How to know/how to tell

[texsize]

if two birds get along well enough to live in the same cage?
I know that sounds like a simple question but....

I was watching a documentary on Costa Rica and they showed 2 scarlet Macaws (mated pair supposedly) on a branch grooming each other. Even though they are suppose to be a mated pair the spent about 1/2 the time squabbling with each other.


Patcho and Plumas were a mated pair and they co-existed in the same cage for 20 years or so. They would squabble but very rarely.


So now I want to know how to tell if Merlin and Luna are ready to share a cage.
They have been getting along better and better all the time.

They have groomed each other 2/3 times outside of the cage.

When in separate cages they spend a lot of time looking at each other, talking to each other and displaying there wings to each other. I can just about see the eagerness there eyes and posture.

The biggest difficulty is sharing food. I don't think it matters how many food dishes I have in the cage, they always want to eat out of the same dish.

Some arguments are due to wanting to be in the same place as the other bird.

There has never been any violence. It's always just some lunging. When that happens I will tell them to stop it and if they don't I separate them and put them back in there respective cages.

 

[Flboy]

.....I was watching a documentary on Costa Rica and they showed 2 scarlet Macaws (mated pair supposedly) on a branch grooming each other. Even though they are suppose to be a mated pair the spent about 1/2 the time squabbling with each other!

Let me guess, you’re single!

 

[texsize]

.....I was watching a documentary on Costa Rica and they showed 2 scarlet Macaws (mated pair supposedly) on a branch grooming each other. Even though they are suppose to be a mated pair the spent about 1/2 the time squabbling with each other!

Let me guess, you’re single!

No, maried for 35 years.
But neither my wife or I have a beak that can cause serious damage in an instant

 

[ChristaNL]

From what I hear they just 'move in together'.




personally:

I had this crazy thing going where D. would beat the feathers of the guest at that time, and he was raised a completely isolated bird (so no social skills)- they could not stand being in the same huge cage (D's territory and she was broody at that time) he was curious and invaded her space, but they would -after 3 weeks of him arriving here-, sleep pushed against the bars of their seperate cages as close to each other as possible...


I believe in time they would have hit it off.
(he was a nasty piece of work though, very unsocialized, no self confidence and his owners controlled him with scary things instead of the other way around)- in hindsight I am glad I decided not buy him (he got dumped on MP/craighlist by his owners the moment the got back from their vacation) because D's illness flared a few months later.)

I do not know when you start trusting your birds to be together (unsupervised).
My 2 greys (Appie and Japie) both decided they wanted to live in the large cage, and sort of ignored each other the first year together, till the hormonal season started...and they started to notice each other.....but not in a good way... they both tried to claim the entire cage for themselves!
So it is back to the cage-devider for safety!
(and they are both adult birds)


If I remember correctly one of yours is not done with puberty, right?
So anything can happen... afaik...