How to do bird introductions?

[hiriki]

Hi all!

My green cheek Kiwi was cleared of all four avian viruses (tests came back negative) and finished his quarantine today. We did a quick introduction to my jenday which ended in a foot bite. Not an all-out tussle because I was careful to intervene if it seemed like they were going to fight but Birdie slipped past my defenses for a foot bite.

I know that sometimes birds just don't like other birds and that's OK. But there's probably a way to do a slower introduction with potentially better results, right?

I have a lot of birds but I admit I don't have much experience with introductions, in the past they either worked or they didn't with zero planning from me. For instance, Birdie (the jenday) has gotten along effortlessly with every cockatiel I've ever had, and I was admittedly just kind of hoping the green cheek would be the same. But Birdie has also completely rejected my lovebird and my doves and will attack on sight. She's a bit less aggressive to the green cheek than the lovebird but definitely is still aggressive.

I just hope I haven't screwed up irreversibly by going too quickly lol. Anyway, any advice is welcome.

 

[onamom]

I recently watched this video on introducing two birds and loved this approach:

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

I put my birds' cage side by side and let them out at free time after about a month. I took things real slow. I rearranged toys, changed perches, etc when they started hanging out with me, so there wouldn't be coveted toys to fight over. Multiple food bowls/water bowls are a must, especially treat dishes. There'll be conflict for the first while. The slower you take it the better, I find.

Hope that gives you some ideas. Good luck to you!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Here's how I do it.

Bring old bird and new bird to a neutral environment so neither of them get territorial. Have them both in cages/travel cages/carriers. Let them call to each other, see each other etc without allowing any direct contact. Do this every day for a couple weeks. Then let them out together. Give them treats and toys for staying calm and if it doesn't go well then separate them and try again in a couple weeks. If that doesn't work, then keep them separated for longer.

I honestly don't have a very set process for introducing new birds to my flock, though. I usually just bond with the new bird enough for it to trust me, and then I somewhat-follow the process I just wrote above, accounting for the individual birds in the situation.

Hope this helped- it's kind of a bunch of jumbled thoughts and ideas, so sorry if it's unclear.