Frequently Asked Questions
If your question is one of the following, it can be answered in-depth under our “General Care” page.
What do they eat?
What kind/size cage do they need?
How long can a parrotlet live?
Q. How much are your birds?
A. Our price list can be found under the “Price List” page. Prices are reviewed every year and are subject to change.
Q. Do you accept deposits? / How do I reserve a bird?
A. I RARELY accept deposit/ reservations. I typically sell my birds on a first come, first serve basis. When I do accept deposits/ reservations, it is 50% of the total purchase price and it is non-refundable. Birds are expected to be paid for in-full, prior to pick-up or other payment arrangements can be made prior to pick-up, at my discretion. A bird that has a deposit/ reservation on it must be picked up within a timely manner upon weaning and post-wean weight gain. Tracking deposits/ reservations and explaining the stipulations is a headache for everyone, which is why I rarely do them!
Q. Do they bite?
A. The short answer is YES. Anything with a mouth is capable of biting. Parrotlets use their beaks to balance, climb, test a potential perch (your finger), communicate, forage, and groom themselves or others.
Q. Do they talk?
A. Parrotlets are capable of learning to mimic sounds, words, and short phrases. Every bird is different, and there is no guarantee that your bird will learn to “talk” or “mimic.” I do not recommend basing your decision to add a bird to your family solely on whether or not it can learn to talk/mimic.
Q. Are your birds handfed?
A. No. My birds are co-parented. This means that the birds are kept in the nest-box with their parents and siblings, and I take time to handle the chicks on a daily basis. I can handfeed in case of emergencies, but I prefer to co-parent because I believe that it is superior to hand-feeding. In several European countries, handfeeding birds is outlawed because of the negative effects on the birds. Some researchers in the USA have seen that Quaker parrots and Amazon parrots hit their critical growth periods late when they are handfed (as compared to control groups and parent-fed chicks). There is also speculation that hand-fed birds are more susceptible to psychological problems such as feather picking/plucking, screaming, and attachment problems due to maternal separation.
Q. What is co-parenting?
A. This means that the birds are kept in the nest-box with their parents and siblings, and I take time to handle the chicks on a daily basis.
Q. What colors do you have?
A. I work with pied, fallow, and American mutations in green and blue. Check out the photos of some of our past birds for a better idea of what these colors look like!
Q. Which birds have red eyes?
A. The short answer to this question is that fallow mutations and albinos/lutinos/creaminos have red eyes. The only birds that I breed with red eyes are fallow mutations. As of June 2019, I do not work with INOs.
Q. Do different colors have different personalities?
A. NO. Different colors do not have different personalities BECAUSE of their color. They have different personalities because they are individuals. Your bird’s personality has NOTHING to do with its color.
Q. Is there any difference in temperament between males and females?
A. In my 10+ years owning and breeding parrotlets, I have found that the differences in temperament and personality depend on the individual bird.
Q. How do you tell the difference between male and females?
A. Male parrotlets have a cobalt blue color on their wing coverlets. Most often, they also have an intense cobalt blue color on their rump and eye streaks. Some female parrotlets have pale blue rumps, but they will lack the cobalt blue coverlets that males have.
Q. What is a closed aviary? / Why can’t I come look at the birds in-person?
A. A closed aviary is an aviculture practice that keeps housing and rearing space closed to the public. Keeping an aviary space closed to the public helps maintain good biosecurity by limiting stressors and potential pathogen exposure. My aviary is on private property, and I like to keep the space closed to the public for both my safety and the safety of my birds.
Q. When will my bird be ready to come home?
A. Parrotlets wean anywhere from 7-9 weeks of age. Some birds take a little longer to wean. It depends on the individual bird. I typically give the bird an extra week or two to regain weight lost during weaning. I usually send birds home between 8 – 11 weeks old, or when I know they are eating independently.
Q. What is that ring around my bird’s leg?
A. The ring around your bird’s leg is called a bird band. These bands have several pieces of important information: year your bird hatched, the state in which your bird was hatched, the initials of the breeder, and a unique number. Bird bands come in different colors, too. These colors can identify club membership or can have specific meaning to the breeder. Bird bands are typically made of aluminum, stainless steel, or plastic. The bands that I use are aluminum. Bands can be either “open” or “closed.” Aviculturists and breeders catalog your bird’s band information and link it with information about your bird’s lineage and genetic background. Some breeders catalog information about the name of the family/ individual who took the bird home, whether the bird was sent to that home as a pet or breeder, how much the bird weighs, and how much it was sold for.
Q. Should I remove a bird band?
A. NO. A bird band that is properly applied will not bother/ annoy your bird. I highly recommend keeping your bird’s band on – do not remove it. Keep your parrotlet’s band information in your records. If your bird gets lost or stolen that band information can help to identify your bird. If you mst have a band removed, ask your board-certified avian veterinarian to do it. Incorrectly attempting to remove a bird band can cause the band to clamp tightly around your bird’s leg. Incorrect or incomplete removal can cause broken bones, restricted blood flow, abrasions/cuts, infection, and potentially death. Aviculturists take time to catalog and identify your bird because it is important to know – just leave the band on, please!
Q. What is the difference between open and closed bands?
A. Closed bands must be applied right around 10 days of age for the band to fit without slipping off the leg. Some birds grow too quickly or chicks are not handled at 10 days old – in that case, open bands are used. Some aviculturists express concern over open bands because unethical breeders can place a current-year band on an older bird’s leg to make it appear younger than it is. Knowing your breeder, asking questions, and looking at references is important when choosing a breeder!
Q. Do you ship?
A. YES - at buyer’s expense. Shipping is $160, including crate, crate preparation, and additional transportation costs. I cannot ship if it is too hot or too cold. Shipping must be planned for at least two weeks in advance.
Q. Do you clip their wings/toenails?
A. I DO clip wings (flight feathers) prior to sending birds to their new homes. This is for your bird’s safety. It prevents your bird from flying into things and hurting itself. Flight feathers are molted out and grow back; therefore, your bird will need regular flight feather trims. You can ask your vet to teach you how to do this, or you can hire someone to groom your bird for you. Some people trust their bird to be left unclipped. It is up to your personal preference as to whether you will leave your bird flighted.
Parrotlets should not need their toenails clipped if they have a good variety of perches and things to climb.
Q. What vet do you recommend?
A. I recommend finding a Board-Certified Avian Veterinarian. You can do a quick Google search for one in your area.
Q. Does my bird need a friend? Should I get one bird, or two?
A. No – your bird does not need another bird-friend. Parrotlets are notoriously aggressive with other birds AND with other parrotlets. Parrotlets are wonderful pets, and many people DO add multiple birds to their family. I recommend caging your parrotlets separately, and allowing HIGHLY supervised out-of-cage time for each individual bird. It only takes a second for one parrotlet to bite a toe or toenail off another. Parrotlets can be perfectly happy as individual pets. They keep themselves busy with a variety of toys, perches, and interactions with their favorite humans!
A. Our price list can be found under the “Price List” page. Prices are reviewed every year and are subject to change.
Q. Do you accept deposits? / How do I reserve a bird?
A. I RARELY accept deposit/ reservations. I typically sell my birds on a first come, first serve basis. When I do accept deposits/ reservations, it is 50% of the total purchase price and it is non-refundable. Birds are expected to be paid for in-full, prior to pick-up or other payment arrangements can be made prior to pick-up, at my discretion. A bird that has a deposit/ reservation on it must be picked up within a timely manner upon weaning and post-wean weight gain. Tracking deposits/ reservations and explaining the stipulations is a headache for everyone, which is why I rarely do them!
Q. Do they bite?
A. The short answer is YES. Anything with a mouth is capable of biting. Parrotlets use their beaks to balance, climb, test a potential perch (your finger), communicate, forage, and groom themselves or others.
Q. Do they talk?
A. Parrotlets are capable of learning to mimic sounds, words, and short phrases. Every bird is different, and there is no guarantee that your bird will learn to “talk” or “mimic.” I do not recommend basing your decision to add a bird to your family solely on whether or not it can learn to talk/mimic.
Q. Are your birds handfed?
A. No. My birds are co-parented. This means that the birds are kept in the nest-box with their parents and siblings, and I take time to handle the chicks on a daily basis. I can handfeed in case of emergencies, but I prefer to co-parent because I believe that it is superior to hand-feeding. In several European countries, handfeeding birds is outlawed because of the negative effects on the birds. Some researchers in the USA have seen that Quaker parrots and Amazon parrots hit their critical growth periods late when they are handfed (as compared to control groups and parent-fed chicks). There is also speculation that hand-fed birds are more susceptible to psychological problems such as feather picking/plucking, screaming, and attachment problems due to maternal separation.
Q. What is co-parenting?
A. This means that the birds are kept in the nest-box with their parents and siblings, and I take time to handle the chicks on a daily basis.
Q. What colors do you have?
A. I work with pied, fallow, and American mutations in green and blue. Check out the photos of some of our past birds for a better idea of what these colors look like!
Q. Which birds have red eyes?
A. The short answer to this question is that fallow mutations and albinos/lutinos/creaminos have red eyes. The only birds that I breed with red eyes are fallow mutations. As of June 2019, I do not work with INOs.
Q. Do different colors have different personalities?
A. NO. Different colors do not have different personalities BECAUSE of their color. They have different personalities because they are individuals. Your bird’s personality has NOTHING to do with its color.
Q. Is there any difference in temperament between males and females?
A. In my 10+ years owning and breeding parrotlets, I have found that the differences in temperament and personality depend on the individual bird.
Q. How do you tell the difference between male and females?
A. Male parrotlets have a cobalt blue color on their wing coverlets. Most often, they also have an intense cobalt blue color on their rump and eye streaks. Some female parrotlets have pale blue rumps, but they will lack the cobalt blue coverlets that males have.
Q. What is a closed aviary? / Why can’t I come look at the birds in-person?
A. A closed aviary is an aviculture practice that keeps housing and rearing space closed to the public. Keeping an aviary space closed to the public helps maintain good biosecurity by limiting stressors and potential pathogen exposure. My aviary is on private property, and I like to keep the space closed to the public for both my safety and the safety of my birds.
Q. When will my bird be ready to come home?
A. Parrotlets wean anywhere from 7-9 weeks of age. Some birds take a little longer to wean. It depends on the individual bird. I typically give the bird an extra week or two to regain weight lost during weaning. I usually send birds home between 8 – 11 weeks old, or when I know they are eating independently.
Q. What is that ring around my bird’s leg?
A. The ring around your bird’s leg is called a bird band. These bands have several pieces of important information: year your bird hatched, the state in which your bird was hatched, the initials of the breeder, and a unique number. Bird bands come in different colors, too. These colors can identify club membership or can have specific meaning to the breeder. Bird bands are typically made of aluminum, stainless steel, or plastic. The bands that I use are aluminum. Bands can be either “open” or “closed.” Aviculturists and breeders catalog your bird’s band information and link it with information about your bird’s lineage and genetic background. Some breeders catalog information about the name of the family/ individual who took the bird home, whether the bird was sent to that home as a pet or breeder, how much the bird weighs, and how much it was sold for.
Q. Should I remove a bird band?
A. NO. A bird band that is properly applied will not bother/ annoy your bird. I highly recommend keeping your bird’s band on – do not remove it. Keep your parrotlet’s band information in your records. If your bird gets lost or stolen that band information can help to identify your bird. If you mst have a band removed, ask your board-certified avian veterinarian to do it. Incorrectly attempting to remove a bird band can cause the band to clamp tightly around your bird’s leg. Incorrect or incomplete removal can cause broken bones, restricted blood flow, abrasions/cuts, infection, and potentially death. Aviculturists take time to catalog and identify your bird because it is important to know – just leave the band on, please!
Q. What is the difference between open and closed bands?
A. Closed bands must be applied right around 10 days of age for the band to fit without slipping off the leg. Some birds grow too quickly or chicks are not handled at 10 days old – in that case, open bands are used. Some aviculturists express concern over open bands because unethical breeders can place a current-year band on an older bird’s leg to make it appear younger than it is. Knowing your breeder, asking questions, and looking at references is important when choosing a breeder!
Q. Do you ship?
A. YES - at buyer’s expense. Shipping is $160, including crate, crate preparation, and additional transportation costs. I cannot ship if it is too hot or too cold. Shipping must be planned for at least two weeks in advance.
Q. Do you clip their wings/toenails?
A. I DO clip wings (flight feathers) prior to sending birds to their new homes. This is for your bird’s safety. It prevents your bird from flying into things and hurting itself. Flight feathers are molted out and grow back; therefore, your bird will need regular flight feather trims. You can ask your vet to teach you how to do this, or you can hire someone to groom your bird for you. Some people trust their bird to be left unclipped. It is up to your personal preference as to whether you will leave your bird flighted.
Parrotlets should not need their toenails clipped if they have a good variety of perches and things to climb.
Q. What vet do you recommend?
A. I recommend finding a Board-Certified Avian Veterinarian. You can do a quick Google search for one in your area.
Q. Does my bird need a friend? Should I get one bird, or two?
A. No – your bird does not need another bird-friend. Parrotlets are notoriously aggressive with other birds AND with other parrotlets. Parrotlets are wonderful pets, and many people DO add multiple birds to their family. I recommend caging your parrotlets separately, and allowing HIGHLY supervised out-of-cage time for each individual bird. It only takes a second for one parrotlet to bite a toe or toenail off another. Parrotlets can be perfectly happy as individual pets. They keep themselves busy with a variety of toys, perches, and interactions with their favorite humans!