How many birds is too many?

[chickymonkey]

As I posted, we have been wanting a conure. We were thinking GCC, but now we've expanded to the Crimson Bellied which I understand are real nice, and such striking colors!

We currently have a parrotlet (what a character!) and a sweet, loving and docile cockatiel.

While I've been wanting a conure for awhile and doing lots of research, I'm now having second thoughts that we'll be able to give all 3 birds the attention they deserve.

There are 3 in our family, my husband, myself and our daughter. The parrotlet is my daughter's and spends most of his time riding her shoulder.

I wonder...if we get another bird...are we spreading ourselves to thin?

 

[DebsFlock]

Only you can answer the question, I think. I know people who have a very large number of birds which get less individual attention, but which have plenty of out of cage time playing independently or with other birds. I feel three is probably my limit, but before we accidentally acquired the third, I thought two was plenty.

 

[Mayden]

That question depends entirely on yourself.

You speak to Shredded Oaks and she'll reel off the hundreds of birds in her care. Similar to FeathersFirst.

Some can only handle one. Do YOU think that you would have the time to spread yourself between all your family? I want a dog but I know that I'm already spread as thin as I can be with my lot already.

Whats your situation like, do you all work/school? What are your hours like, who's home when? Do you know if your bird is good with other birds? We know Merlin is not bird friendly and so bringing in another bird means that we have to have specific 'one bird' only time, instead of a joint playtime etc. Which would reduce the strain... but that cannot happen with us.

 

[MacawGuy]

i think you would be fine. 3 smaller bird i think you could do. if your daughter gave the attention to one. in you and ur husband gave it to the other two i think that will be fine.Now if you had like a cockatoo or macaws that would be a different story.

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

Just do your research and don't rush into any rash decision. The amount birds depends on your budget, time and commitment. If it is already a chore of having two birds then be happy and content. If you have the right resources then go for it. So far you have two small birds which make great starter birds and now you are trying to advance forward. So I totally understand your approach. Just don't rush into and end up rehoming the néw bird. Well all the best and peace to you.

 

[Riio]

i think you would be fine. 3 smaller bird i think you could do. if your daughter gave the attention to one. in you and ur husband gave it to the other two i think that will be fine.Now if you had like a cockatoo or macaws that would be a different story.

May I ask why it would be a different story with something like a cockatoo or macaw? Why would the physical size or breed make a difference in how much individual time a bird would need? Im confused.

 

[MacawGuy]

cockatoo... usually require more attaction then a cockatiel

 

[Riio]

cockatoo... usually require more attaction then a cockatiel

Why is that? Im not trying to be smart, Im honestly wondering. Do you get more behavior problems if they dont get enough attention? Or is it the same problems just intensified because of the louder bigger bird?

 

[MacawGuy]

i had a cockatoo.. i have a macaw..i had smallers bird..everyone says cockatoo need more. they will yell n scream for you to you come in pick them. Thats how mine was. my macaw he is fine on a perch all day. my moluccan has to be with me. Or else. in thats what a lot of people say.. im sure you have heard. they are very needy.

 

[Riio]

I have read that cockatoos are more needy than most. By the way, your macaw cracks me up with his "help!" yell!

 

[MacawGuy]

yea he my crazy one

 

[BreannPearlLang]

I just went from two conures to three conures, two cockatiels, and a smart budgie.
It wasnt that big of a change. for me, it helped to strategically think things out. Now I have more cages to clean, what dates will I clean cages? What dates will i sanitize cages? mark on calendar. every 3 days I sanitize cages, every day I change food and water and put new newspaper in.
How fast will I go through food? take note of how fast the first bags of millet, treats, and food run out by putting a beginning date in the bag.
How am I going to give everybody enough time? in the morning I interact with them and change everything. I ask if anybody wants to come out, and i get ready while they play.
Once every two hours I offer them the chance to step up, if they want to ride around on me go ahead!
I make sure each bird has half an hour of uninterrupted conversation.
and around bed time I pull any wet foods, change water, and talk, play, and say goodnight.
I cut my day into three main parts morning time with birds, (when i get off work) mid day time with birds, and night time with birds. its easy to think of it in sections rather than get overwhelmed by everything.
also, I bought three storage totes, one tote for each kind of bird and their belongings.
I also offer plenty of treats, play gyms, etc.
instead of thinking "holy crap. i have six birds" i think "i have only three kinds of birds"

 

[thermodynamic]

I've 4, which is my absolute limit. Rosie is happy on her own, but I do have to spend time with Rusty, Scooter, and Tybbi - which I'm happy to do, of course. But any more birds would take up more time than what's available...

I used to have parrotlets as well, but the GCCs would shriek at the top of their lungs out of jealousy... I gave the parrotlets up for adoption...

 

[OtterKin]

As others have said, depends on how you feel! I like my flock, but I have trained them all to be more independent. I tend to like more independent animals. Even my GCC chose right now to fly over to the cage rack and play around other birds instead of on me. He might be mad at me too because I've been pretty sick the last couple days and they haven't come out much, who knows.
If the parrotlet is usually already occupied, I don't think the cockatiel would mind sharing attention! Tiels tend to pretty adaptable and resilient to changes. They are also usually friendly to other birds, if the conure is interested in a buddy.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Here's something to consider about your family -- you mention your daughter -- bear in mind that while you and your husband will steadily be with the birds and care for them for many years to come, is your daughter young and potentially going to live in a college dorm some years down the road. I've read alot of posts from people that mention that they went off to college and their parents cared for the bird. So if your daughter bonds with one of the three or takes on 1/3 of the total bird time for one to one, then be ready for the change that will last years, since the bird will live with you for decades but your daugher may not be there for that whole time.

So it's all just part of good planning.

 

[aliray]

I have 4 birds. The canary is pretty self sufficant . the redbellied really wants to be with a human. the quaker will spend a lot of time playing on the cage top on the playgym. the gcc also is a little more people oriented and will also fly off to find me. However in any case I am at my limit because each birds cage is in front of a sliding glass door overlooking the back yard and I only have 2 sliders each with 2 panels. So therefore one for each and I am now out of room but they all like their view, they can see the golfers and the fla birds and the occaisional gator. gives them all something to watch besides each other

 

[chickymonkey]

Thanks for everyone's opinion. We're still on the fence about it. I would LOVE a conure (green cheek or crimson bellied) but I want to make sure he would get the attention he deserves. We so enjoy the parrotlet and tiel (totally different personalities). Yesterday the tiel was purring at me. She's a real love bug.

 

[KatherineI]

Something to also think about; can you spend time with more than one bird at the same time? I have a GCC and a Goffin's Cockatoo and it's next to impossible to give both attention simultaneously. They can't be out at the same time, (one doesn't want to be around another bird let alone another animal at all, while the other is just curious and really just wants to make friends), and this makes for a slightly more cumbersome setup.

So for the time being, 2 is my limit. I know of many others with several more birds than that and everyone does fine. It's all about what you can handle and how your own situation plays out.