My dad wants to get Mango a friends

[Billy29]

So today my dad comes over and was asking a million questions about Mango. He asked me if Mango would benefit from having another bird friend in the house. My response was that I want him to bond with me but maybe in a year or so we could look into getting him a pal.

Would having another bird in the house be a good thing or bad thing? What other species would be somewhat compatible with a YSA?

Right now I have a dog and a cat who are really indifferent to him at this point.

 

[Billy29]

I will add that Mango has become part of the family and my aunt, sister, nieces and nephew all come over to see him.

 

[Merlee]

I would not pursue getting a pal because there is no guarantee the two would become friends and it is possible that Mango may bond to the other bird and no longer with you.

 

[Billy29]

That is kind of what I was thinking.

For those of you with multiple birds have you had any issues with this?

 

[torrap]

I am not an expert here, but I have two Amazons for almost 3 months now.
I have to tell you that it's more work for you, that's for sure. You will have to supervise them most of the time. They are not going to be happy (to say softly) when you interact with another bird, specially the one that is bonded with you already (Mango in your case). If you want to get another bird, I personally think now is the time. Don't worry, they will bond with you if you keep them in different cages.
It is a lot of work for me, but at the same time it's real fun to see my two birds when they are both out their cages. They definitely watch each other. When I train Marley, Simba is yelling "What a good boy, here you go!" (She grew up with another male Zon)......
The moments I like the most are when Marley (my YSA) lands on Simba's cage. Simba just runs towards Marley with "I gona getchyou, I gona getc hyou". I assume she wants to play, but it sounds so scary, I just grab Marley really quick before Simba gets close to her.
They like different foods, they have totally different personalities, etc. But you learn to love them for whatever they are. They all are amazing creatures, and I am still surprised with the new things they do every day.
Maybe rescue another bird....there are so many birds in need of a good home...and this bird will love you so much for making her/his life better (after a little work of course).

 

[getwozzy]

When we brought Jackie home with us, we also brought his roommate, Sparky (a yellow crowned kakariki). They coexisted for years in their previous home, and at first they did ok...but then I became Jackie's and any time I even talked to sparky or went near his cage Jackie got MAD- screaming, throwing fits, and flying over to sparky's cage to try and attack him. I ended up rehoming Sparky with a friend of mine because it was at the point where he was also taking his anger out on me.

 

[SoCalWendy]

That is kind of what I was thinking.

For those of you with multiple birds have you had any issues with this?

I have a Parrotlet and a Senegal. Both are female and 7 months old. They hate each other. My parrotlet, the lil instagator, will pick fights with my Senegal. Even though my Senegal out weighs her by almost 100 grams.

They have been around each other for about 4 months now. You can see them in my signature below. Beak wide open. Nothing has changed, except my P'let is more eager then ever to bite my Sennie every chance she gets now that she is molting and such a irritable pain in the hoohaa.

If your bird is fine with being the one and only, then why fix it if it ain't broke? :09:

 

[MikeyTN]

I have to hold them separately, a few of the smaller ones can co-exist fine. But Malachai, he doesn't play nice with anyone except us. They're all flighted so I have to watch carefully. I used to have the whole upstairs where I can walk through anywhere upstairs with the birds but now with the cats I have to shut my bird room door. So there's just two rooms upstairs I can have the birds out with me. And the living room when I put the dogs outside. It's safer in the living room with my macaws as neither the dogs nor the cats bother them. It's not that bad with multiple birds, you just have to be real careful that's all!

 

[Billy29]

Mangos cage is in the living room, if I was to ever get another bird I would have two cages in the corner of the dining room. I like having him out in the general living area.

What would be other types of birds that would be good with a YSA? Ones that interest me are Congo African Greys, some of the smaller cockatoos like a Galah and maybe a golden conure. I love Cockatiels but I think it would be a total mismatch. Common sense tells me to stick with birds of about the same size.