The Alexandrine Parakeet

The Alexandrine is known as the gentle bird with a huge beak.The homeland of the Alexandrine is Indonesia with 5 subspecies. All range from 22″ to 25″ beak to tail with a 10″ to 12″ wingspan. Their average lifespan is 40 years. They are not dimorphic (visual difference between male and female) until the reach the age of 36 months. By the time they are 3 years old, they are sexually mature and the males will develop pitch black neck rings and pink nape bands in adulthood.

These are one of the longest kept pets on the Eurasian continent with their name being taken from Alexander the Great. Alexandrines are highly active birds who love to chew on toys and bathe frequently. They just love to play in water. These birds make excellent pets but need daily interaction with their humans and ample out-of-cage time or they could become aggressive as they get older. They are among the top 10 talkers in the bird world, but; you will need to reinforce behavior so that they do not become out-of-cage destructive.

They may tend to favor one person over other family members and become jealous or aggressive, but; proper training will keep that to a minimum. Quakers tend to be this way too. An all seed diet is deadly for an Alexandrine’s parrot, as it is for other companion birds. Make sure to feed a rounded, nutritious diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, seed, pellets and safe table foods. The more variety of food that they get, the better. .A well socialized Alexandrine with lots of wooden toys and a will provide many years of companionship and love. Alexandrines require a spacious cage to accommodate their play and of course, their majestic tail. A cage no smaller than 36″x 30″ x 28″ is recommended.