Crossroads, need advise please

[murray12755]

My Name is Shannon and I have two conures, a pineapple (Toby_) and a Green Cheek (Lola...). We have had them since hatchlings and purchased them from a local breeder around 8 years ago (they have not been gendered). Lola is bonded to my daughter and Toby is more or less bonded to me. they are housed separately and when they do cross paths, they are very aggressive with each other. Our homelife has changed in that the birds are not handled as much and do not have much outside cage time due to busy lives and work schedules. My one daughter has lost interest and Lola's human is at college, so it is up to me to monitor and care for the birds. my girls are 17 and 19, so they were young when we acquired the conures. With that being said, my first inclination is to rehome the birds because I feel they would have a better life with someone who could spend quality time with them, but the animal lover in me is not one to rehome after committing to caring for a pet. We are fully committed to our animals (we have many!). I want to explore the idea of putting the birds together for companionship. I stated they are aggressive when they cross paths, but they never where encouraged to "bond" or get along. Over the 8 years, they have been kept separate. I have been reading various forums and feel with time, patience and love, the potential to change things up for them is possible. I am looking for advice or words of wisdom. If it were up to my husband, I would rehome them. they are loud and an annoyance to him. I would like to try this first and have hopes it will make a difference in the quality of life my birds have. Please be kind to me in your responses as I am choosing to improve without rehoming, though that option is not off the table if I feel my birds would or could benefit from a more enriched environment. Please understand, my birds are not neglected. they do have freedom outside their cages (more so on the weekends) and can even fly should they choose to do so.

 

[wrench13]

Getting 2 parrots that have issues when out together to survive being housed together in 1 cage is a very tall order, and honestly I haven't even heard of this being done successfully. Aside from being very stressful, one usually winds up as the dominant one and will hary, bother or even attack the underdog. Imagine living your life like that!!

Maybe your solution is to rehome one.

 

[Jcas]

Even keeping the birds separate but in side by side cages would offer them some companionship. Getting them in one cage together could be risky; even if they seem to be getting along, you never know what could set one of them off and you can’t monitor them every second of the day. That being said if you have the time and patience to try it, who knows; it might work! Personally, I see so many birds ( and other animals) in shelters, rescues, online sights etc. who all need homes and some of them have been waiting a long time. If your birds are in a safe, loving environment and you are willing and able to take care of them, I think you are right not to immediately jump to rehoming. I hope you figure out something that works for everyone ❤️

 

[murray12755]

Even keeping the birds separate but in side by side cages would offer them some companionship. Getting them in one cage together could be risky; even if they seem to be getting along, you never know what could set one of them off and you can’t monitor them every second of the day. That being said if you have the time and patience to try it, who knows; it might work! Personally, I see so many birds ( and other animals) in shelters, rescues, online sights etc. who all need homes and some of them have been waiting a long time. If your birds are in a safe, loving environment and you are willing and able to take care of them, I think you are right not to immediately jump to rehoming. I hope you figure out something that works for everyone ❤️

my plan was to set the cages side-by-side for about 3 weeks. Lola is definitely more temperamental, so the chances of actually being able to put them together is iffy at best. Thank you for your thoughts and advise. I think you are correct in that just having the cages close together may offer the companionship they need. as of now, they can hear each other, but not see each other.

 

[murray12755]

Getting 2 parrots that have issues when out together to survive being housed together in 1 cage is a very tall order, and honestly I haven't even heard of this being done successfully. Aside from being very stressful, one usually winds up as the dominant one and will hary, bother or even attack the underdog. Imagine living your life like that!!

Maybe your solution is to rehome one.

Thank you for your thoughts and advise. I too feel it is a tall order to combine them.
It is an all or none thing, I cannot get rid of just one and keep one. I would feel too guilty. I will work through it.

 

[bill_e]

If you asked my bird Nike about rehoming, she would tell you that I'm the best thing that ever happened to her. Done right, rehoming is not a bad thing and can be a great thing so I personally would not feel like I failed if it ever came to that with Nike. People change, situations change, and it doesn't mean one has failed.

With my Nike, 2 years ago we lost one dog and got another and for her safety, I had to keep her in the cage more than he was accustomed to... she used to be caged only at night to sleep and now she was out only a couple of hours in the evening. She grew more and more distant from me and aggressive towards me..... totally pised off at me. It has taken me almost a year to gain back most of the bond we had lost. With your girls moving on, I would guess that the birds are becoming more like birds and less like human companions and even being successful with the side by side cage experiment, the relationship with you won't be what it was as they spend more time with each other.

If I was in your shoes and I wanted to rebuild the relationship, I would consider rehoming one of them. It would mean an easier time bonding with just the one and more of you to devote to that one while it would mean the other would get a human all to itself. Not to mention less noise and less stress with your husband.

I don't have a degree in avian husbandry, this is just my two cents.

 

[murray12755]

If you asked my bird Nike about rehoming, she would tell you that I'm the best thing that ever happened to her. Done right, rehoming is not a bad thing and can be a great thing so I personally would not feel like I failed if it ever came to that with Nike. People change, situations change, and it doesn't mean one has failed.

With my Nike, 2 years ago we lost one dog and got another and for her safety, I had to keep her in the cage more than he was accustomed to... she used to be caged only at night to sleep and now she was out only a couple of hours in the evening. She grew more and more distant from me and aggressive towards me..... totally pised off at me. It has taken me almost a year to gain back most of the bond we had lost. With your girls moving on, I would guess that the birds are becoming more like birds and less like human companions and even being successful with the side by side cage experiment, the relationship with you won't be what it was as they spend more time with each other.

If I was in your shoes and I wanted to rebuild the relationship, I would consider rehoming one of them. It would mean an easier time bonding with just the one and more of you to devote to that one while it would mean the other would get a human all to itself. Not to mention less noise and less stress with your husband.

I don't have a degree in avian husbandry, this is just my two cents.

Wow. I very much appreciate this response. You touched on all problems I am facing and I will take your thoughts and advice into consideration. Perspective is everything and you have given me another side to consider. Thank you.