to liking them. My little ones love the toys they can shred. We have lots of little birdie pinatas and yucca wood over here!

[almostperfectlove]

Oh I'm sooo happy! This bird has turned out to be just right for us. I'm thinking of getting another one for myself. I heard the saying that parrotlets are like pringles, you can't have just one! haha
She has been hopping around more tonight and she made it onto her swing for the first time. I looked up and she was sitting on it!
I got these cute little toys tonight which just made my day!
A LAMP

A dresser w/ mirror as a seed feeder

A bed as a toy/waterer/birdbath

And here is BELLA

There was a shoe rack toy and a little ceiling fan swing too but you get the idea! All half off too at my bird shop so I was excited.

[expressmailtome]

I agree about giving it time. It is a big change for a baby bird to leave the only place that it has known as its home. I am sure that things will move along. Just do not try to go too fast the first few days.

Matt

[rkelly2808]

It takes patience. We brought home to TN a wee parrotlet from WA last month when we picked up my amazon, Pepper, from a friend in WA. We had never had parrotlets before only amazons. We love him! It has taken patience, love and time to even place our hand in the cage without him becoming upset. He's 14 months old and has never been handled. He hides behind his toys when our hand is in the cage but has stopped flying all around his cage which is an improvement. We sit by his cage and talk to him with our hand in the cage holding treats. We so this 3-5 times each day for about 5-15 minutes. Yesterday, he ventured out on the perch toward our hand but did not take any treats (big step). His favorite treat is black sunflower seeds which we are using and also a millet spray. When we first brought him home, he didn't sing. That has changed!!! He sings now almost constantly! Take it slow and gain his trust and I know you will be ecstatic the first time he steps up.

[Lily145195]

i have a little bella too she used to play w her toys when i first got her but now that she has bonded w us she hates even being in her cage so i definitly feel ur pain

[tracid]

I have a 2 year old female parrolet, Pickles. She had a Quaker parrot buddy for all of her life but for the last 2 months she has plucked all her feather out that she can reach. We have found a home for the Quaker even though she adored him, we thought maybe he was causing her distress because he was aggressive. Does anybody know if Pickles feathers will grow back or how to get her to stop plucking them out?

[NotEnoughTime]

Originally Posted by tracid

I have a 2 year old female parrolet, Pickles. She had a Quaker parrot buddy for all of her life but for the last 2 months she has plucked all her feather out that she can reach. We have found a home for the Quaker even though she adored him, we thought maybe he was causing her distress because he was aggressive. Does anybody know if Pickles feathers will grow back or how to get her to stop plucking them out?

You might want to start a new thread with your issue.

The first thing you should do with a plucking parrotlet is visit a vet to eliminate any medical causes.

Once medical causes are eliminated then try to deal with the behaviour. There are many websites that can give you information about plucking behaviour... Here are a few:

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/featherpic.pdf
Parrots - Feather plucking in parrots - Learn causes and remedies for feather plucking and feather chewing.
Feather Plucking / Chewing

Good luck!

[Peanutbutter]

OP, can I ask what size cage your fid is in? From the pics it looks pretty small... I may be biased by the boards, but I've read 'lets need a lot of room. The min size is closer to 28" H x 24" W x 18" D.

I only mention because it may be the small cage that has her sitting still. My holly, a cockatiel, perched in her first cage (22x23x15d) and I do mean she ONLY perched... but when I got her the HQ flight she is suddenly much more active.

[tabooh]

So cute, congrats!