Getting a second bird?

[ksprunk]

Hi all,

My Red Lored Amazon Oscar is a wonderful bird (albeit a little needy, but we're working on that). I would like to get him a companion, but not necessarily another amazon. The poor guy is home alone while I'm at work and it just doesn't seem fair. I leave the TV on for him but that hardly seems to be an adequate substitute.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Tom Lawless]

I wouldn't know what to suggest but if you do get a second know that they may not like each other. My two sure don't and my first was still less than a year old when I got the second. I could never leave them in one cage together. I have to worry when they are out together (although for the most part they keep a respectful distance from each other).

Having said that my avian vet told me she was happy I had two because they are flock animals and find comfort in having a second bird around even if they don't want to be near each other. I suspect she's right and I have heard them talking back and forth to each other.

I will also say the second bird seems to have increased the mess exponentially, not just doubled it but he is a bigger guy than the first.

Getting a second bird can be a wise choice but not in the way you might at first think. Of course, if you look around this board most of us (nuts) have more than one. Some of us even have cows that even come in our houses.

[jenseits]

Everything Tom said... ditto!

I got Mika because in part because I felt so guilty that Stewie was home alone all day. Unfortunately, Stewie hates her. I had to clip his wings because he'd constantly fly to her cage and try to attack her. The mess is more than twice what it was. And even though Pionus are known as very quiet birds, Stewie has taught her some bad habits so she screams whenever he does.

Having two birds, for me at least, has translated into 3x the work. And in a way, Stewie gets less attention because he now has to share me with Mika. (I have to play with them separately because they don't get along). I constantly have to be alert to where they are and I don't leave them in a room alone together. For the first several months after getting Mika I was *constantly* stressed out about Stewie not getting enough attention even when I was home, about him being unhappy, about Mika being stressed because Stewie hated her, etc.

All that said, do I regret getting Mika? No way. And I do think Stewie gets some comfort from having another bird around, even though they don't get along. It's taken a long time, but I also think Stewie is a tiny bit less needy than he was. He's learned to play by himself better. It's still not a perfect, and we all make a lot of sacrifices, but things have improved a lot.

In other words, Oscar might not get along with a new bird, so if you brought him a friend and he hated him/her, are you prepared for that?

If you want to get another bird, do it because you want one, not only for Oscar.

[ksprunk]

Thank you to both of you! I appreciate all the advice and definitely have a lot to think about.

Thanks again,

Kieran

[berger232004]

Gizmo my male OWA has Scooter my male cockatiel to buddy him during the day when im at work. They are in separate cages, next to each other, Gizmo doesnt appear to particuarly mind Scooter x
I set time before i go to and after work to spend time with Gizmo in particular to play with him and talk to him. When i go to work i try to make sure there are plenty of things for Gizmo to do in his cage. He likes the peace and quiet as far as i have observed and gets very noisy in a noisy environment.

I feel he is ok when i come back from work and seems a happy bird. I have felt bad in the past when at work, but know now that Gizmo gets all the attention at other times and his behaviour doesnt suggest he is bored or upset. He is obviously happy to see me when i come home from work.

My experience before getting Gizmo earlier this year, was to get Scooter to keep Stan my male tiel company one year beforehand. Stan was never the same bird when Scooter came home, all the singing, whistling etc stopped when Scooter came into the home. I never heard another peep from Stan for one year before he died in June this year.

So all in all it just depends i suppose xx
Good luck xx