Hi,
I'm not sure if any of you remember me...I haven't been on the forums in forever. I posted a long time ago asking about my Jenday conure Louie's feather pulling.
That issue's pretty much dealt with the best it can be at this point. We're almost positive that the feather plucking and the biting problem he had when I brought him home were probably caused by him being bonded to another conure at the pet store, and then by the employees separating them.
He's stopped pulling except for the occasional feather here and there, but the vet said he's ruined the follicles on his chest and back...they're not going to grow back in. And that's okay with me. I love him and think he's adorable even if he is half-bald, and the vet ran his bloodwork and everything else is fine.
My question now is on something the vet had suggested for him awhile back...getting a second bird. He hasn't really been around other birds since I got him, except when a friend with a conure watched him while I was on vacation once. He hated her sun conure, but it was also louder than Louie, in a strange environment, and I found out later that her idiot husband tried putting them in the same cage together and her bird was a bit of a bully.
I wouldn't be keeping the birds in the same cage, but might it benefit Louie to have someone to play with (supervised) outside of the cage? Or even to keep their cages in the same room so when I'm not home, they can at least see each other and have another bird to make noise at during the day.
Louie just seems to get bored easily. I buy him new toys all the time (he beats them up so quickly!), play with him one-on-one, roll his cage out into the sunshine when the weather gets warm enough...
He HATES anything new at first. New toys. The new dog in the house. If we move his cage to a new place. But he adapts very quickly and then enjoys what's going on around him. I'm just concerned that a new bird would be too much stress for him, but I have no way of knowing how he would react because he hasn't had a lot of exposure to other birds.
If I were to get him a friend, what would be the best type of bird for him to interact with? Does it need to be the same size as him or would a slightly smaller bird be okay as long as they were never left alone and unsupervised together? What is the best way to quarantine a new bird before exposing it to the bird I have?
Sorry for all the questions, but it's not the sort of thing I want to rush into. Thank you!
I'm not sure if any of you remember me...I haven't been on the forums in forever. I posted a long time ago asking about my Jenday conure Louie's feather pulling.
That issue's pretty much dealt with the best it can be at this point. We're almost positive that the feather plucking and the biting problem he had when I brought him home were probably caused by him being bonded to another conure at the pet store, and then by the employees separating them.
He's stopped pulling except for the occasional feather here and there, but the vet said he's ruined the follicles on his chest and back...they're not going to grow back in. And that's okay with me. I love him and think he's adorable even if he is half-bald, and the vet ran his bloodwork and everything else is fine.
My question now is on something the vet had suggested for him awhile back...getting a second bird. He hasn't really been around other birds since I got him, except when a friend with a conure watched him while I was on vacation once. He hated her sun conure, but it was also louder than Louie, in a strange environment, and I found out later that her idiot husband tried putting them in the same cage together and her bird was a bit of a bully.
I wouldn't be keeping the birds in the same cage, but might it benefit Louie to have someone to play with (supervised) outside of the cage? Or even to keep their cages in the same room so when I'm not home, they can at least see each other and have another bird to make noise at during the day.
Louie just seems to get bored easily. I buy him new toys all the time (he beats them up so quickly!), play with him one-on-one, roll his cage out into the sunshine when the weather gets warm enough...
He HATES anything new at first. New toys. The new dog in the house. If we move his cage to a new place. But he adapts very quickly and then enjoys what's going on around him. I'm just concerned that a new bird would be too much stress for him, but I have no way of knowing how he would react because he hasn't had a lot of exposure to other birds.
If I were to get him a friend, what would be the best type of bird for him to interact with? Does it need to be the same size as him or would a slightly smaller bird be okay as long as they were never left alone and unsupervised together? What is the best way to quarantine a new bird before exposing it to the bird I have?
Sorry for all the questions, but it's not the sort of thing I want to rush into. Thank you!
