Quick Rosella Questions

[MLS]

Hello all Long time no see! Life's been really busy and as such, its set back my hopeful plans to adopt a larger parrot for a few years more ( Fine by me, more time to research and gather funds ) However, I very much miss having birds in my life and am considering getting a Rosella or two sometime next year if things pan out like they should. Rosella's have simply enchanted me with their looks, in particular the Rubino and Blue morphs.

I just have a few questions that I haven't been able to find answers to as they're usually just aviary birds; are Rosella's like budgies in the fact that they do better with a friend/companion? I'm not against getting two, however I've found someone near me that hand-raises them and from what I've read they're hands-off in that they don't like scritches and cuddling but may be friendly and perch on you and enjoy human interaction. I would be perfectly happy with that level of interaction where I could let him/her out to fly about and free-range in my living room while home and he/she would come and visit and perch on me but not necessarily care for being touched. When I was younger, I had a pair of budgies that lived like that and they were very pleasant company.

Would this cage ( A&E Cage Company Flight Cage Bird Cage at PETCO ) or this cage (A&E Double Flight Cage with Divider 64x21 - SMALL BIRD CAGES by MY SAFE BIRD STORE) be appropriate to house one or two Golden Mantel Rosellas? Too large? Too small? Barspacing? Which do you think would work better? I just want y'alls opinion

If anyone here has experience with Rosellas as pets and not purely aviary birds, I'd welcome personal stories as well

 

[PortaPerch]

We caught an escapee in a neighbor's yard last year, and he never did settle down to be part of the family, so we gave him to a woman to keep at the local Montessori school..



Rosella is a brand of foods in Oz.

 

[chilover]

My best friend had a rosella and she kept it in the A&E single flight cage. I'd go with the double flight cage with divider not the Petco cage. They like width more than height. I have 19 parrots but no rosella's. I have 4 of the single flight cages and love them, needed a larger one for my bourkes so my husband took out two of the breeder doors and made a lexon tunnel between them so they go back and forth.

Cathy

 

[MLS]

Thanks I thought the petco cage looked a bit tall but wasn't sure. Can anyone comment on if Rosellas do better in pairs though? Or would one be fine as a single bird?

 

[Daisy's Mom]

Bumping for you..

 

[Twitter09]

I have no personal Rosella experience but from what I've heard, they can be mean to other birds - to the point of biting and injuring them. So, if you can only keep Rosellas, it might be optimal. As for getting 2, they would probably like that but I would make sure both are hand-raised so they stay friendly. Sometimes a "wild" bird bought as a companion for a tame bird, makes the original get un-tame!

I also have a hands-off bird, a Scarlet Chested Parakeet. He is not "wild" and was briefly hand-raised but has not become finger-tame. I let him fly around my house and he will occasionally land on my arm or fly to the back of my chair but he does not step up when I want him to. But he returns to his own cage so he's no problem like this. He is extremely non-aggressive and gets along well with my Bourke Parakeets.

 

[bellaine]

that beautiful parakeet is similiar to one i had was called a grass parakeet so colourful i am after another one now after losing him/her cant find any in the uk , only breeding pairs and im not a breeder

 

[Jabba]

Rosellas are quite skittish and flighty so they really need to be in largish aviaries. Something at least 2.5m long is ideal. They aren't really suited to the cages that you've linked to.

 

[Stormcloud]

Rosellas need to be housed separately to any other birds. They are extremely aggressive towards other birds. I would recommend that you get one that has been hand-raised and doesn't possess any psychological problems. Stressed or bored rosellas tend to barber their feathers, so they need to be entertained and have a lot of toys rotated through the cage on a regular basis. A pair is less likely to get lonely, but will get very aggressive come spring. If you wish to keep other birds as well, then unless you're prepared to have separate out of cage times in a separate room, I'd recommend you look elsewhere. These are very intelligent birds that the most wonderful song and are capable of learning the songs of other birds. Cage size will vary according to species as they range in size between 80g up to 200g. I'd be looking for a cage size of 48" X 30" to cover all bases. Hope this helps.

 

[Hugo]

Rosella's are a breed to look at, not handle. They don't tame well even hand raised they don't seem to enjoy human company. of course you will eventually find an exception but generally a hands off bird. Come spring they will get aggressive. They are best in an aviary situation and come breeding time only one pair per cage.

 

[Steve Weir]

You're right Rosellas don't like being "Smothered" but will sit on your arm/hand and eat. We are lucky because not too far from where we live is a place called the Dandenong Ranges there is a park there where you can hand feed Crimson Rosellas, King Parrots and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. They are all wild bird it's so awesome.

 

[blackivory]

I would never cage a Rosella. They just aren't suited to caged life.

 

[Nissili]

I would personally go for giving them something with space so they can have room in their cage to be comfortable and get exercise if they have trouble being out around you - in the event it's less people-friendly and doesn't tame easily. That's just me though, I haven't owned one - I'm going off an estimation from what I've read/been told and what I would do, just to clarify.

 

[AYA]

I have no experience with pet rosellas, but I have made friends with a pair of Crimson Rosellas that visit my yard-- they'll land on me and chew at my hair or eat from my hands, and they bring their young to meet me every season. They are very shy and skittish birds, but with some effort they can be fairly friendly. They are aggressive towards other birds that are smaller than them (save for the rainbow lories, who are vicious lol). I don't know if they do better in pairs or not, as I only see groups composed of juveniles, breeding pairs, and single parrots who are forraging while retaining communication with another bird some distance away.

Of course, this is all based off of wild rosellas (and possibly not ones of the species that you're looking at), but I do think that with enough patience and respect a hand-raised crimson could make for a good, if distant, companion. As long as you don't expect it to be cuddly like, say, a conure, then I think it could work out well enough