strange parrotlets

[Kaliska]

A person I know rescues some small birds and sometimes breeds others with some kept as pets. She has a pair of parrotlets. They are really molting but so were her cockatiels. With all the fluff and their tiny size I thought they were babies. I'm not real bird experienced and they look like pics of ones still being handfed and growing their adult feathers but it sounds like they are considerably older. She said they hadn't raised babies because they ended up with 2 females. They probably aren't even the length of my hand from head to end of tail while some we took care of a few years back were like stockier budgies. I know the pics aren't real clear but I snapped them quick with my phone and then cropped them. I told her we were interested in parrotlets if she ever wants to rehome them. Is it just a species difference? I've seen mention there are multiple parrotlet species. How do they tame if they were parent raised but hand tamed and then not handled for awhile? From what I've read and seen they can be very tame and not easily hand shy which is why I was considering them if we want another smaller bird.

 

[melissasparrots]

I'm guessing there might be some plucking going on. Hard to tell since the pics are a little blurry. They look like fairly standard sized pacific parrotlets to me although in poor feather condition. If they are untame, I think I'd have them as look at pets. Parrotlets are not among the species that are easy to tame once mature and bonded with another parrotlet.

 

[Anneka]

I do agree with the above poster that the one on the left is either plucking its feathers or was plucked by the other plet.
Parent raised plets are not that easy to tame. Sometimes even handfed plets need a lot of work to be tamed.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

So this person does rescue and breeds? Is she taking in the rescues so she can get free birds to set up to breed? If so that is so wrong! The photos are pretty bad but it looks as though the little one on the right has more plucking than the other which looks pretty "spotty" with feather loss. Parrotlets will pluck when under a lot of stress or pluck each other. She needs to be diligent about watching their behavior in the event they need to be separated if they are plucking each other.

 

[Tyrion]

Pretty lil birds ...plucking if that's what is going on can be caused by a lot of things ...even diet can be an issue ...make sure your friend is feeding a good diet and try to reduce the stress

 

[Jobot]

I would bet one or the other's a plucker as well. They look like they could be like a turquoise variety of parrotlet. Could they be Spectacled parrotlets?

 

[Kaliska]

I'm not sure. They were so covered in loose, fluffy, downlike feathers it was hard to tell color, size, and I thought they were babies getting in their first full set. The chests were poofy grey sticking out unevenly. All the birds were molting but the cockatiels and budgies looked normal. Just a wing feather here and a head feather there with otherwise healthy feathers. I know her diet is good for cockatiels. She feeds a mix of pellets and fresh foods. I dunno what's best for parrotlets but I want to try keeping some and they looked like they could use a different home or setup despite her having added a sun room off the bedroom just for the birds. I don't know the story to getting these except that they were tame at one time. I know she has taken in cockatiels and budgies and does not breed them.

I'm on the fence between getting into parrotlets (sooo many pretty colors! and their small size makes for better logistics) or waiting a little longer and getting an indian ringneck when ready.

 

[Anneka]

I'd not think they are getting their first feathers.
I think the pattern would be more even looking.

A word of caution: no pellets for parrotlets.

 

[janicedyh]

I was wondering why Anneka said "A word of caution: no pellets for parrotlets". My daughter just got one and is feeding pellets..why is it a no no?

 

[Anneka]

Janicedyh, please google 'parrotlets no pellets kidney' for example. It will give you several articles or sites where this problem was addressed.
But in short, parrotlets don't drink much and when they are on a pellet diet, it may lead to kidney problems (renal failure). This is especially important for color mutations plets, but as Sandee Molenda (a known reputable plet breeder) said, a green looking plet could be split to another color, so she advises not to give pellets even to green plets.
Hope this helps.

 

[janicedyh]

Anneka, thanks for the info. I have passed it along to my daughter

 

[Sherrie]

Is it possible that the "stockier" ones you saw were a different variety? I think I read somewhere that the Mexican Parrotlet is stockier than the Pacific.