Plum headed parakeet Puns

The latest addition to our flock is a plum headed parakeet named Coti who recently turned 1. He lives with 2 cockatiels, ages 5 and 23, my husband and myself.

We got Coti as soon as he was weaned, and even though he was timid, he was the sweetest bird. He would sit in my shoulder or lap for hours and preen or nap. He loves being handed foot toys and target training. He has learned several phrases and whistles and practices frequently. He seems to enjoy the company of the cockatiels. He is fully flighted and LOVES flying.

About a month before Coti turned 1, he started biting every so often, especially in the evening, when he was being denied food (the vet said he isn’t allowed to eat cheese but the little bugger always seems to find some and sneak a bite), and when it was time for him to go back in his cage. Now, 2 months later it has gotten MUCH worse. Today he flew onto my shoulder and punctured my upper lip before I had time to react! It bleed for a long time.

Whenever he bites, I tend to jump which startled him and he flies off. My husband and I have been putting him in a time out in his cage after he bites, but he has been getting more difficult to get in his cage. He flies around with us running around trying to pick him up until he is tuckered out, at which point we pick him up and put him back. He is so angry at this point, he is hissing, lunging at the cage door as it closes.

After the bite and fiasco of getting him in his cage this evening, he lunges and tries to bite me whoever I approach his cage. I feel like this cycle is only making things worse and harming our bond. I’m feeling discouraged. I know asiatic parrots go through a bluffing stage, but at this rate I’ll be covered with scars by the time it is over (if it ends) and I don’t know if he will even like us.

I know I need to make changes. Please Reddit help us with our beloved Coti. My next steps are scheduling an avian vet visit, clipping his wings (as much as it pains me to do so since he loves flying), disallowing shoulder time (which may lead to more biting), getting him a bigger cage, and more target training and trying to introduce more positive reinforcement.

Does anyone have any other tips or ideas? At this point I cannot imagine him coming out of it.

I got a plum headed parakeet 4 years ago from a breeder when he was just a couple of months old and since the day I got him he has scared of me. I previously owned a Green Cheek Conure and he was never scared of me so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Basically, when I put my hand inside of my Plum-headed Parakeet's cage he starts flying and refuses to let me touch him, he doesn't bite but just try's to get as far away from me. When I let him out the cage he starts flying away from me and sometimes he hits his beak on the wall pretty hard and I'm not sure what to do, I do keep him in the cage more often because I don't want him to be injured.

Ever since our eastern rosella died, my family's cockatiel (sort of tame - can step up, but not much more) has been lacking a companion. It's actually not doing bad, but the veterinarian advised that we should think about buying another parrot so that it doesn't end up feeling abandoned when we can't spend time with it. My mom has been thinking about buying a parrot for a couple of months, and was very convinced a quiet but shy plum-headed parakeet we saw at a pet store would be great. I presume that the plum-head's quiet behavior adds to its cuteness - however, the bird isn't very trustful. It will move away (not frantically though) from the edge of the cage if you bring your hand closer. According to the store staff, it's a slow learner. Contrast this with the most recent addition - a quaker hand-raised and brought by the owner to the store to sell. It's almost completely tame and jumped at the bars a few moments after we stopped by, waiting to be scratched. Just a couple of moments later, I was patting it on the head and stroking its feathers. The quaker didn't object to my mom doing the same either. I have to admit that a bird that actually doesn't shy away is a refreshing thing.

This is where our mixed feelings start. I realize that neither parrots had the time to bond with anyone, given that so many people visit the store every day, but it somehow feels "unfair" that the plum-head which was until recently a very likely candidate would be "replaced" by the quaker. I realize a lot of this is projection, but I can't help but feel that somehow the plum-head will feel dejected if we don't buy it. On the other hand, our previous lack of success with taming any non-hand-reared parrots would suggest that the quaker is a better choice, as far as the quality of time spent with it goes. I remember reading that hand-reared parrots are generally better choices for people who struggle with this. I know that, theoretically, almost every parrot can be taught to be as sociable and gentle, but in practice, I know that we probably won't have the ability to dedicate days upon days to get to that result. I appreciate that some people have literally nothing else to dedicate their time to besides taming parrots, but that's not the case with anyone in the house.

This brings me to the last option - simply not buying any parrot. I've advised my mother that a parrot like a quaker is an investment for 20 years or so, but she doesn't seem to mind. She has been taking care of

I’m debating getting a bird, Ive had a lot of experience with birds through various work I’ve done and am deciding on a bird, I’m stuck between a Quaker and a plum-headed parakeet. Just asking if anyone here has experience or owns a plum-headed parakeet and could tell me what they’re like.