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Princess Parakeet Experience?

Buganjimo

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3/16/18
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Hi there, I've been looking into a parrot for a while now, and had just narrowed it down to two, when I found a princess parakeet looking for a new home. Intrigued by their colours, I looked them up to see their personalities, needs, etc, but I couldn't find much. Has anyone here had experience with these birds and their needs?
 

expressmailtome

Ripping up the road
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Mhert

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Dallas, Texas
From the little I've found they're known to be pretty sweet and affectionate. I'd love to hear more about them if anyone here has one.

 

Buganjimo

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Yeah thats what I’ve heard about them too. Do you know if they bond to you really strongly or are more like other grass parakeets who kind of dont interact with you.
 

Feathered up

Sprinting down the street
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Jamie
I have a normal green male, Remy, that is about 3 years old. He was re-homed to me at about a year old due to uncontrollable biting.

At the time, adding a princess to my flock was my dream. I’ve never regretted bringing Remy home. He WAS nippy but I soon figured out the issue. He was treat trained to “come”. He’s very bright. “If I land on your shoulder, I get a treat!” If you don’t give me a treat I will forage all over you looking for it and nibble until I find it!” I stopped treats unless he landed on the perch and retrained him that perch landing = treat. Biting = nothing.


They are not like the parrots we think of as pet birds. They differ wildly from most parrot species. Princess parrots are not alopreeners (they do not preen each other). This causes them to not be very Cuddly birds as we think of conures or toos. Remy doesn’t respond aggressively to me if I skritch him occasionally (he’s begun to tolerate it) but he does respond aggressively to the other birds that try it as he see it as aggression from them.

He is an excellent talker! He has about a 25 way rd vocabulary at present as well as mimicks several power tools quite well and every song bird that he’s heard over the past two years and Lord HELP me, he perfected my Blue Crown conure’s scream as well as my guinea fowl.

Remy is a Velcro bird. He is bonded very tightly to me and it’s hard to scrape him off my shoulder. He’s a jealous brat and WILL get nippy if I ignore him in favor of another bird. But some of that is my fault. The upside is that having been bitten by some really big beaks, Remy’s bites are more like annoying gnats.

They are birds that feed on grass seed (spinifex) in the wild so they spend a good deal of time foraging on or near the ground. In many respects they are more like doves or pigeons than parrots. You won’t get the comical upside down play that you will from many species. They are not a bird for someone that wants to be entertained by acrobatic antics or wants a bird they can cuddle. They are not a good companion for a lonely bird.

That said, Remy does show affection in his own way. He will snuggle his head under my chin or press his beak against my face and just sit contently. As they are not overtly cuddly, this means the world!

They need a very very large cage for their size because of that beautiful loooong tail and it needs to have a lot of floor space. They aren’t particularly loud birds but they have have a contact call that is so piercing it can make your ears bleed. They just don’t do it often.

I have found a lot of parrot foods are too hard for them. Remy gets parakeet sized pellets if I’m feeding zupreem but he can eat the golden feast medium beak pellets and he gets golden feast Australian blend as a seed mix along with his fruits and veggies (which he still just picks at).

They are very fast flyers and I do not clip Remy. The species is unique in that the flock will gang up on predators and dive bomb like mocking birds. If someone Remy doesn’t know comes in close proximity to me, he tends to exhibit this behavior and has sent more than one person scurrying out of my bird room. :embarassed:
 

Feathered up

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Jamie
Yeah thats what I’ve heard about them too. Do you know if they bond to you really strongly or are more like other grass parakeets who kind of dont interact with you.
Did you make a decision about a princess parrot?
 

Buganjimo

Meeting neighbors
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3/16/18
Messages
40
Yeah. Sadly, by the time I had emailed the person about the bird, it was adopted.
 

Feathered up

Sprinting down the street
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Jamie
Aww that’s a shame. They are really delightful birds. Very difficult to find in many areas.
 
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