My Parrotlet

Question
I have a 3 year old Pacific Parrotlet. She is very tame but cannot amuse herself when I am not home. I am the only one who spends time with her and when I am not in the room she will not play with her toys (believe me I've tried every kind of them !) . And lately she will get aggresive when I try and return her to her cage. She is perfectly friendly, yet when I try to put her away it takes over 30 minutes leaving both of us stressed and unhappy. Any tips?

Answer
hi. thanks for your question.  
while it may seem like she does not amuse herself when you are not home, my guess is that she is doing just fine...unless she is exhibiting self injurious behavior (like feather plucking) chances are, she must be finding other ways of entertaining herself. i say this because boredom is usually what leads to feather picking in solitary birds.
the problem is that birds know when we are home (by home i mean in the house, in the yard, driveway, in the general area) and they think that when we are there that all attention should be placed on them. my sun conure cannot stand the fact that he is not with me continuously throughout the day when i am home. this can make it very difficult to relax on weekends! parrots are flock animals and are not used to being on their own...therefore, you are part of their "flock" and they desire to be with you constantly. this explains why your parrotlet becomes so aggressive when you try and put her back...she simply does not want to go! additionally, she is probably not playing with her toys when you are there because she would prefer to be with you and is probably spending most of her time trying to get your attention (squawking, jumping around, whatever).  
since it is obviously not practical for you to be with her constantly when you are home, you will have to "agree" with her on a compromise. i make sure that i am spending as much free time as possible with my parrot, even if it means keeping him with me while i do other things like go online or read mail.  
if you feel that you are doing your best and spending as much time with her as possible, then it is the return to her cage issue that should be addressed. she obviously does not want to go back in and whatever she is doing is "working" if she gets an extra half hour out while you struggle to put her back in.  
the first thing that i would suggest would be to make sure that you are putting her back in to her cage by hand.  i mean, do not keep her on your shoulder and approach the cage (meaning either reaching for her as you approach the cage or trying to place her on the cage from your shoulder). birds often feel a sense of "entitlement" when they are on our shoulders at our eye level. this can lead to an aggressive and disobedient bird.  i suggest having her on your hand well before you begin walking toward her cage...she will try and scurry away but continue to keep her on your hand.  if necessary, you may even need to hold her gently(as opposed to having her perched on your finger) and put her back in.  while it sounds aggressive, it is important to let her know that you run the show and that you are in charge...whether this means physically holding her when you put her back or not allowing her to get away while you put her back, she needs to know that the 30 minutes to get back in ordeal will not be tolerated.
you may also want to use positive reinforcement when she re-enters the cage such as supplying her with her favorite treat. this will reinforce the good behavior of returning the cage while also helping her to associate a return to the cage with a tasty treat, hopefully increasing her willingness to return to her cage!
i hope this helps. just remember that birds, like children, need limits set and need to be recognized for good behavior as well as for bad behavior. try and remain calm and use a soft voice (to keep yours and her stress level down) no matter what. i know its hard but a stressed bird and a stressed human almost "feed" off of one another's stress. birdie playtime should be a happy and fun one!
good luck and i hope this helps! alicia