Parrotlet attention problems, advice needed (first post!)

[thesilversakura]

Hi everyone! I've never posted on a forum before so this'll be fun. I'm E, I'm 17 years old and I'm British. I'm mum to my little 3 month old green Celestial Parrotlet named Peach, and she's a lovely little bird. I'll post an introduction with a picture as soon as I can get a nice one when she sits still!

On to my question. I've had her since she was about 8 weeks old, and she's so far been wonderful. A little madam and a total millet hound, but I keep on top of her!
I've noticed that she's become very very chewy recently, probably made worse by her first moult which is making her a bit grumpy. She won't leave my PlayStation controller alone, or the silicone cover of my phone. In fact I've had to close her cage door as I type this or she'd be all over it trying to eat it!

At first I thought it was just chewing, but I've noticed she doesn't pay any attention to them if they're not in my hands. The moment I pick them up she gnaws on them like no tomorrow, which leads me to believe it's attention seeking.

I've taken her favourite elephant toy out her cage and put it next to me, and she loves him. But as soon as I turn my attention....she's back to whatever's in my hands, and I've been trying my best to discourage her. Telling her to step up, a firm 'no', and I put her on my duvet or on my knee next to me and wait until she's calmed down. I've done this repeatedly but it doesn't work, and she ends up nipping or biting so I put her in her cage to show her it's not tolerated.

I don't know how to teach her to play on her own, because I love being with her and I don't want to put her in her cage all the time. She's also fully flighted which I have no intention of changing. I know it takes a lot more training but it's worth it!

She's my first bird, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sorry for the long post!

E.

[Pajarita]

Well, she won't learn to leave things you are holding alone and putting her in her cage to show her this behavior is not to be tolerated will not work to your advantage because, in her mind, you are not making sense. It could backfire on you and she might start biting you, instead.

Lovebirds need company and super, super close interaction and, when they are single birds, it falls to the human to provide it. Problem is, they need this 24/7/365 and, in my personal opinion, no human can do it. They are called 'inseparables' in Spanish, French and Italian and there is good reason for it, namely, they want to be with their mate ALL THE TIME and, what belongs to the mate, belongs to them plus they want ALL their attention. That, in a nutshell, is the reason why she chews on these things: because, if they belong to you, they belong to her and because you pay attention to them and not to her.

You can try re-directing her attention to 'chewable' stuff but, personally, I would get her a mate (but make sure you don't put two females together) because I know I can't give any bird 24/7/365 but that's me, maybe you can.

[liz]

She wants to play with your toys.

[thesilversakura]

We were thinking about getting her a companion but I was told it means she won't have the bond with me, but with the other bird. I'd be more than willing to get another parrotlet if that's what she needs, but there's no guarantee they'll get on

Would it help if I made her a playgym/stand? (I was going to buy one but either or) I know that won't fix it since she wants to play with my toys instead, but anything to help.

She wants to play with your toys.

I am definitely aware of that now! I forget that she treats us as a unit, and that it's only natural for her to want to play with me and my stuff. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to 'fix' her. If this is the way she plays that's fine, I just have very little experience and wanted to know if there was anything I could do to keep her happy and entertained out of the cage without her resorting to eating things that could make her ill.

[Wolf]

My parrotlet is much the same way, I was told that it was a female when I got it, but the markings that I see make me think it is a male, so I am currently waiting on a DNA sex test to come back so that I can know for certain.
This bird came to me as a feather plucker and the feathers that I need to see for a positive sex ID are not grown back in. The bird loves being out of its cage and on me and must examine any and everything that I touch and if it is shreddable... well, the poor bird was born with a buzz saw on the front of its face.
It is almost impossible to type when this bird is out, but trying to be nice, I consistently am placing the bird on my shoulder or on my leg or even next to me, any place that will allow me to type more than two letters of a word. After a while I just give it up and come back to the typing when the bird is not out and on me.

[liz]

Myrtle preens and picks at me when I am on the computer. She can be a pain in the butt when she wants attention and she wants my attention all the time. I give up and play with her toys.

My son is taking care of my pets while I am in NC. Myrtle is a leach to him. He called me today so I could talk to her on the phone. He said it was the only time she was quiet.

[Pajarita]

We were thinking about getting her a companion but I was told it means she won't have the bond with me, but with the other bird. I'd be more than willing to get another parrotlet if that's what she needs, but there's no guarantee they'll get on

In my personal opinion and experience, the little ones always seem to get along with one another, it's the big species that would, sometimes, not always, have a difficulty bonding with another bird. As to the strength of the bond with you... well, it all comes down to whose happiness is more important to you: yours or hers. I never insist on any bird bonding with me and the little ones hardly ever even try (small species are more mate or flock oriented than they will ever by human oriented) but I had a hand-raised female lovebird (VERY similar to plets only they come from Africa instead of South America) that was given up because of aggression (she was actually the sweetest thing!) and, although she ended up having two different husbands with me, she never stopped loving me and would willingly leave her nest and eggs to come and hang out with me when I called her name (Matilda). My grand-daughter always remembers my 'little birdy princess', as I used to call her - and I miss her dearly to this day!

[nerdybird]

I also had this problem with my female parrotlet. I've had her almost a year now. When I got her she was terrified of everything except me, and her wings were clipped. Now she flies around like she owns the place and will instantly land on anything. We're still working on getting used to other people, but that's improved a lot too.

Anyway, I think a combination of being flighted/ having something else to do/chew, and repeated moving her away from the keyboard helped. Oh, and she has become used to me typing a lot and it's no longer a novelty. She used to get really loud when I ran water, and that's calmed down also.

In the beginning I would put her on a scarf wrapped around my shoulder, and she would chew either the scarf or my hair (and leave little bits of hair all over my shoulder...)

I think being flighted helps, as she has much more interesting things to do now than sit on my desk.

She still goes after the keyboard every now and then, but not as aggressively and when I give her something more interesting she forgets about it. I think you have to be really persistent and consistent.

Parrotlets seem to have a weird obsession with certain noises...mine goes crazy when I brush my teeth, or shake keys, or crinkle bags. Try sitting on a bed or floor with her and dragging your keys around, they love to go after them- but only if there is a long keychain! A couple times I didn't move my hand fast enough and she nailed me. Or on your desk crinkle up some tissues and rustle it, she'll run after it. I taught mine to forage this way.

[Wolf]

Nerdybird, your parrotlet sounds a lot like mine and especially when it comes to noises. I also have cats in my house and since Paquita likes little nooks and crannies and because she likes the floor I got the largest clear hamster ball that I could find and she likes to go in it to run around on the floor in. It protects her from the cats when she goes after them. I only have her out while I can watch over her ,she is so precious. She will go after any animal that comes near enough and it doesn't matter if it is a 100 pound dog, a cat or a larger bird, she is going to run them off. Or at least she thinks so.

[nerdybird]

Hah! That is hilarious, putting her in a hamster ball. Was she afraid of it at first?

From what I've seen of parrotlets in videos and stories online, they have a weird thing with certain noises. She totally freaks out when I brush my teeth :p One time she really startled me when she landed on the toothbrush and I wasn't expecting it.

She does seem to like the floor, looking for leftover millet bits, but hasn't really taken an interest in nooks and crannies. She likes to survey her domain from on high, on the shelf above my kitchen, or the wood trim near the ceiling in my living area.