Too much too soon?

[Fluffenchops]

Hi! Quick back story.. I recently took in a bonded pair, a green cheek conure & a Jenday. I have been wanting to add to my flock for many years & came across this pair in a fb bird group. Prior to the Jenday & gcc, it was just my 13 yr old gcc & a pair of budgies.
I'm wondering what is the best way to introduce them all without fussing & fighting. I worry that the original gcc isn't fond of having to share space/time with the new birds. Can't say I blame her! If they decide they simply don't want to be around each other, I'm OK with that I suppose but I'd much rather everyone be on good terms! The Jenday & new gcc obsess about preening each other & the Jenday is extremely protective of this bird. He will even attack my husband if he gets too close. Any tips to make this transition go more smoothly? It hasn't been terrible so far considering I've had them less than 2 months but tonight the Jenday attacked my eldest gcc & that DID scare me :19: I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I don't know what to do since the Jenday & new gcc are bonded. I don't think they'll accept my older gcc in their "flock" or at preen/play time. Helpplease???

 

[EllenD]

This is always a tough situation to go into, because you have no idea what type of relationship they are going to have with each other...A bonded-pair of birds can be quite aggressive towards any other birds, with one of the pair usually being "the protector" of their mate. And then you've got the other single bird who has been there forever and can become jealous and aggressive themselves. All you can do is to slowly introduce them to each other, usually I start out by putting their cages in the same room but across the room, so they can see each other and talk to each other, but so there is no pressure...Then after a week or two of that, move their cages next to each other for a good while and usually you can see how they are going to interact with each other, as sometimes you'll get lunging and such, sometimes not at all...

Make sure that any out-of-cage-time with the pair and the single bird is strictly supervised, and if they are at all aggressive then keep them separated...There's no way to guarantee or "force" them to get along, but in my experience you can at least get them to be able to be out in the same room at the same time without physically attacking each other, though you may have to keep them across the room from each other...I split my time between 4 different parrots, with 2 of them being close to each other and then the other two loners, so it's tough sometimes, but in the end we worked out a schedule where they all get one-on-one time with me and it works, and there is no chance of injuries or worse, which is most important, especially since you've got a Jenday and a little Green Cheek, the Jenday could severely injure your Green Cheek with one bite (usually they get cracked/crushed beaks as the #1 injury), so be aware of that issue...Best advice is to just acclimate them to each other very gradually, don't force anything, and be sure to give them all your time...However, you also will probably find that the bonded pair isn't going to be quite as interested in people as your single Green Cheek.