[ClayLady]

I'm new here. Wish I had known about this group a year ago.
A year ago I got a Parrotlet. Pippin. He's the light of my light, but he bites and will hardly let me hold him.
He fusses at me whenever I go near him and tries to bite me.(He has succeeded a couple of times)
However, he seems to like it when I sing to him, which I do all the time.
My home is the 3rd home he has been in and I blame his behavior on not being socialized in the other 2 homes.
Am I being unfair to his previous homes?
I refuse to give up, but don't have a clue what to do. Your help will be deeply appreciated.
Mary Q

 

[JackieRTP]

Welcome! Every parrotlet is different and they can be influenced by past experiences, but there is no reason to think that Pippin will not come around in time. Is he food motivated? You can use long stalks of millet as treats and rewards. If he will eat from the long stalk, gradually over time you can move your hand closer and closer until he is standing on your finger or hand to eat from it.

 

[David Miller]

Welcome to this forum! Pippin seems to have had a bad time of it in his previous homes. You seem to be the one who really cares and will be able to get some sort of a bonding going on. Parrotlets can be mean, stubborn, biters, and demanding. They can also be nice and caring and loving, but it takes a lot of patience and persistence. Like Jackie said, food may be the biggest motivator to get Pippin to give you some respect. They are small and mighty, but they think they are big!
You need to get back to basics with Pippin. Approach his cage slowly and bend down to his level and talk gently with him, while feeding/offering him some millet ( or other treats/foods that he likes). We do not know what your home life is like, for instance, is it noisy or are there a lot of animal pets in the home? Do you cover Pippin at night and give him at least 11-12 hours of covered darkness each night? I assume he is past his puberty age, so he probably is mature by now. Do you have children around who might like to tease Pippin? What you have to do is get some trust going. We do need more information about Pippin's life and surroundings. Is he clipped? If he gets out of his cage, how do you get him back in? Do you ever grab him or put a towel around him so you can control him? Is his cage located in the central part of the home where he can see things going on in the home?

Tell us as much as you can so we get to know him better.

David and Vicki 🦜 🦜

 

[ClayLady]

Welcome to this forum! Pippin seems to have had a bad time of it in his previous homes. You seem to be the one who really cares and will be able to get some sort of a bonding going on. Parrotlets can be mean, stubborn, biters, and demanding. They can also be nice and caring and loving, but it takes a lot of patience and persistence. Like Jackie said, food may be the biggest motivator to get Pippin to give you some respect. They are small and mighty, but they think they are big!
You need to get back to basics with Pippin. Approach his cage slowly and bend down to his level and talk gently with him, while feeding/offering him some millet ( or other treats/foods that he likes). We do not know what your home life is like, for instance, is it noisy or are there a lot of animal pets in the home? Do you cover Pippin at night and give him at least 11-12 hours of covered darkness each night? I assume he is past his puberty age, so he probably is mature by now. Do you have children around who might like to tease Pippin? What you have to do is get some trust going. We do need more information about Pippin's life and surroundings. Is he clipped? If he gets out of his cage, how do you get him back in? Do you ever grab him or put a towel around him so you can control him? Is his cage located in the central part of the home where he can see things going on in the home?

Tell us as much as you can so we get to know him better.

David and Vicki 🦜 🦜

Thank you for the warm welcome. Ok, about my home... I am retired and have no children living with me and no grandchildren around. I have 2 grown sons with families of their own. One son lives in Kansas City and the other in Denver. I live in a suburb of St. Louis. My home is fairly quiet, except for the stereo and TV. My family room/kitchen is one open area. I spend most of my time in this area. That is where Pippin's cage (although I don't call it a cage. I call it Pippin's Room.)
Pippin does get at least 12 hours of darkness and sleep. His Room has a clear view of the TV, which he seems to like to watch. There are also windows that he can and does look out of. He especially likes the afternoon sunshine that comes in and bathes his Room in sunlight.
The woman I got him from, was feeding him just plain bird seed. After I brought him home, I mixed some seed with fresh chop but he picked out the seed and wouldn't eat the chop. I gradually changed his food over to... some sunflower seeds (he loves them but I know they are fatty so he only gets a few), nutriberries both veggie and fruit along with some greens and herbs. He seems to really like his food and eats well. He also gets Millett.
I have 2 retired racing greyhounds that totally ignore Pippin, but I only let him out of his Room if I have him nestled in a soft cloth.
I talk to him all day and sing to him. When he is fussing at me, singing to him settles him right down. I'm not sure what more to tell you. If you have questions, please ask. I will do whatever it takes to get him to love me as I LOVE HIM. Thank you for your help and advice.
Mary Q

 

[JackieRTP]

Sunflower seeds are fine in moderation as part of a diverse diet for parrotlets due to their high metabolism. They only are a problem when they make up a large amount of a bird's diet.

It sounds like you are giving him plenty of attention, talking and singing to him, proper sleep, and a good home environment. There is no specific timetable for when a bird may allow you to hold him, but I would keep up what you are doing since patience and persistence is key.

 

[Anya]

Hi and welcome to you and Pippin! Nice to have you with us!

Yes! I have some questions!

How old is Pippin?

Has he ever come out of his cage on his own? If not, how do you get him out?

What makes him fuss at you? What are you doing at the time? When does he bite you?

When and why do you have to nestle him in a soft cloth?

How often and when do you offer him veggies?

Do you let your dogs into the room that Pippin is in?

Do you know why he has been rehomed so many times? How did you get him?

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Welcome! I suspect he did have some bad experience in the last two homes but we have many success stories around here! I quite like the advice David gave, very good tips. It sounds like he has found his forever home ❤

 

[rizzie5022]

Welcome to the forum, if you have the time I would suggest reading through posts on here. Lots of people have had problems and successes. I have gotten some good advice and feel I have given some good advice as well. I have tried everything suggested some things worked and some did not, but that is our breed they are different little creatures for sure.

Food is a wonderful motivator if you can find your birds favorite food. I cant find my guys special food. I wish I could then I could have another training tool.

I sit next to my guy with his cage open, recently I put a perch outside his cage because he used to hang on the side and look at my computer. I have played videos of parrotlets chirping from forums or from my fb parrotlet group. He gets excited to hear other chirps. That gets him interested and he comes out.

Sunshine is my second parrotlet, he is very different frm my first guy. I am working on trying to bring him out of his cage using step up. I have been successful a few times and un successful hundreds lol. I am able to give scritches on his head in the evening in the morning I rub his beak and I still do that so that he can see my hands dont always try to pick him up. That is my theory, Im not sure what he is thinking just yet.