Frog & Chickpea

New member
Feb 21, 2023
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Denmark
Parrots
Female lutino budgie (Lanala) and female Green-Cheeked Conure (Echo)
Hello, yet another new member here!

I recently adopted a green cheeked conure, Echo, (unknown gender yet), and am ecstatic with them. They are not yet tame, but are not fearful, and accept bigger treats from my hand. They seem very eager to learn. Their age is somewhere between 6 months and a year, so I do not suspect hormones to be at play yet.
I have had my rescue budgie, Lanala, for a good 3 years, and was nervous how she would react to the new addition to our little family. The good news is that she doesn't care much, and takes it very calmly. She goes about her day unfazed.

Introducing a bird to a completely new environment, routine and diet, I was very prepared and aware, that Echo's behaviour would most likely not be favourable for the first fortnight or so. That being said, I hadn't taken into consideration, that they would react the way that they have to my budgie.
They are completely obsessed with Lanala, and throw tantrums during a huge majority of the days. A trigger for these is when Lanala makes even the tiniest of noises, which sets off Echo intro a screaming fit. These fits don't always have a clear trigger though, and happen even when Lanala sleeps. Echo will scream and jump around the cage in circles, displaying very stereotypical behaviours. They will lean forwards on the perch, almost at a 90° angle, and lift their wings slightly apart from the body while quivering them. Then they will jump or fly to another perch and repeat the same thing, all the while screaming to the heavens. During this, they will almost consistently be facing the front of the cage with the cage door, making it seem like they want out (possibly to get to Lanala).

As I am not yet very experienced with GCC's, I am unsure what exactly they are trying to convey with their body language and screaming, but have a sense that they may be searching and calling for Lanala. For that reason, I have covered up the one side of Echo's cage, so that Lanala's cage is completely out of sight. This has only helped a very slight bit. The tantrums stop when Echo is eating and drinking, and they will take naps every now and then, but if Lanala makes a noise at all, they will be woken up and start another tantrum. I can usually distract them through interactions and training, which they seem to enjoy, but sometimes they will simply get distracted from the training and begin screaming and quivering again, even ignoring very high-value treats. I am also hesitant to be giving them too much attention around the tantrums, as I do not want to encourage the behaviour. Covering the cage entirely also has no effect. I have also attempted sitting quite nearby the cage to see if they were just needing attention, but this also has no influence on the behaviour (which would have surprised me anyway, since I am pretty much in sight of Echo all day).
Echo does have access to toys, food, water, swings, , a variation of perches as well as foraging toys, so understimulation also doesn't seem to be the problem. That being said, they seem completely uninterested in all the different toys I have to offer.

I am at a bit of a loss as to the meaning of and the best solution for this behaviour. Normally, I am not fazed by screaming (otherwise, I wouldn't have birds), but Echo seems severely stressed based on the behaviour, and it is also a hurdle in our bonding progress. My current living situation is a 1 bedroom flat, so separating them into different rooms isn't an option (I have considered taking Lanala's cage into the bathroom, but I feel this would be cruel and unfair to her). I am also concerned about the screaming in terms of disturbing my neighbours, as I do live in a flat. Thankfully, the tantrums do subside in the evenings, and I have had no issues during the night yet, but they start again around 9-10 am, usually triggered by Lanala waking up.

As a side note, I am hesitant to move Lanala, as she doesn't seem disturbed by the tantrums, and is settled in quite nicely. She is a rescue budgie, and has been quite fearful in the past, so disturbing her routine more than necessarily feels unfair to her.

I hope, there's someone out there who can help me out!
Regards :gcc:
 

wrench13

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Adding a new bird to your flock is always a game of roulette. Sometimes they all get along and sometimes not, with every variation in between those possible. Your new GCC is still settling in, so really too soon to give solid advice.
 

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