Will pet quality and bonding be lost?

[Jacqueline3]

I plan on having 3 parrotlets by the end of 2010. The first two will arrive next week. They will have their own cages because I want them to be bonded to me and yet still be able to play together when out on the gym. Even tho their cages are side by side I have a divider between so they can not see each other. My question is when I get the third parrotlet the cage will also be in the same room and I wonder if it will need to have a dark divider so they can not see each other since the cage will be accross the room from the other two? Will the three keep their pet quality and ability to possibly talk human talk or do I need to put them in separate rooms?
Jacqueline

[Cheryl's Fids R Gr8]

I woud position them all so that they are able to see eachother. As long as they each have their own cages and are handled enough by you individually, they should be fine.

I don't see the need to put "dividers" because again, as long as they each have their own cage and get plenty of individual attention, they will enjoy you.

Good luck!

[jodeg]

I have 3 P'lets - one male and two females. They are all housed separately in HQ flight cages in their own room. They can see each other and I think they entertain each other too. They have supervised playtime together several times a day and enjoy that too. When they're in their cages, they chirp back and forth to each other. They play, chirp, eat and even nap at the same time!

I never planned on housing them together, for their safety and my peace of mind. They can get along one minute and attack each other the next! They are still bonded to me, with Kiwi, my first P'let, being the most bonded and most tame. They seek me out when I come into their room, and during playtime, fly to me (they are all fully flighted) and stay around me most of the time. They can get jealous of one another over me, so I have to be certain each one gets special attention!

Here's their setup, which works pretty well for us. There's more playstands and landing platforms to the right and left of their cages that didn't fit into the picture. They love that climbing net above Kermit's cage -- only cost $2.00 for the "rope"!
http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp215/jodeg/000_1143.jpg?t=1258383985

Hope this helps a little! :D

[Jacqueline3]

Thankyou for the help. I was concerned that they would learn only "Parrotlet" talk and not attempt "human" talk. However, it would be nice for them to enjoy seeing each other during cage time. I would love to be a Parrotlet at your house and get to play in your playarea!!!.
Jacqueline

[jodeg]

Ha! Ha! Thanks, Jacqueline!

BTW, Kermit, my male, does talk a little, but ONLY when he's covered! He very softly says "Babies" (what I say when I wake them up in the morning), "Pretty Bird" and "Hello" -- at least that's what I can make out so far. He won't talk in front of me -- yet! :D

[suiki2]

I have a question. I currently have a almost two year old parrotlet, male named Gino. I am expecting another male a bluw mutation in about a month. i want to house them seperatly for my own peace of mind, however the breeder I am going to deal with Barb's Birds in Oxford, MA said I could with two males place them in seperate cages initially, give them supervised playtime, and eventually place them in the same house (cage) a large Ez cage. Thoughts> Currently Gino says his name, hello i am a pretty bird, and I am working on a phrase., "toes, toes, beak"... so my question is , is placing them together going to lessen the bond they currently have with my husband and with me, and will the be less hand tame? thx

[enborgle]

I am not familiar with that breeder, but I personally would not heed that piece of advice - your intuition is correct. Most literature agrees that parrotlets make the best pets when housed separately but when they can see other birds, and IMO there is always some pet quality lost when we pair them up, whether it's with a same- or opposite-sex partner. When parrotlets are housed separately with supervised playtime together, they get all the benefits of social interaction with their own kind without any of the risks.

And to the OP, dividers are often used when housing breeding pairs to avoid jealousy and guarding behaviours, but as others have said, no need for this in your situation. When they can see each other, your flock will sync their behaviours (eating at the same time, preening at the same time, etc) - they don't care that there are cage bars between them! :)

[jodeg]

Enborgle's comment is absolutely true!
When they can see each other, your flock will sync their behaviours (eating at the same time, preening at the same time, etc) - they don't care that there are cage bars between them!

My 3 all eat, play, preen, nap, chirp at the same time, even though they are in 3 different cages (pic of my setup above). It's so cute! They are all safe and secure and don't seem to care that there are cage bars between them.

For your own piece of mind and for their safety, I would definitely recommend separate cages placed where they can see each other and keep each other company, with supervised playtime together. P'lets can attack each other in a heartbeat, trust me! This setup will keep them safe for sure.

[suiki2]

Thanks a bunch guys! Think i will use my own common sense for once!:D

[Sarah's_Parrotlets:)]

http://talkparrotlets.com/images/editor/separator.gifhey, so I was just wondering if I separate my two P'lets right now to try to get them to tame down and bond with us more; would that be cruel? since they love each other so much already? Just taking them apart...
and we might try for them to breed in the future...if we separate them is that no longer a possibility?
Also if they act like they'retogether, eating, preening, ect...then whats the difference if they are together?

Also I have a 30X30X30 cage, if I separate them I might put one in a cage like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VA2422-Marvelous-Veranda-Bird-Cage_W0QQitemZ260579633098QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item3cabc1a7ca

I can maybe buy this other cage at a local petstore for about $129, I'm not sure of the measurements though.
Would my first cage be to big for one parrotlet? I felt comfortable with my 30x30x30 with both of them in it.
I know you can never have to much room for a bird...I just dont want them to get over whelmed.
And would one like this be to small?
And I'm worried they'll get stressed if I separate them? And their life mission will get back to each other and less of a focus on me...
if you can answer all these questions and what ever else you want to add that'd be great!! :)

[Sarah's_Parrotlets:)]

Actually I'd probably get the one at Petco for $129...I cant find any pictures on their website of the right on though.

I would also feel mean for giving them all that space then putting one in a smaller cage...={
any thoughts?