Aspiring parront with a question...

rosieonfire

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Apr 21, 2018
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Hello all. I have been researching Parrotlets for a few months now and have decided to get one when I move to a bigger apartment (hopefully sometime in the next few months). I have never owned a bird before so this is all new territory for me. I have two questions really; first, what do you guys see as the pros and cons of female vs male parrotlets? And secondly, what behaviors/tricks do you guys consider as the most important to teach to a parrotlet to make caring for and interacting with them easier? I'm trying to get a plan in place for the behaviors I will work on first when I bring feather baby home. Thanks!
 

clark_conure

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I'm assuming you are a female? from your screen name. Either sex will be fine but if you get a male it might tend to be more amorous to you at about age 3.

1) Gaining trust

2) look up threads from Reeb.... he's my go to guy for budgie or parrotlet advice. look him up by name or in the search function.
 
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rosieonfire

rosieonfire

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Huh I did not know that parrots would have different reactions to different sexes! So funny!

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely search for those posts. Love to hear anyone else's thoughts of they want to share.
 

clark_conure

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A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
oh birds like any animal can tell what gender you are and mostly it's during their "cycle" or hormonal phases they decide who they want to preen with and allopreen with.
 

itzjbean

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I have never owned a parrotlet but can offer this advice for a new parrot owner....

1.) Get the biggest cage you can afford - you can usually get excellent deals online rather than in pet stores.

2.) Lots of perches and toys for in the cage so they can play while you're at school or work

3.) Stay away from bags of seed and instead offer fresh fruits and veggies, pellets, with seeds only occasionally. Give sprouting a try too, it's easy and so nutritious.

4.) Training wise - the most important things will be teaching 'step up',flight recall and for this you should always use positive reinforcement.

Good luck!
 

Inger

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Mar 20, 2017
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Hey! Welcome! Parrotlets are the best lil birdies ever, IMHO, but not without their special requirements.

Differences in male and female:

No bird is guaranteed to talk, but male parrotlets are more likely to speak, and to speak clearly, than females. My female, Bumble, didn't get the memo that girls "don't" talk, and she says a few words, but you kind of have to know what she's saying before she says it.

Parrotlets are sexually dimorphic; the males have a brilliant blue under their wings. So if brilliant blue under the wings is important to you, get a male.

Females are often a little less expensive, because they are less likely to talk so "less desireable." Whatever.

As far as I know, those are the main differences. There are other parrotlet owners with more experience than I, and they may or may not pipe up.

Some warnings about the little cuties: they might not be the easiest birds ever. They have big attitudes. They can be very nippy, and they can become very territorial over their cages. Bumble bites occasionally, and it hurts. So far, I think she's only drawn blood once (my sister's, not mine). When she bites too hard, I immediately put her down and look away from her. She's flighted, so she's back on my within seconds, but usually with a gentler beak. We don't have a cage territory issue - at least not yet - but it's something to be aware of. They don't know they're tiny birds (the smallest kept in captivity, as a matter of fact). For me, these facts made parrotlets more appealing, because I also have Chihuahaus and they are the same. When I read about parrotlets, I thought "Oh I know how that all works." But they're not for everyone. They also, apparently, will become untame very quickly - within days. I don't know this for a fact because Bumble has been out of her cage every single day since I brought her home. Some days only for a few minutes, because we all get busy, but every day nonetheless. If you get a baby, find a breeder who tames - not just hand feeds, who weans to chop/fresh foods, and if possible, who harness trains (I didn't know "hand fed" and "tame" weren't the same, I got lucky except for the harness training part). Don't get a baby from a pet store; they will charge you about 2x what a breeder would and won't be able to give you as much background information. If you don't want a baby, look into local rescues. There are certain to be birds there waiting, becuase of the potential behavioral problems with these little guys.

Training: first thing is to target train. Parrotlets are smart smart smart - Bumble's vet showed me how to target train and it was done in about 3 minutes. I tried again the next day, I'm not as experienced as the vet, but by the end of our 10 minute session, she had it. Once your buddy is target trained, the rest of it is easier because you can use the target to move them where you want them.

I hope this gives you some of the information you're looking for! Keep us all posted as you move forward, and once you get your bird, pictures please!!
 

DiscoDuck

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Huh I did not know that parrots would have different reactions to different sexes! So funny!

uh oh... what ever happened to the story of the Birds and the Bees? :)

Oh i know .... oops.... not allowed to say why here..:eek:
 
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rosieonfire

rosieonfire

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Apr 21, 2018
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Hey! Welcome! Parrotlets are the best lil birdies ever, IMHO, but not without their special requirements.

Differences in male and female:

No bird is guaranteed to talk, but male parrotlets are more likely to speak, and to speak clearly, than females. My female, Bumble, didn't get the memo that girls "don't" talk, and she says a few words, but you kind of have to know what she's saying before she says it.

Parrotlets are sexually dimorphic; the males have a brilliant blue under their wings. So if brilliant blue under the wings is important to you, get a male.

Females are often a little less expensive, because they are less likely to talk so "less desireable." Whatever.

As far as I know, those are the main differences. There are other parrotlet owners with more experience than I, and they may or may not pipe up.

Some warnings about the little cuties: they might not be the easiest birds ever. They have big attitudes. They can be very nippy, and they can become very territorial over their cages. Bumble bites occasionally, and it hurts. So far, I think she's only drawn blood once (my sister's, not mine). When she bites too hard, I immediately put her down and look away from her. She's flighted, so she's back on my within seconds, but usually with a gentler beak. We don't have a cage territory issue - at least not yet - but it's something to be aware of. They don't know they're tiny birds (the smallest kept in captivity, as a matter of fact). For me, these facts made parrotlets more appealing, because I also have Chihuahaus and they are the same. When I read about parrotlets, I thought "Oh I know how that all works." But they're not for everyone. They also, apparently, will become untame very quickly - within days. I don't know this for a fact because Bumble has been out of her cage every single day since I brought her home. Some days only for a few minutes, because we all get busy, but every day nonetheless. If you get a baby, find a breeder who tames - not just hand feeds, who weans to chop/fresh foods, and if possible, who harness trains (I didn't know "hand fed" and "tame" weren't the same, I got lucky except for the harness training part). Don't get a baby from a pet store; they will charge you about 2x what a breeder would and won't be able to give you as much background information. If you don't want a baby, look into local rescues. There are certain to be birds there waiting, becuase of the potential behavioral problems with these little guys.

Training: first thing is to target train. Parrotlets are smart smart smart - Bumble's vet showed me how to target train and it was done in about 3 minutes. I tried again the next day, I'm not as experienced as the vet, but by the end of our 10 minute session, she had it. Once your buddy is target trained, the rest of it is easier because you can use the target to move them where you want them.

I hope this gives you some of the information you're looking for! Keep us all posted as you move forward, and once you get your bird, pictures please!!

Thanks so much for the info Inger! This was very helpful feedback. I am trying to decide whether a male or a female parrotlet sounds more appealing to me. I like the fact that males have that lovely blue. I also kind of like the idea that they are more likely to talk but on the other hand sometimes I think maybe a quieter bird might be a better idea, I keep flipflopping. When it comes to having a female bird I kind of worry about egg binding and I also wonder if they are sometimes prone to brooding related moodiness, perhaps more than males. Do you think there is a tempermental difference between males and females?

I am very cognizant of the fact that I have no bird experience and that p'lets can be challenging. I do think I will be able to learn though. I didn't get my first dog until I was about 18. When I got Loki, I really didn't know anything about dogs, or what they're behaviors meant, or how to interact with them. I was nervous and it was a little rocky at first since Loki, turns out, was a very anxious dog who actually ended up biting me the first time I met him. But soon I learned to read his behaviors and manage our interactions so that we could avoid problems and ultimately I think the experience actually made me better than the average person at dealing with anxious/aggressive/difficult dogs. Now-a-days I sort of have a weird preference for the neurotic crazy pups! I really think I can draw on my experiences working with Loki to learn how to successfully manage even a bossy parrotlet with a deep misapprehension of it's size and place in the social universe since that basically describes my dog to a T ;) I do appreciate the warning!

The occasionally overly-sassy parrotlet nature is part of why I also asked about the most important behaviors to teach your bird. It seems like there are a variety of learned behaviors that will really help you and your bird have a happy well adjusted life together and I'm trying to watch some training videos and prep before I bring my bird home so I can have a coherent game plan. Based on the training videos I've watched it appears that target training is one of the most foundational skills for baby birdie! It also seems like training your bird to lie on it's back in your hand would be really helpful for nail and beak upkeep/vet visits. Otherwise it seems like the most important behaviors aside from step up are training your bird to fly to a perch, return to you, and maybe also ring a bell for being let out of their cage. Let me know if you think of anything else that should be on this list and thanks again for your thoughtful reply! :whiteblue:
 

Inger

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Mar 20, 2017
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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
I’m so happy I could help. I have no idea if there is a difference in temperament between males and females, and even with a general answer, birds are individuals so who knows.

Your training plans sound good. If you haven’t already, find FlockTalk on YouTube. She is fantastic and I’ve trained Bumble easily using her techniques.

I do think that if you train it to ring a bell to be let out, the bell will just ring nonstop. Birds are flock animals and they want to be with their flock, which is you. As long as it’s safe (I am home, dog isn’t here, I’m not cooking, doors aren’t open, no little kids visiting) Bumble is out of her cage until bedtime.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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GaleriaGila

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Welcome. I like your style... curious and open-minded!
I think you'll be a wonderful parront, and I'm glad you're here.
 

OutlawedSpirit

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Hello and welcome!

I will throw my two cents in, for what it's worth. I don't think there is a reliable difference between temperaments of male and female parrotlets. I used to breed parrotlets before I lost all my babies in a tragic accident. Even in my breeder pairs, sometimes the males were the sweeter half of the pair, and sometimes the females were. I will say, and some say it's folklore but I found it to be somewhat true, that the American Yellow mutation tends to produce the most mellow birds. They were always my favorite.

I would highly suggest going to the Amazon subforum and reading the stickies at the top. You can substitute "Parrotlet" everywhere it says "Amazon" perfectly. Parrotlets have personalities very similar to their larger Amazon cousins, and if you ask them, they ARE Amazons! They are amazing, wonderful, loving birds and make great companions if you take the time to work with them and understand them.
 
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rosieonfire

rosieonfire

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Apr 21, 2018
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I’m so happy I could help. I have no idea if there is a difference in temperament between males and females, and even with a general answer, birds are individuals so who knows.

Your training plans sound good. If you haven’t already, find FlockTalk on YouTube. She is fantastic and I’ve trained Bumble easily using her techniques.

I do think that if you train it to ring a bell to be let out, the bell will just ring nonstop. Birds are flock animals and they want to be with their flock, which is you. As long as it’s safe (I am home, dog isn’t here, I’m not cooking, doors aren’t open, no little kids visiting) Bumble is out of her cage until bedtime.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I LOVE flocktalk, that girl really has a talent in training animals. I've watched alot of her training vids. I'm lucky in that my mom actually has a masters in behavior analysis so while she definitely doesn't specialize in animals I do have a behavior expert I can talk to about training methods and problem behaviors!

I love the idea of letting baby birdy have relatively free range around the house. My problem is that my boyfriend has a dog who has a moderately high prey drive and she is always here in the apartment so I'm gonna have to have a really close eye on her at all times. I'd just rather she rung a bell when she wants out than scream, although I'm sure she'll be out and about with me more or less all the time that I'm home ;)

Thanks for the great advice and the kind words everyone! I really cant wait to get my parrotlet.
 

Inger

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Mar 20, 2017
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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
Oh yeah dog and bird out together is a no. It’s just asking for a tragedy, no matter how many cute pics you see on Facebook. They should always be separated by a closed door.

And good news: parrotlets don’t scream. They physically can’t. When I get home and Bumble thinks I should let her out, she says peep peep peep peep peep in this tiny cute voice which ALWAYS works even when I think I’m going to leave her in to get something done!

That doesn’t mean they can’t make plenty of noise, but it’s usually inspired by another sound-often crinkling plastic bags or bells. Bumble is relatively quiet all the time EXCEPT

https://youtu.be/UzCrJk9iVBQ




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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