Princess Of Wales Parakeet

[bird-brain]

Hello everyone! Gosh, it's been like 4 years since I've posted on the forum. It's good to see so many of you still here. Every birdie here is doing well and hope the same for all of you. I have the opportunity to acquire a Princess Parrot/ Princess of Wales parakeet, among other names it's called, hen. The owners have nothing bad to say about her, other than that she has a short attention span when it comes to teaching tricks. She's young (less than a year).

There is not a ton of info on these birds available other than aviary situations. What I can find from people who keep them as pets is that they are darlings. I'm hoping someone here has some more knowledge about how they (or other grasskeet types as I imagine they are similar))do with other species in a play gym/bird room situation. Cabo and Kenya live to be together but interact well with Skye Bird. I've read that they don't preen each other and I'm wondering if my little preen machines will freak her out too much though Cabo usually manages to bend everyone to his will when it comes to his obsession with grooming them. 😄 I'm supposed to go meet her on Tuesday and am just trying to do as much fact finding as possible before hand. Any info at all is appreciated.

Kind Regards.
Jamie

[linda040899]

I live with a Princess of Wales hen and I found out the hard way that they are high strung. My pair was not hand tame and, one morning, the male looked like he injured his beak so I toweled him to make sure he was OK. He actually died of a heart attack in my hands because he got so stressed out!

My female is doing fine and she will interact with me but just don't touch. She was handled at one point so she's not terribly afraid of me but I'm not taking any chances! One incident was enough, thank you!

Princess of Wales have very nice personalities. You should be able to visually tell male from female. Males are more colorful. They are not noisy parrots but you will know they are there. They need large cages, 2' deep x 2-3' high x 3' long is what I'm using and my Princess does well. Mine likes toys and she also enjoys annoying Alex, my BFA, when Alex flies over to her cage! It's very funny to watch them! :lol

[bird-brain]

OMG Linda. That's scary. I had a lovebird die from fright once if you recall and it's the most stunning throng when it happens. I'm so glad you responded. You are the first person I have known to have first hand experience. This bird was a hand fed baby and has been handled all of her young life. She is reputedly very comfortable with humans but we all know how traumatic rehoming can be for any bird so that's just something that remains to be seen if I decide to accept her. They are a young couple who entertain often. They have dogs also so at least that won't be a new sound for her. She is coming with and indoor aviary that is 3ft Dee and four feet wide and 8 feet tall. She apparently likes to climb which I think is odd for this species? She has a parrotlet friend so perhaps this is a learned behavior???

I have read that they Imitate sounds very well. I have a real fear that she will imitate my guinea fowl!!!!! I can hear my house now, Skye imitating suns and macaws and crows and roosters and the princess doing the chi chi chi buckwheat buckwheat, alllll dayyyyy loooong. Lol. This probably one of the most difficult decisions for me and is really going to depend on her behavior when I visit. Thanks again, Linda and I will let y'all know what I decide.

[linda040899]

My Princess of Wales likes to climb, as well. She has a welded wire cage that she and her mate lived in. After the incident with him, I've been afraid to change cages!!! She and my Amazon really go at it and my Princess of Wales is the aggressor! Alex is on HER home and she's not having any of it! I've had a number of people ask if I would be willing to sell her and my answer is always no. She's fine as things are and I'm not about to change things! You don't see Princess of Wales Parakeets much anymore. I also have a pair of Plumbheaded Parakeets, another bird you don't often see.

Sounds like you have the same kind of zoo living with you that I do!

[bird-brain]

Zoo!!! Yes! Lol we call it the menagerie. Plum heads are such gorgeous birds but I've heard such varying things about the temperament of the asiatic species that I have kind of shied away from them. And Princess Parrots are hard birds to find. Their colors are so unusual in the parrot world. The DH plays an online game with several guys from Australia and only one of them had ever seen one. He said in the wild, they are quite like our pigeons in the US and you can walk through a flock and they barely move out of the way. He did say they live in more remote areas in desert scrub forests and such and that they are rarely seen. As with many parrot species, their numbers are dwindling in the wild and they are a near threatened species. I go to take a look at her tomorrow and evaluate whether she'll be a good fit for us. I'll update with my decision and maybe(hopefully) pics of a new fid. It will be fun learning such a rare species. :happy:

[linda040899]

Good luck when you see the Princess of Wales tomorrow! I love mine!

It's my understanding that Plum Heads can make very nice pets but neither of mine are tame so they quite flighty. The males are the colorful ones, while the females have grey heads. Once things settle down a bit more, I may set my pair up for breeding but there's not a big demand for them in the States so I'm still in the consideration stages.

Australia does not export it's wildlife and some species are very populous there. Cockatoos definitely are NOT endangered!!!

I believe all species of Macaw are now CITES 1 or 2. They are in trouble in their native habitat and here in the US, hybridization is making it hard to find a Military, Scarlett or Greenwing macaw! Being fully on the CITIES list, don't get caught selling or buying one without a proper permit. I've had my 2 Militaries since 1991 and I still have their original bill of sale so I've been grandfathered into being able to own them.

[bird-brain]

I was reading not too long ago that Cockatoos are considered nuisance birds and are frequently shot. :omg: it seems so odd to think of parrots in that way.

I decided to bring the Princess parrot parrot home with me. :). The bird is less than a year old and by their calculations somewhere between around 8 months but I think it's older by a couple months. I was shocked at how orange the beak is if it is in fact a female. The head is definitely lavender/purplish but idk if it really is as young as they say it may be juvenile coloring. The wings are clipped so I can't tell about the flight feathers. It does have A couple of very long tail feathers. I'm posting a link to a really bad pic. It's a very active bird so keeping it still long enough to take a pics was not easy. Very curious and very brave. Nothing seems to startle it so far. Linda, if you don't mind taking a look. You're the only person I know that has seen a pair of them. Lol. I'm debating quarantine as the only other bird in the house was A parrotlet who has been there two years and the owners were an avian vet tech and an animal nutritionist. Her diet has been extraordinary and I think anything she would have come to them with should be showing itself by now. Share opinions on that as well please. Thanks!

http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/ab342/JamieBaughman/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1845_zpsvhqocn3i.jpg (http://s878.photobucket.com/user/JamieBaughman/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1845_zpsvhqocn3i.jpg.html)

[bird-brain]

Oops sorry. I posted the pic instead of the link :roll: Do you move it or do I?

[linda040899]

Congratulations on the Princess of Wales Parakeet!!! Nice looking bird and definitely a juvenile. Looks like a young male to me. Let me see if I can find a photo of my female anywhere that's easy to access.

You are fortunate to have gotten this one young and handled. My male was older when I got the pair and parent raised. My female was hand fed but not handled in a few years. She and I have a relationship where I can do whatever I need to do in her cage and she's OK with that. The only thing I can't do is touch her and I'm fine with that.

Posting an image is fine. These forums are not photo heavy and there are not too many people that don't have higher speed internet connections anymore. :)

[linda040899]

Found a photo of my pair. The male is on the left.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h294/linda040899/My%20Flock/e639.jpg (http://s67.photobucket.com/user/linda040899/media/My%20Flock/e639.jpg.html)

[bird-brain]

Thanks so much Linda! I have learned many interesting things about them even though there is so little information. After he settles in who knows what's going to happen and that's so exciting. I did want to ask if you do a routine worming of your hen. I've read that recommendation many times from people who keep them in out door aviaries in Australia. Apparently because they choose to eat off the ground they are at risk for round worms. I can't see how an indoor bird would have the same level of risk but perhaps I am being naive. My chickens get wormed of course but I've never had a problem with the indoor birds.

Thanks again for all your help. He was definitely a lucky find. He was just the wrong type of bird for that family. Their parrotlet was trained as well as most of my dogs :omg: I have seen videos of birds like him but have never had personal experience with a bird trained like that. This princess would perform a task twice and then just quit. I think he was saying "How many times do I have to show you hopeless people how to do this?" :rotfl. Short of step up, come here, No and let go of my ear, I don't teach tricks so all should be good here.

[linda040899]

I don't normally worm any of my parrots mostly because, as you said, they are indoor birds and not likely to get into anything. I keep all my seed and pellets in a freezer until I use them so they are clean. My chickens, however, are a different story because they are outside and scratch around in the dirt and whatever else they can find.

As far as training parrots, I, personally, find they will do things that come naturally to them. Princess of Wales Parakeets are intelligent and mine continually amazes me. While she's shy, she's not afraid of me. She has learned I won't hurt her. She just doesn't like to be touched and I respect her wishes. This Princess of Wales was lucky to have found a home with you! I suspect he will fit right in.... :) :)

[bird-brain]

Thanks Linda. I'm sorry you lost your male. He was a beauty. I read that they are not alopreeners. Much like chicken and doves and pigeons etc, they do not preen each other and this why they are somewhat resistant to being touched. They just don't understand petting as it were. This bird, who must be renamed because the name is decidedly female, doesn't appreciate scratches. He likes contact with you body and beak rubs are ok.

After seeing your picture I do think this is a male. I couldn't tell from the pic about her tail feathers. Are they as bright pink as as his are? I guess after a year we'll know for sure. Lol

[linda040899]

I couldn't tell from the pic about her tail feathers.
If my memory serves me correctly, she was molting and was tail less in this photo! :lol Her feathering is not as colorful as his but she has grey, pink, yellow and some green in her tail feathers. My 2 liked each other a lot and normally sat next to each other. They would feed each other but groom themselves rather than each other. My hen eats almost anything but has a great fondness for figs. I had to give her medication just once and I mixed in with the center of a half fig and it disappeared. She has a 10 oz. food cup and it will take her about 2 days to completely eat everything that's in the dish. When she's in the mood, she likes being misted with water from a spray bottle. I have to make sure the spray goes over her and falls down like rain.