New bird owner questions

[Lucho]

I got a plum headed parakeet about 2 months ago and have a couple questions about plum heads in general and also about how to avoid him crashing into walls. He is about a year and a half old and his feathers have been clipped his whole life. Now that they are growing back he has started to fly and is really good at it but he seems to freak out when trying to find a place to land and keeps crashing into walls at a pretty decent speed. He crashed into a wall earlier today and this was by far the scariest one. He seemed very slightly dazed at first but less than five minutes later he seems to be perfectly fine, he is acting completely normal except for the fact that he won't leave my shoulder, but I think that maybe the crash just scared him. There doesn't seems to be any bruising or inflammation, and his beak took the hardest hit so I grabbed his beak to see if he would react to it but he seemed totally fine with it and let me do it no problem. I would really like for him to be able to fly around freely and am currently planning to build an aviary for him so I am trying to find the quickest way to build his confidence in flying so he can land safely. My other question is about plum heads in general. I can't find a lot online about them so if anyone has any information about their personalities and any other info that would be great. Mine is super shy but the sweetest bird I could have asked for. He is terrified of hands because of how he was handled at the place we bought him from but we are working through that. Any info on how to do that better would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[zERo]

Welcome to the forums!

I would take him up to the walls and show him they are solid.
It also helps to begin recall training him so he can learn to fly to you.

I don’t believe we have many (or any?) plum headed owners on here unfortunately.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Hello and welcome!
I have a young Slaty-headed parakeet that I got back in March. Slaty and Plummies are quite similar (closely enough related to even hybridize).
Because info on Slatys is just as scarce (or possibly scarcer) then Plummies, a lot of my pre-bird research was about plumheads (with a bit of IRN research too). So I may be able to help you with some questions you have, is there anything in particular you'd like to know?

 

[wrench13]

Regularly take him on tour of the house, every rood. Bring him close to each wall in each room, really close, and tap on the wall with your finger to show him it is solid. SOme parrots learn to tap the wall too, by doing this. The idea is to show him that these walls are not open space he can fly through. DO this daily for a while, he should learn that walls are no-no's. Same for any windows that do not have coverings or shades. He needs to know that glass is hard and not an open space to fly through too.

 

[Lucho]

Hello and welcome!
I have a young Slaty-headed parakeet that I got back in March. Slaty and Plummies are quite similar (closely enough related to even hybridize).
Because info on Slatys is just as scarce (or possibly scarcer) then Plummies, a lot of my pre-bird research was about plumheads (with a bit of IRN research too). So I may be able to help you with some questions you have, is there anything in particular you'd like to know?

Im sorry for having such a delayed response but I would love to know about what you have learned from your research about plum heads. One question I really would love to know about is if other plum heads/ slatys like being pet. My plum head was terrified of hands for months but has now become very comfortable with me but he hates being pet. I’m totally fine with this as he’s still very cuddly and loves to take naps with his head pressed against mine but I just feel bad now that he has pin feathers because he is always scratching his head against metal bars. I know every bird is different but I would love to know more about his species and other similar species in general.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Im sorry for having such a delayed response but I would love to know about what you have learned from your research about plum heads. One question I really would love to know about is if other plum heads/ slatys like being pet. My plum head was terrified of hands for months but has now become very comfortable with me but he hates being pet. I’m totally fine with this as he’s still very cuddly and loves to take naps with his head pressed against mine but I just feel bad now that he has pin feathers because he is always scratching his head against metal bars. I know every bird is different but I would love to know more about his species and other similar species in general.

That's a good question. The general answer is no. Asiatic parrots (parrots in the genus Psittacula - Plumheads, Slatys, IRN etc.) do not allopreen, they don't preen and touch each other like other species of parrots. The only time they do is with their mate. So this means that even if your bird tolerates you petting them (some do, most will not), you're risking sending them the wrong message. Cockatoos are stimulated by being pet in places other than their head or neck, Asiatics can be stimulated even by head petting.