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Newly Widowed Parrotlet Seems So Alone

Flyover

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I adopted two female parrotlets a year ago. A woman at a bird fair asked me to take them because one was disabled and no one would take her, and she would not split up the pair.

The non disabled bird died over the 4th weekend, and now the disabled one looks completely lost and alone. The two had the tightest bond I have ever seen with birds. I have rematched a Bourkes parakeet and a society finch when one died, but parrotlets are relatively new to me.

The disabled bird is very shy, but she has been calling all day to her friend. In fact, it is after 8:00 and I still hear her.

I know that most people keep parrotlets as solo birds, but I am not sure this one is cut out to be alone. What´s more, I don´t have the space for two cages in case I got another and it did not work out.

I am very sad for the bird that I buried this morning, but I am even sadder for the one she left behind.

Has anyone had any experience attempting to bond two older parrotlets? I am in no rush, but listening to her call out endlessly and in vain is kind of heartbreaking. IMG_1117.JPG


New Disabled Parrotlet: Need Cage Advice | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 

Birdbabe

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I'm so sorry, she will grieve the loss of her friend, it takes time, meanwhile spend as much time as you can with her. This may sound weird, but did you show her the deceased friend? They are aware of such things and that way she doesn't think the friend just abandoned her. I hope she heals soon.
 

Flyover

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Thanks so much. She did see her friend. I like to think it registered on some level.

The surviving one is extremely shy, I think because she does not move very well. (I set up a tiered cage for her to climb rather than fly, and I do not have room for it in my main bird room.) The other one was the livewire, who climbed out of the cage every morning to demand to be hand fed a treat. I have never even touched this one and she always shrinks away when I approach.

I don´t know how old they were. She may be a senior herself and not have that much time left, but I want it to be a good ending for her if that is the case.
IMG_1118.JPG
 

JLcribber

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I know that most people keep parrotlets as solo birds, but I am not sure this one is cut out to be alone. What´s more, I don´t have the space for two cages in case I got another and it did not work out.

Who told you that? If they do they are uninformed and just causing unneeded stress, anxiety and loneliness. Besides that their situations are not your situation. Your bird "needs" companionship. Even more so because it is disabled (just how disabled are we talking about?)

Of course you have the space. If you want that space you will make it. Get rid of some furniture. For the birds sake.
 

Barbara2

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She needs a friend, poor little girl!!
 

finchly

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Who told you that? If they do they are uninformed...


That is the general consensus here in Florida, and I am talking about breeders as well. The suggestion is that a parrotlet will not do well with a friend, because he "won't bond with you," and will not do well with other species because "he is too aggressive.'' So it is recommended that you keep only a single p'let.

But I think in this case you need a friend because it already had a friend, and also because it is disabled. Just introduce them slowly, from separate cages at first.
 

javi

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I am sure she would benefit from any bird friend. Parrotlet would be best but may enjoy talking to any bird. It is sad that any person would get any one bird and not have a friend for it. They need someone that knows their language.

Any update how she is doing?
 

SandraK

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That is the general consensus here in Florida, and I am talking about breeders as well. The suggestion is that a parrotlet will not do well with a friend, because he "won't bond with you," and will not do well with other species because "he is too aggressive.'' So it is recommended that you keep only a single p'let.

But I think in this case you need a friend because it already had a friend, and also because it is disabled. Just introduce them slowly, from separate cages at first.
It looks like she has splayed legs and as for the "don't get a companion" section of life, I have fids that don't particularly care to be in my company but the fact that they are happy with a feathered companion of their choice (in my case) is worth more to me than a bird being bonded to me. More so if it makes that bird happy.
 

Flyover

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Thanks for all the advice.

@finchly - I have read what you wrote on several sites. I know that parrotlets can be territorial and pugnacious. My one that passed was both, though she loved her friend. I wouldn't have crossed her as a strange bird, however. I didn't even want to cross her as a human daring to scrub the inside of her cage.

I wound up finding someone on Craigslist who was rehoming his parrotlets. They were a m/f pair, and someone else wanted only the male.

So I have a new female.

The guy told me that she was very quiet, and he wasn't kidding. I have yet to hear any vocalization. She is also very shy, so unlike my parrotlet who passed, but much like the one that I still have. I am hoping that the two personalities will therefore mesh okay.

She is still in quarantine, so the two do not yet know about each other.

@javi - My old bird is in my upstairs aviary (large bathroom) near a cage with two budgies. She is definitely interested in them, and at dusk she crawls over to the corner of her cage closest to theirs and sleeps. (Before, she slept on a perch with the other parrotlet.) She will not come out of her cage by herself, though she used to follow the other one out regularly. She still calls out for stretches of time. I can hear her through the open window when I am working in the yard and wonder if she might hear some bird outside that she wants to communicate with.

@SandraK - it does look like she has splayed legs in that photo, but she really doesn't. I think she might stand like that sometimes for balance, as her head is tilted in that position all the time. I believe at some point before I got her that she flew into something and became disabled. Maybe something with the vertebrae. She does do a small amount of flying, even horizontally, within her cage. She won't take food from my hand, and I don't think she will ever really be very comfortable around a person, which makes me that much more determined to give her company. As you said, it's less about me, and more about the bird being happy.
 

javi

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Dilute turquoise maybe. Hard to tell with lighting but that is my guess
 

Flyover

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IMG_5616.JPG Success!

I moved the quarantine cage into the bird room, and they had a couple of days as next-door neighbors. My old bird was unbelievably excited. I think she wanted to crawl through the bars. The new bird seemed slightly indifferent, but warmed up after a while. This morning they were looking at each other longingly (as well as I could make out), so I offered the new bird the opportunity to climb out of her quarantine cage and into the big cage.

They were preening each other and cuddling in under a minute.

They're both astonishingly subdued for parrotlets, but now they've got each other.
 

finchly

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That is so exciting! And your new bird is my favorite color, dilute turquoise. :)
 

Lwalker

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They look so sweet, cuddled in their little corner. :heart:
 
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