Does Sassy need a feathered friend??

Hi all! Just out of curiosity and for future reference...I was wondering if Sassy needs a birdie buddy? I notice most of you on the forum have more than one bird. I am not currently looking for another bird and I am perfectly content with my Sassy bird! (and she seems content with us too!) I was wondering though if she would be easier or harder to train and work with if there was another fid in the house. We do have a camper and we originally planned on taking her with us, but she is going to take more work before she is at that point:09: We stay overnight at the camp maybe twice a month, and I will feel bad if she is at home...which is why we planned on taking her with us, and eventually we will!

So just wanted your opinion on it, and if another bird would be recommended, what kind would you suggest? The man we got her from also has a cockatoo, but that's all I know. She was not let out of her cage because he couldn't get her back in, which is a shame because she LOVES being out!!! She is difficult at times to get her back in, but I still let her out!

I don't want to take attention away from Sassy, but if it would make her more comfortable seeing us handling another (already tame...lol) bird, I would consider getting another. Or if it would just give her someone to talk to while we are away. I just have mixed feelings on what would be best for her, so I ask your advice.

Thanks in advance!!

I do believe that birds benefit from having other birds around, regardless of whether or not they get along. I noticed this when I went from having one conure to having two conures. Although they didn't get along, I did see the first conure starting to bathe more because he saw the second conure bathing. In fact, one time I put a bowl of water on top of a cage, and Charlie, the second conure went and took a bath. He had fun! (as he always does). The first conure, Noel, waited for Charlie to be done with the bowl, then went and used it himself.

Noel passed away, Charlie was an only bird for 3 years, then last year I got Jayde. Jayde came to me being very nervous. She was a nervous preener and could not hold still. Even while sitting, she remained a constant flurry of motion. She was also taking daily, if not twice daily bathes. Far more bathing than Charlie does! So guess who's bathing more? Charlie!


I currently have a foster bird that really likes to chew up paper. She's been going down to the cage bottom and chewing up the paper down there. Now Jayde can easily see this foster bird. What does Jayde do? Go down to the bottom of her cage and chews up newspaper closest to the foster bird.



I've also seen birds that came to me eating a poor diet quickly and easily pick up my own diet by watching what the other birds are eating.





Also... when I got Jayde I couldn't handle her. Somehow, I do think it helped her watching me interact with Charlie to help come out of her shell... although I can't say that for sure, because in her foster home (someone who keeps many conures, particularly green cheeks!) everyone was physically interacted with except her. She was able to watch all the other conures interact with the human, but she refused to be picked up. Interaction didn't go any further than giving her scritches and interacting with her in a hands-off manner. (I seriously don't understand why she didn't warm up to her foster mom, but she did with me very quickly!)



Getting another bird may or may not help Sassy. There are any number of possibilities that could occur. Many people may say to not get a bird for a bird, only get a bird if you want another bird. It basically means to not expect a second bird to get along with the first. The reason I got a second conure in the first place is because not only did I want a "typical conure", but I wanted another conure to get along with the first. Although the two never did become buddies, I still think that the first benefited from having another around. After having two conures, it never felt 'normal' only having one again. Insert Jayde, even though I knew she may never get along with Charlie, I'm ok with that!