Introducing 2 Birds

[Pixie603]

Hi, im new here!
I have a male eckie that has been in our home for about 2 years now, we had him from the time he left the breeder.
We have deciding on taking in an african grey that has began plucking/over preening out of boredom. Her cage is huge but only has a wooden perch and 2 toys and her owners go to work most of the day. She is approx 10 yrs old and i will be her 4th home. She lets me pick her up but not without a few nips. very friendly with her current owners. I brought my eckie to meet her just to make sure it wouldnt turn my home into a war zone. When i placed them on a neutral large perch together they both got the paranoid look and flew off in opposite directions. I will be bringing her home next week so i was just wondering (and im in no hurry) how i can introduce them properly and what steps i should take.

also, while im posting, Should i fill her cage up the right way with lots of toys and perches from the start in my home or should i slowly correct her living situation? Her owners said when they put a toy in she is very skittish and will avoid the area of the new toy for a while. but at the same time she isnt use to all the typical cage filled fun bird toys. Thanks all!

Sorry, one more question..she has been with these people for about 6 yrs now and her diet has been only the zupreem fruit pellets, with an occasional scrap from dinner. How horrible is that of a diet? I plan on introducing zupreem naturals/goldenfeast and sharing my eckies fresh foods with her. Mainly curious if any damage has been done on such a limited diet.

 

[goalerjones]

Usually at a neutral bar. That way they drove separate cars so if the date goes wrong there's no pressure on either of them.

 

[MarciaLove]

first off welcome and congrats!! Since she is scared you should introduce new toys/perches slowly one at a time to her when she gets home. Also I would get her vet checked for health issues you never know what she could have and dont want to endanger your ekkie! After she is cleared by vet I would put their cages next to eachother and just them talk to eachother then start letting them be put of cage at the same time on different perches though. Her diet isnt ideal but at least its not just seeds! Hopefully you can convert her to a much better well rounded diet easily. Good Luck!!!

 

[Pixie603]

thank you for your advice. They did give me recent vet paperwork and she is free of parasites and other than looking a bit scrappy she doesn't have anything for my boy to worry about.
Anything i should look for as to when i can be confident in letting them share a perch/playstand? i dont have any experience but im sure their beaks can do some damage.

other than that we will just go slow and take everything at her pace. I'm very excited to open up a new and exciting world to her!
Glad to hear the zupreem only diet isnt the worst thing that she can be on thanks!

 

[MarciaLove]

i think you could probably just see when they want to hand out it will be pretty clear if you watch them interact first and they are pretty much the same size so its not like one chomp would kill probably of course you dont want them to bite if they do then it would take so much longer til they are sweet to eachother if ever.

 

[Empath]

if they're flighted they'll decide when they want to share the same stand. my experience when mixing birds is that one will want to be friends with another and the other one wont be too sure and will either be a little aggressive or back down.

over time they'll decide if they feel safe being on the same perch/shelf/desk etc. where i'd be more cautious is if either one or both cant fly or have nowhere to go.

my 2 sulphur cresteds tolerate each other and will stand next to each other on the top of the couch, but if one isnt happy it just flies off. on the other hand some of my other birds dont want to go near them because of their size so they just stay away and if one the too's flies near them they just take off.

my alexandrine and eclectus are mostly good mates so will hang around together, but that wasnt the case in the beginning. the eclectus wanted nothing to do with the alex, but the alex kept hanging around like a little brother and they're both happy sitting next to each other now. i'd let the birds decide where they want to go

 

[Pixie603]

Thanks! My eclectus can fly, but the CAG cant. My eckie has been very curious once the cag came to our home. He has been standing on the chair next to her cage, talking to her. He even went in and made himself at him in her cage for a bit while she hung out on top. So far she seems a bit unsure but he is trying like crazy to get a response from her!

I think he is a bit jealous though because when i was giving the cag head scratches on the couch he flew down from his cage and into my lap . He isn't one to like head scratches but he was taking them when he seen her getting them! Just like kids.....