Cage sharing advice

Hello everyone!

I have a senior parakeet that is in her own cage and a recently adopted tiel(December 18) that has a very large cage to himself. These two have been living side by side , share a night cover, and have peacefully lived as neighbors since December. Ideally I’d have them in the same cage but I’m not sure how wise that is. Any advice or experience would be great.

I am not saying that it has never been done, but it sounds like it isn't essential and since they are housed separately, I would keep it that way...ESPECIALLY because one is significantly older (a senior, as you stated). First of all, a cockatiel is a powder-down bird and their dust can cause medical (respiratory) complications in non-powder-down birds. Parakeets are not dusty birds, so that dust could be very bad for your parakeet in such a small space (especially when covering at night etc). I would consider using separate night-covers for them for this reason. Powder-down is so risky for some birds (like MaCaws) that experts actually advise against keeping these species within the same room (or, depending on the size of the bird, the same home--for instance, keeping a MaCaw and a Cockatoo in the same house would be very risky for the MaCaw and is not recommended).

That having been said, there are many potential/universal dangers to cage-sharing. Perhaps the 3 most significant will be:

1. Hormones - which can lead to nesting, egg-laying, egg-binding, babies (and all of those nasty complications) as well as potential mate protecting behaviors/aggression/increased territorial tendencies. While the babies won't be possible in a same-sex pairing, all of the other aforementioned issues can still occur. Species differences and sex will not stop birds from potentially perceiving others as mates. There are cases of partnered female birds who both begin laying eggs simultaneously due to the hormonal stimulation of being in a close relationship with another (same-sex) bird. When females lay eggs, it is risky (especially for cockatiels and parakeets) as it is a drain on their resources and can result in egg-binding (which can be deadly). In males, while egg-binding won't be an issue, heightened aggression is often the alternative.

2. The birds may form a bond among themselves and this can cause them to pull away from you or become jealous/protective of you or the other bird. It will very likely make them harder to train and it can impact your current bond.

3. Potential physical aggression (even among birds who seem to get along). There have been many members whose birds have injured or even killed cage-mates and house-mates (seemingly out of the blue). In your case, this is especially risky because they have their own cages currently (and are used to having their own spaces) and because one will likely be younger and stronger---the term "pecking order" does originate from birds after all.... Sometimes aggression can happen after years of "peace" or if one bird becomes ill/weaker.

If it is just a matter of wanting to clear up space in a cage, I would leave them separate.
You absolutely do not want them getting hormonal, injured, sick, or pulling away from you.

Furthermore, when housing 2 birds together, it makes it very difficult to know how much food/water each bird is getting and if one bird gets a bacterial infection, the chances of the other bird getting it as well are almost certain if they share a cage.