Adding a second bird?

[RebelEgger]

Hello everyone! Niya has been with us about 3.5 months now. She is very bonded with me. Our cats and dogs don’t bother her at all.

We were able to adopt her because the house she was in, she was being bullied by 2 conures. IRN’s are very hard to find in our area so we are very lucky to have her.

She seems happy enough on her own and to socialize with me, and occasionally tolerate my husband when food is involved. 😂

Do you think she needs a friend? She is alone through the day when we are working, but once I am home I spend a few hours with her (and about an hour in the am) and we have our little daily and weekly routines she enjoys.

Getting another IRN isn’t really a possibility for us. Do you think she could or would get along with a cockatiel? There are some young ones near us available, we have the space and we have a secondary cage for one. Are these 2 breeds ok together?

Niya is 5 years old. Should I leave it alone and let her be an only bird?

Some photos of our girl for tax 🥰

 

[wrench13]

Honestly you can never tell which way a new addition is going to go. They could be buddies, they could hate each other, and they could be best buddies and decide to leave you out. And any combination of this. Plus 2x the mess, food and toy bills! Only get an additional parrot if YOU want one, not as a buddy for your original one.

 

[LeaKP]

Hello everyone! Niya has been with us about 3.5 months now. She is very bonded with me. Our cats and dogs don’t bother her at all.

We were able to adopt her because the house she was in, she was being bullied by 2 conures. IRN’s are very hard to find in our area so we are very lucky to have her.

She seems happy enough on her own and to socialize with me, and occasionally tolerate my husband when food is involved. 😂

Do you think she needs a friend? She is alone through the day when we are working, but once I am home I spend a few hours with her (and about an hour in the am) and we have our little daily and weekly routines she enjoys.

Getting another IRN isn’t really a possibility for us. Do you think she could or would get along with a cockatiel? There are some young ones near us available, we have the space and we have a secondary cage for one. Are these 2 breeds ok together?

Niya is 5 years old. Should I leave it alone and let her be an only bird?

Some photos of our girl for tax 🥰

Hi! I agree with Salty’s dad. If you want another bird, then get one. Be prepared to handle each one separately.

 

[RebelEgger]

Thanks for the replies. I have decided not to add a second bird. My girl seems happy enough to interact with me and I don’t want to create any additional stress for either of us. She’s gonna be a one hit wonder 😊

 

[RingneckRave]

Do you think she needs a friend?

Do you think she could or would get along with a cockatiel?

Niya is 5 years old. Should I leave it alone and let her be an only bird?

Hard to know, they're not budgies or cockatiels where they will bond most of the time, really depends on the birds. You're going to have to be very patient with bonding two irns, but it can be done.

Bluey was kept alone for about a year before I got Sunny. They would show aggression towards each other and weren't safe to keep in the same cage together, Bluey would scream like she was intruding and was getting heightened by her existence, biting tails ect. I was really worried they would never get along and I'd have to rehome Sunny at the rate they were going. I put them in carriers and had them outside-ish since they didn't see it as their territory then offer them treats for being calm and that seems to have helped, but still iffy.

Months later, I noticed that they were fine with preening nearby and screaming to the other. At one point I'd give up putting Bluey into his cage at night because he was so desperate to be near Sunny's cage it was literally impossible to cage him. I have a double cage, so I put in the divider and put one bird per side.

The next day I instantly knew they were ready. I removed the divider and they are happy with each other's existence. Bluey has a little more independence instead of being clingy and the two birds court often, occasionally attempt to preen each other. I'll include an adorable video of them being cute snugglies! (They still bite tails 😅)

Must I add, both birds were hand-raised. Hand-raised birds are less likely to get along but in my situation it was successful.


A ringneck would not do good with a cockatiel, they're extremely different in terms of behaviour and a ringneck is capable of injuring a cockatiel. The best parrot species would be with another ringneck, or as a last resort with another Asiatic of similar size and behaviour.

So the choice is yours. I have noticed they're happier together than when they were kept apart, they visit us for attention but they do benefit from a real bird more than they can a human. If they only get along outside of the cage, then they could be caged separately. But no guarantee they'll always get along that is! I'd still suggest give it a go, or consider it, I was very skeptical of it at first but my success has left me with no regrets. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[RebelEgger]

Hard to know, they're not budgies or cockatiels where they will bond most of the time, really depends on the birds. You're going to have to be very patient with bonding two irns, but it can be done.

Bluey was kept alone for about a year before I got Sunny. They would show aggression towards each other and weren't safe to keep in the same cage together, Bluey would scream like she was intruding and was getting heightened by her existence, biting tails ect. I was really worried they would never get along and I'd have to rehome Sunny at the rate they were going. I put them in carriers and had them outside-ish since they didn't see it as their territory then offer them treats for being calm and that seems to have helped, but still iffy.

Months later, I noticed that they were fine with preening nearby and screaming to the other. At one point I'd give up putting Bluey into his cage at night because he was so desperate to be near Sunny's cage it was literally impossible to cage him. I have a double cage, so I put in the divider and put one bird per side.

The next day I instantly knew they were ready. I removed the divider and they are happy with each other's existence. Bluey has a little more independence instead of being clingy and the two birds court often, occasionally attempt to preen each other. I'll include an adorable video of them being cute snugglies! (They still bite tails 😅)

Must I add, both birds were hand-raised. Hand-raised birds are less likely to get along but in my situation it was successful.


A ringneck would not do good with a cockatiel, they're extremely different in terms of behaviour and a ringneck is capable of injuring a cockatiel. The best parrot species would be with another ringneck, or as a last resort with another Asiatic of similar size and behaviour.

So the choice is yours. I have noticed they're happier together than when they were kept apart, they visit us for attention but they do benefit from a real bird more than they can a human. If they only get along outside of the cage, then they could be caged separately. But no guarantee they'll always get along that is! I'd still suggest give it a go, or consider it, I was very skeptical of it at first but my success has left me with no regrets. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thank you.

I’ve decided to keep Niya as a single. She seems happy enough and since she came from a bulking situation, I would hate for that to possibly happen again.

I’m glad your two ended up bonding. You just never know what these birds are going to decide to do!!

 

[RingneckRave]

I’m glad your two ended up bonding. You just never know what these birds are going to decide to do!!

For sure! When I asked around before getting a second ringneck I was told to expect it to fail so I won't be disappointed, especially because they were both hand raised 😅
Glad my two got along regardless