if parrots mate for life...

[DanaandPod]

I read that parrots mate for life. So, if your parrot is bonded to you...and you introduce another bird...does that parrot have difficulty being disloyal to you if they decide to bond as birds? I'm just curious. Also, do same sex parrots ever bond and go in the same cage?

[liz]

Parrots like people can extend their love for more than one.

Two males can bond and be best buds. The Vet did not know what was causing Tweetle Dumb's illness. Tweetle Dee protected and cared for his best bud until the end.

[Wolf]

While parrots are for the most part monogamous, they don't always mate for life as their are outside factors involved such as the death of their mate and occasionally a mated pair will break up and find a new mate and then their is at least one species that has several males and females, although they normally only mate with one of them.
In most cases with captive parrots even thought a bird is bonded to you it knows that it can't have sex with you, even if it tries and given a suitable bird they will normally decide to take the bird for a mate and either remain bonded as tightly to you as always or just a little less so. Yes, it is possible for two males to bond. Also some parrots will still reject a suitable mate even of its own species if it is bonded to you, I think that this probably occurs with Greys more than other parrot species.

[liz]

Maggie was a 4 year old breeder bird when I got her. Her mate had died and she would not take another so I rescued her from the breeder. No money involved.

I have had her I think at least a year and she still has not taken a mate even though I have more males than females. I am not sure which boy it is because they move around so much. I think it is Andy that has been following her and being such a pest that she gave up running him off. They are not a mated pair but I think she is starting to bond with him.

[Greg]

Parrots that have a bond to you will most likely be jealous of another parrot you get. If they do decide to bond as mates, they may still have a relationship with you but it does change somewhat.

I dont house any of my parrots in the same cage. They do spend time together outside the cage. Some have bonds to other parrots, and some only to us. I have seen too many times, that in captivity some species will attack a mate or cage buddy after a while, causing disfiguring and even death. it is not like the wild, where a parrot picks there own mate. "Our" choice is forced on them and incapatibilty can lead to extreme anger one day and there is no place for the attacked one to escape.

[liz]

I rescued two cockatiels at the same time I did Rambo. Curley had almost the same personality as Rambo and was out of his cage more than in. His mate Sunny was sweet but shy. When I got them Sunny had a lot of feathers missing. Turned out that Curley had been abusing her. What was worse is she had the battered wife state of mind. When I separated them she called to him constantly. He did not answer. I tried to rehome him but he was returned in a month. I was surprised when one of my Mom's Hospice ladies wanted the battered bird. She had two males. I sent Sunny to visit for the weekend. One of the males thought she was the most beautiful thing he ever saw. That male stayed bonded to the other male and kept his buddy but claimed Sunny as his true love. In the mean time I took in two young females from a family who wanted to rehome the babies produced by their pair. Curley claimed Rosie and they lived happily ever after. I have no idea why Curley treated Sunny in such a bad way but he was good to Rosie.

[i][/Lemone' claimed the other female that I called [i]Twinkle] They mate bonded but never did get their positions right.i]

[Wolf]

Yes, you are 100% correct in your reply, Greg, but I would also like to add that sometimes the cage itself is the reason for these attacks, simply due to them being too small of a space. They also as you stated do not allow the one bird to escape from the attacks of the other bird. Many of these type of attacks could be avoided altogether if the birds had more space such as a cage free environment.
I currently have a mated pair of budgies in the same cage and in another cage a mated pair of parrotlets. I constantly watch both pairs for any sign of aggression so that I can separate them before any serious injury occurs.