Introducing a second green cheek conure help.

[NeniGCC]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading this forum since I got my green cheek with my wife in the summer of 2013. I decided to register to get some help on this matter. Our bird will be 2 in febuary. She is a bit nippy but only with certain people. We have a new born in the house ( 2 month old baby) and she hasn't changed very much. She absolutely adores me and is normally petty friendly. She has on occasion attacked my father in laws ears. ( not sure why she does this but she really loves attacking his ears ).

I've wanted to get a second green cheek (another female, I have DNA tested ours) and eventually have them living together in the same cage. I've read a few of the existing threads but I would like to hear more opinions on this matter.

I also know about the 30 day quarantine.
Lastly what is the minimum cage size for 2 gcc's?

Thanks
Pete

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Don't anticipate caging them together- they may hate each other just as likely as they may love each other. If the do get along, be aware that caging them together will cause them to pair-bond to each other rather then to your family members, and you will likely lose the loving cuddly relationship you have with your current bird. That's not to say they will become aggressive but they will probably prefer each others' company over yours!


As for the monimum cage size- you should always go for the biggest you can afford space for. I would go for a flight cage, something like this HQ Aviary Flight Cage with Stand - Flight Bird Cage and Bird Flight Cage from petco.com

 

[samhatch]

The cage ^above looks great for 2 GCC. Mine is nearly that size for my one conure. As mentioned go for the biggest you can afford.

I agree as well.... putting them together may or may not happen. After quarantine, you'll just have to have supervised interactions as much as possible and just see how it goes.

Good luck..

 

[weco]

EM's right about the probability of two birds, caged together, bonding, however if you have an established rapport with each before caging them together, that rapport should carry forward.

Thirty days is the bare minimum recommendation for quarantining new birds...bare minimum because some disease incubation periods run up to 90 days or longer.....you may want to touch base with your veterinarian and inquire as to their thoughts on quarantines.

Thoughts on cages are always subjective, but a basic rule of thumb is a cage where the bird can stand on a centered perch and be able to fully extend its wings, turn around and not be able to touch cage walls.....on that basis, a cage of twice your bird's wingspan would be comfortable for two, but maybe a minimum of 1.5 times the wingspan of one might be acceptable, but EM was right about the largest you can afford, considering those minimums...

As to the nippiness towards others, that's your fault, though probably intentionally, as our feathered friends do not come with operating instructions.....it is our job to teach them, like we do our children, the limitations/boundaries of what they can and cannot do...and...often when new babies are brought home, some birds get jealous because they suddenly find themselves moved to second place or lower, in the attention category...there are several good videos on YouTube, dealing with biting and how to stop it.

Jealousy is also possible when bringing a new bird into the home, so you will want to view those types of videos also, though each bird is different and there really are no givens to your questions...sorry.....

Good luck.....

 

[NeniGCC]

Don't anticipate caging them together- they may hate each other just as likely as they may love each other. If the do get along, be aware that caging them together will cause them to pair-bond to each other rather then to your family members, and you will likely lose the loving cuddly relationship you have with your current bird. That's not to say they will become aggressive but they will probably prefer each others' company over yours!


As for the monimum cage size- you should always go for the biggest you can afford space for. I would go for a flight cage, something like this HQ Aviary Flight Cage with Stand - Flight Bird Cage and Bird Flight Cage from petco.com

My current flight cage is a bit bigger then that so that is good news.

 

[NeniGCC]

EM's right about the probability of two birds, caged together, bonding, however if you have an established rapport with each before caging them together, that rapport should carry forward.

Thirty days is the bare minimum recommendation for quarantining new birds...bare minimum because some disease incubation periods run up to 90 days or longer.....you may want to touch base with your veterinarian and inquire as to their thoughts on quarantines.

Thoughts on cages are always subjective, but a basic rule of thumb is a cage where the bird can stand on a centered perch and be able to fully extend its wings, turn around and not be able to touch cage walls.....on that basis, a cage of twice your bird's wingspan would be comfortable for two, but maybe a minimum of 1.5 times the wingspan of one might be acceptable, but EM was right about the largest you can afford, considering those minimums...

As to the nippiness towards others, that's your fault, though probably intentionally, as our feathered friends do not come with operating instructions.....it is our job to teach them, like we do our children, the limitations/boundaries of what they can and cannot do...and...often when new babies are brought home, some birds get jealous because they suddenly find themselves moved to second place or lower, in the attention category...there are several good videos on YouTube, dealing with biting and how to stop it.

Jealousy is also possible when bringing a new bird into the home, so you will want to view those types of videos also, though each bird is different and there really are no givens to your questions...sorry.....

Good luck.....

I probably should have been more specific. She's quite a friendly bird, our vets have mentioned she's easier to handle than most green cheeks they come across.

From what I gather is putting 2 in one cage isn't the most ideal situation. That being said I have read that there have been circumstances where this worked out great and the birds still show quite a bit of affection to their owner.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Riddik, on this forum, started housing her two GCCs Monkey and Monster together for their own benefit to ease Monster's (or Monkey's? I don't remember) anxiety. They bonded to each other but they both remain friendly, handleable birds, so it can and does work. It just doesn't always work like that, so I wanted to make sure you knew there was a possibility of them becoming unfriendly so you were prepared in the case that it does happen!