Princess Parrot Behaviour

[nikkisunny]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and relatively new to owning a parrot. I have owned budgies in the past but have stepped it up and have decided to become the owner of a princess parrot. I purchased my princess parrot (name is Sunny) when he was roughly 7 weeks old from a breeder who was hand rearing him at the time. He is now 11 weeks old and no longer being hand reared. I bought Sunny home and was successful in hand rearing him for approx 3 days prior to bringing him home and then it was as though he no longer wanted a bar of being fed with the hand rearing formula. He began to drink water and then I introduced him to seed which he loves! He also loves apple and carrot. I was told by the breeder that Sunny looked as though he could be a male but I have read that the typical charactistics of a mature male can't be distinguished until the bird is past it's first moult which is around the 1.5 - 2 year mark. Even then its not 100% certain as some female princesses resemble males. Sunny is always eager for time out of the cage and will step up 98% of the time (inside or outside of the cage) he has his good days and bad days. When he is on my shoulder he nibbles my hair and clothing (loves jewellery also) but can become quite rough at times and will bite a little too hard. I'm unsure if this is aggression or just playfulness. He gets nippy when fingers are put too close to his face and doesn't really like to be patted all that much. My partner and myself handle him every day and vocally interact with him through the cage and outside of the cage. Can anybody give me any kind of answers as to why my bird is doing what it's doing and is it normal? I'd hate to have a negative relationship with him as upon purchasing my princess I wanted a companion and not just a pet. Thank you and any information and advice will be much appreciated!

[avinet]

Hi Nikki and welcome to the Forum.  Hopefully we can help you with your new Princess.

Princess Parrots are great birds to have as a pet - I have a pair that I hand reared and which are now about 17 years old.  They still are a delight to have around the house, happy, playful and mischievous - always regarding life as there to have fun.  They get up in the morning excited about the day ahead and go to bed excited about the day they just had.  Great birds.

I'm glad that Sunny weaned OK - it is always a risk to take on the hand rearing of a baby when you have no experience in feeding.  So much can go wrong with the early indications of a problem subtle and easily missed until too late.  However you appear to have avoided that which is great.

Firstly diet - Make sure the seed that you buy a good quality mix.  Ideally for a Princess buy a Budgie mix - I'm currently using Golden Cob - and I buy separately Grey-striped Sunflower seed.  I then add a small amount of sunflower to the Budgie mix when I change the seed dish - about 5 or 6 sunflower seeds is sufficient.  Sunflower seed is very high in fat - think where Sunflower cooking oil comes from - and too much fat is a long term killer to almost all parrots, Princesses included.  However sunflower also contains some very important amino acids that may not be in other foods so a little bit will provide those necessary nutrients.  Almost all small parrot mixes availalbe contain far too much sunflower as well a safeflower (an unnecessary seed doing more harm than good).  Also provide some fresh vegetable and a bit of fruit as well, every day.  Seed is actually a poor diet nutritionally and the fresh food will provide many of the missing nutrients.  Have a look at the diet information in my article at scas.org.au/html/pet_parrot_care.html for suggestions of suitable fresh food - and I give around 80% of my vegies as leafy greens - good nutrition without being too high in energy.  Pet birds are not getting the exercise they would in the wild so they need a high nutrition and low energy diet.

It is also well worth looking at converting Sunny onto a pellet rather than seed diet - bird pellets are much better nutritionally than seed is, so you will have a healthier pet with a pellet and fresh food diet than a seed and fresh food diet.  I myself prefer Roudybush pellets (may be available if you have a Petstock store near you) but most pet shops only sell Vetafarm brand, which, while OK are not as good in my opinion as Roudybush.  If you try pellets then get a small size pellet - Mini size in Roudybush is fine.  If you do decide to try pellets then let us know and we can explain how to do the conversion.  At a young age that is normally very easy.  My Princesses get both Roudybush and seed and eat both equally.

Sexing a young Princess isn't always easy but I have bred and raised quite a few and could normally sex by about 4 to 6 months old.  As they get older - first moult by 12 months, sexing gets progressively easier and by 24 months the male develops a special shape to the tip of the 3rd flight feather and sexing can be certain even if there was doubt beforehand.

Sunny's  behaviour appears typical of a young Princess - they are exploring the world around them, and sometimes do take an experimental nip - if he looks like he is getting excited and a nip is possible, then try to distract him - a matter of learning his body language.  His behaviour isn't likely to be aggression, more experimental and perhaps over excitement at time during play.  It is hard not to but if he does nip then try not to react at all - by reacting he gets a response and by responding you reinforce the bad behaviour.  It can be hard - Princesses don't have a big beak but it still hurts!

Don't expect to be able to cuddle or even give Sunny a scratch - very few Princesses will allow that.  My pair will step up and be well behaved but will never allow a scratch.  If I try it with the female especially I will get a bite.  Those species which allow scratches are those species which do mutual preening of reach other when in a bonded pairing.  You never see Princesses preen each other and so they don't take preening from their human mates.

You will find Sunny will become a companion who enjoys being around you - playful at times and other times just happy to sit quietly on a shoulder - mine love to play in my hair when I 'm sitting watching TV - especially if it is wet after a shower.  That reminds me, almost all Princesses love to get a shower or at least a good spray of water with a spray bottle - and I will include a photot of a young Princess who is estatic after  good soaking.

Finally one last question - is he clipped or does he fly.  I am not judgemental of clipping or not clipping - some of my 20 pet birds are flying (Princesses included) and some are by necessity clipped, but I will say that Princesses get a great deal of pleasure from flying, if the house environment is safe for them to do so.

If you have any questions then ask away

cheers,

Mike

[nikkisunny]

Jan 3, 2014 21:13:06 GMT 10 avinet said:

Hi Nikki and welcome to the Forum.  Hopefully we can help you with your new Princess.

Princess Parrots are great birds to have as a pet - I have a pair that I hand reared and which are now about 17 years old.  They still are a delight to have around the house, happy, playful and mischievous - always regarding life as there to have fun.  They get up in the morning excited about the day ahead and go to bed excited about the day they just had.  Great birds.

I'm glad that Sunny weaned OK - it is always a risk to take on the hand rearing of a baby when you have no experience in feeding.  So much can go wrong with the early indications of a problem subtle and easily missed until too late.  However you appear to have avoided that which is great.

Firstly diet - Make sure the seed that you buy a good quality mix.  Ideally for a Princess buy a Budgie mix - I'm currently using Golden Cob - and I buy separately Grey-striped Sunflower seed.  I then add a small amount of sunflower to the Budgie mix when I change the seed dish - about 5 or 6 sunflower seeds is sufficient.  Sunflower seed is very high in fat - think where Sunflower cooking oil comes from - and too much fat is a long term killer to almost all parrots, Princesses included.  However sunflower also contains some very important amino acids that may not be in other foods so a little bit will provide those necessary nutrients.  Almost all small parrot mixes availalbe contain far too much sunflower as well a safeflower (an unnecessary seed doing more harm than good).  Also provide some fresh vegetable and a bit of fruit as well, every day.  Seed is actually a poor diet nutritionally and the fresh food will provide many of the missing nutrients.  Have a look at the diet information in my article at scas.org.au/html/pet_parrot_care.html for suggestions of suitable fresh food - and I give around 80% of my vegies as leafy greens - good nutrition without being too high in energy.  Pet birds are not getting the exercise they would in the wild so they need a high nutrition and low energy diet.

It is also well worth looking at converting Sunny onto a pellet rather than seed diet - bird pellets are much better nutritionally than seed is, so you will have a healthier pet with a pellet and fresh food diet than a seed and fresh food diet.  I myself prefer Roudybush pellets (may be available if you have a Petstock store near you) but most pet shops only sell Vetafarm brand, which, while OK are not as good in my opinion as Roudybush.  If you try pellets then get a small size pellet - Mini size in Roudybush is fine.  If you do decide to try pellets then let us know and we can explain how to do the conversion.  At a young age that is normally very easy.  My Princesses get both Roudybush and seed and eat both equally.

Sexing a young Princess isn't always easy but I have bred and raised quite a few and could normally sex by about 4 to 6 months old.  As they get older - first moult by 12 months, sexing gets progressively easier and by 24 months the male develops a special shape to the tip of the 3rd flight feather and sexing can be certain even if there was doubt beforehand.

Sunny's  behaviour appears typical of a young Princess - they are exploring the world around them, and sometimes do take an experimental nip - if he looks like he is getting excited and a nip is possible, then try to distract him - a matter of learning his body language.  His behaviour isn't likely to be aggression, more experimental and perhaps over excitement at time during play.  It is hard not to but if he does nip then try not to react at all - by reacting he gets a response and by responding you reinforce the bad behaviour.  It can be hard - Princesses don't have a big beak but it still hurts!

Don't expect to be able to cuddle or even give Sunny a scratch - very few Princesses will allow that.  My pair will step up and be well behaved but will never allow a scratch.  If I try it with the female especially I will get a bite.  Those species which allow scratches are those species which do mutual preening of reach other when in a bonded pairing.  You never see Princesses preen each other and so they don't take preening from their human mates.

You will find Sunny will become a companion who enjoys being around you - playful at times and other times just happy to sit quietly on a shoulder - mine love to play in my hair when I 'm sitting watching TV - especially if it is wet after a shower.  That reminds me, almost all Princesses love to get a shower or at least a good spray of water with a spray bottle - and I will include a photot of a young Princess who is estatic after  good soaking.

Finally one last question - is he clipped or does he fly.  I am not judgemental of clipping or not clipping - some of my 20 pet birds are flying (Princesses included) and some are by necessity clipped, but I will say that Princesses get a great deal of pleasure from flying, if the house environment is safe for them to do so.

If you have any questions then ask away

cheers,

Mike

Hi Mike, thanks for replying so quickly! When we purchased Sunny the breeder showed myself and my partner how to feed him and explained that he had roughly two more weeks of rearing until he'd ideally be ready to wean off the formula. After 3 days at home Sunny no longer would take the formula and began to drink water in his cage. The breeder said if we were to see Sunny drinking from his water he would then most likely be ready for the seed. I will definitely be looking into purchasing pellet for Sunny as I have also heard that seed mixes that contain sunflower seed can be very fattening and not optimal for the birds health. When you say leafy greens which veges are you referring too? I know that lettuce and avocado are a big no no but are there any other fresh produce foods we should avoid?
Sunny is vocal first thing in the morning when he can hear other birds outside and during the afternoon around dusk. When his cage is uncovered in the morning he runs back and fourth along the cage door as though he is excited to see us and he climbs the cage walls to try and get closer. When the cage door is opened he runs to the door and steps up as though super eager for outside time. When we first purchased Sunny the breeder had already clipped his wing so he is unable to fly, but he does attempt too. I worry as he is only a baby and he hits the ground quite hard upon trying to fly. I guess this is how they would generally learn in the wild though.
Thanks for any further information much appreciated!

[avinet]

Leafy greens include silver beet, bok choy, choy sum, endive, English spinach, kale, celery leaves (excellent but leaves only, not the stalk) and chicory.  Lettuce is in itself not harmful but lacking in nutritional value, especially Iceberg lettuce which is mostly water and can cause some loose droppings.  Some of the darker varieties re OK in an emergency - I will buy a cos lettuce if nothing else looks good in the shop and the garden is bare, then give the outermost greenest leaves to the birds and save the inner leaves for our salad.  Some give cabbage but I am not keen on it - although it will not cause harm.  Avocado is potentially very poisonous, and also don't feed onion or garlic - both can cause anaemia.  Foods such as chocolate are bad, as is any caffeine-containing drink and alchohol - all obvious but always worth mentioning!

His excitement at being uncovered in the morning is typical - as I said before, they wake up in the morning excited about the day ahead!  I am not a fan of covering bird cages - all my cages are uncovered at all times - and we have 9 cages in the house for our 20 pet birds.  I am especially not a fan of covering in hot summer weather - it can get pretty hot under that cover.

It really annoys me that some breeders will clip a baby's wings before they wean and have a chance to fly.  All baby parrots need at least 2 to 3 weeks of flying in a safe environment before any wing clipping is contemplated.  Learning to fly and developing those flight muscles is a vital part of the early development of a baby bird.  I have no problem if an owner decides that it is safest for a bird to be clipped - young children in the house for instance can be forgetful of watching that doors are not left open for instance - but clipping before a baby has the chance to fly for that initial period should be regarded as animal cruelty.  However there is nothing you can do about it now - make sure that if he does attempt to fly he will have a soft landing - if he is landing on tiles then he is at real risk of cracking his breast keel bone - the sternum in our skeleton.  If that happens then it is a major problem to fix up.  Even if the keel bone isn't broken there is still a risk of breaking the skin over the bone, which again is difficult to stitch up and get to heal.  Avian vets make a very useful income from fixing these problems!

When he was clipped did the breeder cut both sides or only one. - hopefully both so at least he doesn't land too off-balance.  As I said in my previous message, Princesses love to fly so if your house will be safe for him to do so then I would encourage you to let him fly when he goes through the next moult.  If he has been clipped too heavily so that he is in real danger of hurting himself then an avian vet may be able to "imp" some flight feathers from another bird into the base of his cut feathers to at least give him enough control to make a safe landing until his own new feathers come through.   If you let me know where you live I might be able to recommend a vet in your area that is able to do this procedure.

And I am attaching the photo of the wet Princess I forgot to add last night!

cheers,

Mike

[nikkisunny]

Jan 4, 2014 17:51:34 GMT 10 avinet said:

Leafy greens include silver beet, bok choy, choy sum, endive, English spinach, kale, celery leaves (excellent but leaves only, not the stalk) and chicory.  Lettuce is in itself not harmful but lacking in nutritional value, especially Iceberg lettuce which is mostly water and can cause some loose droppings.  Some of the darker varieties re OK in an emergency - I will buy a cos lettuce if nothing else looks good in the shop and the garden is bare, then give the outermost greenest leaves to the birds and save the inner leaves for our salad.  Some give cabbage but I am not keen on it - although it will not cause harm.  Avocado is potentially very poisonous, and also don't feed onion or garlic - both can cause anaemia.  Foods such as chocolate are bad, as is any caffeine-containing drink and alchohol - all obvious but always worth mentioning!

His excitement at being uncovered in the morning is typical - as I said before, they wake up in the morning excited about the day ahead!  I am not a fan of covering bird cages - all my cages are uncovered at all times - and we have 9 cages in the house for our 20 pet birds.  I am especially not a fan of covering in hot summer weather - it can get pretty hot under that cover.

It really annoys me that some breeders will clip a baby's wings before they wean and have a chance to fly.  All baby parrots need at least 2 to 3 weeks of flying in a safe environment before any wing clipping is contemplated.  Learning to fly and developing those flight muscles is a vital part of the early development of a baby bird.  I have no problem if an owner decides that it is safest for a bird to be clipped - young children in the house for instance can be forgetful of watching that doors are not left open for instance - but clipping before a baby has the chance to fly for that initial period should be regarded as animal cruelty.  However there is nothing you can do about it now - make sure that if he does attempt to fly he will have a soft landing - if he is landing on tiles then he is at real risk of cracking his breast keel bone - the sternum in our skeleton.  If that happens then it is a major problem to fix up.  Even if the keel bone isn't broken there is still a risk of breaking the skin over the bone, which again is difficult to stitch up and get to heal.  Avian vets make a very useful income from fixing these problems!

When he was clipped did the breeder cut both sides or only one. - hopefully both so at least he doesn't land too off-balance.  As I said in my previous message, Princesses love to fly so if your house will be safe for him to do so then I would encourage you to let him fly when he goes through the next moult.  If he has been clipped too heavily so that he is in real danger of hurting himself then an avian vet may be able to "imp" some flight feathers from another bird into the base of his cut feathers to at least give him enough control to make a safe landing until his own new feathers come through.   If you let me know where you live I might be able to recommend a vet in your area that is able to do this procedure.

And I am attaching the photo of the wet Princess I forgot to add last night!

cheers,

Mike

View Attachment

Hi Mike, thank you again for replying in haste, lots of helpful information! It's been confusing trying to research these things when there is so many conflicting facts on the internet. Judging by the fact of owning princess parrots of your own and also owning many other parrots indicates to me you are experienced and full of knowledge regarding these gorgeous guys. Sunny's right wing has been clipped. We have him out of his cage for at least 4 hours each day. In this time he is either upon our shoulders, scurrying around the house or on top of his cage. We live in Sydney within the Sutherland Shire area. Cheers

[avinet]

I would look at seeing if imping is a possibility - a one-wing clip is highly dangerous to a bird such as a Princess that will keep on trying to fly.  A one-wing clip really should be made illegal!!!  A Princess does not deserve that

A description of imping is at theparrotuniversity.com/imping-parrots

A list of vets in NSW can be found at www.aavac.com.au/find-your-local-avian-veterinarian/ - one I can strongly recommend is Michael Cannon in West Wollongong.  A great person and a great bird vet.  He will be able to give you excellent advice.  If he is not convenient then have a look at the list and see if any others are possible.

cheers,

Mike