Hi, new to parrots and to the forum.

JoSweetDreams

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County Durham, England.
Parrots
A Parrotlet called Bobby.
Hiya, my name is Jo, and I recently acquired a parrotlet (long story). I thought I'd join the forum to learn about parrots, to get some advice, and to hopefully make some friends :)

I'm 28 and live in County Durham, England. I have a horse called Bertie, and own a sweet shop (hence my username).

xx
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I am 28 too. Parrots are great pets. I don't think I could handle owning a sweet shop I would end up eating all the stock.. LOL.


P.S we loves Birdy photo's ;)
 
Hi welcome to the forum. I am a new member also. I live in Cabarrus county, North carolina. I have just brought my first baby parrot a Quaker named Chino. I have several parakeets and a clutch of 5 week old babies. I also have 3 dogs. I hope that we are able to get a lot of good info on our birds. Looking forward to sharing the info with you.
 
Thanks for the welcome :)

Here he is:

SAM_0677.jpg


He's called Bobby and is about 5 years old. Not tame though, so which forum would be best for me to post in to ask for advice?
 
Hi welcome to the forum. I am a new member also. I live in Cabarrus county, North carolina. I have just brought my first baby parrot a Quaker named Chino. I have several parakeets and a clutch of 5 week old babies. I also have 3 dogs. I hope that we are able to get a lot of good info on our birds. Looking forward to sharing the info with you.

Chino's a cool name. Our little friend doesn't really suit Bobby imo, but I can't really change it :( I'm researching "pocket parrots" online, there is so much stuff out there!

xx
 
Hi Jo,
Welcome. I like how Bobby is stilling so close to his little "friend".

Do you know anything about his background (age, owners, any medical issues, if he's been part of a flock, etc.)?
 
Hi Jo,
Welcome. I like how Bobby is stilling so close to his little "friend".

Do you know anything about his background (age, owners, any medical issues, if he's been part of a flock, etc.)?

He's so cute when he cuddles up next to him. He rubs his head against him. Adorable. At night he sleeps next to a Tweetie Pie :)

We think he is about 5. He belonged to our Mother in law but the doctors told her she had to get rid of him because he was making her chest bad. She's had him for two years, but I think for most of that time he's just sat in his cage :( When she did get him out she would just grab him out of his cage. Before she got him the guy in the pet shop she got him from would hold him in his hand, but I'm getting he was also just grabbed out of his cage.

I'm trying to get him used to me by just sitting by his cage and talking to him. Every time I open the cage door he gets as far away from me as possible :( I'm determined to tame him. He's going to have a pretty boring life if he won't come out of his cage!!
 
Welcome to Parrot Forums!

Just seeing this now after reading some of your other posts. I think I'll reply here since you have an image in this thread....


I'm curious to know though, does Bobby have a blue rump and blue flight feathers?


Re: Cage. Take out the mirrors, the wooden dowels and plastic perches. Replace these with natural wooden perches, rope perches, one grooming perch (max) and maybe some platform perches. Any sandpaper covered perches, toss!


Please don't feed Bobby more than 25/75 to 50/50 of pellets and seeds. Parrotlets do not do well on a diet high in pellets, worse if they are a visual or split mutation.


If you want to improve Bobby's diet, feed sprouted seeds isntead of dry. Feed sprouted/cooked healthy legumes and grains (15%/30%), fresh/frozen/lightly steamed vegetables (45%) and some fresh/frozen fruits (10%). The occasional cooked eggs (scrambled, hard boiled, etc) are also fine, and you can always flavor it up with spices! (no salt or sugar! use spices from herbs and plants!)


You might want to try enticing Bobby with millet or another favored treat, but start from outside of the cage and placing the treat up to the cage bars near a perch. Then, look away from Bobby while keeping him within view from the corner of your eyes. That, or blink at him! Point is, don't stare directly at him! It will take time, but he needs to learn to trust you first!
 
Thank you for your advice :) Here he is from another angle (doing his "scared" pose)

2012-11-12135541.jpg


What does his colouring mean? I'm a total parrotlet novice!

As for perches, I bought a rope one yesterday, which is now attatched to the outside of his cage so he can get used to it. I'm ordering the others you suggested today, and some pellets to start slowly changing his diet. I've removed lots of sunflower seeds from his feed to try to stop him eating as many, and so he has to eat the other things in there. I put some millet in, expecting it to be devoured.... he had a nibble but nothing much. He seems to be an odd little bird :greenyellow:
 
Looks like you found your treat though. Sunflowers! So use them only for treats but make sure he is eating something else before you take them all away from him. It doesn't take much to starve a parrotlet.

I'm going to answer here too instead of the other post.
You need to find a way to get him out of his cage. You might try stick training see if he he feels more comfortable getting on a stick and you sloooowlllllllllly getting him out of the cage. Or do what my son started doing with his red rump and works well for the red rump. Kind of escort him out of the cage. He just kind of blocks one area out with his hand and guides Mike out of the cage....Did that make any sense?! :) Or just wait for him to get out of his cage. As soon as he is take him away from the cage somewhere quiet and work with him on step up. Finger against his belly SLIGHTLY push to unbalance just a little and tell him to step up. Here's the deal with parrotlets they need their beak to step up. I don't think Peapod has ever just used her feet to step up. So it may look like he wants to bite you but he is truly only using his beak to get on your finger. Annnnnnnnnnd there will be times he really and truly is looking to bite you! :D You'll learn the difference in time.

I hate to do this to you because I imagine you are quite overwhelmed at the moment. But when you can he will more than likely need a bigger cage. They need a minimum of 20 by 20 inches and the bar spacing has to be 1/2 inch of less. A lot of us go with flight cages with fit the bill on all accounts and typically cost $150.00 or less.

You know he looks really healthy and cared for actually. He certainly has toys they just need to be rotated out I usually do a biweekly rotation. They get bored need new stimulation. I wouldn't throw any of those toys out rather give them a rest and try them again see if they peak his interest down the line. I guarantee you he's not playing with most of them now because he's bored with them.

And with that said Peapod is a closet toy player. I can't catch her playing with them to save my life because we wouldn't want Ribbit (that's what Peapod calls me. I swear on a stack of bibles she has a distinct name for me. My husband noticed it) to think she does anything but mope while I am not there. All the destroyed toys on the bottom of her cage say something else. :)

Give him time he looks like a bright little inquisitive guy. In my experience that stance is more, WATCHA DOIN??!! HUH? HUH? Which of course means I might have to beat a hasty exit. But at least he's not all puffed up looking at you with dead eyes. Or shivering in a corner. I would bet money on this little guy. He'll give Peapod a run for her money on ornery cuteness before you know it.
 
Actually a amendment. The plastic bird needs to go. And any mirrors. I'd get rid of tweety too. I feel like I'm telling you to destroy his friends........but he needs to bond with something that actually interacts with him. i'd keep the little acrylic toy and try it at a later date. He may enjoy it again someday or be like Peapod and only like shredding toys.
And he definitely needs branches smaller than what he has in his cage. Peapod has a bunch of java branches in her cage and I'm always surprised how she will find the most narrow very tip of a branch and sleep there. Not all the time though so its important they have variety. Think of it this way if you had to stand for 24 hours what would you want? That helped me for sure!
Ok I'll shut up now! I just can feel how heartfelt you are about this bird and makes me happy, so thanks again for trying so hard for the little guy.
 
Thanks for the welcome gemkitty :)

Dharmawaits, thank you again. You really are being very helpful, and I really appreciate it. I'm going to clean him out tonight or tomorrow, and will remove some of his toys and friends. I'll also try approaching him with a stick.
I'm worried that if I do get him out his cage, what do I do if he flies off round the room and I can't catch him?! :eek:

Didn't eat last night's broccoli. Has been eating his millet, although I'm guessing it's cause he ate most of the sunflower seeds out of his bowl.
 
Get him clipped, today! Seriously the best way to get a parrotlet under control is to get their wings clipped. I've heard of little monsters becoming angels by being clipped. If nothing else you will definitely be in a better position to train him!!
 
I'm so sorry, but here are some more questions!! What do I put him in to get him to the vets? If I go asap he's not going to be stick trained and I'm gonna have to grab him :(
 
Jo,
If you don't have a transport carrier, you can try:
1. Call a local pet store - some sell cardboard carriers for a few dollars, unless you want to invest 30 or 40 & up in a permanent carrier. Also because he's a tiny guy, you can buy one of those teeny little cages for transporting little critters. They are under 10 dollars at a pet store.
2. Does his cage fit in your vehicle safely - can someone go with you and sit next to the cage in the back seat? Pritti has a transport cage about 16 wide, 14 deep, 19 high (estimating) and it fits in car. He also has a nice carrier kennel that lets me screw in a wood perch it was about 30 on amazon.com. I can send u a link if you r thinking of one.

It seems like you will be able to gain his trust pretty quickly and I like how much you want to do so. Talk to him alot, alot, alot. Sing to him. Grab a chair, sit nearby his open cage door and have a conversation with thim. Get a perch that leads to the door and see if he'll make his way over to you near the door and maybe sit on the door opening, etc etc.

have a little treat in your pocket for when he gets close up in the door frame or exits the cage. have a little foot toy for him for when he exits the cage, so that he'll stay up top and play. is there a perch on top of cage too, or play area?
 
Do you have any bird stores near you? Most of them will clip wings (most have people there on Saturdays) and maybe a rescue place. Ours does it for a donation.

For now to get him to a vet or to clip his wings your going to have to towel him. Try to use a towel as close to his color as you can. It seems to calm them. Talk gently to him and give him a treat. Also put him close to your heart while he is in the towel your heartbeat calms them. The lady who clips our birds wings does that and it really does seem to help.

Actually maybe you should try what my son does with his red rump just escort him out of the cage. Put your hand behind him and steer him to the door that might be a little less stressful. Heck Mike prefers it, he's very cage territorial and appreciates just being escorted out. He LOVES being out, does step up the whole nine yards but don't even think about getting him to step up in his cage. Try it with Buddy maybe it will work. Last resort, towel him.
 

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