Captive flocks...?

[Lotis9]

Perhaps this seems an odd discussion, but I'm curious what people have experienced when it comes to creating a larger "flock" within ones home. I currently live with two members: a Congo Grey and an Umbrella (who by the way seems to be coming into sexual maturity right about no...no problems so far!). While the two aren't exactly "buddies", they really just ignore each other or the 'too bullies the grey, I do believe it has been better for my grey in the long run to have another bird in the house given the circumstances. You see, 4 years after I got my grey I moved to college and decided to get him a friend since he would be moving from a "full house of activity" to well, just me and the dog. He has become a much friendlier parrot, and overall I would like to think he isn't lonely.

So what I"m wondering is about "flocks" larger than this? I don't at present have any plans to get another bird, but you never know. Has anyone had any adverse affects when increasing their flock from say 2 to 3, 4, or more birds? would you say any of your birds became more stressed or less sociable?

Granted, I understand very well that the natural lifestyle for parrots is to live in large flocks in the wild and they are very social birds. But I also know that living in captive is far from wild for these creatures. Also, some scientific research has hypothesized that parrot species (most but not all) live in large flocks as a result of predation, most especially by birds of prey (Behavior of Wild [I]Amazona[I] and Rhynchopsitta, with Comparative Insights from Other Psittacines, Ernesto C. et al., 2006?). These authors compared such flocks to a few species, namely one from the Lesser Antilles islands, that generally flock in pairs or small family groups as opposed to larger groups. They speculate that this may be due in large part to there not being much threat in their habitat from birds of prey. (Sorry, about my being long-winded, perhaps though someone will take interest in my curiosity as I have!)

Thus, parrots in captivity do not have the same concerns as birds in the wild: their risk of predation is minimal (if at all); they are kept in cages alone and have less if any chances at finding a [suitable] mate which energy may then be directed towards "their human"; they are provided with a secure source of food so they don't need to rely on any other birds to help locate; lastly they may have an adequate amount of attention but again given that in many cases household parrots do not have or want to pair up with another "flock member", it seems it could be more stressful for them to compete for the attention of "their human(s)" with the addition of more parrots.

Again my overall question: Is keeping a large "flock" of captive parrots in one's home more or less beneficial to the parrots? (I am excluding rescue scenarios here and not referring to breeding pairs, because both of these situation create different scenarios, although I will still encourage any and everyone's comments.)

Seeing as I have only two birds, I do not have a hypothesis to offer due to lack of experience. Although I will repeat that I think it has been beneficial for my birds to have each other, but this is because I am not "homebound".


Thanks for taking the time to read my long post, and hopefully replying!


Take care!

Hopefully I have made myself clear. I shall anticipate people's reactions/replies to this post and look forward to the discussion.

[Izzy]

Interesting question. I've worked with a few rescues (which housed 100-400 birds on site), and with a boarding facility where most owners had single birds. I am currently owned by one cockatiel.

I think it depends a lot on your lifestyle. If you're gone a lot, or if you want to have a bird roon filled with birds, then I think a flock can be beneficial to the birds, and they will entertain each other and make buddies. Of course, you may have to rig up ways to keep certain members seperated for their safety, but they will get something out of seeing/talking to each other even if it's not physical interaction. I know that in a rescue situation, being around the other birds is a great way for new birds to learn to be a bird, and to become less dependent upon humans. Knowing that they are a bird is an important step towards a well adjusted parrot, in my opinion.

However, I also think that a single bird can be quite happy if it is an involved member of the family, and takes a part in day to day activities in the home. In this case, we (the humans) become their 'flock'. I know of plenty wonderfully adjusted single birds who are the light of their people's lives and who lead more stimulating and exciting lives than I do!

I currently only own one bird (a cockatiel), and I know that eventually I will probably get another cockatiel to keep her company. However, I don't want a hige flock, and will probably only own 1-2 large birds (I love greys and greenwing macaws). So in some homes, I think it is a combination of the two scenarios which end up working.

Hopefully others will have opinions on this as well! And hopefully this is what you were asking!