We have a new family member!

[LadySaphine]

Today, my mom decided to meet a parrotlet breeder. He was selling his breeding pairs off.

The two he brought were a green female and a yellow male, about a year or so old. The female was $75, the male was $150.

Why so cheap?

Well, they were breeders, so they're untamed. We eventually decided on the green female. The male was gorgeous but twice the price as well (He also took her out of the cage, and she seemed tamer after some handling).

So, now we have an unnamed green female parrotlet! I have no pictures yet but they will arrive soon.

Now, before you say anything, this breeder was selling all of his birds because he wants to get out of the breeding business. He has 2 , 2 Maximillion Pi's, 2 more parrotlets, and he used to have GCCs. He seemed like a really nice guy and we very honest with us. He said if we couldn't tame the little girl, we could give her back (I don't plan to, though). He knew a lot about the birds and was very knowledgeable, and the two were in good condition (Ms. 'Let's beak tip has seemed to be chipped at one point and now it's regrowing). So I'm pretty sure he was a very good breeder.

So, any tips on taming this 4-ounce featherball? He said you would have to reach in with a glove to grab her, then hold her and pet with ungloved hand. To me, this is a decent idea because she will learn that glove = bad, and hand = good (I didn't say it was the best, so don't yell at me! ) Oh, and she is fully flighted. When she flew out of the box she was in, the poor girl kept running into the walls! Her beak and cere is fine, but it's still painful to look at.

I'm going to keep her in quarantine for 2 weeks or so, even though she seems healthy it's not worth the risk of infecting Peanut.

I'll post pictures soon!

[Pajarita]

You split up a bonded pair?! I don't mean to be rude or make you feel bad but that's an awful thing to do to an animal that bonds for life!

[LadySaphine]

These two were not paired. When we were contacting him, he said he had a blue female and a yellow male. Those were the two who were bonded. When we met, he said that somebody already had bought the blue one (to my mother's disappointment, she wanted a blue parrotlet). As far as I know, she wasn't bonded to this particular male. But I do get your point. However, I don't think I could handle two untamed parrotlets. I'm worried I won't be able to handle one either (I've never had to tame a bird, really. Peanut was hand-fed.)

[Pajarita]

Please consider getting the little girl a mate once she is a bit more tame. Almost all the single plets I've known of end up plucking...

[LadySaphine]

Thank you for the tips. What I'm worried about, though, is that if we get her a mate they might breed, which is not something we want. Would another female be okay, or would they fight?

And today, while I was sitting around her cage (not nearby but across from her) she ate the sprig of millet I left for her, which is good because I haven't seen her eating. She is still adjusting but she already checked out some of the toys we put in there for her.

[LadySaphine]

Here is a picture of the little girl:



It's a bit grainy because the only small camera I have is my mom's iPhone. My normal camera would probably scare her too much.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the toy she's sitting on seems to be the one she most interacts with. She just sits on it whenever I come into the room. So far, she's doing okay. Feeding her a mix of 75% pellet 25% seed.

[LadySaphine]

She bonked her nose yesterday, it's red but not bleeding. She seemed fine and was just a bit scared of the flash.

My mom thinks she was hand fed at one point, because she stays still in out hands and doesn't try to escape unless she thinks she can. Me, I'm not so sure. But she did step up onto my finger after I was 'rescuing' her from a shelf. She always tried to fly back to her cage, is she getting territorial?

And when I was coming up stairs (she's separated from Peanut for another week) she started chittering. It was the first time I've heard her, and she looked all fluffed up when I peeked my head inside. Also, she ate seed from my hand willingly as well. I think she's getting a bit better, but I'm worried I won't be able to take care of her and a mate.