Fake Parrot Companion for Only Bird?

[BoomBoom]

Hi, everyone. Boomer, my 9 month old sun conure, will soon become an only bird. Our parakeets Capa and Quark will be moving out with Chris soon. Boomer will be alone at home from 7:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. I know that birds like having other birds they consider flock mates around for security. My options are:

1. Get another conure (I'm thinking Dusky) to be his cage mate (will arrange quarantine).

Pros: will keep him secure, occupied, I won't feel guilty leaving him.
Cons: they might be loud together which is not good as I live in an apartment, Boomer might not like the new bird, even if they like each other, they might end up hurting each other.


2. Get a fake parrot toy and perch him on the other side if the room. One that talks? I know it sounds sounds silly but I'm wondering if it would work.

Pros: No clean up, with my schedule I could not manage caring for two cages, will be quiet, might even teach Boomer a few words.
Cons: Boomer will not be fooled into thinking its real.

Does such a toy even exist? Please help me with suggestions. Thank you.

 

[MonicaMc]

I would suggest another bird at that rate! Yes, two birds may be noisier, but sometimes they can be quieter because they aren't alone! It didn't make a difference between my two conures, but that was because they were complete opposites. Although one did try copying the other, they just never did get along... and truth be told, the 2nd conure is much louder than the first ever was!



There are fake parrots out there... stuffed and plastic. Ones that don't do anything and ones that talk. My question to you is, if you were alone and had the choice, would you prefer the company of a mannequin or that of another human?


Of course, you don't have to go either route... and just stick to having Boomer as an only parrot!

 

[BoomBoom]

That analogy about the mannequin made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the advice. Since your two conures never got along, did you have to house them in separate cages?

 

[MonicaMc]

Glad it made you laugh!

Yes, I had to house my conures separately. I wish they would have gotten along, in fact, that was the hope in getting the second one! But I was also prepared if they never did get along. In the end, Noel (cherry head, RIP) lived in the bird room (not a bird that enjoyed more than a few minutes of human handling but was happiest with other birds...) and Charlie lived with me since he prefers human interaction! He enjoys being around other birds, but he doesn't like any of my current birds, and although he did want to bond with Noel, Charlie was just too aggressive in behavior for them to get along.

That said, Casey (tiel) got along just fine with Noel! And for a long time, they were caged together.

Charlie, before he came to live with me, lived with a lilac crowned amazon for around a year! Before that, he was an only bird for 10/11 years.



I think that if Noel had been your average, typical conure, he and Charlie would have probably gotten along... but unfortunately, he wasn't.