Keeping a GCC entertained with a friend?

[JonnyG]

Persie, my GCC, is a happy little guy, 6 months old now, he loves to be out and involved with people, thats all good. What im wondering/debating about is getting him a friend. The reason is that I work 5 days a week and usually will be out 1 day at the weekend. He still gets a good few hours a day out his cage (pretty much all evening every day) and most the day at the weekend but during the week days no one is at home so hes left with the telly on. I have been bringing him into work where he sits in a cage in the office but not every day as I work in a garage and there are lots of loud noises during the day. He doesn't seem to be scared or anything but I do wonder at times...


Anyway, I would like to get him a friend, someone for him to talk to and play with (eventually). I know that he may start to prefer avian friends and I know its double the work to look after 2 birds but I cant help thinking he would prefer a birdy friend so was wondering what people opinions and experiences are? I would like a cockatiel as they are pretty birds but will they get on with a GCC? Would another conure be best, maybe a sun? Or does anyone suggest another breed?

Just for reference these are the 2 cages, first is his home, 2nd is the daytime cage. If I got another I would use the 2nd cage at home depending on what breed.

I hope to have a garden aviary built soon so would be nice if they could get on together so they can join us in the garden, they will still live inside, the aviary would be to have them in whilst in the garden (i only have a small garden so they would feel included).

Cheers for any advice

Jon

 

[cdog]

Well first off, don't get another bird unless you want another one for yourself. Getting one for your fid is not a reason to get one, the reason being is that if you get another one you have to be the one to give it affection, love, spend alone time with it everyday.
Second you can't keep a cockatiel or your Gcc in that second cage because it is too small. You would have to get another one of your first cage. Actually you can't keep any bird in that second cage because it is way taller than it is long/deep and birds need cages that are longer/wider than tall.
And third, you would need an air purifier, if you don't have one already, if you got a cockatiel because of their dust(it's not good for conures to be breathing in that dust all day, it can give them respiratory problems).

Hope this helps.

 

[lexx510]

I've read that it's best to keep green cheeks with other green cheeks. They are very bossy/aggressive, so there's risk of him injuring the cockatiel. Keeping green cheeks with bigger birds is also risky, because they will stick attack bigger birds - and may get really hurt when the bigger bird defends itself.

 

[thermodynamic]

I'll agree with both responses above. Do keep GCCs with only other GCCs. Do not mix species in the same cage.

But I can add:

I have 3 green cheek conures. Which I got for me, but I did get Rusty's pet store cagemate Scooter after Rusty hurt himself. (All 3 birds have bonded to me, in their own ways, and Roseanne is low maintenance. And playtime with them has to be done on different schedules and Roseanne will attack Rusty if the latter gets too close.)

But the more birds you have, if you want them totally human-friendly, takes more work. There is a risk that if you get a cagemate, they might not get along. If they do, they might bond more closely. If so, they might drop you like a hot potato as well. I've been lucky with mine, especially in keeping Rusty and Scooter hand-tame (Rosie was always paranoid and I got her just to get her out of the abusive store... and to never go back there because I can only keep so many birds and there are added costs...)

More GCCs means more antics - I never got into parakeets or cockatiels...

I did just acquire a Blue Crown, which is in quarantine for now. Chances are there will be fits of jealousy when they do meet, and I will have to spend more time with him as he has a tummy and needs to lose weight...

 

[Gino]

Wow I have A Green Cheek Conure and a Cockatiel and two Parakeets all next to each other. I did not know it could lead to Bird health problems. Any way they are in 3 separate cages. I cover each cage with its own blanket each night so they dont bond to each other. All three cages are kept open, except if no one is home the Conure is locked up. Also the Conure is very bossy with the other birds, but she has never hurt one of them. They are all friends and are all hand tame. Its fun to watch them all run around on the floor. You also need to have them clipped if you want them out of the cage.

 

[Akraya]

When I got my 2nd conure Guapo it was because I wanted to keep Misha the first company because I knew I was starting full time work, and of course I wanted a 2nd, who doesn't.

My advice is get the 2nd bird on your holiday break just so you have that time to work with the bird and bond. My two GCC didn't get along at first but now they love each other. Like you said you have your conure out every night and I don't think they'll ditch you too quick if you get that initial time with both =) Mine are both bonded to me in their own strange ways.

I have a cockatiel here (not mine) and Misha really doesn't like him, Guapo tried making friends but Bob (cockatiel - who couldn't hurt a fly) hissed at him and lunged one too many times now Guapo just avoids him, just a thought.

 

[cdog]

Wow I have A Green Cheek Conure and a Cockatiel and two Parakeets all next to each other. I did not know it could lead to Bird health problems. Any way they are in 3 separate cages. I cover each cage with its own blanket each night so they dont bond to each other. All three cages are kept open, except if no one is home the Conure is locked up. Also the Conure is very bossy with the other birds, but she has never hurt one of them. They are all friends and are all hand tame. Its fun to watch them all run around on the floor. You also need to have them clipped if you want them out of the cage.

Why would you need them clipped if you want to take them out of the cage? All of my fids are fully flighted, except for Sully because of his heart problem, and they come out everyday for a min of 4 hours. Sully and Bella are only locked up at night.
If you have other pets it is better to not clip because if your bird escaped from its cage and fell to the floor, it would be an easy target.

 

[dawnkyung]

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to say that I have kept a cockatiel and a green cheek in a cage together before - a huge flight cage, and in my case it was a very bossy cockatiel and a more laid-back green cheek. I don't think it would have worked if the cage were any smaller or if my 'tiel was any less bossy. They lived together for years and were quite happy.