Getting two birds??

Nov 2, 2022
30
Media
4
50
Washington, DC, USA
Parrots
Astro (budgie) 1/20/23--3/31/23
Poppy (cinnamon cockatiel)
Hi everybody!
So I am in the process of looking for birds for adoption. I have found 2 that I am absolutely in love with, a YSGCC and a lutino cockatiel. I have had a bit of experience with smaller birds before, but I am wondering if it would be a good idea to adopt them both at the same time (the cockatiel is 11 years old but the GCC is still a young bird). If I did, how should I go about introducing them to each other? All the articles I've found are only about introducing a new bird to one you already own. Thanks so much for any advice!
 

Zeeby

New member
Nov 1, 2022
17
20
Parrots
4 budgies, 1 pineapple green cheek conure
Keep them in separate rooms until they settle in and get comfortable with you, then introduce them. maybe try letting them hear each other but not see each other for the first little bit so that they can get used to the idea of another bird being in the house. Another thing to keep in mind is that they will probably not get along at first but with time and gradually introducing them they may be able to at least get along. Just make sure that they trust you before introducing them and just go at their pace,
 

zERo

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Dec 9, 2021
2,028
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5,058
Texas
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Tony-Green QP(M)
Tom-Pineapple GCC(M)
Milly- Sparrow (F)
Actually, keep them separated for at least a month for quarantine, unless they're from the same people.
Watch them very carefully when the QT period is up, GCC can be bullies and often times will challenge other birds (even larger birds) Cockatiels can be push overs, even budgies can bully them.
Gcc may also have nipping problems and while this can be worked through, it can be pretty discouraging, I get pretty sad when my GCC Tom becomes hormonal for a week and I can really interact with him without getting bit.
Adopting two birds at one time can be tricky if you've never owned any.
An older bird like the cockatiel, if it's not somewhat tame to people already could be tough if not impossible to get it to step up. I know what we humans consider tame is 'roll on your back in my hand' and 'let me pet you whenever I want' but the reality is cockatiels, when older are hard to tame.
I have a male cockatiel named Romeo who I adopted (tormented by kids and adults alike!) when he was 12 yrs. and while he has made tremendous progress from hissing if I came with in 2 feet of him to being very comfortable with me and eating from my hand he still won't step up and I'll have had him for 2 yrs. next April.

I'm not trying to discourage you, if you're committed then go for it. Just telling my own experiences with these species (wonderful they are!) and the challenges that come with them.

Hope this helps 😊
 
OP
Birds-of-middle-earth
Nov 2, 2022
30
Media
4
50
Washington, DC, USA
Parrots
Astro (budgie) 1/20/23--3/31/23
Poppy (cinnamon cockatiel)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
Actually, keep them separated for at least a month for quarantine, unless they're from the same people.
Watch them very carefully when the QT period is up, GCC can be bullies and often times will challenge other birds (even larger birds) Cockatiels can be push overs, even budgies can bully them.
Gcc may also have nipping problems and while this can be worked through, it can be pretty discouraging, I get pretty sad when my GCC Tom becomes hormonal for a week and I can really interact with him without getting bit.
Adopting two birds at one time can be tricky if you've never owned any.
An older bird like the cockatiel, if it's not somewhat tame to people already could be tough if not impossible to get it to step up. I know what we humans consider tame is 'roll on your back in my hand' and 'let me pet you whenever I want' but the reality is cockatiels, when older are hard to tame.
I have a male cockatiel named Romeo who I adopted (tormented by kids and adults alike!) when he was 12 yrs. and while he has made tremendous progress from hissing if I came with in 2 feet of him to being very comfortable with me and eating from my hand he still won't step up and I'll have had him for 2 yrs. next April.

I'm not trying to discourage you, if you're committed then go for it. Just telling my own experiences with these species (wonderful they are!) and the challenges that come with them.

Hope this helps 😊
Thanks for the feedback! I'm hoping that since the conure is still a baby and the cockatiel is pretty tame, they'll get along better and I've got lots of time available to work on behavior.
 

HeatherG

Well-known member
Apr 25, 2020
3,893
6,966
I would be very careful as cockatiels are nice quiet little birds and gcc can be aggressive and bossy. You wouldn’t want your cockatiel to get hurt. It’s possible that they could be neighbors who talk to and watch each other, for company, but maybe don’t interact.
 

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