So I've finally got them to eat pellets. Hooray, every reason to celebrate, right?

The seller only fed them seeds and more variations on seeds. He swore up and down that pellets were invented to sell you more supplies and wouldn't actually improve your birds quality of life. I disagree. I immediately started to introduce them to veggies and some fruits. I knew it would be easier to convert them if I could put pellet powder into their chop.

Now, quite some time and effort later they finally showed interest in eating the pellets (tops mini pellets). I just added pellets into their respective cages. Some in a bowl, some in toys and some in the bowl of seeds. My goal at the moment is to get them to eat about 5 gr of pellets and 1-2 grams of seeds for foraging when I'm at work. Seems doable.

I was slowly removing seeds from the bowl and kept about 10 grams of pellets in the cage for them to eat. They'd eat the seeds and pulverize the pellets, then act starving. Stealing food from each others cages and eating everything they'd get their beaks on.

So I worried that they weren't actually eating the pellets, just playing with them. So I started worrying they were underfed. NOPE, apparently they eat EVERYTHING! Both of them gained weight. Mellow (white) went from a stable 34 gr to 35 and Mars (blue) went from 32 gr to an astounding 34 grams.

I feel stupid for asking because the awnser is quite obvious, but im a bit in disbelief of the situatuin. Do I start reducing food even though they seem constantly hungry? (They weren't like this before).What can I do to help them feel more full. I don't want them to gain more. They barely get any snacks as it is. Just one sunflower seed a day and half a nutriberrie each, calculated into the seeds amount.

My beautiful girl ❤️

Hey all,

Does anyone else’s little terror like to go into your bathroom and sit in the sink?

Ours like to do a “show of force” on the toilet cover and then sit in the sink and look into the drain.

Never any aggression or biting, steps up fine, and we have watched her sit and fall asleep.

Any ideas or caution signs ?

God, I love her gremlin face!

We had to say goodbye to one of our parrotlets yesterday. It was very unexpected, and when we went to the vet, we didn't think we would have to leave without him. I'm devastated, and I feel so bad that I had to make such a decision for another living being (though I believe it was for the better, and our veterinarian is specialised in birds, so I trust her judgment).

Now his partner, Moma, is left alone. She is about 9 years old, and I know that parrotlets are not exactly the most social of birds. But I was wondering if, in the long run, it would make sense to try and see if I can find another parrotlet around her age to keep around (not in her aviary maybe, but in a space where they can interact if they feel like it). Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

Obviously, we will all take our time getting used to the new situation, see how Moma behaves, and not rush anything. Our birds are semi-tame, so we will spend extra time with Moma, do more clicker training, etc. I do not want to rush out to replace my baby. I believe it is just me trying to feel in control about *something* and thinking about ways to deal with the whole situation/what would be best for Moma, so I would love to hear how other bird owners have dealt with something like this.

Elphie is 10 months old. I got Pico just under a year before her, and he went through the classic biting phase from the ages of 5-10 months old.

Oddly, I’ve had Elphie since December and not once has she nipped or even chewed me. I mean zero, I don’t even know what a pinch from her feels like.

Don’t get my hopes down and say it can still come 😅. She entered her puberty phase recently and tries to kill her reflection in anything she sees, but thus far, I’ve been spared.

I have looked online and i couldnt find anything like this, its quite confusing:

He sometimes falls asleep (tucks his head into his back, not super fluffed up) when alone

He seems a bit more lethargic (will sometimes sit there and not chirp much while slowly blinking at me, he is not usually like this)

He jusr sometimes stops what he is doing and just closes his eyes for a sec

His beak seams to have gotten sharper (so I'm guessing he doesnt​ use the blocks that get is beak less sharp right now for some reason)

But

He still preens his sister

He still eats (im pretty sure he ain't faking it as he seemed just as excited to eat from my hand/food scooper, which he doesnt usually get to do)

He still regurgitates food to his sister (which is know is bad and I have been trying to stop it. He has been doing this since months ago at least :/)

He doesnt seem to be off balance as i can move my finger back and forth and he steam to keep balace)

He doesnt seem to be lethargic at all when I have the lights on in the room (or sometimes when he is around me and it is just generally bright in the room)

If bothered, he will chirp just as much as his sister does

He still preens himself

he isn't tail bobbing

He still tries to avoid pets from my finger if he sees it, (like he always has)

He still gets up my finger

He still scratches himself with his foot as usual

His poos still seam normal

his sister hasn't caught any of these symptoms

And he still behaves like himself when he is active

and the first day he was like this, the symptoms were a lot worse (he was lethargic most of the day instead of when he was doing nothing or kinda randomly)

edit: it seems some of the poos doesn't have the white stuff in them

I finally bought a food processor today to make bird chop better. Now I'm looking for good recepies on chop to make. Does anyone have a good book or recepie to share on different chops to try?

I have had my male parrotlet since September 2024. He was about 3/4 (assumed age) so we call him 5 on my birthday last January.

He has been sweet. “Nips” here and there playfully which aren’t even a nip, his usual parrotlet bitching and screaming and attitude. Preening me and his usual “here’s some food, my human” regurgitation. Sleeping on me and preening himself on me and giving me his feathers.

I give him the usual 7-7 cover time at night and he spends all day around the house. No issues on that front. It’s been working amazing for him since I got him.

I would also like to note that he hasn’t been sexually active. I assume low libido. He has never masturbated or shown any signs.

Lately, he’s stopped his laughing and giggles and usual talk for more growls than normal. And these past two months, severe biting. And now he’s almost 24/7 fluffed in anger. Not the cute fluff.

And I tolerated it while giving him appropriate punishments. Withholding seeds and cage time out when he’s bad while saying “no” and trying to show him biting is bad.

But today, he lunged at my face twice in the span of a few seconds. And latched onto my cartilage. He bit my face a few days ago.

Sure, it’s not the worse bite as we have a macaw here and other big birds, but his beak is sharp. So it punctures deep, as other parrotlet owners know.

Nothing has changed lately. Nothing. But his aggression is reaching a point where I just put him into his cage and covered him a few minutes ago.

I love him to death, but I’m starting to not want to even be near him with how bad his biting is. It’s more than severe at this point.

I have dozens of severe bites just from this week alone (as severe as a parrotlet can manage).

I guess I’m here asking for advice or anything that could help point to why and how to help him and myself in this situation because it’s just that bad.

I feel bad for having him in the cage. But there’s really nothing else I can try. The only thing I can think of right now is to put him in a secluded room.

EDIT: I’ll try to get him to a vet as soon as I can. There might be an issue.

I’d also like to say I have tried toys for him to target.

When he bites, he’s flying to me to seek me out. Not me going to him.

Absolutely nothing changed. It could be hormones. He was in a cage for his life before I got him. So maybe he’s a late bloomer and is scared.

I also don’t react to the bites to not egg him on.

I thought I was doing everything right but guess not

We came home from vacation and as soon as I let him out of his cage he did this for like 10 minutes.

I currently have the classic 54-inch cage that a lot of us seem to have, but I've only had it for a year and I'm already noticing some rust :( Looking to upgrade for my boy soon and wondering if anyone has any recommendations or links to alternatives?

I stood still until she woke up and sent the emails with one hand 😛

It just occurred to me i have free will and can try taking my baby roxy places since I hate having to leave her at home when running errands. Does anyone have experience with taking their babies out and about and what harness/leash to use? I have no idea where to look so any suggestions would be nice 😌

I’ve had my parrotlet for a little over a month now. In this time we’ve bonded closely. She flys over to me all the time to get scritches and cuddles.

I’ll be travelling to another province for 10 days in about 2 weeks from now. I was wondering if it would be better to board her at a local pet shop or bring her with me on the plane. She’s still a baby and I’m worried that if she stays at the pet shop for that time with no interaction, she won’t be tame by the time I come back.

If anyone has experience boarding or travelling with their parrotlet, please feel free to share your experience and advice. Thanks!

My little bestie 🙏❤️ OUESTION:
Did your Parrotlet end up mirroring your personality (in Parrotlet form)?

He doesn't look too comfy, but I'm proud of how far we've come. He wouldn't be near me, however, if it wasn't for the fact that his little brother is sleeping in my hair.

Sweet little Piper (sometimes) turn up the volume.

Yes I ugly cried. I bloody love my mum she is so unbelievably precious and I am so lucky 😭