Companions for companion birds

[modifieddesign]

Obviously that's assuming they like each other.

[Wolf]

Yes, they would then have someone that they can talk to. This is true even when they are not the best of friends and that reduces stress on both of them when you can't be there with them. There are lots of stories of two birds who don't like each other going through a move with their human family suddenly being friendly towards each other because of the new environment which is unknown and in their eyes dangerous so they become better friends because they know each other.

[modifieddesign]

Great, I'm going to start looking for a second bird then. Unfortunately the two species I really want are hard to find. Ruppells or Lesser Vasa.

[Navre]

My vet suggested that, if I have a choice, I not introduce a new bird during my bird's puberty and not during any time in which she is exhibiting any mating behavior.

I am considering getting another bird, especially if I find one needing rehoming. I'm just wondering about the best time for this.

My bird, a female, was hatched in January of '14.

[Wolf]

Well breeding season is nearly over for this year, but your bird is due for puberty soon, which will probably kick in shortly before or during breeding season this coming spring.

[liz]

I got Myrtle to be a companion for Rambo. That went over like a led balloon. I knew nothing about Amazons. With cockatiels no matter what color they are or gender they want to be together. I was so ignorant of them that I thought a DYH and a BF were just different colors.
Well it turned out they were two species and both female. The only time they get along is when they are alone. In the morning before they know I am up I hear 'da da" from both of them and I know they are together eating or playing. Otherwise Myrtle picks on Rambo because he won't fly and Rambo gets angry because she does fly.
But the "da da" does happen when they are alone.

[Navre]

Well breeding season is nearly over for this year, but your bird is due for puberty soon, which will probably kick in shortly before or during breeding season this coming spring.

I thought she was going through puberty already.

[Wolf]

It is possible, but the average age is 2 years old. As far as I am aware of the cockatiel is the only parrot that goes through puberty in their first year. I could be wrong as I have only been researching parrots for three years and there is a lot of information to sort out and keep straight.
Just double checked on this and the Green cheeked conure reaches maturity at 1 year of age, it is not recommended to breed them until they are two years old. So yes, she should have already gone through puberty. Thank you for questioning me on this, I like to be as accurate as possible and I was wrong on this one.

[Pajarita]

Great, I'm going to start looking for a second bird then. Unfortunately the two species I really want are hard to find. Ruppells or Lesser Vasa.

I would not go with a Vasa, too difficult to keep and feed. Why don't you try for a redbelly? They are great birds, similar to the one you have and easy to find.

[Saerphe]

I've thought a bit in the past week about getting Akimi a birdie companion as well (separate cages, of course). Initially I thought a cockatiel or an English budgie, since they're similar in size, but I figured they're probably a little too mild-mannered to hold their own against a GCC during out-of-cage playtime. A parrotlet has similar spunk, but is also much smaller, so I would still have safety concerns about that.

Obviously another GCC would be ideal, but I've also thought maybe a Pionus (probably blue-headed or bronze-winged) might work as well given that they're a little bigger but also very chill birds... they wouldn't be cagemates of course, but just so they could see each other and chatter back and forth during the day.

This probably wouldn't be for a while, as I don't currently have the money or the space to add another bird, but does anyone wanna weigh in?