Personality of a Linnie

[Lady Jane]

For those of you considering a Linnie as a pet here are some highlights of what they are like

The Lineolated is indeed a good choice for the person who wants a smaller, easy-to-care-for pet. Their average lifespan is about 10 years, but individual birds have been known to live up to 15 years - so they are less of a commitment than the larger parrots who can live up to 80 or more years.

Lineolated parakeets offer the advantages of "parrot ownership" without the major life adjustments that would come with owning one of the larger, more destructive, noisier and high-maintenance parrots. They are said to have a sweeter temperament than budgies, lovebirds or parrotlets - who have a reputation for being more aggressive by nature. A hand-fed, single pet lineolated parakeet often bonds very tightly to its owner and can be defensive of him or her. They are playful, fun little beings and can often be seen hanging upside down from their perches, sometimes even from one foot!

They are playful and tend to be quiet - chattering rather than screeching. They like to chatter in the early and late hours of the day -- as birds generally like to do. Other than those times, they usually remain quiet unless something strange happens or someone unfamiliar enters into their sight, or when trying to get your attention - at feeding times, for example. At those times, they can emit a high pitched contact call or an excited loud twittering.

People particularly enjoy the fact that they are such capable talkers. Some of them may learn to talk as youngsters, barely a few months old. Their speech is very clear, but their vocabulary tends to be limited. They are adept at learning all kinds of sounds and whistles.

 

[wyrinth]

They should also come with WARNING labels.....

WARNING: Extremely addictive, you will not be able to stop at one, or two, or.........

 

[Lady Jane]

Yes Linnies are like potato chips.

 

[KayKhaos]

My partner is slowly convinceing me to get 2 more... I wish but I can't. One day!!!

 

[karen256]

That's all I had heard when I first got my linnie and I was expecting a bird much different from what I got. What I only found out later is that they are also very hand shy and, while not exactly unfriendly, are not demonstrative or affectionate.

Yes they are fairly quiet and low maintenance but they are also not birds you can really do much with (at least as adults). Just so people don't have unrealistic expectations. Lovebirds, parrotlets, and budgies may be more aggressive sometimes but they also tend to be much more interactive and affectionate. With my other birds, including a budgie, if I talk to them in an excited, happy voice, they get excited too and want to fly over and play and interact. Kiwi the linnie - no reaction whatsoever. His nickname here is Mr. Grumpy, he just doesn't seem to want attention or interaction, really, from either people or other birds. He's tame enough and is happy to fly over if he thinks he might get a treat - and sometimes just because my shoulder looks like a good place for a nap. And he is cute, very gentle-natured, even talks a tiny bit. But linnies just aren't the best bird to get if you want a bird that will act happy to see you.
I want to think he likes me a little, but it's impossible to really tell if he likes me or if I'm just the treat dispenser.
Oh and I should add that I suspect their mostly very stoic nature has to do with them being a species that is more highly camouflaged than other parrots, more than actual unfriendliness. They tend to not react much when upset or scared, either - they just freeze up.

 

[Macgyver]

I had a female linnie, and now I have a young male. They are completely different in many ways! She was laid back, he isn't. She loves peas, hates broccoli, he loves broccoli and hates peas. She never hopped in her life, he is practicing hops 100 times a day. She sat nicely on the shoulder, he is crawling all over. She ate her big pellets nice and slow, he eats only tiny pellets and dips them. She loved the tent, he crabs at it and beats it up. She cricketed all the time, he hasn't made that sound once. She only chatted if no one was looking, he does it proudly in front of an audience. She would tweet super-loudly when dad came home, then would flirt shamelessly with dad, he doesn't. She owned the couch, he doesn't. She would not tolerate kid hands, he does. She was a perch potato, he plays with every toy. I could go on...

 

[KayKhaos]

I find my 2 linnies just love being with us. Loki will fly to me on Camand and they both arnt very hand shy anymore (Lots of work).

Cynder is very shy but I can actually pet her while Loki you cannot she wI'll chire you out.
Loki always wants to be on you and see what your doing, eating what your eating and Cynder rather hide under a blanket. Loki loves to fly! She's being very acrobatic lately! And Cynder... well she's like a bowling ball but getting better at flying.
I do agree it's pretty tough to train them but it is doable with lots, and LOTS of time. I'm alway curious about others Linnies and the sounds they make.

 

[Lady Jane]

I find my male and female to be very different also. My female is still so very shy and afraid of the world outside of the cage. I have been waiting for their flight feathers to grow back for a long time now. I have been taking the female Tango out of her cage two times per day for pampering. My male is very outgoing and will even hop on a strangers shoulders. Both remain shy of my hands but will not step up if they are out of the cage.

 

[wyrinth]

I find my 2 linnies just love being with us. Loki will fly to me on Camand and they both arnt very hand shy anymore (Lots of work).

What did you do specifically? Sometimes the hand shyness bothers me, sometimes not...but would love ideas how to get them over it.

 

[Lady Jane]

Its strange since hand shyness seems to be in the species rather than the individual bird. Many Linnies owners are saying that their birds fear their hands. I make a point of once per day holding each bird one at a time in the cup of my hand and sing to them and talk to them softly. They do relax. I have no idea of this is helping them not to fear my hands. Millet does not work nor any other treat. Since my two birds are cage bound until flights grow back this is about the only thing I can think of to do. My female gets so scared she does open beak breathing and trembling when she first is in my hand. Then she calms down until the next time.

 

[wyrinth]

But is this helping them not be handshy? For example, do they stop running away from your hands?

 

[Lady Jane]

The answer to you question is I do not know yet. They run away from my hands when I get them out of the cage because they now I will handle them. Will not step up while in the cage but will do so when out of the cage. I keep holding them out of the cage otherwise they both will jump all the way to he floor and run away under furniture. If in the bathroom which is where I mostly do this pampering I do not want them to jump to floor because it is not a soft landing.

 

[wyrinth]

That sounds like they are more handshy, which is my experience when I tried to "force" Stitch to step up. You said in your previous post that they are becoming less hand shy....what do you mean by this?

 

[Lady Jane]

They step up when I have them in the bathroom from a mirror perch to my finger. This is relatively new. It's a totally different behavior inside cage
Sorry to confuse you.

 

[KayKhaos]

But is this helping them not be handshy? For example, do they stop running away from your hands?

I always have my hand near them, inch it closer, touch my finger to there beak. Talk to them. I've always tried to have my hand in positive ways and if they didn't like what I was doing I'd retreat my hand till they calmed down.
Took Loki a year and Cynder likes to mimic Loki so that helped. Cynder I cannot touch her beak with my finger like Loki but I can almost pet her. Loki will cheap me out if I even dare touch a feather.

 

[KayKhaos]

Has anyone seen some videos on instagram on linnies? Some of them have linnies just loving the scritches! So cute!

Can only hope one day, I always wish I had the guts to ask how they got that far with their linnies.

 

[wyrinth]

Has anyone seen some videos on instagram on linnies? Some of them have linnies just loving the scritches! So cute!

Can only hope one day, I always wish I had the guts to ask how they got that far with their linnies.

I don't think fingers are as good as beaks . Stitch loved scritches when he was a lone bird and during the bonding process when Pikachu wasn't grooming him. But once he started getting regular preening from another Linnie he no longer liked my fingers poking his head. This seems to be common among owners of multiple linnies. Pikachu never cared for human scritches, but she also steps up a lot more readily and doesn't really have a problem with hands outside the cage, unlike Stitch who acts like my fingers are some kind of Venus fly trap plant

 

[Lady Jane]

My male loves to have his beak gently scratched. Female is not to that point yet. I think it is a matter of consistency. My holding them separately each day is slowly paying off. Female is trembling less and does not mind my gently touches. Male is OK with the beak touching.

 

[Lady Jane]

Bumping.

 

[Dona]

Thanks for bumping this LJ. I'll chime in with Gigi's personality especially since we have some brand new Linnie parents.

Linnies are the same and quite different aren't they? Maybe a part of it is if they are singles or pairs, not sure. I could get Gigi out of the cage on my hand only for the first few days. Then, no. She would flee or even nip if cornered. Now I open the cage door and she happily hangs from it for a while, getting as close to me as possible. Then she works her way around the outside of the cage, maybe ends up on top, or hanging from the side. Eventually she flies to the chair next to the cage, to my lap if I am sitting in front or to the floor. Then she's happy to step up. During her out time I carry her around on my finger, sit with her and watch TV or give her a spray bath. She would like to be on my shoulder but she bites my freckles, poops on me and gets caught in my long hair. I've tried a few things to cover those areas but it doesn't really work. She scrambles and nips to get away from my hand if I want her elsewhere. So she's not a shoulder bird. I don't pet her when out, she really doesn't like it. I do touch her beak and she will touch my face very gently. She seems to like just hanging out with me, on my finger or my lap. After her bath, I often put her on the top of the cage where I built a play gym with rope perches, toys and a few wooden T stands. She flaps a lot and gets her feathers just right. She will step up from there to go back to the cage.

When she is in her cage, she is super excited to see me and gets as close as possible. She often hangs from the cage exposing her belly and I can pet her until I'm tired of it. She would stay forever it seems. I try to get close to her face/neck and sometimes that works but she would prefer just her belly. Each day we have a routine with her cage. She has a cage in our dining room (which is really our grandchildren's playroom), with a view to the kitchen and family room. She stays there each morning. At lunchtime I move her to the family room in front of the window to our covered deck. She doesn't seem scared at all to be in front of the window, sings with the outside birds and basically seems relaxed but stimulated by being where we are. I play music and the TV and we are coming in and out. If I have a project on the computer or a book I often sit next to her. (I'm right next to her now!) I take her back to her room at 7PM, lights dimmed at 8:30, lights out at 9.

She has 3 trick whistles so far and does them often, for us when we are around or just little quiet ones in between her chortles. She does a juicy kiss when I ask "You got any kisses?" or "Give me a kiss!" She also does a come here whistle (like you would do for a dog) and a wolf whistle. It took very little to teach them to her.

It was recommended to me (on this forum) to get 2 Linnies and I did have the opportunity to get sisters, Gigi and a Lutino, but the breeder suggested that I don't, just be Gigi's other Linnie. I think it's great for birds to have a buddy in their cage, my caiques had each other for many years, but I feel confident that I can give Gigi what she needs. She's a single bird in a house where my husband and I are retired and our grandchildren and kids are here often. So it's a rich environment. I can always revisit it at some point but I don't think I'm being selfish. Gigi seems very happy.

Geez, this was long. Gigi is 4 months old today and I am just thrilled to have her as a family member.