Parrot decision

[April12]

Next year I'm thinking of getting another parrot. I can't decide if I should get a bigger or a medium sized parrot. I will either get a African grey or a yellow headed Amazon parrot if I choose to get a bigger parrot or a Maroon bellied conure or a GCC if I choose to get a smaller. I have enough time to spend with either species and a big enough cage but they will probably be spending most of their time outside of the cage. I already have a Quaker parrot. Which of these would be the best option? I don't travel a lot and currently live in Croatia. I go to high school but even when I'm off to college I will have my family to take care of the bird's. I would also be able to visit every weekend because I live relatively close to the college I wish to go to.

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[Ira7]

You can’t just hand off a bird to your parents’ care if the bird hasn’t bonded to them.

 

[April12]

I live with my parents so the bird will spend a lot of time with them to before I even go to college in like 4 years. I would like to bring them with me and there are some appartements that allow pets but I don't think it's right to bring them with me because I won't be able to spend as much time with them as I usually do.

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[noodles123]

I think you should wait until you are done with college. Leaving them (even with your parents) will impact them emotionally (and no matter what your parents say about your current bird, you have no way of knowing how 2 will do together-- even if they get along initially, hormones kick in and friends can become enemies...or love interests lol). If you cannot care for them independently at this point, I would strongly suggest that you wait until you have a stable job, income and housing situation.

A lot can change between now and then and Greys, Amazons etc live FOREVER and get traumatized by re-homing due to unexpected circumstances. I know you hope your bird will like your parents, but they (or one) could also hate them or end up fighting with your quaker, so if you take this plunge, that is really quite an unfair burden to place on the birds and on your parents-- you KNOW the quaker is okay with them at the moment, but throw another bird into the mix and you could derail all of that....and cause both of them to pull away- that doesn't always happen, but it can. Plus, a larger bird could literally kill your quaker, so if they don't get along, you are looking at 4 hours out-of-cage time at least for the grey and prob 3 for the quaker...for a total of 7 HOURS DAILY...that's a lot if your parent's happen to not be the bird's favorite people...Then there is the issue of puberty and how much birds can change when they mature sexually..

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, congratulations for orchestrating a transition from high school to college!

What is your family's association with your quaker, do they interact and enjoy? A third option may exist if your parents are equally enamored with parrots and you jointly adopt the second bird. Many species readily bond to multiple persons with some effort. Please consider this thread for additional insight: http://www.parrotforums.com/new-mem...-students-should-ask-before-getting-bird.html

 

[April12]

My Quaker likes pretty much everyone in my family. He is quite bonded to me tho. The only person he doesn't really like is my dad he isn't aggressive toward him or anything he just walks away from him when he tries to pet him. He likes me and my brother the most.

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[noodles123]

My Quaker likes pretty much everyone in my family. He is quite bonded to me tho. The only person he doesn't really like is my dad he isn't aggressive toward him or anything he just walks away from him when he tries to pet him. He likes me and my brother the most.

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You have no idea how a new parrot would impact these relations. The new bird could change things a lot (including your quaker's alliances). As I said, there is no way to know that they will get along with each other, let alone, your family (even if they don't, they can still change the dynamic within your current parent/family situation). On top of that, mixing a sexually mature quaker with an immature grey could be very bad- especially if the grey's /Amazon's opinion changes when hormones kick in, and even before that, they could bite your quaker in an instant..

 

[April12]

My Quaker likes pretty much everyone in my family. He is quite bonded to me tho. The only person he doesn't really like is my dad he isn't aggressive toward him or anything he just walks away from him when he tries to pet him. He likes me and my brother the most.

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You have no idea how a new parrot would impact these relations. The new bird could change things a lot (including your quaker's alliances). As I said, there is no way to know that they will get along with each other, let alone, your family (even if they don't, they can still change the dynamic within your current parent/family situation). On top of that, mixing a sexually mature quaker with an immature grey could be very bad- especially if the grey's /Amazon's opinion changes when hormones kick in, and even before that, they could bite your quaker in an instant..

I would keep their cage's separate at least the first month and if they don't end up getting along I could give away the Amazon to someone I trust will take good care of it.

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[noodles123]

My Quaker likes pretty much everyone in my family. He is quite bonded to me tho. The only person he doesn't really like is my dad he isn't aggressive toward him or anything he just walks away from him when he tries to pet him. He likes me and my brother the most.

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You have no idea how a new parrot would impact these relations. The new bird could change things a lot (including your quaker's alliances). As I said, there is no way to know that they will get along with each other, let alone, your family (even if they don't, they can still change the dynamic within your current parent/family situation). On top of that, mixing a sexually mature quaker with an immature grey could be very bad- especially if the grey's /Amazon's opinion changes when hormones kick in, and even before that, they could bite your quaker in an instant..

I would keep their cage's separate at least the first month and if they don't end up getting along I could give away the Amazon to someone I trust will take good care of it.

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Sorry- I can't support that as a reason to justify getting one---if you don't have the time or ability to devote to them in the event that they don't get along, then you really are not in the position to get another-especially given how much your life will change and the fact that you KNOW you will be leaving them in the next few years. These animals are more like people than pets- with the IQ of a 4-year-old, that's a lifetime of trauma just to make a person happy...You know?

I understand that everyone sees things differently, but these animals exist for themselves, not for our pleasure, and we already deprive them of their natural habitats etc....The least we can do is give them the life-long bonds that they seek out and obtain in nature. They bond tightly...they do not leave their families for long periods unless they die. Giving one away on a whim is like giving a kid away --they might get food, water and shelter, but they are going to miss the people they are attached to, and the environments they know.

I don't understand the rush when you aren't in a good position to adopt and you have your entire life ahead of you to do this...Why not wait when you know it would be the safest (and kindest) thing for the animals? You also are negating the fact that your quaker is already going to have to deal with your absence, and that WILL be hard on him. You are his flock...Why bring another bird into that until you are settled ---best case scenario, he gets along with your other bird, gets attached to you and then you leave him (at least, in his mind...) We already discussed the worst-case scenario...and we don't agree there.

 

[April12]

You have no idea how a new parrot would impact these relations. The new bird could change things a lot (including your quaker's alliances). As I said, there is no way to know that they will get along with each other, let alone, your family (even if they don't, they can still change the dynamic within your current parent/family situation). On top of that, mixing a sexually mature quaker with an immature grey could be very bad- especially if the grey's /Amazon's opinion changes when hormones kick in, and even before that, they could bite your quaker in an instant..

I would keep their cage's separate at least the first month and if they don't end up getting along I could give away the Amazon to someone I trust will take good care of it.

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Sorry- I can't support that as a reason to justify getting one---if you don't have the time or ability to devote to them in the event that they don't get along, then you really are not in the position to get another-especially given how much your life will change and the fact that you KNOW you will be leaving them in the next few years. These animals are more like people than pets- with the IQ of a 4-year-old, that's a lifetime of trauma just to make a person happy...You know?

I understand that everyone sees things differently, but these animals exist for themselves, not for our pleasure, and we already deprive them of their natural habitats etc....The least we can do is give them the life-long bonds that they seek out and obtain in nature. They bond tightly...they do not leave their families for long periods unless they die. Giving one away on a whim is like giving a kid away --they might get food, water and shelter, but they are going to miss the people they are attached to, and the environments they know.

I don't understand the rush when you aren't in a good position to adopt and you have your entire life ahead of you to do this...Why not wait when you know it would be the safest (and kindest) thing for the animals? You also are negating the fact that your quaker is already going to have to deal with your absence, and that WILL be hard on him. You are his flock...Why bring another bird into that until you are settled ---best case scenario, he gets along with your other bird, gets attached to you and then you leave him (at least, in his mind...) We already discussed the worst-case scenario...and we don't agree there.

I agree I should probably wait . I don't want to put a bird through unnecessary trauma. I have been thinking between getting a smaller bird friend for my Quaker like a GCC or a Maroon bellied conure but I honestly can't tell the difference between the two.

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[noodles123]

I appreciate your honesty and I hope I didn't come off as too harsh- I am very passionate about this because I believe in it strongly.

Here is the thing- even budgies are SUPER smart-- so smaller birds kind of get associated with less intelligent birds because they are cheaper and don't live as long, BUT they are still huge commitments and they are nearly as smart, as smart or even smarter, in many cases.

It is true that they do not live as long and they are far less capable of sending someone to the hospital, but they still are emotional creatures who often don't get the attention they need from owners because they are not super huge and bossy (well...maybe bossy, but try as they may, they can't quite push people around as well as a larger bird, unless the people are paying attention).

I understand your desire to get your bird a companion, but that mindset comes with some risks...
1. You are likely your birds companion right now, and while some parrots are a bit more fluid in who they will and will not accept into their circles. I would be careful about assuming that a new bird will definitly be accepted (it's like a 50-50 chance..maybe less---and the closer in size they are, the less dangerous, at least with supervison--even 2 small birds of the same type can and have killed others of the same species, but there's a big difference between a budgie, quaker, or even cockatiel and something larger. It takes one bite, vs many.

Now. if you get another small bird.
1. they may not get along and may require constant supervision.
2. if they do not get along, you still must provide for them that individual time out of the cage and you may not know whether they really get along until puberty, which will take AT LEAST a year...and even if they don't seem as smart, they are--- they just tend to be kept in flocks more and get less attention from people, so they don't always know as many tricks, but they are fully capable.
3. If they do get along, they may become sexual (even if the species are different and even if the genders are the same--which can put a strain on your relationship or other humans' relationships with the birds because they can get really into that relationship.
4. They can get jealous of YOU and the other bird.
5. If they get along really well, and it's sexual (EVEN if they can't physically reproduce together) they can still trigger hormones and nesting behaviors which can lead to egg-laying in females. With egg-laying comes the risk of egg-binding and that can be deadly.
6. If they are able to reproduce, you could end up with a very complicated and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE breeding issue--- babies will breed with siblings when mature so if you had babies, you A. might have to hand-raise them to prevent the parents from neglecting or killing them on purpose and B. you would have to have cages for them when they grew up (separate) or the cycle would repeat and you would end up with a dangerous genetic mess.
7. Any bird (even those who seem totally healthy) can carry and spread certain very deadly illnesses for an entire lifetime and it's impossible to know who is a carrier without testing (these would be things like PDD/PBFD/ABV etc) Sadly, even with testing, you can get false negatives if a carrier isn't actively shedding the highly contagious viruses..so that is another risk associated with multiple birds.
8. You must quarantine a new bird for 30 days and get testing etc in the meantime (separate rooms, food, cages etc).
9. A second bird could impact your current bird's preferences and personality for a variety of reasons.

All that having been said, it just seems like a lot of risks to put on your current bird and on your parents knowing that you will leave. IF your current bird likes them, they can be his company, but I know that is a lot of time/effort for them--but again-- you have no way of knowing whether a new bird will like your current one. ALSO-- let me be clear that if you are his person, he will likely be very upset when you leave, and your parents will have to be very patient because that is traumatic for a bird.

Lots of people have multiple birds, but they are in the position where, if it doesn't work, they can take care of the birds separately and provide them that individual attention. With you being in high school, it will be much more complicated until you have more certainty about your life...

I don't really have an answer, but I hope you consider all of this.

 

[Scott]

Based on continued dialog, I too recommend waiting for a second bird. I understand re-homing the amazon may be an instinctive remedy for trouble, but most of us are uncomfortable supporting anything less than firm loyalty. Re-homing ought be the absolute last resort.