[Milatheparrotlet]

A short while ago I bought an incredibly sweet young female parrotlet (Mila).
We are currently staying with my parents for a few days, who happen to have a parrotlet as well (Tuti). From previous experience we know Tuti is not much of a 'bird' bird. His favourite thing is cuddling with my sister and he is really people oriented. He is a bit clumsy (also bad at flying), and therefore easily frightened by unexpected movements. When he lashes out it can be quite painful.

Today we wanted to give both their supervised out-of-cage time. Since Mila is in a new environment and Tuti generally just wants to cuddle with my sister, I thought they would just keep to themselves (and us). My little girl, however, thought it was much more fun to continuously sprint/fly toward Tuti and to try to jump on his back. She was not scared in the slightest. I don't think she had any negative intentions, but Tuti clearly didn't appreciate this at all. I was scared that he might lash out if she came too close so I did my best to keep them apart.

After 15 minutes of trying to distract her, we decided to put them back in their cages. Mila immediately decided to do the wiggle dance through the bars of her cage, which shows how sweet her intentions were I guess.

I would love for them to tolerate each other since we will occasionally visit my parents. I am not sure how we should continue. Does anyone have experience on how to deal with this? Thank you!

 

[ginziputzi]

Hello there! I should say, both Mila and Tuti sound very sweet. I have never introduced Kiwi to another parrotlet but she was very dominant with the other budgie and canaries that I adopted over the years. From other threads on the forum, I think this dominant/assertive behaviour is quite common. They tend to bond better with their human, I think. The wiggle neck is, I believe, is a dominance/mating behaviour. How to manage this is something I do not have experience with. I think you were right ti return then to their cages. I do know that that behaviour can get quite aggressive and there have been some tragic outcomes. Not to say this will be your case, of course. I hope some others with experience with these types of introductions will weigh in, but you can search the forum as well. There is some great insight in here!

 

[Milatheparrotlet]

Hi, thank you!
I didn't know the wiggle neck could also be dominating behaviour. I should add that Mila is only four months old. She hasn't been territorial or bossy towards us at all, so I'm not sure how to interpret her behaviour. She doesn't seem afraid of anything, so I'm really curious how her personality will be when she grows up.

We gave it one more try and decided to give them seperate playtime, since Tuti tried to lash out to Mila (luckily he bit me instead). I don't want her to get hurt and he is clearly overwhelmed by her presence when they are out of the cage. As for now they can enjoy each others chatter in their cages. Maybe we will try again in a few months, so tips/experiences are still welcome!

 

[ginziputzi]

Ohhh they are so beautiful!! I think you are wise to be cautious. I hope some others with experience will weigh in but also search the forum. It is not an uncommon Issue.

 

[ozzie3860]

@Mrs.JP3 is sort of our expert on this.
but I do have a bit of experience. I had a pair of older parrotlets for about a year in 2013. Then in 2020 introduced my new bird Rio to my current bird that I had since 2013.
first is every parrotlet is different. And who they will like or dislike and how they will play will depend on the individual birds. Given all that I would suggest separate cages with them close so they got to know each other. The chatter and familiarity should get them used to each other. Then supervised play time in little doses. Maybe let one bird out at a time to see how it goes. Watch for toe biting, especially if one lands on another’s cage.

 

[Mrs.JP3]

@Mrs.JP3 is sort of our expert on this.
but I do have a bit of experience. I had a pair of older parrotlets for about a year in 2013. Then in 2020 introduced my new bird Rio to my current bird that I had since 2013.
first is every parrotlet is different. And who they will like or dislike and how they will play will depend on the individual birds. Given all that I would suggest separate cages with them close so they got to know each other. The chatter and familiarity should get them used to each other. Then supervised play time in little doses. Maybe let one bird out at a time to see how it goes. Watch for toe biting, especially if one lands on another’s cage.

Wow, lol
ME? an expert? 🥴 Well I did have one very skittish male and a young female who took to him imidiatly, but he was also quite interested in her. I've also done "play dates" with up to 5 Parrotlets and that was always interesting.
If Tuti is not into it, and it sounds like he's pretty bonded to his human, you definitely run the risk of a skuttle or a toe bite or injury. They are very fast at getting toes, unfortunately I've more time bites in my house than I'd like to admit.
I think the best thing is a cage by cage relationship, let them see and visit that way in their own spaces. Seperate time out is probably best for a while, let Mila mature a little more. If one is out and the other is caged, be sure to cover the top of the cage to prevent bites if one lands on the others "roof" territory. And beware bites can happen through the side bars too. You can try letting them out again in a while if they do ok next to each other but supervise closely.