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Tipsy Phantom

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To the recent passing of my 10 year old savannah monitor and after a 3 month long mourning period, my husband and I decided on getting a pacific parrotlet. In the past I have owned budgies and english parakeets while my husband grew up with amazons, cockatoos, and other large parrots so we have plenty of bird experience between the two of us.

We researched all the birds we were interested in and could afford (my husband one day wants a hyacinth which is crazy expensive) and came upon the very sweet and smart and most importantly quiet parrotlet.

We bought basically everything a bird like him could want or need. Really went all out, a stand, two very large and sturdy cages with 1/4" spacing, a good bird seed/pellet mix, a carrier (for when we picked him up and if we ever need to take him to the vet), lots of toys, etc.

We named him Barnaby Jones and he's super sweet. He's about 3 months old (I know they live about 20-30 years) so he's still a little nippy but quickly growing out of it.

Other than that, he's been a total sweet heart. Loves to eat from your hand. Knows step up really well and all that jazz. Also looking for tips on teaching him new tricks. biggrin

UPDATE:

So I've been training my little guy to talk and he's picking up pretty quickly. He can say "boop" "want some more" and today he learned to say "scratches"

Still working on his recall training. So far he would rather fly to my hair/shoulder than my arm/hand when I call him. (Is currently in my hair under my ear making whisper chirps and clicking noises)

He was getting use to the ball toys today which was great. He actually picked one up instead of running back to mommy. xD

Here's some pics of him! o u o

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(He's under my ear right now mimicking the clicking noise of my keyboard!) x3

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Many birds like to play with hair. It's like a cozy nest. If you don't like it, then train him to stop. But if you don't mind it, feel free to let him continue, it's not a big deal.

For tricks, I would recommend clicker training. Because our birds are often in areas not directly accessible by us (like on the top of the fan) it's helpful to have a marker like a clicker to indicate when they've done good.
Teach him recall- the further the better! Nothing beats saying your bird's name, sticking out your arm, and then them flying over to you. Also teach him to fly -to- things (by pointing at that object and him going to it), and to fly -away- from things. They're really helpful skills to know.
Also teach him to pick up a little ball (the little cat toy balls with the little bell inside is good) and carry it around. It's cute.

If he nips you, set him down and walk away, ignoring him for like 2 minutes, then go back and proceed as normal.

Tipsy Phantom

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Moth Feathers
Many birds like to play with hair. It's like a cozy nest. If you don't like it, then train him to stop. But if you don't mind it, feel free to let him continue, it's not a big deal.

For tricks, I would recommend clicker training. Because our birds are often in areas not directly accessible by us (like on the top of the fan) it's helpful to have a marker like a clicker to indicate when they've done good.
Teach him recall- the further the better! Nothing beats saying your bird's name, sticking out your arm, and then them flying over to you. Also teach him to fly -to- things (by pointing at that object and him going to it), and to fly -away- from things. They're really helpful skills to know.
Also teach him to pick up a little ball (the little cat toy balls with the little bell inside is good) and carry it around. It's cute.

If he nips you, set him down and walk away, ignoring him for like 2 minutes, then go back and proceed as normal.



We don't mind him hiding in our hair, we were just wondering if he was doing it out of response of having a new home or something or if he was just being affectionate, etc. Recall and teaching him to fly to where you point sound very interesting! Definitely will try out the clicker training.

Thank you very much! This was very insightful! biggrin

Moonlight Pirate

My dove was nesting in my hair just a half an hour ago. If your hair is soft and long, I can understand why a bird would want to nest in it. I don't let my birds nest on my bed or stuffed animals, so I let them in my hair to make up for it.

You're lucky he doesn't poop in it, though. =(

Tipsy Phantom

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UPDATE:

So I've been training my little guy to talk and he's picking up pretty quickly. He can say "boop" "want some more" and today he learned to say "scratches"

Still working on his recall training. So far he would rather fly to my hair/shoulder than my arm/hand when I call him. (Is currently in my hair under my ear making whisper chirps and clicking noises)

He was getting use to the ball toys today which was great. He actually picked one up instead of running back to mommy. xD
UsagiYokai
Another strange thing is that he likes to sleep while hanging upside down from the ceiling of his cage.
He must think he's part bat...

Tipsy Phantom

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updated and found a forum for just parrotlet owners! biggrin
What's the difference between a Parrotlet and a Parakeet?

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Madame de Sousa
What's the difference between a Parrotlet and a Parakeet?


Budgie (also commonly referred to as a parakeet, though parakeet refers to any small parrot with a long tail and not specifically to Melopsittacus undulatus):
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

Parrotlet: (not a single species but a group, but they all look pretty similar)
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

Parrotlets are smaller- they're just a bit bigger than a finch really. They also tend to have more chunky of a body than budgies as you can see and not as long of primary feathers. They also have very short tails.

Tipsy Phantom

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Madame de Sousa
What's the difference between a Parrotlet and a Parakeet?


Also adding to what Moth Feathers said, their personalities are more like the larger parrots and are capable of learning and speaking words. heart

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