Keeping multiple birds

[10i]

At the moment I only have 1 cockatiel and I was considering getting another or even a budgie in a separate cage so that Peaches has company when I am not home.

A while back I did this and suddenly both cockatiels turned on me and although they where hand raised, they both became wild. I was heartbroken and gave them both away, as I thought they had bonded and it would be cruel to split them up now.

Time has passed and in speaking to my local pet shop they agree that keeping only 1 Bird is better if you want to have a tame Bird that will interact with you.

At long last here comes my question : what is your opinion and experience with this?

I don't want to buy a bird that I need to give away, but how do all the people do it that say they have a flock of birds?

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[RavensGryf]

There is not a cut and dry answer to that. It can happen that way, but not necessarily. If the birds are both human imprinted, tame, and if not bonded to you at least see you as a friend, then there is a high chance they will always acknowledge you as a friend.

Certain, usually smaller species may be are more inclined to wanting or needing less interaction from you once they have a bird buddy. Establishing a bond/ taming the new one is important before introducing the birds, and that will further increase your chances of keeping that bond. Of course as you know there is never any guarantees how any living creature will act. Also if they get along. Until our house set up can change, I've had to really go out of my way to the point it's inconvenient to keep my 2 Poicephalus apart while assuring each has enough out time since I don't want to see their blood. It does make it easier when it works out the way we hope, but there is that risk we take whenever we add more. Good luck with your decision!

Personally, I don't have a "flock". I have 5 birds... Raven and Griffin are friends, Mink and Twigs are friends, the combination of Robin and Grififn are definitely trouble, Robin actually can't be near any bird. Then any of the parrots can be dangerous with my budgies. It is not easy if you happen to have individuals that are like that. I only wish they were a "flock".

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

If you want Peaches to have company, but stay bonded to you, you could get another bird, like a budgie, and keep it in a separate cage. You could place the cages close enough so that they can talk to each other, but make sure they are far enough apart so they cannot get at each other. One of my tame budgies and my cockatiel are in an arrangement like that, and they are both still very handleable. You just need to make sure that they both receive out of cage time one on one with you, if you want them to stay hand tame. No bird is going to stay tame if you replace one on one time with a buddy. It's still not a guarantee that they will stay as strongly bonded with you, but I think it's more likely that they will than if you were to get another cockatiel and put it in with Peaches.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I think Julie hit the nail on the head - there's no guarantee either way. If you saw how much my two parrots loved each other (my profile picture is great evidence), you might be inclined to think they hate one on one with me and have decided bird company is better. But if you saw how they are with me when I handle them, you'd have no doubt that I have a strong bond with each. I'm not tooting my own horn and saying I have the secret to making it happen - I'm just fortunate my birds love me and each other. In the first few months it was NOT like that. Shiko hated Avery and I couldn't have them out at the same time.

I really, really believe that birds benefit from company, but I don't endorse buying a bird for your bird. If you want the second bird and are okay with potential situations like what Julie has to deal with, then go for it. Flock dynamics are not predictable and they can/will change over time. There's never a guarantee. One of our members has sibling birds from the exact same clutch, and they absolutely despise one another. It's difficult to predict or give you an answer, so that's why it's important to be committed to your decision or be prepared for the worst.

 

[10i]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

My previous experience makes me doubt buying a second bird. There's no returns, so if I buy a bird and it doesn't work I have to find a home for it.

At the moment my bird is in a huge cage and very happy. Will keep thinking about it.

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[MikeyTN]

When I was keeping a flock of tiels I kept them all in the aviary. They all got used to me over time and they were no longer mean, even the mean ones turned around. But that took months. Once that was accomplished I no longer have any issue of any one of them being mean. But by keeping them in a smaller cage it's different I've noticed as they're mean like you say. If you want multiple I would suggest in separate cages as you deal with less issues that way. Daily interaction matters!!!!

 

[10i]

Thanks, i know now that it could take months. Yikes, I might end up building an avery...

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