Leggless Quaker and Parrotlet?

[NolegsPeach]

Hello! I currently have one special needs Quaker parrot, Peaches. Her legs were chewed off by her parents when she was a baby and I got her from a rescue. She’s about 8 months old and she’s so sweet! I bring her with me to work so she gets lots of attention and love throughout the day. But she’s been quite talkative and I’m a science teacher. I fear I’ll have to leave her at home due to her noise. I hate leaving her at home because my husband usually puts her in the garage (it’s heated and has ac) since she gets loud when he’s trying to work. I’ve been thinking about getting her a friend. I would DEFINITELY keep them in separate cages because I don’t think I could ever feel comfortable with Peaches being with another bird alone. Just in case the other bird and her get into a squabble and Peaches can get away or defend herself properly. The new bird would be in a separate cage, but where they can see each other and keep each other company when I’m not home. My question is… does it matter what kind of “neighbor bird” I get? I should note that I am 100% would want this second bird for me not just Peaches. I’m not getting another bird for my bird.

I used to have parrotlets and I LOVE them. I wouldn’t mind getting another but would this be a good potential neighbor for my Peaches? I know it’s never a guaranteed they would get along ever and Peaches could hurt the parrotlet. Peaches can’t walk due to having no legs and she can’t fly- at least not well. Her wings are also deformed due to the injuries with her parents. So it’s not like Peaches could get to the parrotlet without my help. Can anyone advise? Should I get another Quaker?
Part of me thinks a smaller bird may be better for peaches so the smaller bird can’t hurt peaches severely if it decided to go at her. I know it still could and they would never be out together unsupervised but in hindsight, parrotlet would do less damage than a Quaker in the amount of time it would take me to break them up.

Thank you for any advise!!

 

[Jcas]

Aww so cute 🥰. Personally , I think a smaller bird would be better. I don’t know much about parrotlets but my Quaker seems to enjoy watching my two budgies fly around ( he never really learned how to fly!). JJ seems to prefer human company but having the budgies around makes me feel better when I have to be gone. At least he’s not alone.

 

[hiriki]

I think before adopting another bird you should focus on logistics here with other people in the home, re: your husband who keeps putting Peaches in the garage. Is he willing to add another bird to the household? Is he just going to put them both in the garage during the day? Are there steps you can take to make him coexist with Peaches in the house first before complicating the situation with another bird?

 

[Meshari220]

I have an umbrella cockatoo that I've had 18 years. he's a rescue. I rescued a cockatiel about 6 years ago & obviously they aren't in the same cage but they've kept each other company when I go to work however my suggestion to you would be to get a bird the same size or smaller considering the condition of peaches so she hopefully won't feel intimidated by the other bird & you also have to consider the fact that you cannot pay more attention to one than the other. That being said I hope & pray the best for you & peaches & would love to hear an update no matter what you decide.

 

[NolegsPeach]

Aww so cute 🥰. Personally , I think a smaller bird would be better. I don’t know much about parrotlets but my Quaker seems to enjoy watching my two budgies fly around ( he never really learned how to fly!). JJ seems to prefer human company but having the budgies around makes me feel better when I have to be gone. At least he’s not alone.

thank you for your advise! I love that your Quaker like to watch your budgies 🥰! I wonder if Peaches would like that too!

 

[NolegsPeach]

I think before adopting another bird you should focus on logistics here with other people in the home, re: your husband who keeps putting Peaches in the garage. Is he willing to add another bird to the household? Is he just going to put them both in the garage during the day? Are there steps you can take to make him coexist with Peaches in the house first before complicating the situation with another bird?

I probably should have just said “puts her in the other room” when he’s working- instead of garage. We converted our garage into our animal room and installed insulation on the door, and vents for circulation/ac/heat. It’s considered another room now I guess, not a garage. We have our hedgehogs and reptiles in there. I understand him needing to move her when he’s on a conference call and peaches trying to chime in on the call lol! He works from home so I have to accommodate that. He can’t have peaches screaming in the background of his calls lol 😅! He does not mind getting another bird especially if it means Peaches isn’t alone when I can’t bring her with me to work. He wants her to be happy too 😊!

 

[NolegsPeach]

Do y’all think a smaller bird would be best for her? Since she doesn’t have a tail she’s basically the size of chubby parrotlet lol! The rescue I got her from said get a Quaker, conure or cockatiel. And said that a parrotlet is too small. But I don’t know… so hard to decide 🥺

 

[hiriki]

Thanks for clearing up the husband situation! Honestly from the original post it sounded kind of like your husband didn't want a bird and I was like oh my, we've got some housemate issues here haha.

I think you should get the bird you want first and foremost, in terms of size I would focus on beak size before physical body size and I think a cockatiel would be a good option with that metric. Parrotlets have relatively large beaks compared to their body size right? But anyway, I don't think a cockatiel would be any more appropriate for your quaker than a parrotlet would, considering they're going to be housed separately and--if we're honest--you could spend days and days picking the "ideal bird" for Peaches and they still might not get along. So if YOU want a parrotlet I think that's the best option imo. Good luck deciding ❤️

 

[Owlet]

Hm, I'd actually probably recommend against getting another bird in this situation. Right now Peaches has NO way of getting away from a 2nd bird if they were to squabble. Even the best of friends fight sometimes and this hold true in birds. Birds in giant flocks still fight sometimes but they are able to get away from each other if they need space. You'd need to monitor them pretty much constantly when they're out of the cage and be pretty ontop of seperating them if need be. Which I don't know how well that can happen while you're teaching a class. There's also that if you continue to bring them both to work with you and they're in separate cages, that may make them vocalize more while interacting with each other between cages.

Tbh I would probably just work on giving Peaches an outlet for her energy while shes at work with you. Provide her with stimulating toys, id recommend any kind of foraging toy. You can even use dog/cat puzzle toys. So instead of vocalizing, her focus would be on getting treats/food from these toys. Maybe do some additional training with her during your free time in-between classes at work and try to train out the frequent vocalization.

 

[4 way borbs]

before i adopted Sky I did research for a month for prices, places, anything to know about second birbs, ect ect ect