Is it cruel to have only one bird?

[MissMac]

I've never been a 'one-bird' person (except for when I got my first bird back when I was 11). I've always had at least two. If things were different with Skittles, I would have more birds. But given how bonded he is to me, its not a risk I've been anxious to make. When I had Peaches (she passed in December), I'd had her for over 15yrs and she was fine with him but he wasn't with her. If I so much as looked at her or spoke to her, Skittles would pitch a fit.

I just can't see him being willing to 'share' me with another bird. If he is okay, then I am okay. I don't want to lose my bond with him but I also don't want to deprive him of natural interaction. How important is it for him to have interaction with other birds?

I call it the "Noah" complex, and I have it bad. I have two dogs because of it and if I had it my way, and I had a menagerie of animals, they'd all be in two's. That said... I am now looking to getting a new baby and fighting the urge to get two. The bonding worries me. I mean I want a parrot because I want to form a close bond with it and if I had two... what if they bonded with each other and left me as the third wheel? For this reason I am forcing myself to just get one... and forcing is an understatement, a major one - the battle is real.
I've been looking and fallen in love with two birds and it wasn't until I shared a pick of them to Fb that I realised they were the spitting image of Missy and Gracie... guilt kills.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Well, getting enough attention is not an issue with Skittles. He gets more than enough with me. Given I am home 90% of the time, and he is free-flighted when I'm home, I know that he is fine with that.

I just wondered if he would be 'happier' with another feathered friend instead of just having me all the time. I have all the time in the world.

I should just stop listening to people in my RL (one friend in particular) who is pushing me to get Skittles a friend.

It sounds like Skittles is perfectly happy the way things are. He may very well resent any attention you give to another bird, just like oldest children when they are under five years old tend to resent the attention given to a new baby when they have been the center of their parent's universe all their lives. Remember that birds are like toddlers that never grow up.

 

[onamom]

I think that's precisely how I feel. I just am always trying to find more ways to make Skitty happy. I guess I try to make up for all the mistreatment that birds out there get by spoiling Skitty.

I feel the same way ^

I spoil all my pets rotten because I've just seen so much animal neglect out there that my top priority is always their well being and happiness. Plus we just love them to death.

I sometimes ask myself the same question about another bird. "Would she be happier with another?" Who knows. BUT I do know that she is happy NOW without one. So, I hesitate to risk that by bringing in another.

Edited to add: oops, didn't realize this was such an old post.

 

[Botsari]

I think "cruel" is too strong a word for it. I think it CAN be cruel in the extreme case of one bird and an indifferent owner, but that is not what we are talking about here. Yes you are the flock for your bird if he only has you. Hand-raised birds imprint very strongly on humans, but they are still birds, not little humans. That is also even more strongly imprinted on their genes, and in my view is kind of their birthright. None of them are domesticated species like dogs and cats that have had hundreds, thousands, or in some cases tens of thousands of years of selective breeding from the time the first wolf outcast was accepted into the tribe as a hunting partner. Nearly all of them are no more than a few generations from wild caught. Its a complicated mixture of nature and nurture at play, but it is important to at least CONSIDER that a bird can get not only more, but also (and especially) different social interaction if another bird is in the picture. They don't even have to be super close, emotionally or physically, for the benefits. That said the smarter the birds the more potentially complex the social politics. I don't expect it is any less complicated in a wild flock. If you aren't lucky enough to start from zero with multiple birds it can be a lot to ask the average person to navigate after the fact. I had two males, but got one a year after the other - both as babies. It was always a bit of a love triangle. The older bird decided that the new bird was his main friend, and the new bird decided he liked us both, but me best. It was cordial all around but it did come out in the net dynamics of the group. But all of us, I am convinced, were a LOT happier than we would have been with just one human-parrot interaction as the alpha and omega. Even the occasional disagreement or argument is still social interaction for them, and much better than being alone for long periods.

Being COMPLELTEY alone for most bird species, even if it is for 30 minutes, is not a natural or entirely comfortable state for them. It is in their genes, and it can't be reasoned away. They are very adaptable animals, but you can't get around that fact. That said, how you try to square that circle in your own household is up to you to figure out.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

I know this is an older thread but...
Firstly, I would never recommend someone get more birds then they can handle. And I know not all birds are the same, some are simply too aggressive to be around other birds.

People cannot replace bird to bird interaction, we can try our best but we're not birds.

I have an outdoor aviary galah, and nothing I can/could do would ever receive the same reaction from him as when he hears/sees a flock of wild galahs/cockatoos.

No, I don't think it's cruel to keep a single bird, but I think it's something every parront needs to consider while they're the caregiver of a parrot.
We try to push for more enriching and natural lives for our birds, but when it comes to companionship I see most choose/decide to ignore this important factor.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I would say it can be cruel but isn’t inherently cruel. For example, if you are away from home most of the day and your bird does not get any attention, then I would say that is inhumane. They are social creatures after all! I believe that if your bird has enough interaction and bonding time with you, and you love and nurture it, I would say it’s perfectly fine to have one bird. Rico is a good example of it. He is a single bird, he and I love each other and I give him the attention he deserves and while he doesn’t like to be on me, he certainly likes being around me, and he is the jealous type. He doesn’t exactly like it when I give my dog attention and not him and will give me the cold wing for a bit before asking for scritches. He is perfectly happy and enjoys his VERY spoiled life. I mean, who wouldn’t? Getting fun toys in huge amounts twice a year and fun toys throughout the year, getting food selectively chosen to his taste, textures, and sizes, having out time most of the day, getting scritches and love all the time, and playing with your hooman. Why would he ever split it? So, anyway, the point is, keeping a bird alone isn’t bad or inherently cruel, it just depends on the conditions and the environment of the bird. If you have one bird, you two are bonded, it has space, plenty of out time, and is loved dearly, then I see no issue. If your bird is alone a lot of the day and doesn’t get much attention, then yes it wouldn’t be good to keep it alone. Just my thoughts on this.