Red Belly & African Grey - can these two birds get along?

[CassMarie]

Hello!

I have recently been considering adopting an African Grey to add to my flock. I currently have a Red Belly ... and was wondering if anyone has had experience with these two birds together and/or experience introducing a larger bird to a smaller bird?

What are some steps/precautions that should be taken?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Even though I do not have personal experience with either Greys or Red Bellies, I do have experience with keeping smaller and larger parrots in the same home. (Macaws & Amazons)

My big macs play nice together, and so do my Amazons. I would NEVER trust my Macaws around the Amazons - someone would undoubtedly get injured (or worse). I'm pretty good at reading their body languages, and my big macs are not amused if one of my Amazons land on their cages. I have to be vigilant, eyes wide open, and on alert, especially because all my fids are fully flighted.

Does this mean your Red Belly and potential future Grey will be enemies? No, not necessarily. There is always the chance they could get along. There is no way of knowing ahead of time, unfortunately.

 

[riaria]

We had our Meyer's before we got our African Grey. For the first year or so, they didn't really get along - as in, our Meyer's, who is a much much better flier than the Grey, would fly around harassing the Grey, flying near enough to bounce off the back of the Grey. So, we resorted to giving them separate out of cage time. Then we had them at a friend's house for a while as our house had to have some repairs made after a water leak, and when in that unfamiliar environment, they got along great. This was over a year ago now, and they still get on. They don't interact much (and we'd be wary if they did, due to the size difference), but they're happily out at the same time with no issues. So it's certainly not impossible, and they're both African species which is nice

If the red belly is anything like our Meyer's, he's likely to want to harass the newcomer, so you'll need to keep them under close supervision. Silly little pois don't realise they're only one fourth the size of a Grey!

Our cockatoo appeared to get along with them both ok, until after a few months when he got used to his surroundings, and now he thinks it's fun to chase the others around. So because if the size difference to the Meyer's, and the fact that he's a much much better flier than the Grey, we're now on separate times out: the girls go out together and the cockatoo goes out alone. Time will tell if this will change in the future or not

In short, regardless of size difference, anyone who considers adding a parrot to their flock must be prepared that they will not get along and that it may be necessary to have the birds out separately. They may get along fine, or they may not - you can't really tell until you get to know the individuals involved.

Also, I strongly advice that you cover the top of both cages whenever one of the birds are out (especially if the cages are in the same room as you usually have the parrots out in). Parrots tend to get rather defensive about their cages and usually dislike having someone sit on top of it (especially if it's a bird they haven't got a close relationship with), and it only takes a split second for them to bite a toe. We learnt this the hard way, I'm sad to say, though we were lucky no permanent harm was done! We've got one playtop and two dome top cages - while I generally prefer dome tops, when we upgrade to new cages they'll most likely be playtops, simply because it takes the hassle out of trying to cover the top of the cages. In the mean time, we've got plastic sheets that we put over the tops whenever the cockatoo is out - they let some light in, but are thick enough to prevent any biting.

Hope this helps!

 

[riaria]

Also wanted to add that it's good to have them fully flighted, as that means they can always escape from one another if they feel the need to - rather than be forced to fight with no possibility of flight.

 

[CassMarie]

Thank you both for your advice ... I guess I was afraid that because my red belly would be much smaller in comparison to a Grey that she would be the one to watch more carefully. But since she does technically own the place, she most likely would be the one to harass the other feather baby.

Unfortunately I don't live in a place where it would be wise to have the birds flighted. There are too many things that they could crash into and get injured that way. Their cages would be positioned across a doorway from one another and I figure that if they are both clipped and both stay on their respective cages their shouldn't be too much trouble. I hope anyways .....

Is there a possibility that if they spent time together they would actually bond to one another?

Have either of you experienced jealousy from your first bird when you introduce a second bird and start spending time with it?

I'm glad that there was no permanent injury done to your poor little one's toe. Ouch!