What bird would live well with a grey?

[Wulfgeist]

My question is: If I were to consider getting another bird, what would be a good choice to add to my flock?

Right now I can't take on another, I'm definately not in a position to do so. Down the line not too far away (I hope) if I were in the position to get another bird what might be some good choices? I think I would like to have a macaw but I have heard they don't get on well with a grey's dander. A 'too seems like a sweet bird but I know alot of them can come with baggage. I would definately like to get one from a rescue.

Right now it's just food for thought, I'd love to hear everyone's input and opinions.

 

[Molcan2]

Spiritbird posted stuff about a confrence that was attended not to long ago. One of the suggestions was to only house birds from the same continent together. When i was looking to add a second i was having a hard time finding something that mixed well with Romes personality, then that post came along and it just made sense to me. I started looking into birds that originate frome her area and all the traits i was reading about them seemed to fit well with her personality. The other suggestion that was made on that post was that if you were going to have the same breed in one house then they should be the same gender. Following this suggestion really worked out well for me. I did not want to live in a house where the birds needed to be seperated, i wanted them to live peacefully together. Which is what has happened for me. Each individual bird may vary but my suggestion would be tsto stick with birds from the same continent or same gender of the species you already have. Just my opinion.

 

[DebsFlock]

Why in the world would choosing species from the same continent lead to greater compatibility? That sounds like pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo to me more than anything that makes any kind of logical sense. I'm willing to stand corrected if someone can point to an actual study that suggests this is true.... I suppose with wild caught adult birds it might make a difference, if they were species that shared the same territory, but... paint me a skeptic on this.

I've heard of all kinds of species getting along together and also birds of the same species NOT doing so.

Personally, if I wanted to hedge my bets in favor of the birds being able to interact, I'd go with birds about the same size, beak strength and aggressiveness.

Scooter and Blanco get along better than Scooter does with Scotty, and I've avoided putting Blanco in direct contact with Scotty given the size differential. All three are from different continents in terms of species origin.

 

[cnyguy]

Based on what I've observed, compatibility seems to depend more on the personalities of the individual birds more than where their ancestors came from. A friend has 13 parrots, a mix of African, Australian and South American types, and they may not all be best buddies, but they do coexist relatively peacefully. Another friend has a Quaker and a TAG who are good friends-- and many members of this Forum have multiple parrots from different parts of the world who tolerate each other well.

 

[luvmytooo]

Somebodys got "bird-i-tus" !!!!

Get another Grey . I have no opinion on this topic. I don't disagree with anybody's either.
I say get what you want or to put it another way , get what "wants you" if your going
to rescue. Either way , I have never worried about actually putting birds together , so
I never really worried about them getting along . I will put Stella and Baby of the same tree stand ,but I always right there with them just in case. But since nobody really climbs around on it , they're pretty safe . And they are male and female so ,you give that some thought too...
Rosie and my Yoshi boy get along beautifully and "sometimes" do share the same cage
Not completely sure what sex my Yoshi is , but I'm very confident he's a boy because of his size. And I'm sure of Rosie's because she was tested.
This is all the info I can share with you

Ha ha. You got bird-I-tus , you got bird-I-tus ,ha ha

 

[Pookamama]

I had a lot of fun reading Sally's page on the different non-grey Africa species.https://companionparrotonline.com/PSP_Poicephalus.html
Too bad I haven't been able to find any of these in my area! Apparently Oregon is Poicephalus poor! We have a few senegals in the state but I am fascinated by the Meyers, Jardines, and Capes!

 

[PortaPerch]

Same continent? Poppycock! Grey owners, especially, were attracted to Chewbaca before we brought her home from Fran's Exotic Birds. They preen each other, and sleep wing to wing.

Color may be more important than continent. Living conditions are even more important, seems to me. Our two are never caged, except at night in a motel room, in case Chewbaca should get out and start chewing...

 

[KBEquine]

All of our birds are flighted. The advice I got was that if the space was adequate for them to get away from each other, they would get along without incident. We have a big, open living room/dining room & the 5 big birds (Greenwing macaw, Sulphur Crested cockatoo, Congo African Grey & 2 amazons) are on their playtops or java trees or playstands in various parts of the living room/dining room, for hours at a time, with no issue. They all (except the cockatoo who is new) also spend nights together in the bird room).

No issues at all. This particular Grey seems closest to the one amazon, although he talks to the macaw & the cockatoo a lot, too.

I think the issue of dust from a Grey or a Cockatoo is addressed with an air filter & attention to cleaning to get the dust off surfaces & out of the air.

So I think the choice of bird comes down to what you want (and what wants you).

 

[Wulfgeist]

Somebodys got "bird-i-tus" !!!!

Ha ha. You got bird-I-tus , you got bird-I-tus ,ha ha

:21:

I do. There's plenty of time to decide. Even if I could get another right now I wouldn't. I want to spend more quality time with Jasper. He's come a long way since he came home but I feel there's still further we could go. I wanted a grey but I was wondering how I would deal with a bigger bird's mess. It's been nothing at all really. Tico likes to fly over to my shoulder and preen my hair, I love the little brat but I think am drawn more to bigger birds.

 

[luvmytooo]

Somebodys got "bird-i-tus" !!!!

Ha ha. You got bird-I-tus , you got bird-I-tus ,ha ha

:21:

I do. There's plenty of time to decide. Even if I could get another right now I wouldn't. I want to spend more quality time with Jasper. He's come a long way since he came home but I feel there's still further we could go. I wanted a grey but I was wondering how I would deal with a bigger bird's mess. It's been nothing at all really. Tico likes to fly over to my shoulder and preen my hair, I love the little brat but I think am drawn more to bigger birds.

LIke a Macaw ? Oh , you must look at a Greenwing or Catalina !!
Or the Red Fronted I think its called ...
If your going that way , its so much fun to share your day with them , they are so amazing !! If you can get the HY , by all means , you will NEVER regret it !
They are the biggest , bluest , teddy bears with feathers you will ever meet , lolol. Seriously , Stella would rather be cuddled like a baby ALL DAY then anything else !! I thought she was sick but this is just how she is , lolol.
But you must be prepared for her to flip upside down when perched on your arm , lolol. I swear , she's like a two year old kid , lolol.

Their cage mess is really nothing , at least thats my opinion.
you will have to clean it more often , I find then the medium birds like Greys and Goffins , but its soooooo much worth it
I clean up the Macaw cages twice weekly and the TOOs weekly.
If not more , depending what kinds of foods they get. I put layers of papers down so I can pull out the top layers to keep it cleaner , then when its time I do a disinfecting . And the grates I spot clean up until its time to do a full cleaning. This way its not so overwhelming when doing all three big cages and the parakeets aviary which is a whole other story
But I got it all under control and I LOVE IT !!!!

 

[luvmytooo]

I have two rabbit air purifiers in the house and I dust everyday with a swiffer duster which makes it super fast and no dust flies gets airborne. I have to vacuum daily no matter what , I only have a area rug down , and the rest wood floor so I swiffer the rest.
I found before I got the air purifiers , the dust was a lot if I didn't dust daily but now with it , it takes away everything !!! I recommend the Rabbitt Air !!!
I asked my vet if I should have the macaws on a separate floor just because of the dust factor of the TOOs and he said as long as I have a good air purifier and a better house keeper , its not necessary .
I hope the opinions on the thread help you make a decision , or at least make it easier
I wish we were closer , I would let you take one of my Macaws for the night , lololol
You can get the feel of having one in your home then and so could Jasper

 

[Wulfgeist]

I am really sort of drawn to macaws. I know they can probably knock pictures off the walls when they decide to get loud. The Rabbitair filters have been the most talked about that I've heard and the most recommended. I'm really considering investing in one of those anyhow. I've always had dealings with dust in my house due to two litterboxes and three cats. Jasper does seem to add more. I have swiffers too..I have the swiffer floor duster and use the dusters, they are awesome. What I'd love to have is a Roomba but I think it would die in my house. Oliver is sort of a medium hair cat and has a near undercoat and he sheds alot. All my cats loved to be combed and I try to do it often but not long after I clean I am finding big black dust bunnies. (he's my dark chocolate anti-oxidant kitty ) If it didn't choke on that or the litter the youngest kid insists on scooping out of the box all the time if would probably try to suck up a cat toy.

I would love to have a Hy but I'll never had that sort of money. I'd like to take on a rescue I think this time around but we'll see when that time comes. My moving plans are pushed back to the beginning of October but this is probably the last time. I'll be a little closer up in the northern hump of Virginia but still too far away. I'd love to come visit and just meet your babies.

 

[Wulfgeist]

I wouldn't worry about that Spiritbird. I don't get the feeling anyone was trying to do that. I am looking for advice and opinions and knew somewhat ahead of time I would probably get different ones. I always appreciate all advice and you were merely passing on what you got. If anyone disagreed with it I'm sure they didn't point at you, you made it clear where the info came from.

Ok it wasn't you but Molcan2 who said where the info came from. Same thing though, I never once read that as purely your opinion and I don't know if anyone else did. If anything was misread you can't be responsible for that.

 

[DebsFlock]

I definitely wasn't picking on you, but I'd really like to know what the speaker was thinking! Do you recall the name?

 

[DebsFlock]

Well that was an interesting talk she gave, no doubt. And I appreciate Spiritbird sharing what she heard. But I don't know that I'd take everything Van Sant said as gospel personally. She has some credentials, but I'm not convinced she takes a genuinely scientific approach to some of the information she dispenses.Phoenix Landing seems very fond of her, half the Google hits are to talks she's done for them.

I googled her and quite a lot of material is on her website/her practice's website. I find her a bit idiosyncratic and prone to making statements without presenting the evidence to support them. She does not distinguish between that which is her opinion/anecdotal observations and that which is fact -- as a scientist by training this always makes me a bit twitchy, but she is a real vet with a real avian practice! I checked her listing in the AAV directory and she's not a Diplomate in Avian Medicine, meaning she did not take special training in Avian medicine, but those are few and far between.

I'm surprised she said to throw out full spectrum lamps since she sells them! Maybe she meant that you have to be very careful that what you are getting is a true full spectrum bulb and not what is often mislabeled at the hardware store. Aviansun is another brand that does produce UVA and UVB. But, yeah, sunlight is a much cheaper solution.

I think she does make a good point about exercise, although I'm not sure "flapping" is the only acceptable form of it. It makes good common sense that being sedentary is no better for our pets than for ourselves.

YMMV but I would not put any credence in the same-continent hypothesis, even if it came from a vet. I couldn't find anything on this topic on her website. I suppose if you treated all your birds identically, it would be best to have all the same species, but I don't think most of us do that. I try to customize diet and routine to suit each bird...

 

[cnyguy]

Hey guys and gals, don't shoot the messenger. I am relaying information obtained from a conference I went to. Speaker was an avian vet from California. She said this is a baseline theory.

I'd never shoot anyone, except maybe with a camera.

Actually, it's an interesting theory and there's probably some sound reasoning that went into it-- but parrots, being what they are, will go to any lengths to disprove even the most well-thought-out theories.

 

[Molcan2]

This ia a forum, an opinion was asked for, an opinion was given. Exactly how do you disprove an opinion? I didnt realize an opinion had to come with references. I'll cite my thoughts next time, it might make it easier to find out if its scientific fact. Since when was behavior even able to be truly predicted.

 

[DebsFlock]

This ia a forum, an opinion was asked for, an opinion was given. Exactly how do you disprove an opinion? I didnt realize an opinion had to come with references. I'll cite my thoughts next time, it might make it easier to find out if its scientific fact. Since when was behavior even able to be truly predicted.

Um, I thought I was stating MY opinion.

Opinions don't need to come with references, although I find them more convincing when they come with arguments. Things stated as fact, however, I personally don't accept as fact unless there are references. And Dr. Van Sant was, admittedly via hearsay, apparently stating things as facts, not as opinions. It was specifically her assertions which I was attempting to rebut.

At any rate, I wasn't trying to give anyone here a hard time, just explain my own reasoning.

I guess I agree that if you plan to have a household with flighted birds free to mingle and allowed to do so without supervision, that having birds of the same species would hedge your bets in favor of compatibility. OTOH, I have a hard time accepting that budgies and cockatoos would be more compatible than budgies and Amazons simply because they happen to come from the same continent initially. MHO.

 

[henpecked]

I think this thread is unlocked now if anyone wishes to continue the discussion.

 

[dishgal1]

No wonder Spiritbird left, this thread has gotten totally ridiculous.
I can't believe she reopened it. Just more arguing I suppose. This forum is beginning to go totally off subject of sharing funny stories and giving help with people's fids and I can only imagine what new people are thinking while viewing this forum. What happened to that joyous atmosphere around here?
Sorry, just had to vent.