Your Parrotlet

[jessicaboyer89]

Hello! Since there are several new parrotlet owners on the board, I was hoping we could all share about how our parrotlets live and maybe we can all learn something from each other and get some new ideas.
So here are my questions:

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat?

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys?

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)?

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it?

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them?

6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself?

7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped?

8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind?

Thanks!

[blueroseaviary]

Originally Posted by jessicaboyer89

Hello! Since there are several new parrotlet owners on the board, I was hoping we could all share about how our parrotlets live and maybe we can all learn something from each other and get some new ideas.
So here are my questions:

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat? Small hookbill seed mix and fresh veggies daily. Other items: sprouts, pro grow, beak appetit, home made egg food, dry egg food, dry lory powder (usually mixed into the dry egg food), spray millet, dehydrated fruits, fresh wheat grass. Supplements: spirulina, bea pollen Treats: hemp seeds (also give to breeders)

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys? I have a wall unit with 4 dividable cages. Quasi's favorite toy is his bell. He is quite passionate about his bell although I have not determined if he loves or hates it!

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)? Quasi is home alone from about 10am to 2:30 every day. His time out of the cage varies on his mood, and he isn't much for one on one time. He does however enjoy being in the family room on his play stand.

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it? Yes we have several play stands. For the most part Quasi stays on his stand willingly. He was never one to try to follow me around the house like Esmeralda used to (she would never stay on the stand for long). However, when Quasi decides it is time for scritches he will cruise off of the stand to me and let me know. He usually lands on my arm, or the arm of the couch near where I am sitting.

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them? I only have parrotlets.

6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself? Quasi has the most fun when he is out with the family. He doesn't like to miss anything!

7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped? Clipped, I don't want to risk loosing him. My breeders are in flight cages, and unless I have to trim one of the pair for being aggressive they are otherwise fully flighted. Quasi can fly quite well with just two flight feathers grown in.

8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind? Yes, Ott Lites.
Thanks!

Here you go!

[Tracey]

Originally Posted by jessicaboyer89

Hello! Since there are several new parrotlet owners on the board, I was hoping we could all share about how our parrotlets live and maybe we can all learn something from each other and get some new ideas.
So here are my questions:

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat?
Romeo eats cooked grains for breakfast, fresh fruits and veggies(chopped tiny) for lunch, and for supper he has mixed veggies, sweet potato and tofu or egg. He always has a bowl of Goldenfeast Petite Hookbill Legume. For treats he gets hemp seed or millet.

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys?
Romeo is in a very large cage for his size. it is filled with perches, toys and swings. His favorite toy is anything with bells on it. He has cowbells, strings of bells and rubber hoops with bells on it. He also likes balsa wood toys.

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)?
Romeo is out of his cage as much as possible. He is also happy to spend time in his cage playing with his toys.

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it?
Romeo has a 3 level play stand on my French Door. He is happy to play on it, if there is nothing better to get into.

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them?
Romeo has a big baby sister who is a SI Eclectus. Romeo likes to dive bomb Bella and to pick on her in general. They also love to talk back and forth. I think they are good company to one another

6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself?
Romeo is a very playful happy little bird. He loves to play and to explore, but if we aren't home, he plays in his cage quite happily.

7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped?
Romeo is fully flighted. I do not believe that this is the right decison for everyone. I do not have any children and we have definite rules for when the birds are out. The most important being always know where Romeo is and what he is doing

8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind?
yes, I have an OTT light on a timer for about 3 hours a day
Thanks!

Romeo will be 6 yo on 2/14 and he has brought a lot of joy and sunshine to my life. I wouldn't trade him or his love for anything. :icon_smil

Smiles-
Tracey, Romeo, Isabella Rose and Q(Chow Chow)

Peace, Love, Empathy -K.C. 67-94

[Crebain]

Great idea for a thread!

1.) Pogo eats cockatiel seed mix, augmented by little bits of whatever anybody else is having. He starts begging as soon as someone opens the fridge or a cabinet. He eats everything with gusto.

2.) His cage is shaped like house (peaked roof). I made 6 or 7 natural perches out of sticks of maple that I rotate in and out, always in different configurations.

3.) He gets out for a bit at breakfast, and then quite alot between 5 and 10 pm when everybody's home.

4.) I made a playstand that he will stay on, provided people are nearby. If we're playing a board game or eating at the table, he'll stay on the stand.

5.) No other birds.

6.) Pogo loves his swing and his bells. He'll get his bell swinging, and then crouch underneath, so it scratches the back of his neck. Outside he plays grab-the-ring- (usually my wedding band) and-throw-it, or runs back and forth on the back of the sofa. He likes cuddling more after dark.

7.) Clipped often. He can fly really well with just a flight feather or 2.

8.) No special lighting.

[dgcashier]

1. Paulie (7 1/2 mo.) is a very good eater. He'll try anything once! He eats "bird bread" for breakfast...it contains pellets, seeds, baby food sweet potatoes (he loves sweet potatoes) and frozen mixed veggies. I make it for him..he likes that alot. He also loves fresh bell pepper seed. He eats broccholi, spaghetti squash, boiled egg, and several other veggies. He's not much on fruit. Apple is the only one he'll eat. He also has a seed mix to with I add rolled oats, pumpkin seeds. He loves that.
2. He loves to play with anything that swings! His cage is full of swinging toys. His favorite seems to be the plastic chain hanging in the middle from the top. He uses it Tarzan style to swing from one toy to another. He plays all day.
His time out of his cage varies with my work schedule, but he seems OK with that. When he is out he wants to be with me all the time. He has a play stand and he does play on that too.
He is full flighted...he was clipped by the breeder when we got him but he has always been able to fly anywhere he wanted so we didn't clip him again.
He's a real trip! Loads of personality and so much fun.

[Jackie C]

Great idea! I've enjoyed comparing my parrotlets to others.

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat?
Kaytee seed mix, millet sprays, fresh veggies and apples, bird cookies.

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys?
Fred and Ginger are in a corner cage, I think about 36" across the front. Plenty of room, and they need every inch of it.

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)?
I got them when they were about 1 1/2 years old and not very tame, and they actually prefer to be in the cage. They are in my workroom and I leave the cage door open when I'm working, but they seldom venture out. They prefer each other's company but they watch me and respond when I talk to them. I think this is as close as we will be able to get because of their background. I work at home and am with them most of the day.

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it?
No playstand

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them?
I have 4 grown tiels and 4 tiel chicks. They don't like them and when the tiels land on their cage they bite their toes.

6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself?
They love toys they can shread - wicker, paper, ratan, etc. They like to hang upside down from the top of the cage so I put bits of food and toys across the top so they can pick and pull at them.

7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped?
Fully flighted

8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind?
No special light. They are across from a window where they get bright sunlight in the morning and indirect light in the afternoon.

[natureboy]

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat? My plets get tiel-keet seed with mixed pellets veggies birdie bread some fruits-baby foods.

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys?
I have mine in 30x18x18 cages loaded with safe toys or safely monitored.

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)? I have 10 plets and they all have thier partners and dont wish to come out.

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it? I have a play stand and my new baby will be playing on it. plets in the past have had a blast on it and most of the time do stay on it

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them?
n/a
6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself?
They ars such little clowns they play more then they poop and sleep lol
7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped?
all but 2 of mine are clipped
8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind?
Yes i have full spectrum lighting above all my cages what kind beats the heck out of me.

[Joel]

So then how do you know if it is actual & beneficial F.S. Lighting if knowing what kind "beats the heck out of you"??...Just curious...

Originally Posted by natureboy

"......8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind?
Yes i have full spectrum lighting above all my cages what kind beats the heck out of me.

[Lorenzini]

1. What do you feed your parrotlet on a daily basis and what do you give as a treat? I feed him Harrison's Bird Food, on the recommendation of my veterinarian. I've had a hard time getting him to eat fruits and veggies though. He seems really happy and healthy on his current diet.

2. What is your parrotlet's cage set-up and what are his/her favorite toys? I prefer to think of it as a 'house' since the idea of a 'cage' implies an imprisonment in my mind. His house is full of little bells and toys. He has two different toys that he enjoys, one being a little knife fork and spoon hanging from a bell (he only chews on the spoon for some odd reason), and a little cat toy (kind of a small plastic ball with a little bell inside.) He will consistently pull the cat toy down because he is so ferociously jingling it. Seems like I have to re-tie it once a week.

3. How much time does your parrotlet spend out of his/her cage? How much of this is personal one-on-one time? How many hours per day does your parrotlet spend alone (while you work, ect)? I try to have him out as much as I can, but he can get a little rambunctious sometimes. I am not his primary caretaker (she usually has him out for a few hours a day.) He seems to really enjoy spending time in his house (it's right by the window and he loves to sit and just stare outside)

4. Do you have a playstand and how did you teach your parrotlet to stay on it? I don't have stand. I've tried a few times, but Mr. Peepers is intent on flying all around the house, and using my head as a playstand.

5. Do you have other birds? How does your parrotlet interact with them? The only other bird I have is a Yellow-Naped Amazon, who doesn't pay any attention to Mr. Peepers whatsoever. Peepers on the other hand despises Caeser (the 'zon) and will dive-bomb him, screech at him, and at the worst try to land on his back when I am spending time with him. Peepers can get very jealous sometimes.

6. What does your parrotlet do for fun? Does he/she entertain her/himself? Mr. Peepers is great at keeping himself busy. He'll be hanging upside-down in his perch swinging around, talking to birdies outside (he gets really talkative on sunny days.) He enjoys ringing his various bells as well.

7. Do you keep your parrotlet flighted or clipped? He is fully-flighted

8. Do you have full spectrum lighting? What kind? Nope, he's right next to a window that gets full sun.

[Powder]

1. Mixed seeds from the pet store depending on the store it's either cockatiel seeds or parrotlet seeds. I give him millet sprays, hard boiled eggs w/ shells and vegies for treats. Fresh water for a bath, which I've not seem in take a bath in yet and an add. fresh water cup.

2. He has an indoor cage that's very roomy and tall and an outdoor cage in the apple tree next to the hummingbird feeder. He's very shy and doesn't play much, I've never seen him use his swing! He spends a lot of time looking around and singing. When I move him from one cage to another on my finger he flies right into the open door and runs up the ladder to his favorite perch.

3. I'm job searching now, so I'm with him all the time! He comes out onto my shoulder about an hour a day or to run around my desk or where ever.

4. I want to get a playstand, this sounds perfect for him. Right now I have a swinging rope perch w/ a bell...he just hangs on it and eventually gets restless.

5. Three hens, a canary and a cockatiel. I know the parrotlet listens to them but doesn't do much else than that. If I have him on the lounge chair in the back yard and a chicken walks by he just looks.

6. I think mine just likes to sing and chirp and eat.

7. Clipped since I take him outside.

8. He's by the window inside and then of course in the shade outside.