[jamesodono]

Hi All,

This is my first post on here and I just needed some advice. Our male parrotlet Blue who is 9 months old has seen a fair bit in this short time. We got him a week after we got my 2 budgies ages unknown but I think both over 12 months definitely maybe older (male & female). Cut a long story short he did not get on with the female budgie which was fine but we made arrangements that they could live together. He took a liking to my male budgie after some squabbling and they formed a cute little bond. Sadly I lost both budgies due to illnesses which we believe were due to interbreeding from a bad breeder. One died on christmas day & the other not long after on me & my partners anniversary. (as if the year hasn't been bad enough) we were both left heartbroken. the female died of what I believe was neurological issues & the other was liver problems. So with blue alone we this weekend decided that we want another bird and went with a female parrotlet. We decided to get her to keep blue company or at least be in the same room so that when everything is back to normal in the world again we won't feel guilty leaving him alone for work etc. So far everything hasn't been rosey. The breeder who we got him from who has been breeding them for a long time suggested we put her into his cage straight away without him in it and then introduce him after. I was very cautious about his approach but judging by meeting him & visiting his premises it became apparent to me or what I believe was a lot of bird knowledge. the female budgie is around 3 months old & my male parrotlet is at giving her a hard time. He is territorial as expected and is very spiteful to her in & outside the cage. All of this is obviously stopped & currently under constant supervision. She still continues to follow him around even after all this and as soon as he is put back in his cage to leave her out she wants to go back in and when he flies out she also flies out. The time we are most at ease is when they go to bird because they are at opposite ends in the large cage we have sleeping. Can anyone offer any advice on how I can get them to get along? I may tonight have to house her in another cage we have which is smaller to stop this aggression. I feel horrible as she seemed to have took an instant liking to blues cage and loves the toys in it etc. Ive asked this breeder but are really starting to question his advice. sorry for the long message thank you all in advance

 

[Anya]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Parrotlets do not need company of another bird, they are perfectly fine being alone. I would suggest you separate your male and female right away. Parrotlets, for the most part, do not make the best cage mates, because as you are finding out, they are territorial and aggressive. They can inflict injury to each other or worse, one may kill the other. Parrotlets like having their own space and belongings and Blue has pretty much made it apparent that he does not want to share his cage with your female. The other reason for separating them is to prevent hormonal behavior and breeding that could lead to unwanted egg laying. Since he is also aggressive with your female outside the cage, I would take them out separately to a neutral area, away from their cages and belongings to avoid any fighting and injuries. Even though you may be supervising them, you may not be able to get to them fast enough to stop a fight that could cause injury or death. Keeping them in separate cages will allow them to get used to each other. Maybe over time you can let them out to socialize together, but right now, with Blue being hostile towards the female, I would be very cautious.

 

[AnimalKaperz]

Hi and congrats on your new bird

I am just wondering if you practice the 30 day quarantine for any new bird ? (not just parrotlets, and even after an initial vet check). I can only tell you what is generally recommended in Australia .... and that is 30 days quarantined in at least a separate room before introducing a new bird. You may not be able to do so?

The aggression, as Anya mentioned, is another problem in parrotlets and her advice is great.

 

[Rubydoo252]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Parrotlets are quite happy to be only birds, and are known to aggressively attack and even kill other birds. If any aggression is being shown, they should be separated immediately as it escalates very quickly. They will enjoy their lives best if they each have their own space, and will not want for anything if they are only birds either. My parrotlet is my only bird, and he is quite content not having to share anything.

 

[David Miller]

HI! Welcome to the forum! Your female is a 3 month old budgie? You put her with a 9 month old male parrotlet? Well, I am surprised he hasn't attacked her. He may be a rare one and he may tolerate the hen, but watch out. One major squabble and the p'lett will either kill the female or damage her badly.



I raised budgies for over 50 years and budgies need companionship, for the most part. They can live alone, but it is hard on them. A parrotlet is okay all by themselves, with a human host to bond with. I do know this...you can keep both birds, but in separate cages. You can slowly introduce them at play time, but if it gets out of hand, put the Female back in her cage, not the male. He has already established your home as his and the budgie is an intruder for now. Your male is 9 months old and most likely he is not fully mature yet.



If done slowly and step by step with supervised playtime, they might get to be friends, but this is a big " Might ". You have to be patient.


I do not know your p'lett. He may never accept her or he may accept her, but only on his terms.


David

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Hi and welcome to the form! Glad to have you. Well, I'm going to have to agree with you here the breeder gave you some terrible advice. First as others have mentioned, parrotlets don't typically need another bird for company they will bond with you and can be quite happy by themselves. In addition to that, they really should not be housed together or with any other species, as you are finding out it is not guaranteed that they will get along and both male and female can be aggressive with each other. if it becomes bad enough they have been known to kill each other. Or you could lose a toe etc, my male has had his toe bit by another female and my female has also been known to be a toe biter. If you did want them to potentially become friendly, I would suggest two separate cages side by side for a period of time with only supervised out of cage time and then just see how it goes. They may eventually start to show some Bond towards each other while supervised out of the cage as in preening each other sitting inside by side things like that. Or sitting next to the side of the cage where the other is. You could start over in this fashion and see how it goes, but definitely don't force them to be with each other and don't put them in each other's cages. don't feel bad about this either, it is perfectly fine to have them in their separate cages and even best this way. Don't feel like you have failed by not getting them to live in the same cage or that your male is unhappy or something like that. This is a very normal setup for owning two parrots to keep them separated. Also if you ended up having them in the same cage and they did bond, then you have the issue of them wanting to breed and your female could begin to lay eggs if they mate which is very difficult on females it requires a lot of their nutrition and calcium and if you are not providing the right types of nutrition and calcium they can become egg bound which is very dangerous. So in both cases I suppose the short answer is it is just all around better to leave them separated.

 

[Mrs.JP3]

HI! Welcome to the forum! Your female is a 3 month old budgie? You put her with a 9 month old male parrotlet? Well, I am surprised he hasn't attacked her. He may be a rare one and he may tolerate the hen, but watch out. One major squabble and the p'lett will either kill the female or damage her badly.



I raised budgies for over 50 years and budgies need companionship, for the most part. They can live alone, but it is hard on them. A parrotlet is okay all by themselves, with a human host to bond with. I do know this...you can keep both birds, but in separate cages. You can slowly introduce them at play time, but if it gets out of hand, put the Female back in her cage, not the male. He has already established your home as his and the budgie is an intruder for now. Your male is 9 months old and most likely he is not fully mature yet.



If done slowly and step by step with supervised playtime, they might get to be friends, but this is a big " Might ". You have to be patient.


I do not know your p'lett. He may never accept her or he may accept her, but only on his terms.


David

David also has some wonderful advice. Very nicely put David. Also I think just to help clarify what I understood was she previously had the male living with the budgie but the budgies both passed away recently and the new female she is referring to is a parrotlet. So currently the situation is a male and a female parrotlet. I also am surprised the male did not injure the budgie.