Raising A Pair Together

[Quintessence]

I'm looking at one website where I can purchase a "pair", as opposed to a single, and choose between "chicks" and "adults".

I'm torn between getting a pair, because, then, each always has a nearby "friend" that they grow up with and develop a bond with (you'd hope), and therefore might be less prone to loneliness and anxiety and such... or getting just one parrot.

Especially if both birds are the same species, same age, same brood, and grow up with each other, you'd think that there'd be minimal infighting and they'd develop somewhat as strong of a bond with each other as with you, their provider, which I hear is strong with parrots, and macaws in particular. Obviously I'm looking at double-size cages fit for the largest (duo) of parrots (with adjustable divider) so they have ample room for themselves when desired.

I'm curious what other people's results have been, doing something similar.

 

[Shaz UK]

I'm looking at one website where I can purchase a "pair", as opposed to a single, and choose between "chicks" and "adults".

I'm torn between getting a pair, because, then, each always has a nearby "friend" that they grow up with and develop a bond with (you'd hope), and therefore might be less prone to loneliness and anxiety and such... or getting just one parrot.

Especially if both birds are the same species, same age, same brood, and grow up with each other, you'd think that there'd be minimal infighting and they'd develop somewhat as strong of a bond with each other as with you, their provider, which I hear is strong with parrots, and macaws in particular. Obviously I'm looking at double-size cages fit for the largest (duo) of parrots (with adjustable divider) so they have ample room for themselves when desired.

I'm curious what other people's results have been, doing something similar.

First things first are you sure they're a reputable breeder with healthy birds and not scammers is there reviews etc
I'm in no ways experienced my four month old quaker parrot Diva is my first parrot so take what I say with a pinch of salt I'm sure someone more experienced will be along to help.
From what I've researched if you want a pair of parrots but also want a good bond with your parrot you should get one baby parrot and raise and train it before adding another.
Apparantly parrots kept together in the same cage from the get go can bond to each other and have no interest in humans.
I've always been a dog owner and in the dog world it's not recommended to get two puppies either from the same litter or simular age because of littermate syndrome this is were the dogs forsake building a bond with their owner and bond tightly to each other this I hear is also very typical in parrots.
If you did really want two remember it's double of everything food, treats, vet treatment, time, training,noise mess etc etc
If you really wanted to do it I'd advise having two cages so the birds can be pals outside their cage but aren't always together and fixated on each other so you can take them out individually and work on training and bonding.
Also makes a huge difference in any bird on what way they've been reared and if they're tamed or not.
If the birds aren't either hand tamed or hand reared it's almost certain given a choice they'll pick each other over getting to know humans if they are tamed well again I'd still keep them in individual cages for at least a few months and work on training and building a bond with each of them individually.
I'm not sure about bird genetics but if your getting a pair of babies from the same clutch are you getting dna tested because what about inbreeding I'm really not sure how that works in birds
If it's your first bird I'd really recommend a human tamed baby and add another bird in time when your first is totally trained if that's what you still want.
Diva my hand raised quaker I got off a breeder is super cuddly, affectionate, smart and super bonded to me. I work selling online and I'm a introvert so she has me all to herself and is out of her cage with me all day every day though.
If you work or are gone long hours a pair may be better or another pet rather than a parrot.
Also I don't know if what your saying is that your wanting a macaws solo or a pair but if this is your first time owning a bird/birds Macaws are a large emotional highly intelligent species who need a lot of training and handling. That beak hurts are you ready to take some nasty bites, to provide enough mental stimulation to one or two large birds to negotiate your way throw puberty and hormones. I originally went to collect a green chick conure baby when I met Diva at the breeders house. She was the last of a clutch of handraised baby quaker parrots and she picked me attaching herself quite literally to my shoulder and preening chatting and chirping so I brought her home. When I brought her home and began researching I realised quaker parrots are not usually advised as birds for first time owners l. She's crazy intelligent needs a lot of time and training she's hand raised very affectionate and needy but she's still given me a few nasty nips when she doesn't get her own way and their nothing compared to what I'm expecting when she hits puberty and hormones hit in but I love her and I'm ready to meet her needs and weather the ups and downs with her. One macaw never mind two will be a lot of hard hard work to keep happy and to learn how to communicate with and their beaks are far more intima dating than my little quaker. There's also the issue of feather plucking and health problems if birds are stressed not getting enough time from you or in general unwell. The fresh fruit and veg for one or two large parrots that they need to be healthy doesn't come cheap.
If they've been reared from a breeder who has fed seed be prepared to have a lot of work and waste a lot of money as you begin to try to convert them to a healthy diet an ongoing issue I'm going through with Diva at present I throw out more fresh food and pellets that she eats.
So be very careful you don't over parrot yourself.
Again I'm very new to owning a parrot (well more like Diva owns me 😅) good luck with whatever decision you make

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I got my first two as a pair, a conure and a cockatiel and I kept them in separate cages but in the same room so they wouldn't be too lonely when I was at work. After about a month I got a bigger cage and put them together as they didn't want to be apart. They spent the first year and a half together and then I ended up rescuing a cockatiel and another conure and split them up.

They bonded fairly quickly and it did help them a lot to have each other, especially my cockatiel who was scared of her own shadow at first but grew in confidence as the conure was a lot more outgoing. They're both fairly tame even now with a whole flock of birds, though I know they'd be tamer if I only had those two.

People say it can be difficult to bond if there's more than one bird but my two most recent birds are much more bonded to me than my first two and I didn't do anything special with them. I think it's mostly personality that determines it.

 

[Quintessence]

OK. Good points from both of you. Thank you for the input. I'm considering ordering from CJ Parrots Farm. Anybody have experience with them? They talk about their care of parrots on this page: Here

This is the cage I'm thinking of getting for them: Here. It's a double cage with a removable divider in the middle so they can have their own space if they want.

 

[texsize]

I have two sister cockatiels that have been together since leaving the egg In 2016.
they fight a bit over perching locations but it doesn’t get serious.
They are both very friendly with us as well, always wanting neck scrathes.

The male bird from that 2016 clutch (Popeye) lived with his father for 3/4 years but……
For some reason Popeye has a serious hate on for Cheeky (his father).
Puting them together is like putting thoes fighting fish together.

Birds that start out getting along don’t always keep getting along.

 

[Shaz UK]

OK. Good points from both of you. Thank you for the input. I'm considering ordering from CJ Parrots Farm. Anybody have experience with them? They talk about their care of parrots on this page: Here

This is the cage I'm thinking of getting for them: Here. It's a double cage with a removable divider in the middle so they can have their own space if they want.

In my personal opinion buying a parrot off a site online where you don't get to meet the babies don't see their facility or their standard of care and only have an unknown online presence's word on the background of the parrot in question, it's upbringing and their diet is risky. I'd much rather see a reputable breeder in person were you can meet their birds. A online parrot farm makes me think of either they're breeding many many parrots solely for profit and there's getting sub standard care and time into handling them or a scam site again only my opinion sorry if I come across as very negative. I can't find any reviews for the seller in question, they mention handraised are you aware that hand raised weaned babies can unwean by stress like a huge move or shipping and you may need to begin formula feeding again for a while. You should never buy a bird not fully weaned. Also that cage needs to be a lot stronger and larger for even one mascaw.

 

[Owlet]

When they say "chick" is the baby weaned? if not, don't get it. You do not want an unweaned baby.

 

[Shaz UK]

OK. Good points from both of you. Thank you for the input. I'm considering ordering from CJ Parrots Farm. Anybody have experience with them? They talk about their care of parrots on this page: Here

This is the cage I'm thinking of getting for them: Here. It's a double cage with a removable divider in the middle so they can have their own space if they want.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I agree with this. I got my first two off of a similar site. I was able to go and pick them up since I didn't live too far away but they didn't allow visitors (2020 so covid times) and you had to book in when you wanted to go so I could only go once and that was to get them. They have an email with a form of all the birds (and hamsters and rabbits) that they had in at the moment and the prices so you knew what was available. There was a website too but I signed up for the weekly email as it was more up to date. All the reviews were good but it's still not somewhere I would get another animal from.

It was a few large rooms with loads of bird cages and each cage was a different species but there were too many birds in each cage and no enrichment. From what I gathered they were bred offsite, some by independent breeders, and then sold here and sold on. The guy I spoke to was very young and when I asked about the birds he had to go and ask and then I felt like I wasn't given the correct information either. When I chose the birds I wanted he grabbed them and they were screaming. I thought it was fairly normal since they were my first birds. I would never buy a bird that way again. My cockatiel was horrendously clipped (looked like someone just hacked away at her wing) and ,my conure had an overgrown beak and a full red belly but was supposedly only three months old. She's also been showing hormonal behaviours from when I got her so I think she was older.

My other birds are rescues and the difference in them is amazing. If you can't find somewhere good to buy a bird then I would strongly suggest rescuing. My rescued and rehomed birds have less problems than my original birds and are much more friendly and tame.