Buddy for my Red-bellied parrot

[Eelis]

Hi guys,

My first message went byebye when i pressed the notification bell (whats up with that)

SO AGAIN

I have a red bellied parrot, sometimes he starts screaming, (frequency of 4 beeps, very high pitch, very loud) which is the noise he makes when he's scared of uncomfortable.
Usually between 10am-3pm. I've had him for almost half a year.

He's 4 years of which all have been spent together in a cage with another female. I think he misses a companion.

I went to the pet store, unfortunately the female had been sold, I thought I'd buy a budgie instead then and was strongly recommended not to,

So the question, do you think a poicephalus female would be a good substitute?

I'm mainly thinking meyers..

BR
Eelis

 

[wrench13]

It is never reccommended to get an additional parrot becasue you think one needs a 'buddy' , you get one because YOU want an additional parrot. Adding one to an existing 'flock' (even of its a flock of 1 ) usually results in one of 3 ways:
1) New bird and old hate each other, need separate out of cage time and 1 on 1 time with you. Both birds suffer
2) New bird and old love each other to the exclusion of you. You suffer
3) New bird and old get along and still maintain bond with you. No one suffers.

Imposible to predict which way it will go. For certain, its 2x the med costs, 2x the toy costs and -1/2 the 1 on 1 time with you. So- ya feeling lucky today?

 

[HeatherG]

this bird lived with a same species femal all his life until the poster bought him. So maybe it is more logical to think the birds anxiety could be helped with a similar species flockmate.

Or the poster could try reassuring the bird, continue bonding with him, and hope the anxiety fades over time.

 

[Eelis]

Thanks for the comments.

I have decided to take your advice and focus on Totte (name) instead

But regarding the noise level...
Do you have any good tips for keeping the screams down?

What I've noticed:
- He mainly screams when he's at the window. If I pull the blinds down he gets quiet but I feel it borders a bit too close to torture, so I'm trying to balance it by having them semi-shut, opening/closing depending on volume levels kind of the find the right balance. Ignoring him during screams does not seem to help, but also a toy, puzzle or food only helps for seconds.

Does that seem reasonable, any other advise on the same topic?
Sorry my previous post was a bit hasty, we're situated in Sweden, I forgot to mention

//Eelis

 

[HeatherG]

I found that by “answering” my Meyers quietly when he did that whistle, he seemed to be reassured so he didn’t have to repeat it louder and louder. It seemed like that kept the volume down. And if something scares this bird I try not to let him see it because he does get so excited.