Is it actually possible to fulfill the social needs of a single bird?

[Truepacifist]

On Reddit, whenever someone posts about behavioural issues their solo bird is having, the solution is another bird. They argue birds are flock animals and you can not be there 24/7, and in nature they have company 24/7. So if your cockatiel flock calls all day? Second bird. Clingy conure? Second bird. Hormonal lovebird? You guessed it, Second bird!

How much truth is there to this? If you live alone and have one bird, is it possible to be enough for them? Or is it cruel to only have one bird?

 

[onamom]

This is a subject many have different opinions on. As I have a single 10 month old GCC it’s also something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I think if you have only one bird, you need to prepared and realize that you are their flock. It’s very important to socialize with them and make sure they get time with you as well as teach them thing just as another bird would do. Teach them how to forage, how to play with toys, how to try new foods, etc. I personally have found teaching Ona these things incredibly easy because of the amount of trust she has in me. She wants to do whatever I do.

Sometimes I do wonder - would it be better to have another bird in the house for her to communicate with? The problem is there is no guarantee the two birds would get along. They could be very jealous of each other or even hate each other. There’s no way to know. So bringing in a new bird is always a risk in that way.

I believe solo birds can be happy alone and there are things you can do to make them happier by making them a priority in your life and giving them lots of interaction.

 

[Owlet]

Yes they're social animals. But they're not going to get along with every bird. its very frowned upon here to get another bird as a companion for your preexisting bird because there is NO guarantee they will get along. And if they dont? guess what? now you have 2 birds with complex social needs that need divided attention.

I ran into this issue several years ago when I kept rats. I got a solo rat from one of my mom's coworkers who's neighbor left him outside. Fantastic little guy, lovedhim to bits but I knew rats needed friends so I sought out a friend for him. Original rat (blaze) HATED other rats. I tried every method of introducing him to new rat (Jojo) and no matter what, Blaze would try to kill Jojo. Jojo was very sweet and always tried to be friendly to Blaze, but Blaze wasnt having it. So now I have one rat who hated other rats and another rat that needed a friend still. It was a really hard situation. I ended up finding someone that had an oops litter and gave me two of the babies. (Patches and Peterpan) Jojo got along well with them thankfully and it worked out in the end. But it still sucked.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

On Reddit, whenever someone posts about behavioural issues their solo bird is having, the solution is another bird. They argue birds are flock animals and you can not be there 24/7, and in nature they have company 24/7. So if your cockatiel flock calls all day? Second bird. Clingy conure? Second bird. Hormonal lovebird? You guessed it, Second bird!

How much truth is there to this? If you live alone and have one bird, is it possible to be enough for them? Or is it cruel to only have one bird?

I think it depends on the kind of bird and how the bird was socialized during the first months of it's life. I have had very happy single bird budgies. I spent "a lot" of one on one time with them (3-6 waking hours most days) playing, flying around (not me) watching TV, and just hanging out with them. They had medium sized (24-30 inches long) cages and lots of toys. These single budgies were happy, healthy, and bonded to me. And they also learned to talk a bit. So at least with budgies, one of the most social birds, it is very possible. I don't think its healthy to spend TOO much time with a young budgie when you first get him. The bird needs to learn how to entertain himself when you're not home. If you spend every waking hour playing with your new baby for months then suddenly start leaving him alone for long stretches of time he will surely be upset. Give him plenty of fun toys, play music, or leave the TV on and get him accustomed to being by himself and help him keep himself entertained. I think this same approach would also work for solo cockatiels but I can't really speak for other parrots. I suspect that people often shower their new baby parrots with too much attention making it difficult for them when real life responsibilities get in the way.

 

[wrench13]

We have always been a single parrot family. Salty for example is a member of the family and we are his flock. He does not contact call all day, has pretty good manners and is civil (mostly) to his people. Firm believer that you get a second or third etc parrot because YOU want one, and plan on 2X everything except time you spend 1 on 1 with them which is now divided by 2 ( or 3 or 4 etc).

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Yes they're social animals. But they're not going to get along with every bird. its very frowned upon here to get another bird as a companion for your preexisting bird because there is NO guarantee they will get along. And if they dont? guess what? now you have 2 birds with complex social needs that need divided attention.

I ran into this issue several years ago when I kept rats. I got a solo rat from one of my mom's coworkers who's neighbor left him outside. Fantastic little guy, lovedhim to bits but I knew rats needed friends so I sought out a friend for him. Original rat (blaze) HATED other rats. I tried every method of introducing him to new rat (Jojo) and no matter what, Blaze would try to kill Jojo. Jojo was very sweet and always tried to be friendly to Blaze, but Blaze wasnt having it. So now I have one rat who hated other rats and another rat that needed a friend still. It was a really hard situation. I ended up finding someone that had an oops litter and gave me two of the babies. (Patches and Peterpan) Jojo got along well with them thankfully and it worked out in the end. But it still sucked.

I love this story! Pet rats really are such sweet, intelligent critters, but I have a hard time feeling the same way about city dump rats! Not so sweet, but probably equally intelligent!