Red Bellied Parrot

Hello,
My name is Megan and my new baby is named Mango. He was bought for a little girl from a breeder just weaned. She promptly decided she wants a cat instead and so her father sold him to me at 7 months (terrible parenting and poor sense of responsibility, but I digress). He is a male red bellied parrot, and he has found his forever parents. My partner Dave and I are new to parrot ownership but we have done a lot of research and we took our time with our decision to add a bird to our lives. Dave has lots of bird experience growing up but Im completely inexperienced. We are looking for a community of experienced and passionate people to chat with and possibly discuss any issues that arise. We have only had Mango since last night, but we are both absolutely in love with him. He is shy and probably pretty stressed, but he will step up and stand on our shoulder. He keeps an eye on us, and he gives us the evil eye on occasion, but he is warming up to us over time. He is sleeping and yawning a lot but I expect he is just tired from the big change. We have to make a real effort to give him some space, we cant get enough of him and we just want to play with him all day! His previous owner allowed him to have a toy with long loose strings that resulted in his feet being all tied up. I suspect it was pretty uncomfortable. We had to towel him to cut it off and it took a long time because it was very tight and I was terrified I might cut him. He has all his feathers and looks healthy according to all the guidelines I can find online. I need to get him some new toys and we are trying to introduce him to new foods he has lived on seeds only but he tried some red pepper and carrot yesterday. Im making him some mash mix to try. I would like to take him to see a vet just to be sure that all is well, but I dont know how soon to do this since he is already stressed. I would be happy to hear anyone's opinion on this. I was thinking maybe I would call Monday and see when appointments are available but I would hate to upset him.

Megan

Welcome to the forum. I also have a redbellied parrot ,a female named Tiki.If you just got him last night. You might want to give a little time to get used to you and your home before you make too many changes.I would keep his diet the same if you can for a short while but add a dish with fresh fruits and veggies and mash or whatever.along with the base diet. my girl was 5 mo when I bought her and I have had her since the beginning of July. It sounds like you got her out of questionable situation. string around her legs Tiki likes to play with toys and has a variety in her cage. I also noticed that Tiki used to yawn a lot, more than normal however she seems to have stopped that. I wondered if it was a reaction to the stress of a new home. She is a little cuddlebug and loves to be petted and her cheeks and neck scratched. The males coloring is so pretty.

Im so happy to hear there are more red belly-lovers! I made an appointment for Monday just to get him checked out. I am just so worried about him, and because I dont know his habits Im just going to keep worrying until I get confirmation that he is well. He was super active and playful last night but he has been sleeping most of the day. Maybe we wore him out! The vet said as a baby this is normal, and that yawning is common in stressful situations and when they are tired. The previous owner seemed genuinely concerned for his well being, he just didnt seem to know about dietary needs, or how dangerous it could be to lose circulation in the foot. Im heading to my aunts for my birthday party, so I guess he will get some alone time. Its hard not to talk to him and stare at him

Well happy birthday .enjoy your party. There are other redbellied parrot owners out there including a couple of new redbellied owners. I am sure they will be also posting when they read your post. Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Welcome to birdkeeping. You have saved that poor bird from a terrible situation. I am sure once your Red Bellied gains your trust then you get experience how wonderful it can be to have a parrot. I still remember my first encounter with a RB it was @ a Petco. The little guy came right up to the cage and said hi very clearly. RB are not shy at all they welcome attention from strangers. They can be nippy at times but they are also little cuddle bugs. If your RB ever flies to the floor then do not chase it. They go through a panic mode if you chase them. You should keep feeding the same food as the previous owner but gradually start introducing new foods like veggies, fruits and pellets. Give your bird atleast a week to get comfortable in his new home. You can sit by his cage and talk to him softly or even feed him treats through the cage bar. My flock is set @ 4 birds or I would love to have a male RB my self. You are very luck, so enjoy your new friend. Peace.

Mango was pretty outgoing when the previous owner was around, but once he left Mango got pretty stressed. I felt so bad for him, but he is warming up pretty quickly. He has only bit once (Dave was the lucky victim) and it was because we had to towel him to get the strings off his feet. There was some swelling and I imagine it was quite sore. I don't know how long the strings were there, but the swelling receded immediately. He avoids hands, but if I say "step up" and approach slowly he will do it. He walks away and tries to avoid it, but he doesn't nip or panic so far.
He is only 7 months, and they told me they hadn't clipped his wings, but they clearly did. You can clearly see where they have been cut off. He tries to fly, but he cant. I plan to let his wings grow out when he molts and see if he learns. He loves my shoulder and cuddles right up under my chin. He plays with my hair and glasses. He keeps giving Dave and I the evil eye when we do something new, its amazing how expressive his face is. When I lift my hand to bring him down from my shoulder he will always jump off. I have to sit down to do this so he doesn't have far to go. He glides down and around, he doesn't fall outright, but he doesn't seem to have much control over where or how he lands. I don't have to chase him when hes on the ground, if I approach slow with my hand out and I talk to him he will step up again. He doesn't like hands in his cage, but again if I'm slow and talk to him he avoids me but doesn't panic. Once he realizes that I'm not going to give up, he steps up and looks up and gives me a dirty look :09:.
He tries to fly a lot and I feel bad that he cant. I rescued a baby bird that had its mother, brothers and sisters eaten by a cat. He was so attached to me it was like he was glued to me. I taught him to fly by giving him to my mom and then walking a short distance away. He would always fly to me immediately. In the house he could always find me no matter where I was or how quiet I was. He managed to go farther and farther and eventually I took him back where I found him and he flew off. Even as an adult he would come back and land on me (and my horse) for several months. I don't know that Mango will want to fly to me however, he doesn't seem to appreciate our attention right now. Hopefully once he gets use to us he will stop avoiding us and want to follow us around. It can be tricky now to get him to step up, if he could fly it could take hours to get him! Does anyone have experience teaching a bird to fly? How do you guys feel about wing clipping? I've seen some bird harnesses and "flight suits" does anyone have any experience with these?

From what I understand redbellies prefer to walk or climb versus fly to get where they want. If I am out on the front lani and Tiki is out on top of her cage , she will fly to the floor or climb down and start walking looking for a human. I will hear her getting closer and calling for me then I come in and she is on the couch or chair in the front room where she climbs up or if I am in another room she will walk down the hall to look for me. I keep my birds clipped for their own saftey. Between ceiling fans ,glass sliders, picture window, and a glass top electric range that doesn,t cool off that quick. It is not safe for them to be flying. She is finishing a moult and her wings are mostly back in and she has flown into the slider twice and the tv once. She will be getting clipped soon. You are right about the faces, when they pin those red eyes at times it is like the devil is behind those eyes, She mostly does it when she is excited or annoyed. She is a real little clown and such fun. She will give you a kiss then do a perfect wolf whistle

Hi. Welcome to the forum. This forum is awesome. Good luck with your new baby, Im sure thing will just keep getting better. And ps is birds are like having a forever 3-4yr old child (ive read this is true) then prepare to get the stink eye alot! LOL my 4yr old (child) is AWESOME at giving the stink eye when I do something oh so terrible to deserve it!!! Hahhaha Again, welcome! Cant wait to see pictures of your new lil baby!

Hi and welcome!
I have two red-bellied parrots, a 7 year old male named Joey and a 8 year old female named Pixel. Both are "rehomed" birds - I got Joey just before he turned 3 and Pixel just before she turned 6.

Joey was clipped when I first got him and he was quite nervous back then too, although he seemed to enjoy our company. I allowed his flights to grow in and I can't tell you how much that helped his confidence.

While I believe clipping is a personal decision, I would caution that doing so has led a lot of people I know to have a false sense of security.

Welcome to the forum and I'm sure we would all love to see pictures of Mango

Thank you all! This is a fantastic website, Im looking forward to sharing my experiences with the community! Ive placed a photo of mango in the photos section and I think this should be a direct link to that photo. I will add more when I get a better idea of how to shrink them.

http://www.parrotforums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=1514

Im going to talk to the vet about wing clipping and we will probably allow his feather to grow for now and see how Mango does. As it is Im terrified to open the door if his cage is open, and we keep the bathroom doors closed and we dont cook or so anything we suspect might be dangerous when he is out. If we feel that flying is dangerous we will consider clipping again. Id like it if he could fly, but it our job to keep him safe!

Hi Megan and welcome. Sounds like you are doing things right with your new guy. Everyone has given you good advice. Most birds yawn alot when they are placed in new homes. They probably don't sleep well, or very soundly at first. There are new sounds and sights to get used to. They need to learn whether or not they can trust you, etc. Plus if he is still a young bird, they need more sleep than older parrots. Almost all of my birds used to have a good long nap every afternoon. That is normal down time for all birds.

I'm from Alberta too! Provost, to be exact. It's close to the SK border, just south of Lloyd.

Congrats again on your new parrot! You'll make lots of new friends here.

Thank you KellyH, and everyone else who has reassured me! Ive been really concerned for him since he came. Ive had pets my whole life from fish to horses and ponies, but Im new to parrots. He seems so innocent and vulnerable and I know from working in rescues and vet clinics how easy it is for good intentions to have terrible outcomes. The sleeping and yawning had me thinking he might have a respiratory problem. He has sneezed a couple of times since he arrived as well. He played with us this morning for a couple of hours, and then I put him in his cage to get some food a water. He actually prefers to be out now which is awesome. He tried the mash today for the first time and he seems to like it. He mostly eats the seed mix hes been on, but he is trying the other foods that Ive left in his cage for him. Im hoping that since he is so young we can get him on a more balanced diet. He was sitting on his perch grinding his beak and I almost lost my mind! I looked it up and the internet tells me this is normal for a bird getting ready to sleep. He is sleeping now, so hopefully its not a sign that he is unwell. Ill be better after the vet check tomorrow.

Mango is a cutie