considering purchasing a alexandrine

[crimson]

I am considering purchasing an Alexandrine. I need to know from people who own them, what u like about them, and what u don't. I also need to find out about their temperment, loudness, and behaviour. Are they good with other birds, I own 4 cockatiels, and 2 lovebirds.
I am researching this right now, but thought I would get personal feedback from experienced owners. thanks!

 

[Evanskiver]

I have a 1.5 year old Alex named Tyrael and she will lighten up the mood in an instant. She is extreamely goofy, and will get into anything that she can.

I like that she is very active, constantly playing with toys and flying between me and my SO all the time. She will spend as long as you are willing to let her cleaning your ears.

What I do not like, is that she is not a cuddly bird what-so-ever. She will sit on my shoulders, step up, and clean me all day, but I am not allowed to touch her. She just will not have it lol.

As for being around other birds, we have had only 1 time that we could test this and it did not go well. She seemed to be very territorial and was very upset that Reptar was anywhere near us.

This may not be the case for all Alexandrines, but it was for us and we have decided not to attempt any more interaction between her and our other bird.

Tyrael is not too loud, she will make a high pitched call when she either wants what I am heating, or if I walk out of the room and she wants attention. I however do not feel that she is very loud at all.

 

[crimson]

thanks for the info, I just happened to see a baby on Kijiji, now I'm guessing at his age, but it looks to be about 3-4 months old. He's asking $700.00 for the bird, cage, and toys. He is selling him due to a new job and unable to commit the time required for the bird. I just thought it sounded like a good deal. But I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I guess more research is in order.

 

[Ash]

I have two alexandrines,

Alex my boy who was abused has trust issues, so he only likes certain people (mainly females). But lately his is starting to love to get scratches. And he loves to sit on your shoulder and just hang out with you. He isn't too noisy, he talks up a storm though : 3
He wasn't the cuddly type but just recently he has opened up more to us and loves to cuddle.

Yuki is the same but shes more cuddly than Alex.

They seem like very passive birds. I can easily cut/file their nails. They just let me hold their feet up and let me do what I need to do.

I can say my two are the most non-aggressive bunch. They love to hang out with my conure and my sisters lovebird. They have never bitten anyone before.

I have heard a lot of alexandrines are cage territorial, my two aren't. I think being able to access outside of their cage 24/7helps it? I know when we first got Alex he was cage territorial. But hes not anymore.

But their contact call may be a bit too much for some. Alex/Yuki may let off once a day? Sometimes they don't do it at all. It's loud and high pitched, C:

They are very destructive and love to chew/break anything.

 

[Evanskiver]

I must admit, I am jealous of your ability to handle you Alex, is it possible that it is an age thing? She has NEVER liked hands and just refuses to be touched.

 

[Ash]

I got Yuki when she was about 3 months old, she was parent raised. When she first arrived at my home we were able to handle her. She never bit or anything, she seemed to be curious about her new home. The breeder who I bought her from clipped her wings, so maybe that helped? As she always seem to wanted our help to take her to where ever she wanted to go. She is nearly a year old. Well She should be about 1 year old now. I socailsed Yuki with young children and lots of other humans. So she is pretty chilled. She seemed to liked to be handle from day 1.
She had her grooming the other day(trimming nails/filling nails). She just sat there and let me pick her feet up.

Alex's past is a bit unknown. I was told from his previous owner his was originally an aviary/parent raised bird. Then his previous owner chucked him a small cage, gave him a bad wing clipping and abused him. I was given him, at first he was very scared and hated everyone. He would squawk at anyone who was in a metre radius. He is a bit unsure of males. He does like one of my brothers though. He should be about 2-3 years old now. Clicker training helped me being able to handle alex. Ive had him for maybe about 1 year now. He even bows his head when he wants a pat, he never used to do that. It's just a recent thing.

Does she let you touch her out of her cage?
I know a lot of them are VERY cage territorial.
Can she see her cage in sight? My friends alexandrine is a total sweet heart that is only if he cannot see his cage. But if he can see his cage he won't let you pat him.

 

[Evanskiver]

She only lets you be her perch lol. Hands are a no go no matter where we are. We purchased her from a breeder at a flea market. She was on top of a cage with 2 of her kin and I am sure that they were prodded and poked while on display by every child and parent alike. I guess maybe this could be the result of that? I am unaware how many days she was on display, or how her home life was.

Tyrael is over a year old now and I think that we got her between 6-8 months. Is there any method you used to get yours to allow you to touch them?

 

[Ash]

I can see that being a reason why she doesn't like to be touched. o:
To be able to stand near Alex I used the Clicker Training Method. Not sure if that would work with what you want to do.

Does she take food from your hand?

Yuki from day 1 just let anyone hold/touch her.So I didn't use any method with her.

You could maybe make a new thread about it? I haven't really had any biting issues with any of my fids

 

[BradGC]

Our alex is friendly, quirky, talkative and generally excellent company but from what it looks like from everyone else as well is Alex's don't like to be petted and generally don't get along with other birds.

And they never ever bite without warning .

If I'm trying to put ours away and he doesn't want to go, he'll first push my hand away with his beak, then he'll pin his eyes, then he'll kinda look like he's biting my hand but won't actually bite

 

[Boysmom]

My male Alex doesnt like hands but likes to step up onto your shoulder then climb all over you. My female is quite aggressive, my boys named her Pandora, they said if you open her cage you are unleashing evil. Buddy talks up a storm constantly and repeats anything he hears, Pandora never speaks but she also never squawks. Buddy can unleash some ear piercing shrieks when he wants attention and doesnt stop till he gets the attention. They are avid chewers and can chew up a all wood toy in an hour. If you dont keep them with wood to chew they are prone to feather mutiliation. They are very comical as we refer to ours as monkeys as they will hang upside down and make monkey sounds.

 

[crimson]

thanks for all the input. this alexandrine I am inquiring about, is about a year old. I contacted the owner and asked more thorough questions. He does bite, but loves getting neck scratches, and stroked on his back. he will climb up on his shoulder, and that's the extent of it. to me it sounds like the bird is making all the decisions.
that bird may not be for me, so I might look elsewhere.

 

[khaiqha]

My Alex is pretty goofy, loves chewing, and never bites. Other birds frighten him. He always steps up, even when he's scared. As far as petting goes, if you even start to make the motion for it he'll freak out. He actually liked petting at the bird store, but when the worker grabbed him and boxed him for me to take home, he lost all trust in hands that go over his head.

However, he likes kisses and you can pet him all you want with your nose/feet/elbows. He also lets me use my hands to touch his wings, chest, tail, and feet.

He doesn't talk but he's young. The closet to words I've heard him say are "go back" which is his cue to fly back to his stand. He likes to snuggle under the blanket with me, and loves bathes.

My only let downs with him are the lack of petting , which isn't that big of a deal cause he still loves being handled, and his intelligence. He's really bad at trick training and figuring out puzzles. He will hit himself with his own tail while preening, and then get mad at his tail. I don't think this is a species thing, I think my guy is just special. It probably didn't help any that he got a concussion.

So in the end, I find alexes pretty awesome. They really are gentle, which is a nice change from irns. They don't have to vocalize all the time like tiels, and they are much more independent than conures, which I like.