Why is my parrotlet so aggressive all of a sudden?

I've had my parrotlet for 8 months now, and a couple of weeks ago she started getting really aggressive. She would occasionally bite and was aggressive towards others, but never towards me. She also will not be quiet!!!!! She peeps all day long, and if I am fortunate enough to actually get her out of her cage(which takes forever) she is only nice to me for a couple of minutes and then attacks my fingers. I never yell at her or hit her, because I know that it doesn't help. Does anybody know whats going on???

i'm not an expert on parrotlets in particular, but i'd like to say based on her age and behaviour that you are seeing the onset of hormones.

i'd remove anything she has as a nest (tent, corner, hut, boxes, etc) and i'd give her 12-14 hours of darkness each night to see if it calms her down some. try to rearrange her cage weekly


good luck, those tiny beaks sure are tough!

Thanks, I thought it might be that, but I wasn't sure. I'll put her to bed earlier then, and see if that helps

How old is she? I think DallyTsuka gave great advice. Hormones could be the culprit. P'lets are amazing lil monsters/creatures anyway. Then add hormones. Just try and get through it, she should calm down. Is she flighted? If she is you might want to do some flight training inside your home to work off some of her energy. They have tons of energy.

I am rehoming my daughters P'let at the moment. She's decided that she can't take care of her anymore. Sad I know, but it is what it is. She is a great lil bird. I am going to find her a great home.

Yeah, I thought that might help too, but she has no tail or left wing feathers, because she broke them off and they wont grow back. Shes about 11 months now.

SeraphicDestruction said:

Yeah, I thought that might help too, but she has no tail or left wing feathers, because she broke them off and they wont grow back. Shes about 11 months now.

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Has she molted in to her adult feathers yet? Kiwi is 13 months and has all her adult feathers now. How does she break them off? Can you post a picture of her?

I don't know how to post a picture, but I think when she tried to fly, her wing feathers bent and eventually broke off. I think the same happened to her tail feathers, but in the 8 months that I've had her, the tail feathers have not grown back.

I'm sry not much help in the photo area. Strange her tail feathers never grew back. How old is she and is she a pacific green?

No, she blue, and is 11 months, almost a 12.

its possible if she broke them, they will take some time to molt out. if they were knocked out, they would grow back faster, but photos will help.


either you can go to "go advanced" on the reply screen and go to manage attachments and upload your photos that way, or you can use photobucket and copy and paste the IMG code

Whoops, wrong side, she damaged her right side, I do that all the time. Well, that's her wing. I couldn't get a picture of her tail feathers, because they broke super close to the skin, but I can feel the little stubs of the feathers.

it looks like shes been banging them around. how wide is her cage? is she crash landing when she flies?

they dont look like they are breaking because of stress bars, so that is a good sign, means trauma to the feathers is more likely the cause compared to a nutritional issue.




if the other wing and the tail are really bad, it may take a long time to grow them all out because she will likely damage them as they grow in. its a tricky call. and with one whole wing damaged, it's very hard for her to fly.

ive had this problem with my male cockatiel and he had to be imped to prevent more follicle damage from damaging his feathers all the time. he was clipped and his feathers always got damaged when they grew back in, so the clipped feathers had to be imped to protect the new feathers growing in.

imping isnt an option for a bird as small as a parrotlet unfortunately, so you will have to be patient for her. she could also be acting out a bit because she may feel frustrated and uncomfortable breaking so many feathers. but i think hormones are more likely the cause. but could be a combination.

to help the feathers grow in better, you will want her to not flap around so much when she starts molting them out. because those feathers are going to be vulnerable having no support of other feathers. having a poor wing and poor tail is making her flight tricky i'd guess and its gonna be hard for her to grow in feathers in the end.

but she is young, so good news for you is that most young parrots are clumsy and break their feathers but grow in their adult feathers just fine, no matter the damage. but you could also potentially have the same problem i did with my male cockatiel. i have my fingers crossed they all grow back easily and safely


as to the hormones, i feel you. my female lovebird is really nasty at times when she is hormonal (which for her is nearly all the time). cage territorial behaviour is not fun for the owner, but try to respect her space. respecting her space and wishes, you build a good foundation of trust and you may find her aggression may tone down a bit.