Getting another parrot! Recommendations?

paperdoll0809

New member
Feb 13, 2012
13
0
Brisbane
Parrots
Sun Conure - DOH Dec 2011 (?)
Hi all! I've had my sun conure for about a year and a half and everything's going well.

I've been thinking of getting another parrot, partly to keep my current one company as I'm in a long-distance relationship currently and often leave him alone for a week occasionally and I just feel so sorry for him. The question is, what would be a good parrot to get? I would like to keep them in the same cage so nothing too big and scary. Nothing small like a budgie either, my parrot WILL bully another parrot if he knows he can get away with it lol. I know my conure does well when kept in the same cage as rainbow lorikeets or a bunch of cockatiels.

My friend recommends getting another conure so "the communication is the same". Is that true? I'm just worried that they will communicate LOUDLY =/. My neighbours put up with one conure that screams occasionally, but two might be pushing it. He was pretty loud when I met my parrot for the first time (he was living with his brother who was going to an aviary). I was told they get louder when with another conure.

These are my options:
- another sun conure (but i have to find out if they will communicate loudly)
- some other type of conure
- quaker (the breeder I got him from bred quakers too so he's familiar with them)
- lorikeet
- eclectus (might be pushing it, eckies are pretty big and I would be nervous about keeping them in the same cage)

Recommendations and advice welcome! :D
 
Apr 3, 2013
944
23
MD, USA
You should not get another parrot in hopes that they can live in a cage together. if they were together from birth it would be a different story. if you had an aviary it would be a different story. there is no way to know if any bird will get along with your current who already loves you and his territory. it could prove fatal to one of the birds.

There's no guarantee they will get along. Always get a parrot, or any pet, for you, not for your other pet.
 

JamesC

Active member
Sep 3, 2011
591
41
Knoxville, TN
Parrots
Blue Crown Conures: Tootsie and Rosco.
Senegal Parrot: Sidney.

Feathers of the past:
Budgies: Sunshine, Digit, Kiwi, and Yahto.
Senegal Parrot: Kelly.
"Fly free, little ones. Love and miss you."
If you are concerned about noise consider that if they do communicate it will increase the noise level about 3-5 times. My old blue crown has been getting more vocal as she ages but when I adopted the younger blue crown the noise level went WAY up. They do a lot of feedback back and forth between them. Though the youngster mainly just squawks cause his buddy is making noise. I think he would be much quieter as a solo bird.

Experiences adding another bird vary. Sometimes they get along great. Sometimes feathers fly. In my own experience with the Blue Crowns the results are mixed. They get along most of the time but it can sometimes be a rocky road. I certainly don't house them together cause being so old Tootsie just can't stand up to Rosco who can be a bit of a bully. But in supervised time together they do a lot of mutual preening and it is a benefit for both.

And as said by psychocircus91 above, get another parrot for yourself. It may enrich your current bird's life but you have to be prepared to always keep them separate. I would love for my Senegal to accept the Blue Crowns but that is just not going to happen. His attitude towards them is "Kill! Crush! Destroy!"

And don't forget, if opposite genders they might just want to make baby birds so be prepared for that possibility as well. In a way, I'm fortunate that Tootsie is old and she is not interested at all in Rosco's advances. Which frustrates him and that is probably what triggers some of his bullying so I have to separate them occasionally.
 

Parrotdise

New member
Mar 14, 2013
180
0
Parrots
Red Bellied Parrot, Sam, Double Yellow Headed Amazon, Sierra & Black Headed Caique, Daisy Jane
Hmm I would not keep two birds in the same cage. The only time i feel this really works is with small birds like budgies, love birds, with Caiques you can have two of the same birds in the cage but its best introduced when young. My personal opinion is two birds in the same cage either fight or become more bonded to each other. I like to give my birds as much space as possible and for their safety they all have their own cage.

As for the bird choices, if you can tolerate the noise i think conures do best with conures. I can see a lorikeet getting along well with a conure but they require a lot of upkeep in order to meet their needs and keep them healthy. I probably would not get the Sun conure or the closely related Jenday. Birds that are the same speak the same Language and are going to be much louder together. I think a green cheeked or a pineapple Conure would a good choice as 2nd bird. Eclectus are really cool birds but at least with my sisters bird he does not like noise and has screaming fit and nervous behaviors when placed near conures. It could just be Jack, we only have the one Eclectus in our family. If you are wanting a bird that is not going to copy noises the Amazon family is a good one. They Blue Fronted and the Double Yellow don't copy other birds they both have a mind of their own and do what they want. Both of our Amazons mostly talk. Amazons are like having a 5 year old child though and they do require more one on one attention. Good luck!
 

ShellyBorg

New member
Apr 8, 2013
890
2
Redding, CA
Parrots
TAG Spirit,RLA Danny,Senegal Damon, Parrotlet Opal, B&G Paris
You leave him alone for a week at a time? Why dont you get a travel cage and let him come with you? It sounds like you are in a place in your life that may meen some major changes. The last thing I would add is another parrot at this time.
 

goalerjones

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2011
1,390
30
Parrots
Hahn's macaw, RIP George, Jenday Conure
I'm with Shellyborg. A week alone? Does anyone look in on your bird? does anyone clean out the food/water dishes? check the waterbottle (if you have one) to make sure it's still working? give fresh food?
 
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paperdoll0809

New member
Feb 13, 2012
13
0
Brisbane
Parrots
Sun Conure - DOH Dec 2011 (?)
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My housemate refills his food and water bowls while I'm gone and she takes him out just to chill when she isn't busy. I still feel extremely bad though because he is always SO happy to see me when I get back. He likes my housemate very much as well but he prefers to be with me. This whole "a week alone" thing is a phase that will last till september/october this year. My boyfriend is in the military and has limited leave, so I try to see him whenever I can. He knows about the parrot so he comes to me whenever he can. I do try not to leave the bird alone.

I do want to get another bird eventually, for myself. My plan was to wait till after September/October so I actually have time to spend with the new bird. I'm just feeling real guilty about leaving for a week every 2 or so months so maybe I'm being hasty?

Perhaps I should wait. Glad that this forum is here, really. :D
 
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paperdoll0809

New member
Feb 13, 2012
13
0
Brisbane
Parrots
Sun Conure - DOH Dec 2011 (?)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
ShellyBorg: I so would bring him if I wasn't flying from one end of Queensland (I live in Australia) to the other. I don't know the conditions of where he will be kept for the duration of the flight and that makes me real uneasy. Also, my boyfriend will be moving to Brisbane after he gets discharged, so there's not gonna be much drama over keeping the parrot. Besides, not even moving CONTINENTS could make me give up my bird. <3
 

justjake

New member
Apr 27, 2013
4
0
Edgewater, Florida USA
Parrots
Drakos: Sun Conure
Frosty: Budgie
Sunshine: Budgie
It's never a good idea to get a "pet" for one of your pets. I know this isn't exactly what you have in mind, but if you are having trouble giving your time to one bird, why would you want to double the responsibility?

Being that birds can be picky like people, and have different types of personalities like people, if you were absolutely determined to get a new bird, you should get a new cage. The cage you have now is for your current birds and it is their territory. They have to make room for each other when in the wild they can just fly away if they don't like each other. If you insist on housing them together, I recommend you house your new bird next to a new cage and your other birds on the other side, and then after a couple months, put them together in the larger "neutral" cage. Otherwise your risking homicide. Just because they are the same species doesn't mean they will get along.

P.S. if you are short on time, how will you feel when you come back after a trip and see a clutch of eggs at the bottom of your cage? How will you feel if your birds got stressed due to lack of care and accidentally crushed said eggs?

Hi all! I've had my sun conure for about a year and a half and everything's going well.

I've been thinking of getting another parrot, partly to keep my current one company as I'm in a long-distance relationship currently and often leave him alone for a week occasionally and I just feel so sorry for him. The question is, what would be a good parrot to get? I would like to keep them in the same cage so nothing too big and scary. Nothing small like a budgie either, my parrot WILL bully another parrot if he knows he can get away with it lol. I know my conure does well when kept in the same cage as rainbow lorikeets or a bunch of cockatiels.

My friend recommends getting another conure so "the communication is the same". Is that true? I'm just worried that they will communicate LOUDLY =/. My neighbours put up with one conure that screams occasionally, but two might be pushing it. He was pretty loud when I met my parrot for the first time (he was living with his brother who was going to an aviary). I was told they get louder when with another conure.

These are my options:
- another sun conure (but i have to find out if they will communicate loudly)
- some other type of conure
- quaker (the breeder I got him from bred quakers too so he's familiar with them)
- lorikeet
- eclectus (might be pushing it, eckies are pretty big and I would be nervous about keeping them in the same cage)

Recommendations and advice welcome! :D
 

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