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The good, the bad, and the ugly about Alexandrine Parakeet

Doris M

Sprinting down the street
Joined
12/28/14
Messages
333
Well, our Lucius is a bit different. We received him in adulthood. It took us YEARS for us being able to touch him. And even now he is not easy going when it means he's away from his cage. He's a bit of a 'home-body' and enjoys his routine (i.e. always goes to bed early, gets his food at the right time etc). He is extremely loud: 1) as alarm when people pass by outside or inside the home and 2) when he's hungry. But he has a very unique personality. He always alerts the dogs of "danger" before they even have a clue. He sticks his tongue out when he's petted on the head. He tricks the dogs into eating food he doesn't want. He loves juice. Through his different noises I can always tell what he is doing. :)
 

Beth In Alaska

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
1/25/16
Messages
1,638
Location
Anchorage, Alaska
Real Name
Beth
We adopted Alexandrine Parakeet Popper in January, and i write this about three months later, so not a huge amount of experience so take with a grain of salt:

The Good:
Popper came to us as an adult of unknown age, obviously well socialized. The term "Gentle Giant" appears to fit him quite well. He is a very social bird, and loves new people, his little GCC buddy and the entire family. He is less certain of his love for my 10 year old ADHD kid but that seems normal to me. He is calm and unperturbed by my dogs and coexists peacefully with them.

He has not bitten or attempted to bite anyone, including his GCC buddy who bites him - he just squawks at her in displeasure. He has raised his beak to my son twice, but not attempted to bite, just again to indicate displeasure (reasonably imo). He eats anything and everything, and was fairly easy to transition to pellets. He loves proteins - eggs, chicken.

He loves to dance, has a very good nature, and is overall a friendly and fun bird. He is NOT a one person bird and wants to meet with all new visitors - which could be a bad if your visitors are frightened of giant red beaks. He is not afraid of new places - we brought him home in a small dog kennel (we didn't intend to get a bird that day but they were in need of an immediate home) and he hung upside down from the top of the kennel making friendly noises and seemed much more curious than frightened. In contrast the GCC was cowering in the corner of the kennel with her eyes closed. His temperament is pretty rock solid.

Overall, he is awesome and we are so lucky to get a rehomed bird that has no real issues. We all think he is fabulous.

The Bad:
He is not a cuddly bird. He likes strokes on his head and kisses on his beak. We are cool with this but he is not a bird for someone who wants to cuddle. He is more dignified than our GCC, and get insulted if you laugh at him for doing something silly like hanging butt first off a perch and being unable to pull up - but was happy to be pushed up by his butt.
He can be loud - he has an ear piercing call when he wants something - but its not like a conure that is loud all the time, he is loud when he wants something.
He can be destructive - we have had to bird proof the entire bird room as he climbs around biting things like the cable wire, the food containers and anything else that is not tied down.
He does appear to be sensitive to bad experiences: we got a harness and he has clearly seen one before and remembers he hates the sight of the thing. We are working on overcoming that but it is slow. He also hates water - and we will need to teach him to take baths - but its been challenging to get him to accept the water.
I hear they are supposed to be great talkers, but Popper can say one word in two voices: Hello. We don't care. Its actually "Duckduckduck hello" and we like it.

The Ugly:
I have none. He is almost the perfect bird, except that he has a beak that COULD really hurt someone should he want to.
 

Robin8888

Sprinting down the street
Joined
12/22/16
Messages
408
Location
Nevada
Real Name
Robin
I saw a pair of Alex at one of the bird stores in town but they weren't for sale.
They are beautiful birds but glad I read all the comments on here about these birds.
I would be concerned with the biting. Noise isn't an issue. But are they noisier than a Sun conure?
 

Beth In Alaska

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
1/25/16
Messages
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Anchorage, Alaska
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Beth
I saw a pair of Alex at one of the bird stores in town but they weren't for sale.
They are beautiful birds but glad I read all the comments on here about these birds.
I would be concerned with the biting. Noise isn't an issue. But are they noisier than a Sun conure?

My Popper has not bitten. He threatens you if you piss him off enough but that is all he does. So not all are bitey. They just COULD bite.
Popper is loud. I think they are not quite as loud as a sun conure, but close.
 

Robin8888

Sprinting down the street
Joined
12/22/16
Messages
408
Location
Nevada
Real Name
Robin
My Popper has not bitten. He threatens you if you piss him off enough but that is all he does. So not all are bitey. They just COULD bite.
Popper is loud. I think they are not quite as loud as a sun conure, but close.
All birds can bird :) I can't see any bird being as louds as a conure other than the really big ones like macaws & cockatoos.
 

Rose Thorne

Moving in
Joined
4/5/17
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5
Real Name
Sammie Gomes
All birds can bird :) I can't see any bird being as louds as a conure other than the really big ones like macaws & cockatoos.
On the contrary! My Alex is only 10w old and her cries are ear piercing!
 

galah!

Walking the driveway
Joined
4/1/17
Messages
183
Location
Australia
Real Name
Pia
my mum is a sucker for Alexandrines, what's more they're a sucker for her! We were at this Bird world in QLD and this Alex would not get off, one of the staff members tried to take him off and he lunged at her pinning his eyes and even said "No":rofl: they coaxed him off with a almond in the end:)
 

Cazcooky

Meeting neighbors
Joined
8/3/17
Messages
43
Real Name
Carol
I had an Alex previously. I didn't notice the bluffing stage, he never bit. He was the most gentle, easy going bird you could imagine. Loved going in the shower.
He picked the combination lock on his cage the day before we moved interstate (or the lock failed), so have used bird/dog proof double redundancy locks since.
 

julietta

Moving in
Joined
9/11/17
Messages
7
Real Name
Julietta
We rescued an IRN 9 months ago, and I now it's hard to imagine life without him.

The Good
These guys are packed full of unique personality. They are curious, persistent, and just generally happy birds. The happy squeaks Habibi makes are enough to make you fall in love in a heartbeat. Unlike most parakeets, ours LOVES to cuddle. We can watch entire movies with him sitting on my husband's chest and stroking him. They don't require a specialized diet like the Lory's do, and while they have impressive beak strength I haven't found them to be particularly destructive. Habibi is very intelligent, enough so that he will test us to see if he can get a treat without doing what we want. He lives in our living room along with our 3 budgies and young alexandrine. They aren't exactly buddies, but they leave one another alone for the most part. It took time for he and I to develop a relationship as he bonded with my husband instead. After about 3 months he finally let me pick him up and cuddle him without my husband having to be in close proximity. I'm not sure IRN's are particularly trusting birds. But they bring so much joy to your life once you gain that trust.

The Bad
Ringnecks can be ridiculously persistent. And moody! Sometimes we never figure out what it is Habibi wants or is upset about; the big three ways of appeasing him are usually 1. Food 2. Toys 3. Cuddles. Sometimes he just gets pissy because we aren't doing what he wants fast enough! They can be really stubborn. Habibi knows how to step up, and to fly to us when we say "come". He knows this, and will make a move to do so, but then change his mind and squawk at you to bring the treat to him instead of the other way around. If he decides something is his, including the poop on the ground, he makes a point of screaming when you try to clean it up. There are also certain areas of the house he has claimed, which means I have to be careful which shelf I place my phone on if I don't want it knocked onto the floor XD When we first got him, he made a point of flipping over his food dish, water dish, and every other container he could move. Honestly, most of these things are just funny, but I think it's still good for you to know about them.

The Ugly
Sonic death ray. Tinnitus is a genuine concern. My husband and I live in an apartment, which means we are especially nervous about loud noises. The first time we brought Habibi home, he screamed for 5 days with only the occasional break. Please understand that I am not exaggerating. I have never heard an animal shriek like that. When he is on your shoulder and decides to complain, it feels like a needle striking your ear drum. But you have to remember that just like with babies, they have no other way of communicating with you. Habibi does his best to tell us exactly what is up, but we won't always get it right. They also are emotional creatures which means that not every action will make sense! IRN's can be excruciatingly loud when they are angry. And incredibly loud when they are happy too! But those happy sounds make me look forward to getting home after work.

Ringnecks are all around awesome. As long as you remember that they are basically feathered toddlers, you will do just fine.

Habibi isn't a pet, he's my companion. A flawed fantastic companion.
 

Hem68

Moving in
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3/4/19
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11
Real Name
Heather
Im interested to in how to handle any aggresion or biting. :wideyed:
 

fashionfobie

Biking along the boulevard
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Qld, Australia
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Natalie
@Hem68 There is not an easy fix to aggression or biting.

The thing I have notice with my Pi (he is not an alex, but they have some shared similarities), he isn't really territorial. Any time he has shown "aggression" (and is is a very sweet and placid bird) it seems to be related to a feeling of being trapped. This is why they can be hand shy or nippy in the cage. They don't like the idea that they can't get away. Pi loves me and trusts me absolutely. He falls asleep on my shoulder and follows me all around the house. He spends the night in his cage and he has grown accustomed to the routine of me putting my hand in there to bring him out for breakfast. However if he doesn't understand why my hand is in the cage, like in the middle of the day when he decided to go in for a snack, he will open his beak at me. I understand he is telling me.... hey hey hey.. what is this hand doing here? I just take my hand away. I get a favourite snack or his training stuff and he excitedly hops out. He understands why I am asking for him to come out. These birds normally live in very open areas. They aren't a species that tuck themselves away into tiny things (unless nesting). So they can feel overwhelmed if they don't have an out. I would start introducing your alex to clicker and touch training. Pi loves it. He picks up tricks fast. He is very exuberant for training sessions. It is also a fun way for us to interact.


This might be helpful for you to read over
Species Profile Alexandrine Parakeet - Hari
 
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