Curious about Alexandrine's personality

[FreckleFace]

Asked to delete

 

[gemini84]

if they are regularly socialised and handled they make great pets. stereotypically they are not an affectoonate bird but oxy (my 5 mo alex) loves the occassional cuddle but is very happy to sit on my shoulder/ hand/head or the back of my chair.
i may be slightly niased but i love alexs, oxy is my second alex.... my last did not like affevtion but loved playing with me and riding on my shoulder

 

[Ash]

My alexandrine Yuki likes to cuddle/be petted/get stritches. She will happily sit with you and she really enjoys your company. She was very well socialised.

Alex has trust issues, he lets my family touch him/give him stritches when he feels like it. He does love to hang out with my family and everything. He wont let a stranger go near him though. He had a bad past and was a rescue.

I can say they are extremely gentle birds. And would be a great family pet if well socialised. My two don't seem to be bonded to one person. Alex seems to be bonded with the family. And im sure Yuki would just go home with anyone that would feed her Esp with treats. Haha

My two don't bite, and never have. Well Alex has bitten my sister once.

I am a bit biased though

Other info:
They can become great talkers, very clear. Easy to hear.
Extremely destructive, love wooden toys/shreddable toys.
Not picky eaters, my two will eat anything you put in front of them.
Others say they can get cage aggressive/territorial.
Others also say they can be loud.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Alexandrine makes wonderful pet as long as they are well socialised. Ozzie my alexandrine doesn't like cuddles but loves to be around me. But they are also independent so makes great pet for a busy family, they will be happy to play with their toys on their cage. They need to be handled a lot during their first year of life to remain tame.

But they are not a starter bird.

One thing you'll find out is that they LOVE to chew! I actually have to buy African grey or macaw size wood toy for Ozzie! He would destroy a medium parrot toy within 3 days!

Most alexandrine does not likes cuddles and are not cuddly like cockatoos, but if they are tame and trust you, they will be happy to be on your shoulder and spend time with you.

 

[lene1949]

But they are not a starter bird

Can you give me the basic run down on a 'starter bird', please?

My alexandrine is my easiest parrot, I trust him with anyone, and I have a budgie, cockatiels, conures, cockatoos as well as an eclectus...

 

[LoveMyParrots]

But they are not a starter bird

Can you give me the basic run down on a 'starter bird', please?

My alexandrine is my easiest parrot, I trust him with anyone, and I have a budgie, cockatiels, conures, cockatoos as well as an eclectus...

Sure

1. Aggression - a first time bird owner will find a bit hard to read a parrot's body language. Like: pinning eyes, feathers going up, lower the body, etc. And starters will often go reach the parrot while it's telling their owner that it does not want to be touch, and might result in a bite. And if you get a parrot like cockatiel or budgie, it won't hurt as much. Parrots like Alexandrine have a big beak, which leads to a harder bite. Ouch.

2. Noise level - first time parrot owner might not be able to handle the noise of a alexandrine. They might be doing the right thing by researching info, even it says that Alex have a loud scream, but they don't actully know how loud it is. And could end up rehoming the poor parrot.

3. Money - the bigger the parrot, the more money you would be spending on it. Some people might think that owning a parrot is easy! Just give them food, water, cage and toys. But there's way more than that! Worming, vet bills, out of cage time, treats, love, cleaning up, etc.

4. Behavior - the bigger the parrot, the more behavior problems you are gonna face. Some lager parrot have behavior issues that doe not happen is smaller parrots.

5. Mess - the smaller the parrot, the less mess it's gonna make. Some people might be wanting a macaw while can't even handle to mess from a budgie!

6. Diet - alexandrine needs a diet that is higher in vitamin A and protein than most other parrot. Some starters might not know that.

Hope this were you were want

 

[LoveMyParrots]

It would be best to get a baby alexandrine, but a adult are good too.

 

[lene1949]

Thanks for all the helpful information! We are considering adding a second bird to our home, and I think an Alexandrine would be a great candidate. It sounds like I would need to find a baby as opposed to an adult in order to ensure that he is well socialized and friendly, is that right?

Yes, get a handfed baby... Alexandrines are very gentle and teach your baby to be gentle... They're very clever and will understand...

 

[BradGC]

Alex's are excellent pets. It's our first parrot (apart from occasionally looking after friends cockatiels).
He is very well socialised, he does prefer boys, but is still great with girls too.
Ever since he was young, we encourage visitors to hold him and now, when we sometimes go on holidays, we take him to the in laws to look after and he still talks, does tricks and is really happy with others

 

[BradGC]

One thing I forgot to add, they don't really like to be stroked or petted, they'll still be as happy as anything, bit when you try to stroke them, they'll wriggle away or push your hand with their beak.
Ours is at a.stage where we can stroke him, but he doesn't like it. It doesn't make a huge difference on them as pets, you get used to not having the feeling like u want to stroke or scritch them and they get used to you giving them an occasional stroke