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To separate, or not to separate?

Tabracadabra

Meeting neighbors
Joined
9/9/18
Messages
27
Location
Southeast Michigan
Our unrelated mixed sex Parrotlet pair Popo and Izi are very tightly bonded. They are health-cleared rescues, and their previous owner said they don’t breed successfully. She suspected the female is infertile.

My question is, is it safe to leave them together? From what I’m reading, parrotlets can be rather violent with each other. I haven’t seen anything like that with them, beyond Izi being a little fury-volcano of hormonal rage just in general. They flock call each other constantly, and even just getting too far apart in their cage will set them off shrieking.

9EE7F069-2B0C-4A2B-978F-C2A4DFE98461.jpeg

I don’t want to stress them by separating them, but I also don’t want to find sweet Popo pecked to death. Neither of them are remotely tame. I’m working on it, but it’s very slow.

Should I separate them now and make them miserable? I’d rather not, frankly. It seems like their lives have been kind of crappy, and I’d like for them to be maximally happy for a change, and they do make each other happy. But, on the other hand, Parrotlet cage-rage.
 

TikiMyn

Biking along the boulevard
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If they are happy and bonded there is no need to seperate them:)
 

NirAntae

Walking the driveway
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8/1/18
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Gary, IN (Chicagoland)
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Jennie
As TikiMyn said, if they are bonded and happy together there's no need to separate them. However, keep a very close eye on them. If they start showing any signs of aggression towards each other, separate them immediately. It can escalate into the dangerous range before you know it. Even if that becomes necessary, though, there's no need to, like, put them in different rooms. You can keep the two cages right next to each other.
 

Tabracadabra

Meeting neighbors
Joined
9/9/18
Messages
27
Location
Southeast Michigan
I will keep a very sharp eye on them. The male is very easy going, I worry about her bullying him, especially because I’m thinking they came from a much more dismal situation than I was originally told, and that as they get used to more space, better food, lots of toys/foraging, and clean feathers, they might be less clingy with each other.

If that happens: boom, divider time!
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
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Norway
Hi. I have a budgie and a parrotlet. They seem to want to be together whenever they are free, but I don't trust the parrotlet so they have a cage each when I am away, I don't want to leave them in the same cage without supervision.
Another question: is one of your parrotlets blue-eyed:tweety:? I can't remember having seen any parrotlet with such eyes. Mine has brown ones
 

Tabracadabra

Meeting neighbors
Joined
9/9/18
Messages
27
Location
Southeast Michigan
I don’t know much about budgies, but my instinct would also be to protect a budgie from a parrotlet too lol. Even the wildest budgies are sweet kisses compared to a feisty parrotlet.

is one of your parrotlets blue-eyed? I can't remember having seen any parrotlet with such eyes. Mine has brown ones
Yes! My male parrotlet has white-grey eyes like an African Grey. I’m new to parrotlets, but I was surprised as well! I did a bit of research, and it turns out that most young parrotlets have dark eyes, but after the age of two or so, their eyes take on their final color. Some stay dark, some are lighter brown, and some are in blue range like my Popo.

Here’s a pic (of a parrotlet that I do not own) with lighter brown eyes.

6CD412B0-8219-47D0-93AB-37C16BB09D88.jpeg

And a different pic of Popo where you can see his eyes better.

B9E27538-71F4-41A8-99AE-2CA3B5589CD8.jpeg
 

Gribouille

Rollerblading along the road
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Norway
That's cool, I didn't know that! My Twitter could get lighter brown eyes then, he is 1 year old.
 

hedylarue

Meeting neighbors
Joined
6/30/18
Messages
65
If they've been kept together all this time and are bonded, I wouldn't separate them.
 
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