The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about Lineolated Parakeets

[Birdlvr1925]

Hello, I'm a new member and looking to adopt my first Linnie in the near future. I enjoyed reading your info and it all seems to make sense. I stumbled upon another article while surfing the net and came across a page of facts that seemed totally opposite to what you and others have stated. I wasn't overly confident in the other write up so I thought I would post the link so you could read it and maybe help make sense as to why anyone would be inclined to believe and write about the opposite information to yours and others. Also, it was like they were generalizing all Linnie's to be characteristic of their info.
Here's the link:
The New “Small Bird”: The Lineolated Parakeet | Petcha

Could you maybe start s threat to discuss common myths and misinformation about Linnie's?

 

[Lady Jane]

I have read articles written by this person before and there is, in my opinion, mostly fluff. Not much substance. Its true Linnies prefer to climb than fly. My Linnies were never cage aggressive.

 

[JLcribber]

Could you maybe start s threat to discuss common myths and misinformation about linnie's?

"You" should start a new thread with your questions. Posting it here it's buried deep in a sticky.

 

[jmfleish]

All of mine were left flighted and they seem to like to fly and they like to fly a lot. It is true that they tend to like to play with foot toys a lot and will use their feet a lot of the time though. They are also kind of like monkeys and will climb on toys a great deal as well, but I think it's silly to say they don't enjoy flying if given a chance to find out what those wings are for. Their toenails do grow quickly and you have to keep up with them and I would stay away from toys made out of anything that they can get those nails stuck in, anything with frilly stuff. I've lost a few to toys of this nature and will never buy anything like it again. The Booda perches are fine, it's just the toys that have rope that is frayed is a no go. They do best in pairs or anything even. When you start doing odd numbers, they can get aggressive with each other. They aren't cage aggressive and aren't particularly aggressive except they can beat up on each other if you have too many, no matter how big the space, at least this is what I have seen. Generally, they are fun and curious little birds who tend to be hand shy but are a hoot to watch play.

 

[Seth]

I am having a great time with Itzy, my turquoise Linnie. She is about five months old and I've had her for about six weeks. As I write this, she is perched on my glasses, where she loves to sit and press against my forehead. Compared to the 'American parakeet' that I raised when I was a kid, she is quiet but does chirp along to country radio.
She is really curious about most things, and loves to climb to the top of her cage (which I leave open when I'm home) and "patrol the perimeter". I'm not sure what she is protecting her cage from, but let's just say that she keeps a close eye on her "neighborhood".
When she first came home, she was very happy to be out of the cage and crawl all over my wife and me any time. I am retired so I'm home most of the day, and spend a lot of time sitting near her cage, talking to her and singing a bit. She likes to perch on my shoulder and supervise while I cut fruit and veggies for her, and like other posters have mentioned she loves to eat (especially hand feeding).
But now that she's discovered the toy wonderland that I turned her cage into, I notice that she is much more interested in being in and around her cage (or the playground I put next to it) than being with humans, although she likes my visits. She plays a lot and seems quite happy...thank goodness she is so fun to watch and interact with, because I'm not sure if she will warm back up to "human time". If it turns out that she just doesn't want to spend a lot of her out of cage time with me, I will look at getting her a companion, but I'm still hoping that she'll choose me!

 

[Lady Jane]

That is a heartwarming post Seth. Itzy is a sweet bird as most Linnies are. This particular species of bird will flourish with a cage mate. Yes they do love to climb. Can you post a photo of her?

 

[Seth]

Here you go

 

[Lady Jane]

She is beautifully colored.

 

[Seth]

Itzy seems like a happy camper! Since I first posted, she continues to do something new every day. It seems that she's decided her "human time" is at breakfast. After sharing some egg white and fruit with me, she likes to supervise clean up efforts from my shoulder and she spends anywhere from a half hour to about an hour hanging out with me watching tv, listening to music or watching videos on youtube. She is also getting very clear about letting me know when she wants attention. These "baby days" are fun...hope she continues to grow into our household

 

[laura c]

I just adopted a 6 year old male named kiwi. The previous owner described him as very social and sweet. Its been almost 2 weeks now and hes extremely cage aggressive. He was/is obsessed with his reflection, and I found him mating with a toy last night. Hes clearly wanting a friend/mate which is good b/c I have 4 other birds. My cockatiel is definitely my companion and I'm hoping he will eventually warm up so they can be out together. I was concerned this morning with his aggression bc he lunged at me while I was changing out waters and food, and he fired a huge runny poop at me that sprayed the wall. Does anyone have any sage advice for handling this behavior? I'm certainly not about to throw in the towel.. I would just like him to feel more at ease so we can interact.. even if he doesn't want to be with me like my cockatiel. Thanks Everybody!

 

[jk2563]

Thank you so much for this! I have had my first linnie for a little over a week now and I was really perplexed at his aggression toward me every night. This is the first "article" that I have found to explain it. All of the information offered is so helpful that I'm bookmarking the link. Thank you! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!!

Attaching a photo of my 2 year old rescue from a hoarding situation. His name is Kolbe.

 

[Matto]

In my experience linnies and their personalities vary widely from bird to bird. I have some that want nothing to do with me and some that won't leave me alone. My experience is that they need persistent handling and training, similar to parrotlets.

Of those who like people, I have found them to be some of the best companion birds out there. They are clownish, funny, thoughtful, intelligent, loving birds. They can be cuddly, but it's on their terms. One nice thing that I've noticed is that even bonded pairs will enjoy human interaction and companionship.

They alternate playful and calm. Sometimes they want to sit on my shoulder and preen my beard for hours, other times they run around playing with everything on my desk. The young ones need opportunities to get out their energy, and if you don't let them out to do some laps around the house they will get antsy in their cage and pick on one another. They can be very skilled fliers. It's been my observation that they are very energetic when young and then gradually get calmer as they age.

They can generally be considered quiet but their contact calls are just horrible, and if separated from a mate they will do them non-stop for weeks.

They eat and drink a lot for their size, and the size and consistency of their poop shows it.

They all love a good misting.

 

[Dona]

Hey Matt, nice to see an update in our Linnie section. Gigi, at 8 months (today!) continues to be a joy. She has a ton of personality in a small and pretty quiet package. I spend lots of time with her every day (in and out of the cage) and she continues to be super friendly and interested in everyone. Although she hasn't added any more trick whistles in a few months, I've noticed that she has more and more different vocalizations now. I know what some of them mean, especially her new frustrated chortle/chirp about her Nutri-berry falling through the cage grate.

 

[TheBirds]

Well I thought I'd contributed to this thread but I guess not! We've had a Linnie for several months now I feel somewhat qualified to post

The Good:

Everything. She's observant, playful, and quiet. For anyone in a condo or apartment or otherwise sensitive to noise, you need to seriously consider a Linnie. She'll chortle if I have the vacuum going or if I start whistling, but otherwise, you'd never know we had a bird! I also find her to be relatively clean - tidying out her cage isn't much of an event, honestly. She happily eats pellets along with certain fruits and vegetables, so we've had no issues whatsoever with her diet. Easy peasy!

Bad:

We do find her to be cautious and hand-shy, as she's not one to readily jump onto a hand to come out of her cage. She likes to come out on her own terms! We have had success with her on my shoulder (although she also likes to nibble on clothing, so hasn't had many opportunities to hang out on anyone's shoulder). I will say, she's got sloppy poop, which isn't pleasant when it lands on clothing or furniture.

Ugly:

Nada.

 

[sriseahawk]

Well I thought I'd contributed to this thread but I guess not! We've had a Linnie for several months now I feel somewhat qualified to post

The Good:

Everything. She's observant, playful, and quiet. For anyone in a condo or apartment or otherwise sensitive to noise, you need to seriously consider a Linnie. She'll chortle if I have the vacuum going or if I start whistling, but otherwise, you'd never know we had a bird! I also find her to be relatively clean - tidying out her cage isn't much of an event, honestly. She happily eats pellets along with certain fruits and vegetables, so we've had no issues whatsoever with her diet. Easy peasy!

She sounds like a sweetie, any pics?
What's her name?

 

[TheBirds]

That is a heartwarming post Seth. Itzy is a sweet bird as most Linnies are. This particular species of bird will flourish with a cage mate. Yes they do love to climb. Can you post a photo of her?

It's funny you say this because we did bring home another Linnie who had been surrendered by her owners last year (she's a lovely little thing and we're happy we had the opportunity to add her to our household!).

We kept them in separate cages side-by-side and noticed both were starting to grind their beaks against a corner of the cage nearest to one another as though they were trying to engineer an escape. So after about six months of monitoring them while they were out of their cages together, we started giving them supervised playdates in the same cage and kept the door open in case someone needed to make a quick escape. That went well, and this week, they moved in together permanently! The escape attempts have since stopped and they're even quieter now than they were when in two separate cages. (We're hanging on to the second cage for now just in case).

 

[April]

@Daisy Wolf have you read this thread?