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

OzzieTheAlex

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The attributes listed in this thread are the experiences of each individual and your experiences may differ with your individual bird.
The BAD!!



The Alexandrine Parakeet is not a extremely noisy parrot, but they can be loud if they wants to, especially in the morning and afternoon. Some people can not handle their flock call. They are prone to feather plucking, so make sure you have plenty of toys to prevent boredom. Their bites are pretty nasty, they can easily draw blood and their beak size can do a bit of damage. Alexandrine LOVES to chew!!! Make sure you have a lot of toys for them! Ozzie have chewed on my wall, books, newspaper, desk, couch, etc. He would chew on everything that's in his way! :D They may become a one person bird, but as long as you socialize them while they are young, that problem can be solve. It has been reported that some alex was a bit aggressive towards other parrots.

We would like to WELCOME you to fun times

Most Alexandrines will go through a bluffing stage (females are more prone to this than males) when they will probably become aggressive. This stage is completely normal and it will usually last between a few days to even a few months depending on the bird. This is where they will really test your patience! If during this stage any biting is not dealt with properly, then they will become aggressive, which is also called learnt aggression. So it's important you know what to do!

The GOOD!!


Alexandrines makes wonderful pet! Ozzie is very sweet, loving, gentle, intelligent and outgoing. He is independent but is still super playful! We plays peek o boo under a towel before bedtime, and he always tries to scare me by suddenly jumping out from under the towel! ;) Ozzie isn't a super cuddly bird, but he really enjoys being with me, he follows me EVERYWHERE around the house! He really enjoys bathing and he just goes crazy when I spray him with a water bottle. Ozzie is not picky at all! He would eat almost anything I put in his food dish, and he is always interested in what I'm eating. I really need to keep an eye on him because he always steals food from the table! :D When I offered him pellet, he went on it right away! Took like 1 min! :lol:Ozzie is a really good talker! He can say hello, what ya doing, come here, Ozzie, good morning, nite nite, peek o boo, good boy, step up, pretty bird, want a treat, wanna come out, give me kiss and make the kissing sound. And he is only 1/2 year old! :dancing:Ozzie is the clown in our house, he always makes everyone laugh, and he's just such a funny boy! It was very easy to harness train him, although it took 6 weeks, but it went really well! Ozzie is everything I would wish for a parrot and I just love him so much! :heart: But sadly, alexandrine have a bad reputation by lots of people. And a lot of it is from the bluffing stage. Some starters ended up rehoming their alex, they probably didn't know what to do and thought that their alex will always be like aggressive : (

Alexandrines are not for everyone though. They need a owner that is knowledge about the species and their special needs. But once found a perfect match, they are just an awesome pet! :)

The UGLY!!


I can't think of anything for the ugly. It would fit into the bad :o:
 
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Buckbeak

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Thank you! I have always been interested in the Alex, they aren't very popular(because they are illegal:mad:) around here but I love that big beak! :heart:
 
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OzzieTheAlex

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Thank you! I have always been interested in the Alex, they aren't very popular(because they are illegal:mad:) around here but I love that big beak! :heart:
Yeah, they are not very popular and sometime are mistaken for Indian ringneck. It's so sad they are illegal in your area :( I also love their big beak! :D
 

OzzieTheAlex

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Hehe I can't think of anymore :p

They do go through a heavy molt and should molt once a year. So not sure where that fits in :p
They are gentle giants :)
Oh, yeah, forgot about that! :D I also don't know if that's a bad or a good thing....you get lots of pretty feathers, but you also have extra feathers everywhere! :lol:

And they are surly very gentle! Ozzie have only used his beak to give kisses (not include the bluffing stage, I got some nasty bites)! ;)
 

Ashleigh

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Yuki didn't go through a bluffing stage. Though I have heard females do tend to change when the reach sexual maturity. Alex has given my sister a nasty bite before but that's when I first got him. She said it felt like her finger got shut in the door :o:

Yes feathers everyone! They are all over the place atm. Due to alex and yuki molting. c:
 

OzzieTheAlex

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Yuki didn't go through a bluffing stage. Though I have heard females do tend to change when the reach sexual maturity. Alex has given my sister a nasty bite before but that's when I first got him. She said it felt like her finger got shut in the door :o:

Yes feathers everyone! They are all over the place atm. Due to alex and yuki molting. c:
The hardest time Ozzie bit me, it felt like I cut my finger off with a knife! :eek: :lol: It was so painful!

Haha, looking forward to Ozzie's molt, waiting for bird made snow! :lol:Can't wait for Ozzie turning my floor into carpet! :lol:
 

Ashleigh

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Haha I warn you it goes everywhere!:eek:

And ouch, I bet that really hurt, :eek:
Well lets hope you dont get anymore bites from Ozzie :D
 

OzzieTheAlex

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Haha I warn you it goes everywhere!:eek:

And ouch, I bet that really hurt, :eek:
Well lets hope you dont get anymore bites from Ozzie :D
:lol:

Hopefully I won't get any nasty bites, I've know they also change a bit just before they mature, and during breeding season he might gets a bit aggressive. But Ozzie hasn't bit me for about 3 months now! :D
 

Ashleigh

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That's good to hear :D
I have asked other alexandrine owners and they have told me the haven't seen a big change in their male alexandrines when they reached maturity. But they said there is a big change in the females esp when in breeding season. I have a feeling I might be in for a change with Yuki. I hope not cause right now she is just the sweetest little darling :heart:
 

OzzieTheAlex

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That's good to hear :D
I have asked other alexandrine owners and they have told me the haven't seen a big change in their male alexandrines when they reached maturity. But they said there is a big change in the females esp when in breeding season. I have a feeling I might be in for a change with Yuki. I hope not cause right now she is just the sweetest little darling :heart:
Hope she will stay sweet and cuddly forever! :)
 

Ashleigh

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I do hope she stays the same! :D
She was very well socialised and gets handled everyday :D
I still have 2 years. Lets just hope :D
 

LindaD

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:) Thank you so much for this thread! I have enjoyed reading it. Tomorrow night I go to the airport to pick up my newest baby, a Moustached Parakeet named Tirzah. Can't wait!!
 

dwright27

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So.. when it comes to the bluffing stage.. how does one handle it?
 

kathykeltsy

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As far as looks go, they are to me the most beautiful feathered of the parrots. LOVE them. Don't know that I will ever have one, but I can dream.
 

Kathrin

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I love this post, well done ! I have a two-year old Alex called Jeanie. You can see her here: Hippy Happy Parrot Club | Hippy Happy Parrots
She is my special girl and I definately do spoil her.

I agree, Alexandrines need a lot of time, care and affection. There are a lot of people in my town currently selling their Alex's because they say they bite and scream too much and just destroy all their toys. It makes me very sad. Jeanie would scream all the time too if she was bored and was alone all the time. She has never bitten me, but I tried very hard to learn her body language and it took me more than a year to be able to give her scritchies :rolleyes: She loves cuddles now and we both know each other inside out :roflmao:

She is also learning lots of tricks and loves flying laps of the house :wacky:
 

Crystalynnbearr

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So, I thought for sure I had an Indian Ringneck. When we got Chloe, her former owner claimed she was a Ringnec (she also said Chloe was a male so I don't believe she was too knowledge in parrots), the vet didn't correct me but someone on Instagram did! The more research I do, the more I believe we have an Alex. One question, about mating season... how long will this last? She is bonded to my hubby and she WANTS him. Badly. We're not encouraging it, he's ignoring her behavior but I feel bad because she's just sitting in Her cage all day instead of being out playing like usual.
 

Coki

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Great thread! I second the question dwright made. How do you handle the bluffing stage to avoid agressions?

Alexandrines are beautiful *-*
 
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