New friends??

[Quetki]

I want to get my GCC a friend. Are Green Cheeks more of a solo bird? I know it depends on the bird.
I was thinking of getting another GCC or a Sun Conure. My bird is a bit jealous of objects, I've noticed. When I give attention to anything else (phones, tissues, drinks) he will attack it and bite my fingers. There is another bird in my house, but it's a Senegal and I don't want to introduce my bird to it. (He is not a super nice bird to everyone.) but the other day my GCC tried to fly to his cage. I truly believe he wants a friend. He did have 2 siblings and they were all in the same cage when I first got him. So I don't think he's going to be aggressive, but he might get a little jealous, which obviously could lead to aggression. I want him to have someone to communicate with. Every time I leave my room, he screams. They wouldn't be housed in the same cage, but they would be in the same room. Money and responsibility are not an issue. I want a bigger bird overall so I am leaning towards Sun Conure.

 

[LeeC]

Hello, @Quetki. I am a very strong proponent of getting your parrot a same-species companion. It is by far the single biggest "enrichment" we could ever provide to a captive/pet parrot. Their minds and personalities are designed by Nature to have a same-species companion for life.

You are right to keep the Senegal separate from the Conure. Watch out for toes being amputated if they land on each other's cages. I let a super-friendly Conure befriend a very-friend Senegal, against my better judgment. After a month or so, the Senegal gave the Conure a standard "beak bite" as they do to say "I don't like what just happened". (They were allopreening, and I think the Conure touched a sensitive blood-feather.) The Conure got beak damage that required semi-urgent vet care and took many months to grow out and be almost fully normal. The mismatch in size and strength is serious hazard, even if they never actually fight.

I have experience with getting a Green-cheeked Conure a companion. I fostered a GCC for nearly two years.

I first got the male Green-cheeked a male Peach-fronted Conure, and they simply had no interest in one another at all. I put them in a room-aviary in my house. They coexisted just fine, but never interacted once while being free to do so in the room-aviary. Then I added a female Brown-throated Conure to the mix. Still, no interaction among all three. Again, they were in a room-aviary (bigger room now), each having a cage that was always open. (The doors would not move or close, as I had them "fixed" open with rope perches.)

One day, a close friend asked me to board a male, Crimson-belled Green-cheeked Conure. At first site, from opposite corners, these two GCCs both "marched" toward each other, meeting about midway on long dragonwood branches. They wagged-and-banged beaks for a bit as I watched closely, intensely, with a spray bottle at the ready. No biting occurred. They went their separate ways. I monitored. They, too, then seemed indifferent. Not quite a week later, they were pals! They slept so close, they looked like a two-headed parrot. :] I got to see their friendship for a couple of months, while boarding the Crimson-bellied. The "owner" of the Crimson-bellied did not want to separate them and neither did I, so they left here as friend-bonded buddies.

I had an even better experience matching a male GCC with a female Pineapple GCC. I have matched Senegals, too. (I have four Senegals now.) I matched a male and female Cockatiel, with the help of the female's owner. The male was a foster, too, so he left to be with his pair-bonded female. I love being part of getting a parrot a parrot—same species is best for many reasons.

I share all that to illustrate that parrot match-making can have its challenges, but it is worth the effort.

 

[LeeC]

I rarely take photos, but here is the GCC and his Crimson-bellied buddy.