New conure not getting along with anyone

[KLW17]

I'm posting this on behalf of my sister, as she's having a rough time and I'm trying to help. She has a 3yo male Dusky (Scrimmy) that she's had since he was <6 months old. He's....strong willed to say the least. But they have a great bond and he LOVES her. His whole world revolves around cuddling with her. About two months ago, her boyfriend at the time surprised her with a little 4 month old green cheek (Bowie) she had been admiring. We don't ever support surprise gift pets, but he meant well.

Bowie is much more reserved than Scrimmy. He doesn't like to be pet or snuggled, and prefers to run around and preen your face and ears. The problem is he will be sweet for a while, and then bite HARD out of nowhere. He does this to her constantly, but has never done it to me. I don't live with her, so I don't even see him more than a couple times a week, but she said he seems to like me much more than her, which is discouraging.

If that weren't enough, Bowie's presence has caused serious jealousy/behavior issues with Scrimmy. The birds hate each other, so can't be out at the same time ever. Scrimmy does NOT like "sharing" his mom, and has been acting out by biting her VERY hard, making her bleed and leaving marks. He has never done this to her before.

She's heartbroken because she loves both of these birds, but has had nothing but problems since Bowie was given to her. If I could have another bird, I would take Bowie. She doesn't want to re-home him, but if the situation doesn't improve, she may have no other choice.

Any advice would be appreciated, including resources on how to find a good home for Bowie if necessary.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I'm so sorry and sad to her this. Adding birds is always a risk. Many here have found that they have to separate birds permanently... some have been fortunate and multiple birds get along.
You just never know! Never, ever.
Good for you for being so responsible and serious, and for reaching out!
I think that as long as she's willing to deal with whatever happens (e.g., separating them, if needed, handling added expenses, etc.), she can keep both.
Parrots are notorious for bonding with a chosen person, and never tolerating an intruder. If I moved a new boyfriend in to live with me and my husband, that might take some strategy, for sure! With time, and rewarding both birds with treats at the same time, or rewarding the aggressor when he's NOT aggressing, or encouraging the victim to bond with another household member, well... she might have some luck.
Let's see what ideas other members have to suggest.
Good luck!
Keep us posted, please.

 

[EllenD]

I'm sorry that you guys are going through this, it's so difficult when you bring home an additional bird and they don't get along with your prior birds...This is exactly why I always tell people to never, ever, ever even think of buying another bird "as a mate" for your current bird, because "they seem lonely" or whatever, because there is no guarantee that they will get along at all. And even though her boyfriend probably shouldn't have bought the Green Cheek as a surprise present, this could have happened with any bird that your sister brought home, whether purposely or as a surprise gift. You just cannot predict how they are going to react to each other.

I would encourage your sister to not even think about re-homing the Green Cheek until he's been in the home for a good long time, as 3 months isn't long at all when it comes to a new bird, especially a baby, settling in to the house...Bowie (which is ironically the name of my Green Cheek, lol) is about 7 months old now, if my math is correct based on what you said, and has only been with your sister for 3 months. He's still a very young baby, though at 7 months he also may be starting to have some hormonal rushes as well. When it comes to bringing a new bird into a home, under any circumstances, it's a marathon, not a sprint. I don't know where her boyfriend bought the Green Cheek, but it sounds like Bowie was hand-raised and is tame, so it's just a matter of some daily training on your sister's part as far as the biting/nipping goes, which will get worse before it gets better if he's having some hormonal-rage...Has she tried any training techniques, such as Target-Training, etc. with Bowie? Green Cheeks can be extremely nippy if they are allowed to be and aren't trained otherwise, and this includes the hand-raised ones. So it's all about training and positive-reinforcement by your sister...

As far as the issues with the birds not getting along, this is nothing new to a lot of people here. Some people have birds that all get along very well, but many also have birds that cannot be allowed out together without supervision, or not at all. What your sister has to remember about this particular problem is that it is neither bird's fault, as this should always be a consideration before getting a second bird, and should almost be expected in the sense that you need to make a daily plan as to how and when you're going to spend time with each bird. Your sister's first bird is extremely jealous, and the new bird probably is too, to be honest with you. This is most-likely the reason that Bowie is acting the way he is towards your sister. So the best thing she can do, beside keeping them physically separated, at least for now, is to spend the same amount of time with each bird by itself, and give each bird the same amount of out-of-cage-time...And assuming that your sister keeps her first bird's cage in the "main room" of her home, meaning the room where she and the people in the house spend most of their time when they're home, she needs to also do this with Bowie's cage as well. Having both bird's cages in the same room, and making sure they are in the room where the people of the house spend most of their time, is the best way to get the birds used to each other, used to people in the case of Bowie, and also the best way to ensure that they better entertain themselves while in their cages and not being directly-interacted with by anyone.

What she doesn't want to do is end-up keeping Bowie in his cage more than the other bird, as this often happens in this situation. I know people who have been in just this situation, with a bird they have had for years and who they are extremely bonded to, then they get a second bird, they have issues with it and the two cannot be out together, so the new bird actually ends-up having their cage in another room where the people of the house never are, and they end-up not paying much attention at all to the new bird, which only serves to making the problem worse and worse.

Your sister needs to approach training Bowie just like she would if she had no other bird at home at all...Just like she just brought home her first bird, who is a little nippy and needs training, positive-reinforcement, and lots of attention. It's just going to be about balancing her time, as well as her boyfriend's time...I don't know what his relationship with the first bird is like, but he may want to see if he can form a strong bond with Bowie, the way your sister is bonded to the Dusky. It's just about trying different things, making routines and schedules, and being certain to spend equal time with both birds...And most of all, being patient. After only 3 months they should not be talking about re-homing Bowie. Remember, this is not Bowie's fault, and he's still just settling in to his new home and getting to know his new people. 3 months is no time at all, certainly not enough time to actually be looking for advice on re-homing him already.

 

[ChrisYNA]

Ellen - This is why I've been apprehensive about finding a boyfriend for my Kuba. I have heard too many stories of people getting an additional bird and ending up with a massive problem if the two dislike each other... or if one is jealous, as seems to be the case with KLW. I think if I were to do that, I'd have to first arrange numerous meetings between the birds and see how they interact. I'd never just blindly add a bird to the house.

Mine is extremely jealous. I actually don't think it's outright "jealousy", but I rather think that a bird is protecting his or her place and does not want to lose "his/her" humans to another bird.

I befriended this lady who has two macaws (b&g, gw), so when my mom and I once met her at the park we go to and my mom petted the b&g one, Kuba came down my mom's arm, went onto the lady's arm (Kuba loves her, she's super friendly and I think Kuba senses a good person in her), and bit the b&g hard on the neck, then slowly and proudly made her way back up my mom's arm. The macaw screamed AHHHHHH!, but didn't do anything. I think Kuba was letting him know that my mom is HERS.

Same happened another day when I petted the gw one and Kuba automatically began making her way toward him. I quickly pulled her away, but my bird was not happy.

And another time, we were at a pet store and there was a very friendly young Amazon sitting in a cage, so my mom stuck her fingers in and began petting it. Well, guess what. Kuba made her way down (my mom thought she wanted to say hello to the other bird), but Kuba bit the other Amazon on the leg.

Honestly, I don't think it's outright aggression or simple jealously... it is my bird protecting her place where she's happy and does not want to lose her people. She doesn't want to be replaced.

 

[EllenD]

Yep, it's one of those situations where if someone wants to bring home a second bird for themselves, because they want to add one to their family, it's fine if the two birds don't get along, as long as the owner anticipated this happening and prepared themselves to deal with living with two birds that cannot be alone together. As Gail said, it's all about making the necessary changes in the home with schedules, routine, etc. It can be done, it's done all the time successfully, but it does take a lot of patience and time...