Advice regarding introducing a second bird

[EnglishMuffin]

Hello all! Hope everyone's well, I've not been around in a while!

I am looking for some advice, since I've decided that I want to get a second bird to keep sootie company while I'm at work and she's home alone.

I'm not planning to cage them together- they'll have seperate but adjacent cages and out of cage playtime together subject to introduction.

However, what I'm specifically wondering is what everyone's thoughts are on mixed-sex friendship groups? Sootie is a DNA sexed female and I'm apprehensive about bringing a male into the house in case it makes her super broody because i want to avoid her laying eggs at all costs if possible

Thoughts?
Sam

 

[Flboy]

Boy+girl=:07:

 

[NancyandAdam]

I think I read he wasn't looking to play match maker with the birds. But! I could be wrong!

I can offer what my wife and I did, whether it points to your situation or not, I am not sure.

We have a 3+ year old male sun conure, and last year my wife had her eyes on an indian ringneck. We ended up acquiring the ringneck, and it was a female. We knew this ahead of time, but, never concerned ourselves with little birdlets in the future. I suppose if it happened, it happened.

For the longest time, almost a year, they fought like a cat vs. a dog. They could play on the same activity stand together, but, once in a while they crossed paths and feathers, mostly voices flew. It actually wasn't that bad, they just screamed at each other. It was actually comical.

These past few months, they have started to bond and actually play ... cautiously ... together. At least they don't fight anymore. It took a while, but, I suppose patience is the key as with any child (human/bird/etc).

The even prefer to sleep together in the same cage. We leave both their cage doors open each night and every morning (recently) they are in the same cage. They prefer their own little hanging blanket which is apart from each of them, but, they tolerate each other enough to stay in the same space.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[itchyfeet]

I think I read he wasn't looking to play match maker with the birds. But! I could be wrong!

We have a 3+ year old male sun conure, and last year my wife had her eyes on an indian ringneck. We ended up acquiring the ringneck, and it was a female. We knew this ahead of time, but, never concerned ourselves with little birdlets in the future. I suppose if it happened, it happened.

Hope this helps a little.

Surely IRN's and conures can't breed anyway?

 

[Sucre]

I introduced a 1 year old and 5 month old without any problems whatsoever, and have now added a 4 month old to the cage. All were kept side by side in cages for a few weeks before combining them in the same cage. The cage is a big flight cage, with lots of room and lots of toys and feeding bowls. Everyone has their own sleep hut, but half the time they all cram into one.

Of course, yours has reached sexual maturity, so the playing field may be different.

Good luck! My two younger ones - now 6 and 4 months - are inseparable, even when out of the cage. The 1 year old does her own thing, but she gets along with the younger ones just fine.

 

[Anansi]

Hello all! Hope everyone's well, I've not been around in a while!

I am looking for some advice, since I've decided that I want to get a second bird to keep sootie company while I'm at work and she's home alone.

I'm not planning to cage them together- they'll have seperate but adjacent cages and out of cage playtime together subject to introduction.

However, what I'm specifically wondering is what everyone's thoughts are on mixed-sex friendship groups? Sootie is a DNA sexed female and I'm apprehensive about bringing a male into the house in case it makes her super broody because i want to avoid her laying eggs at all costs if possible

Thoughts?
Sam

Hello, Sam.

Well, if you're looking to avoid her laying eggs "at all costs", that would include making sure to get another DNA sexed female.

Fact is, there's just no way of knowing whether your current conure will make a love connection with a second bird. (Or any kind of connection at all.) But it is possible. So you can't count on them having a platonic relationship.

That said, I have a male and female eclectus. I have no plans to breed them or anything, and they are not caged together, but I do acknowledge that a love connection could potentially happen. (As unlikely as that currently seems since they're not particularly close or remotely bonded to one another.) All I can really do is take every precaution that I can.

You probably already know this, btw, but keep in mind that a female can lay eggs even absent a male partner. Non-viable, of course, but with all of the possible complications egg-laying implies.