Lately I’ve been thinking about the third and final addition to my “flock”. I have wanted a macaw ever since I was little, but with my two, constant attention-seeking conures around, I don’t think getting a macaw would be a wise decision. I’d be worried about two things; trying to juggle time and attention between them all and the macaw hurting or injuring my little conures. I was initially considering a galah, but have since rethought this decision based on the former information, I just don’t think having another extremely loud and attention driven bird in the house with my current two is a smart idea.

Now, I’ve narrowed down my decision to two VERY different types of birds, I would love some suggestions and input from other members on what I should go ahead with.

The first bird I’m very interested in is a love bird. I feel that a lovebird would more easily get along with my two, and would not be able to seriously injure or intimidate them. I find lovebirds absolutely adorable and would love to have one. Does anyone have any experience with lovebirds around bigger species like conures? Or even any lovebirds that have gotten along with other species at all.

My second interest is an african grey. I’ve been a long time fan of these amazing and beautiful birds and I think having a bird that is slightly more independent would be great when I already have two very busy and attention seeking conures. I just love greys, their personalties, their looks, their size, everything! The only problem is… they’re $5,000 in Australia, which means I wouldn’t be able to have one for at least a few years, and $5,000 is a huge amount of money when I’m only 22 and still have to think about owning my car outright, and a house, in the near future.

What is your opinion? Should I get a lovebird as my third and final bird, or should I wait the extra time and spend the money on an african grey?

I love both species a lot, and I just can’t decided on one. I would love to get both, but that is not really an option for me.

Thanks.

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From what I've read lovebirds are quite aggressive and so are conures... Love birds are gorgeous, though, and I really think they should be paired up, even same sex pairs... They just love each other so much...

I would probably go for something completely different, like an Alexandrine... The alex is a non aggressive bird with a stable temperament... They are very independent, loves playing and foraging...

The CAG will eventually come down in price... If I were you, I'd wait... Pay off your car, get a house, have a family... After that they should be affordable... lol

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Lene

My conures aren't aggressive at all though. They were very easily introduced to each other and now share a cage while remaining bonded to me. They happily play and show interest in my friends birds, so I don't think they themselves would be an issue.

They are both still young, too. Lola is a year and Mimi is just under a year.

Alexandrines are cute, but I've never felt a connection to them or met one that really sparked my interest, they just don't seem like a bird that would click with me...

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i really agree with lene1949. lovebirds have an aggro tendency and would most likely fight with your conures. cag is a great choice but it is a bigger responsibility and costly in every aspect. i think you should take care of what you have to pay and care for and when it's the right time for you to then get the cag.

you could also look into rescues, adoptions, and rehomes ads and may find a bird perfect for you. this option takes time, as well, since every bird will have a past history with underlying issues. it may not be easy if the bird has had multiple owner and is traumatized. this route will take more experience and effort than buying a newly weaned bappy.

i would like a cag, too, but right now i'm just not set up for it. i'm going to get it when it's the right time for me since it's been a life long dream. it may not actually be too long since life usually works out!

Hmmm, well my opinion is a bit different and could be met with some criticism from others but I'll give it anyway . Since having Rome I wanted to add a second bird, I had previously fallen in Love with black headed caiques. I thought that because of their size they wouldn't be intimidating (yes the M2 is very submissive and in her last home was chased around by housemates 1/3 her size - one of them being a green cheek conure which was the size of her leg but still bullied her a lot). After meeting several I just couldn't seem to find the right one that would mix with her personality. I still love them but I realized that the characteristics I love about them made them a horrible choice for Rome. I was also looking at CAGs, which my vet pointed out to me that I would be housing the two most intelligent breeds together and he did not feel that it would be a good choice with Rome's personality. So on ward and forward trying to find something that would be more suitable. I know they say to pick a second bird because you want one (which was because I did) but I really wanted a harmonious household. I wanted the two to get along, I read all the time of people who live with their birds by rotating who is out and who is kept in, or the ones who keep everyone on separate floors and rooms in the house. I could never imagine having to live like that with the birds. I read a post that spiritbird put up once that had to do with a conference that they attended. One of the suggestions was to not mix birds from separate continents and not to mix genders of the same species. I sat back and thought about it for a bit and it seemed to make sense. I thought about the personality traits (the typical ones, individuals can always be exceptions to the rule) and I realized that for my situation it made perfect sense. I narrowed my choices down from everything to two: a female RB2 and a male eclectus (I did not want another large too, one is definitely enough). I only take in re-homes so it was basically who ever came along first (that I had a connection with and with a personality that would mix well with her). So along came Rocco, they are absolutely perfect to together. They are completely loose all day everyday with each other, which is what I wanted to be able to do. In the end I could not have made a better choice.

IMPO I would start looking at Central and South American birds. Which would include your macaw that you previously wanted. If your worried about the macaws being to large (my personal favorite are the GWs) then maybe perhaps go with a mini? They are a category that gets over looked a lot but you may be able to find something in there that matches well. Just my two cents (or a thousand considering how long my post was).

I feel your pain about the pricey grey's, I feel head over heals in love with a grey I saw at a bird shop, but the $5,500 price tag kept her from coming home and joining our family! I visited her all the time until she was adopted. My answer would be a grey, but only because I too love them so much! :P I have never owned a grey or a lovebird so I can't be of any real help lol!

Have you considdered a Hahns/illigers macaw? All the macaw personality in a smaller package and about the size of the larger conure species. mine are sperate, but when you browse the youtoobs, there's a fair amount of people succesfully having the two? all the best of luck!

I have a single peach-faced lovebird and from what I've heard they don't get along with any other species, including other types of lovebirds. But I don't know, maybe they would be company for each other in separate cages. Mine came from a home with a few other lovebirds but mostly canaries. Basil has a bit of canary song in his repertoire. I had originally wanted two lovies but the avian vet suggested that because he wasn't handtamed, I should only have one so he'd bond to me. And he has and that's great. I sometimes wonder if he's lonely during the day though. Fortunately I only work part time so he does have me around some days.