Very quiet bird, will time fix this?

[jugoya]

I don't know if this is breed specific but I have a Chevron winged parakeet and he's very quiet and not all that playful. Very loving cuddly bird though a rather picky eater.. for the longest time all I could get him to eat was a seed diet with some pellets and lots and lots of apple, eggs and nuts.

Recently got him eating veggies though he'll only eat frozen ones, lves peas and corn; noodles and will nibble on bread.

At least he's eating a variety but the problem is I went on vacation a few days ago ( left him with plenty of birdie company and a sitter who played with him an hour or two a day.) He's still cuddly but the small playful antics he did before the vacation have vanished. I'm hoping this is just a temporary thing .. (Doesn't want to leave my shoulder afraid I'm going to vanish again I think.)

He's used to being outside of his cage most of the time (set up is 20x20x30, with a large playperch attached) but he doesn't WANT to be outside of it unless he's with me lately; desperate to get in the cage or on my shoulder.

He's not sick or anything, though he seemed slightly poorly when I got back. Doesn't want to eat his treats because he's bored of them; had the sitter give him one a day while I was gone; I wanted to make sure he actually ATE something at least. He's lost no weight and other than the subdued quietness and wanting to cuddle more he's alright.

I just want my playful buddy back.

I know long complicated and confusing x.x.

Question is this? Does he sound like he'll be alright given a few weeks?

I've only had him about two or three months.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Usually behavior changes in parrots are a alarm bell for us, but because you were gone he may be a little mad you were gone. My friends cat will ignore her for a week or more as if giving her the cold shoulder.

That's great you got him eating veggies, I recommend you check out a chop mix(google bird tricks chop mix). You make it in bulk and can freeze it. It has a large variety of veggies, and some grains (I use quinoa and barley).

 

[jugoya]

I figured it out!

Porter was bored after having the same toys all the time, and without the parakeets to talk too he wasn't sure what to do.

Rearranged his cage, moved him from the window (As it is getting warm and in Texas that could cause the poor little guy to overheat. He likes the sunshine during the winter.)

Now he is active and playful again.

Just gotta remember when he's sitting there quiet... it means BORED BIRD!

I've actually tried that mixture, Porter is so picky he wouldn't touch the stuff and I tried for the first month I had him.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Kiwibird]

Glad you figured it out! A good rule of thumb is to rotate in a new toy (and rotate out an old one) every other day to keep them intrigued and happy. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to buy them multiple new toys every week, just build up a stockpile so theres enough to rotate in and out (your bird wont remember a toy from a week ago so it will be like a whole new toy to him)

I will say, when Kiwi gets "bored" he doesn't "get quiet", he let's you (and the entire neighborhood) know about it lol.

 

[jugoya]

I've found that Broto's tend to get quiet and subdued.

I did quite a bit of research before I got Porter specifically because though my family has had larger parrots before ( Peach-Top Conure, Hans Macaw; moved and left them with the family, family pets basically.) I've never lived in an appartment before and the birds I had prior were louder and I wasn't bothered by this.

Chevron wings are known for beingmoderately loud but Porter? He's on the quiiiiet scale apparently. Subdued but very happy little guy.

His diet I'm happy to say is about 60% fresh foods (Apple, Some cabbage, egg), 15% seed, 10% pellets, And the rest is a mix of breads noodles and frozen veg. Much better than the 100% seed diet he was on at the pet store.

The first cage I got him was HUGE.

He didn't want ANYTHING to do with it. Downgraded to a 30Lx 20Hx 24W and he's quite a bit happier. (His old cage now belongs to a neighbor). He spends most of his time out of the cage, and is sleep cage trained as well. (Prefers a smaller cage for sleeping in, use a mesh top catcarrier and he adores it.)

So the behaviors of smaller birds are a little.. newer to me.

Which is why I was after help in the first place.

I've never had a bird that prefered a smaller cage before. Quite the experience!