by Wolf » Sat Mar 05, 2016 10:09 pm
First of all I think that for you, based on the answers that you have given me, that getting a second bird may be the right choice for both you and your Jade.
Yes, there are pros and cons to the choice as many as in the choice of when to get a second bird. There is always some risk of a bird bonding with you to such a degree that it becomes very difficult, if not nearly impossible to get them to accept another bird even when that bird is a suitable mate for them as far as age, sex and species.. This is usually not a problem if both birds are juveniles of the same age. There are some combinations that do not work even if all other factors are ideal and this usually related to the ages of the birds. This is because if one bird is a juvenile and the other is an adult, they will not generally get along until after the younger one becomes an adult. Part of the process of going through puberty causes a change in the birds personality and in how it thinks. And this is why in many cases that it is best to hold off on getting a second bird until it has gone through puberty and has become an adult and then getting another adult bird. It can also work out if they are both juveniles, but it is much harder to match the ages up so that they go through puberty at the same time. These are not too hard to deal with as long as you have two separate cages.
In nearly all cases a second cage would be required any way because for the most part you can only place mate bonded parrots in the same cage, the exceptions to this are with cockatiels and budgies and even then there are some pairings that still don't work well.
I can fully understand why you would like to take Jade with you to the breeders to help you pick out a bird, but please do not do that. If the breeder is worth dealing with they would not allow it anyway as just as quarantining a new bird is recommended to protect your bird from any transmittable disease from the new bird, taking Jade would not only risk her to exposure to such diseases it would also place the breeders entire flock of birds at risk for the same reasons. Even if the breeder doesn't think of his birds as more than feathered money, he would not want to take that type of risk.
Now, I do not make recommendations to people as to what birds to acquire or not although I will sometimes recommend that they look at the health risks involved with some bird choices such as having a macaw and powder down birds exposed to each other as this normally ends badly for the macaw. In your case, with the two parrot species that you mention as your preferred choices, I suggest that you do some more research as both sun conures and GCC's are extremely high maintenance birds in regards to you and are both apt to behave badly, usually after maturity, to the presence of any other bird that you attempt to interact with in their presence. Both of these species are very committed to their chosen humans as well as very jealous of them. Check it out through other sources and then decide what you want to do about them as a choice. Don't take my word on this, research it yourself.
So if you want to get the second bird even this soon, make certain that you have a second cage for it just to avoid any possible problems. As long as the birds are provided their own space to live in ( cage) and as long as they are not overly jealous of you interacting with another bird than a second bird can be just the ticket for helping you to provide for your Jade's mental and emotional needs. It nearly always helps us to have someone that we can talk to especially if you are not going to be available for them due to the time constraints of school or work or some of life's other little curve balls.
What do I suggest? Not meaning to be difficult, but I suggest that you look into these thing a bit more so that you can make the best possible choice for you and Jade. You have some good reasons for considering another bird, but given the species of bird that Jade is, I do not think that waiting until you have had more time to develop your bond and relationship before bringing in a second bird will interfere with her ability to make a flock bond with the bird after Jade is mature. Do you think that you would still have enough time to work with two birds as well as the day to day cleaning and maintenance of both of them. I think that would be my biggest question for you.