Companions for companion birds

[Pajarita]

Excellent article, I highly recommend it!

http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8d7 ... 1c256aa61d

[Wolf]

Also agree with this article.

[modifieddesign]

If I wanted to add a companion for me and my Meyers at what point would I try? A certain age or training level? I would eventually like to get a Rüppell's parrot.

If they bond to each other will they still bond with me?

[modifieddesign]

Also is it best to have their cages side by side or one larger cage?

[Pajarita]

I think the best bet to get two birds to bond with each other is to get two young ones of opposite genders and the same species (or very similar - like two pois, for example) so they grow up together because, if you wait, they might not -the first bird will be jealous of the second bird, etc and all the training in the world is not going to make them bond (Michael's Kili doesn't like Truman at all). If they mate-bond, you can put them in the same cage but, if they don't, you can't. And yes, birds that are bonded to another bird will still bond to you - and in a much healthier way, I might add.

[modifieddesign]

Sounds better for her then. I may look into a second one. How would I prevent breeding?

[liz]

My method is two cages. Let them out to play together. When one invites the other back to his cage then you go for a big one.

[modifieddesign]

That makes sense. What about different species as a companion? I really want a Lesser Vasa Parrot. I know they are hard to find, but not impossible. There is a breeder 4 hours south of me in Austin, TX.

[Wolf]

Everything that Pajarita replied earlier to this still holds but with an even smaller chance of them bonding as they are of greatly different species of parrot.
Let us say that you got another Meyer's, but of the opposite sex and they bonded, I wouldn't stop them from breeding, I would simply replace the eggs with fake eggs and let them carry on as they were meant to do.
Now for the combination of Meyer's and Lesser Vasa, again I see no problem as it is not very likely that they would produce viable eggs for hatching.

[modifieddesign]

Would there be any companion benefits if I had them each their own cage but kept them side by side and allowed them to play together when they are out?