Mates for our birds

The thread from spiritbird about bird monogomy made me think about a mate for Merlin. Will he be fullfilled if he lives out his life with me without a mate. Although I sometimes feel greedy about all the beautiful parrots in the world, I can't see myself as a multi parrot parront. When I see the other forum members w/multi birds in the household, I wonder how they do it. Merlin is so jeolous of my attention, I don't dare pay too much attention to the dog or my husband. I guess I am his mommy/wife. lol If I were to decide @ some point to get a mate for him, would I loose my buddy to another female?

I have had multiple birds in my home as I had been doing animal rescue for 6 years. I have to say it isn't easy to give your attention to each and every one of them and have given a decent amount of interaction. Then again at that time I also had 3 kids in the house with 5 dogs and 14 cats... So... LOL but honestly I believe a bird does not need a mate to live a happy life. You are his/her companion, they will be just as happy with you given the right attention and love! Hope this helps...

I alway's have to have a partner for my parrots. I think my birds are better behaved & don't require all my attention. It also stops human imprinting & teach's the parrot that they are actually birds. I would have to say i have double the fun with my lot. They all talk, I never have problems with biting or screaming.

hummm nut seems rather good mixing with every1 in the household, as we all spend different times through out day with her, i do want to keep this up, to prevent her only letting me or my partner handle her

when she was in season, we was careful not to get close to my man lol as she'd fluff up or lung with the beak, the little madam lol
but for now, she's happy for us to interact, sit together etc

I think it's a personal thing for each individual pet owner. If your bird seems happy and healthy and your content with only having just the one bird then that's fine. Birds don't have to have a bird mate to be happy as long as they get the attention they deserve from their owner/owners. Sometimes it doesn't mean when you bring another bird of the same specie/opposite sex they would bond. They could fight or end up killing the other! It's happened to many people before. I thought about giving my Cockatoo a mate cause she wants to have babies so badly. But then my friends told me they have one that kills his mates when he wanted to mate really bad when she's not in the mood and ending up killing her in the process. I don't want to take that sort of chances. Even though I feel my Eclectus are quite happy being a pair to keep each other company, but they both wants out to play with us just as much even if they were alone.

I agree it is a personal decision. I like to think Rosie is content with her current flock of me and my cat. I did not intend for the bird monogamy information to encourage one to get another bird. If you have one bird you are that birds mate.

I really don't want to get another bird, but I do question whether we should be making pets of parrots. I wonder if I am denying him a chance to do what nature intends. I love him & wouldn't trade him for the world, I just want him to have a happy life.

Just a question for Merlinsmom13... he is doing something that is making you think he is unhappy? A bird can live just as happy with their mommy being their partner as another bird being their partner. Birds/animals bond with the ones who give them love and attention. If you love him as much as your saying you do then I'm sure he is doing fine with you being his companion! =D

No, the only thing that makes him unhappy is me not being w/him. I tend to get too involved w/my animals. Parrots are so intelligent that I probably put human wants & needs on them. Although I would love to have a grey & a macaw & a ..., I really feel like 1 is enough. Every mommy wants their children to be happy. lol

merlinsmom13 said:

The thread from spiritbird about bird monogomy made me think about a mate for Merlin. Will he be fullfilled if he lives out his life with me without a mate. Although I sometimes feel greedy about all the beautiful parrots in the world, I can't see myself as a multi parrot parront. When I see the other forum members w/multi birds in the household, I wonder how they do it. Merlin is so jeolous of my attention, I don't dare pay too much attention to the dog or my husband. I guess I am his mommy/wife. lol If I were to decide @ some point to get a mate for him, would I loose my buddy to another female?

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Yes you would loose your bird to another female if you could find one that he liked. They are choosey and not just any same species of the opposite sex will be accepted. Your bird having being raised only with humans may reject another bird as it's mate. I have a female amazon that was raised with humans and only wants a human for a mate and rejected two good looking, nice same species males. My other hand fed by human (me), did not want a human for a mate and after having her for three years she instantly took up with a male amazon that my other female had rejected.....so it depends on the bird. Lesley

Lesleybird,

They can all be paired up, but they find the mate they like. You don't get to choose. I used to have a female bird that wants to mate really badly, but none of my boys liked her. I went through MANY males to finally find one that actually liked her and they ended up mating. So basically if you bring one or two home, it does not mean they will like one another. They really need to be with quite a few to choose the right partner. Any breeder will tell you that....

I think it's safe to say that substituting a human relationship for another bird of the same species is less than ideal for the bird. They just seem to tolerate it really well. I found that my GCC enjoys having another bird around (an African grey) even though they don't interact closely, but it's still not ideal for either of them. But everything about bird ownership is unnatural for the birds, no matter how hard we try.