New member from the UK with Hank The Parrotlet

Hello everyone,

Nice to meet you ☺️

I have a 17 week old Parrotlet who I ‘rescued‘ because he was very timid, not hand trained, living in a house with four children and a very noisy parakeet.
He has been with me for the past week.
He has a small cage so I’ve bought a wonderful new one with open top, but he won’t come out of his little cage. I haven’t forced him and won’t.

He won’t eat any greens or fresh stuff just seed and nut mix which I know is not good at all. He also is not au fait with a bird bath, foraging, singing (unless I replay his voice!) and overall seems quite depressed 😔
He doesn’t shy away from me at the cage and I can put my hand in to change food bowl and water. I have removed the large furry muff (yuk!) from the cage and the drinking straw dangly from the cage, which changed his demeanour considerably yesterday.

I know this will take sometime but currently the little cage is very difficult to clean as the bottom grid is pooped and I really don’t want to stress him out. The new cage poop drawer and grid slid out for easy cleaning.

What do I do? Do I move him into new cage using a towel? What is the best way to clean a grid in a cage if you can’t remove it? (Arthritis sufferer)

BB and Hank xx

Poor little chap, but lovely that youve taken him in and got him a nice new home.
You did the right thing removing the fluffy bed thingy,theyre not good for them at all.
A week isnt long, he will still be getting used to everything,new face and surroundings.
If I were you I would spend as much time as you can sitting next to his cage and talking gently to him. Its early days,when he gets a bit more confident he will want to explore his new home. There are others on here who give excellent advice,but they will all be just getting up in USA! Look in again later and you may get more advice on cleaning the grid!
I lay newspaper on top of my Conures grid,I know they are a pain to clean.Good luck with your little boy.
ps. Best not to use a towel.

Welcome, congratulations for rescuing Hank the parrotlet!!

Transition from a boisterous home to your serenity will take several weeks of adaptation. That he is relatively comfortable with your hands in his cage bodes very well!

Swapping cages after one week will add to his short term stress even though best in the long run. Best method is to desensitize by progressively moving the cages together; ideal circumstance is for him to be naturally curious and enter. Might try Hank's favorite treats in new cage, eventually placing doors adjacent. I'd suggest the towel transfer as absolute last resort to avoid a trust setback. Perhaps a few days or so to attempt natural transfer? In the meanwhile, cleaning the old cage grate may be helpful with a BBQ grill cleaner. No chemicals, simply friction rubbing across the bars to clean.

Various techniques for bonding and building trust here: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Diet is critical for health and longevity. Might peruse some of the "sticky" threads in the Parrot Food, Recipes, and Diet forum. This is one of the most comprehensive: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Welcome to you both!

Welcome and be welcomed/

Hello! Welcome to you and your little guy! You’ve already gotten great advice so I’ll just mention that we love pictures [emoji846]

Parrotlets are wonderful little terrors so please prepare yourself that once he’s comfortable with you he will be a delightful, bratty companion. And puberty comes around a year old.

I’m always so excited to see someone else who lives with a parrotlet!


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Thanks everyone.
It’s going well. He still isn’t out of the cage but I’ve put a natural perch at the Open door and he sits there and looks out. I also sit there sometimes for short intervals about three feet away and he isn’t shying away.

New food pellets hopefully arriving today (I’m still isolation from COVID as a vulnerable person), but in the meantime I have been soaking the peas and corn from the Parrot mix, plus oats and then drying a little and adding very finely chopped broccoli flowers, cucumber, grape, spinach and celery with a few nuts seeds from the Parrot mix to lure him in!
Wish me luck......

Thanks for a promising update, and definitely good luck!!

Another link to various veggies/fruits to try with Hank: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html
My technique is to prepare two bowls/dishes of fresh food: One for Hank, the other for you. Begin to eat from yours, make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head showing delight. Parrots are flock eaters and you are one of the flock!

When the pellets arrive, you can try switching from seed/nut mix "cold turkey." If Hank resists, the conversion protocol from Harrison's is excellent and ought work for any brand: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/