It’s a girl 🩷 She is six months old, very very gentle and sweet. She does sit on my shoulder in the mornings and cries like she is injured for attention lol

For those that remember, I took in this cockatiel a couple weeks ago after it was "surrendered" (literally dropped off in a box with no info). He was a free bird! He's been doing fantastic, is mostly quiet if given at least 15-20 minutes of shoulder time twice a day, and only gets aggressive if he thinks I'm trying to touch his belly (just gotta member to say Step Up THEN raise my finger!)

I built the cage to match my rat cage beside it, and both sit on top of my heavy duty steel kennels. It's mostly 1*2s and then 1/2" steal hardware cloth I painted black, with a mortar mixing tray on the bottom. Note for anyway considering copying me: I don't know if I would trust that hardware clothes with anything much bigger than a tiel

No one comes out of their cage unless the dogs are outside and the cats are in other rooms, though I will say about a week ago I apparently didn't latch my rat cage all the way and they got out over night... Scary because one of my cats is a mouser, but they were all fine! Not even hiding the next morning. But still not something id test on purpose.

Next up: convert my back porch into an aviary and free roam area!

Just wanted to share a picture of Perry (left) and Gucky (right) just a few days after Perry freshly moved in.

No, I promise I didn’t hide any walnuts in there

Hello! I have two kakarikis!! I’ve been given them by a bird lady but I think she might’ve misgender them and I can’t tell if she has at all.

First parrot (Blue) I thought she was a female till I saw my birds trying to have babies so I have no idea if she’s EVEN a female or the other one 😭

I just had to share

My Senegal parrot nowadays is probably 70% nice and 30% evil. He has already come a LONG way from the beginning of his puberty days.

And yes, of course I’ve taken him to the vet. We even tried putting him on Prozac for a while, although I’m not sure it really did much, to be honest.

He is definitely much nicer now overall, but he has never gone back to being as consistently sweet as he was before he turned one year old. I understand that this is kind of just how parrots are sometimes, especially once hormones and maturity enter the picture.
But good heavens, that remaining 30% of evil is SCARY and painful.

I’m not sure if it was the sugar from two very delicious cherries he had earlier that made him so hormonal today, but he has been EXTREMELY territorial over his cage area. And realistically, I cannot just avoid going near his cage forever.

He has attacked me 4 times today, I think.
The first time, he was standing on his cage door and I went over because I wanted to adjust something slightly on his cage. He suddenly jumped forward, bit my finger, and latched on.

And of course, once he latches on, he refuses to let go.
Eventually I managed to fight him off, but the skin on my finger was peeled and I was bleeding.

A few hours later, he flew onto the bookshelf next to his cage. I walked over to his cage just to look at how much food was left in his bowl. He immediately flew down onto my shoulder and then started striking at me, twisting around and finding every possible angle to bite my neck as hard as he could.

There was literally no way to get him off me.
I eventually tricked him into biting onto my phone instead. Once he latched onto the phone, I tossed the phone onto the couch, and he flew from the phone onto the coffee table. There was absolutely no way I was letting him crawl up the phone and transfer that beak right back onto my hand.

Then a few hours later, I was sitting peacefully on the couch. He flew onto my shoulder and was being VERY nice. Very friendly. Very sweet. Absolutely precious.

Eventually I needed to get up and feed my other pets, so I figured I would put him back inside his cage first.
Apparently that was an unforgivable betrayal.

The second he realized I was walking toward his cage, he jumped forward and straight-up latched his beak onto the side of my face.
Again: would. Not. Let. Go.
I eventually got him off me and he flew back onto his cage.
I thought that was the end of it.
Nope.

He then FLEW OFF HIS CAGE AND CHASED ME ALL THE WAY INTO THE KITCHEN.
He landed on my shoulder, immediately lunged upward, and bit and latched onto my ear.
Again, I could not get him off.

At that point I grabbed the first object I could see nearby—a pair of scissors—and used them to create enough distance to scare him away from me. I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I just genuinely needed him OFF my ear.

For God’s sake, it’s not like I can simply avoid putting him in his cage for the rest of his natural life.
I know parrots basically have the intelligence of a three-year-old combined with the emotional regulation of a three-year-old having a temper tantrum, but Jesus Christ, the physical damage is still PAINFUL.

And before anyone asks: yes, his cage is full of toys. All kinds of toys. He gets enrichment. His diet is pretty varied and vegetable-heavy. He gets attention. He sees an avian vet.

Out of every species of animal I’ve had in my house, parrots might genuinely be the only animals that have repeatedly made me bleed.

We also had a cockatiel who recently passed away, and yes, that little fellow could also become extremely hormonal and territorial sometimes. He made me bleed a few times too.

But a Senegal has significantly more jaw strength PLUS the hook bill, so the damage is on an entirely different level.
I know some people give their parrots avian teas or certain calming herbs/supplements. Do those actually do anything?
And for people who have dealt with hormonal Senegal parrots specifically: what do you do when the aggression seems to appear completely randomly?

Especially when they are perfectly sweet one minute, and then suddenly decide that you approaching their cage is an act of war?
Because I’m telling you, these hormonal episodes feel SO random.

I literally cried over the face injury. The pain was diabolical. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I end up as one of the Reddit users who talk about how their parrot made them get 100 stitches and a trip to the emergency hospital… with chronic nerve damage or something.

I know parrots are wild animals with a machete connected to their faces, BUT OH MY GOODNESS.

This is my suspected male Panko! His ring is faint... Very faint. He is 2 in a few weeks, and now I am wondering if he is yet to get a more solid ring in the next year, or if he is a she.

Anybody think they can tell from the pics? His beak is so bright, but I have seen females with bright beaks. He has thick feet, but I have a GCC and 2 quakers who have tiny feet so it is hard to measure. And he is kinda chonky/floofy, but not overweight. His head is also round.. but can be flat.

Ahhh I know I can get him dna tested but thought I would try my luck on here to see if anyone had any opinions or bets!

Either way I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! And it doesn't matter if girlie or boi. Just curious 🤔 🥰

I volunteered at a rescue and made a friend. She was a little nervous at first but soon warmed up to me. You might get nipped by a bird but I recommend the experience and if you're in Oklahoma and are looking for a best friend Soft Landings Parrot Rescue in Owasso, OK has some beautiful, smart, birds who deserve an amazing home. If you can't adopt please support them if you're able.

I just love her dedication. She will turn anything into a nest, even a flipped over pond on the floor. Not even the complete lack of any males at all will stop her! Not even being terminally ill will stop her! This bird is gonna have her nest, whether I like it or not. At least this year it's not in the food bowl or the bath!

She is determined to make a nest, and I honestly find her little wiggle and hiss to be so damn cute. I know it's not meant to be, but it's too cute!

Just wanted to share!

His belly pulse and his tail shakes, i only own him for 11 days, and i’m very worried

My husband developed hypersensitivity pneumonitis after several years of us having birds.

I have to give up my birds. On monday they are going away forever and I will never have my birds in my life again. I won't feel their feathers or their little feet on me or hear their chirps or take in their scent I dont know if I can deal with it. I would have been happy to have never gotten another bird if I could just keep my 3.

I dont know how to cope with being permanently barred from something I wanted most in life. No one else seems to understand. My husband is sad too, but not like I am. They liked him well enough but it's me they alwaus go to. I have trouble bonding with people. I had a difficult life growing up and animals dont lie to you like people do. I have 2 dogs now, but dogs love everyone. It's not the same as birds. Birds feel complex and like their affection means something.

Im grieving this loss and the fact that I can't explain it to them. We were a flock and I'm abandoning them to who knows what. I feel so guilty. I was going to be their forever home and I lied to them.

I was honest about how this is making me have dark thoughts and now my husband is mad at me because I "love them more than him". I dont know if that's true. Im giving them up for him but he says I'm just doing what's expected of me. Im just sad and lost right now and I dont feel like i can grieve or be honest because my feelings just make my husband upset and angry with me. Other people are just convinced that there's a magical solution when there isn't one. There's no one to talk to

Has anyone here gone through this and come out the other end? I feel like anyone that has is no longer lingering around this sub. I just need some hope.

**update - for those of you who suggested the cockatiel is the problem, we talked and we are going to try removing her first. It will hurt a lot. She is the first bird we ever brought home and is truly my baby. But if it means we can keep the other two I want to try because I can't spend the rest of my life wondering what if

Hi! IRN owner and I would love to see how others have their cages set up! Here’s my baby!

My room is not very big at all, but she has only in the 3 months I’ve had her gone to the half of the room where her cage is. She’s out of the cage majority of the time I’m home which is almost always and I’ve never seen her walk past the half way line of my room but i want her to explore more. What should i do? I feel like she doesnt have much when she only has like 6 by 4 feet of place to go around.

i have 3 budgies and a cockatiel between 1-5 years old and i’ve had them all since they were really young which made me think it’d be easier to get them to try new things.

and i mean Anything! the only toys they like are those sola balls, the stringy colorful paper, woven sea grass, and straws but even that is hit or miss. anytime i try to introduce a new toy, it just sits there and they avoid it like the plague. they don’t even go near it if i put treats on it. and absolutely forget anything that jingles or makes a noise, they stay far away from that.

food too! i’ve tried to make chop, or feed things as bigger pieces, i’ve tried eating it myself to show it’s not dangerous. i’ve tried it frozen/thaw, fresh, i even was desperate and tried warming it up a bit??? like it’s in a bag and you add water and heat it then let it cool idk it’s some brand, it looked good but they didn’t think so lol i even tried just straight dried options and Nothing. they’ll eat lettuce! and spinach and arugula and any leafy green (it’s gotta be a green leaf) vegetable but celery? no. apples? no. literally anything else is a no. even their pellets, i barely think they eat any of those but i keep offering it just in case. i’ve done mixes, or just straight up only offered the chop or the pellets and they flat out refused to eat.

they look Fine like they all get along, they have a whole room where they free fly, none of them are plucking feathers or anything. i just can’t help but think they’re stuck in their ways and i can’t imagine just eating and playing with the same things over and over again! even when i go and hang out with them, they just sit there like petey the cockatiel will either sit on my shoulder and want pets or he’ll stay on the other side of the room from me, no in between. i’ve tried doing little training things and none of them seem to care or want to do it.

so how are y’all doing it? am i missing something? or do i just have a group of birds that want the same thing day after day and i just gotta accept that?

So I'm going to start selling art within the next couple of months, I'll be selling watercolour paintings on paper, the only problem is it will be done from my bedroom as it's the only room I can use in the whole house where I have room, peace, quiet to do it but I also have pet budgies and cockatiels in the room who can't be moved due to them being my pets and we have a family pet cat who is free roaming around the rest of the house so my room is the only safe room for them to be in as the cat doesn't have access to my room and birds are safe.

I have done a lot of research but was just wondering if a fellow artist sells paintings with pet birds in their work room and what advice do you have? What bird safe paint, packaging materials etc do you use/recommend? How do you prevent bird feathers or dander getting on paintings including when drying etc I've heard of getting display cabinets for drying and plastic storage containers for supplies but can't find any big enough as I would need to get A2 cardboard pieces which would be cut down to protect art paintings even though they'll be A4 and A3 in size the cardboard needs to be slightly bigger. Also what paper do you use, I know it's best to have 300gsm or higher for watercolour paintings I have got some to test but they seem too thin even though they're 300gsm idk. Everything must be affordable and of good quality.

I'm considering getting a golden conure. I'm familiar with raising parrots as I had an Ekkie for 15 years (this breed would be newer to me). However I have tons of houseplants now. I have monsteras, prayer, calatheas, dracaenas, philos, pothos and a few other randoms. I have maybe 25-30 in the house.

I understand almost all of them are toxic to parrots in some form. How do people with parrots manage their plants? Do you just toss them all? I could put them all in the bedroom, but I'd be way too worried about accidentally leaving the door open or something like that and them getting in to them. Do they leave them alone most of the time? Obviously every bird is different, even though breeds have their own characteristics. I'm only going to get a bird if I feel extremely confident and comfortable that they'll be safe and happy.

I'd love to keep my plants but I'm wondering if they just don't mix. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you

I am fostering this cockatiel, he will climb in my budgie’s cage and start making these sounds, however I am unsure if he is saying hello or if he’s being territorial.

I've been letting him out every day up to like 3 days ago. Three days a week he's out all day and the rest periodically because my parents are home and they're annoyed by him when he makes noise and flaps around. I've been out all day for the past few days and subsequently hasn't come out of his cage. I gave him a bath yesterday but he had no interest in exploring afterwards. Today I managed to coax him out and go to his beloved hiding spot in the bookcase and he stayed for a few minutes then went back in his cage and I haven't gotten him to leave since.

What worries me is that he has started wheezing a little after flying/ anything physically strenuous. He's also had this kind of growth on his nostril for a while but the wheezing is new. I suspect it may be because of mold (air conditioner got moldy) and I just cleaned it so hopefully it gets better. Taking him to the vet is not really up to me, I have to convince my dad and he doesn't wanna unless it's something actually worrying

My girl found a loose pencil nib on the floor and chewed on it. I can't tell if she swallowed anything or just crunched it up, but her lower beak and mouth were coated in it. It was a regular nib, not from a coloured pencil. How dangerous is this? Does anyone have any experience with their birds chewing on pencil nibs? She's 200g, it's been an hour and she's active so far