Multi-bird households - do you have 2+ birds?

[jayebird]

It seems to me that multi-bird households are almost the norm on this forum. We only have our little Mango right now, but we're thinking about maybe one more. But I wanted to hear from you guys how having more than one bird works for you? Parrots need so much attention and care that I'm not even sure how you guys do it or if it works - but it must, because you guys do!




So how do you handle having more than one bird? How does it affect your family, homelife, and lifestyle, and what are the special concerns? Any advice for someone thinking about it?





(P.S. - I posted this topic about what new bird we're thinking about getting here: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4185 a caique.)

[TheNzJessie]

i have a budgie and a rainbow lorikeet....urgh sorry my br4ain isn't working properly unloaded 400 bales of hay for the elephant and work today...ok ok ok.....i will attempt to tell you hwy i like having to birds but i actually cant think of one right now. best i can say if its not mch differant care wise (feeding) but time you will really notice the difference. plus if they cant be out together i feel bad when i get one out and not the other at the same time. and trying to divide your attention equally can be challanging

[captwest]

I can't really give a good answer to all your questions, i don't think that feeding is much of an issue, but of course cage cleaning and general clean up is more time consuming, As for different species , i think i have more problems with same species cohabitating as pets than "mixed marriages". Of course that old adage still applies, they're all individuals with their own personalities, generally speaking i think big birds seem to tolerate smaller birds better , and conures, lovebirds,quakers think that they're condors and bullet proof. maybe adding a tiel if you already have a CAG would work better than adding a Amazon if you already a lovebird. I'm sure that there will be many offering examples of different mixures but maybe fostering a bird would shed some light on how your pet will react.

[lotus15]

I think the biggest adjustment is out of cage time. Charles (my budgie) used to be out all day, but now he has to split the time with Lola usually (they do get along most of the time but I don't like to take risks).

[entrancedbymyGCC]

One bird changed our household routines fundamentally, it was a big step, bigger than I had anticipated. The second bird doubled the labor for me (did I really think my hubby would clean his cage?), but didn't really change anything. My husband is the primary attention-giver for Scotty, and since they both have limited flight, they can both be out at the same time in the same room if it comes to that. The two birds do keep each other company a bit when we are away, since they are housed in the same room (in separate cages).

So, I think it will be more sheer work, but the actual change would be incremental.

[lzver]

I've had 2 birds for over 4 years and just added a third in October.

As far as feeding on a daily basis, not much of a difference. I have to prepare the food anyways, so I'm just preparing for one more.

Cleaning takes a little longer. I was already cleaning and changing paper in 2 cages, so its an extra bit of time.

Where I struggle sometimes is out of cage time and attention since I'm the only person in the house that handles the birds and I give individual time out - Even with supervised time out together I don't trust them yet. The routine is getting easier though. Each bird has at least an hour of out of cage time each night and a couple hours a day on weekends. I spend time interacting with them and then they have their own time to hang out on the jungle gym. That's when I catch up on some TV or I'm on the laptop.

As entranced mentioned, once you have one bird then that is usually the biggest adjustment. Adding additional birds adds incremental time to cleaning/feeding.

I will say that I would never get more than 3 as long as I'm working full time - that's my limit. Of course, if we were to get lucky and win a lottery, there would be a bird room in our new house equipped with TV and computer and I don't think I would ever leave the room

[guybo]

We have 2 parrotlets, a cockatiel and a quaker. I love that each has his/her own personality and I also love to see how they interact with each other.

The 2 parrotlets are bonded, but kept in separate cages (I don't want them mating) and are a brother/sister team that love to cause mischief and get into things. They will spend hours together on a perch preening each other and themselves and billing each other or working together on a "project (like taking apart this little wicker basket thing I have hung on the perch in the livingroom).

The quaker seems to get along with everyone. He was just up on the perch billing with Cass! It was cute to watch but I couldn't get a pic of it. He is chillin up there on the top branches with the kids now. He also gets along with Hades the cockatiel but not in the same way as with the kids. Hades and Perseus call back and forth sometimes during the day. One will call and the other will answer. Hades tolerates Perseus around him in that he doesn't peck at him, but Hades doesn't really like to be physically close to any other living thing!

Hades will tolerate being near to the other birds but not any closer than maybe 6 inches. No one within pecking distance. But he talks with the others. He makes his calls (he's chanting right now) and the other birds will answer.

A parrot kept alone (as I understand) will build a stronger bond to a human and be a better talker, but I like how a colony of mixed birds creates mixed relationships.

[Natacha]

How does it work??...good question..

I think it's a good thing that I have bird who are capable of being rather independent and therefore not all need to be on me at the same time. I have birds who are sensibly the same size, other than my Lovebird who is a tad smaller, and that helps as I'm not too worried right now of a giant beak crushing a smaller bird.

Constant supervision is key though...and having enough play areas so that every bird can have their own if they wish to be alone.

[guybo]

Definitely- when the birds are out together we are here with them! Some days they get along better than other days. Sometimes I'll catch Cass and Perseus billing each other (very cute to see!) and the next day they bicker and fight. I have to watch them and see how they are doing today.

I also pay attention to the signs they give and during the day I bring them back to their cages when they "ask". Cass and Plato need to go back to their cages every hour or so because they eat constantly. Hades flies himself back to his cage a couple times a day to eat. Very different birds. Perseus gives me clues that he is either over-stimulated or hungry and I bring him back. Knowing your birds is important.

[meowingaround]

Having two male tiels the biggest problem for me was aggression (or whatever you wanna label bloodletting ) towards me.
Windy loves having his brother around, I dunno if it's because they are brothers or if they would have gotten along so nicely anyway.
But Windy and I had serious issues adding Willow to our family.

Windy became cage aggressive and possessive of Willow, to an extent I seriously thought I should just give him to someone who could handle a more aggressive bird, meaning probably where I got him from to be used for breeding purposes.

The only way I could still spend time with him was by using a gloved hand to get him out of Willows proximity and bringing him to the bathroom, running the shower and singing to him. We did this daily for a month. I stopped forcing him to do anything besides this... and I was really starting to lose faith.

However.. three months later.. and today was actually a huge day for our bird family. Windy flew to me a few times of his own accord.. and snuggled up bigtime this evening. I got Willow to join us as well so ... there we sat.. and I didn't get bit.

I enjoy having both, they keep each other amused, but there are definite benefits to just having one, especially if you get a territorial kinda bird...