What should I do?

[KaeliJade13]

I currently have just 1 GCC and she's about 7 months old, my mom (who I live with) wants to get another bird because birds are flock animals and I agree but what kind of bird should I get? My mom wants a Ringneck and I'm pretty neutral, I'm just worried my conure will be aggressive. She's mean and bites other people but not me and rarely my mom, she only bites when you try and pick her up. She's molting right now and I assume that it isn't helping her behaviour. She was nice and sweet until it started. I'm also worried her past experience may have affected her more than we know. She was originally taken by some people who brought her back saying they didn't like her colours (I call bs consconsidering you see the bird before you get it and she was young) They returned her in a small trashy cage and they were really rude when they did it, she was returned in the middle of my meeting the birds, I felt bad for her and decided I would take her. If she's an outcast then we can be alone together! I'm wondering if more happened in that time. They didn't have her long. But it could have been traumatic for her even if it was for 2 minutes. I can't handle leaving her alone for 4 hours twice a week. I know my mom doesn't play with her often because she might bite her when I'm not there. I feel like getting another bird would provide her with more companionship but it could also became an all out war. I'm really worried and I can't handle having her on her own. Birds need other birds. But what kind of bird. My mom wants something different (I dont think it should be her choice consiconsidering I'll be taking care of it and I feel like I should choose the best match). Should I try and convince her to get another conure or should I go with a Ringneck? I've seen cases where the two can get along but I'm still worried something could happen while I'm out.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

My personal feelings... stay within the pyhurra species of conures.... preferably the green cheeks because your bird and another will share the same "Language" for lack of a better way of saying it at 3:20 am. You can always let your mom look for one that is a different color mutation than the one you have. Are you sure yours is a female? Males can have a feistier personality so you may want to make sure you go with another female.... but it's not guaranteed they'll like each other.

 

[Lodah]

Be careful for what you wish for... you may be lucky and all goes well! More than likely it may not and you may end up having to do the same to the new fid that happened to the one you have now!

Plus it will cost you twice as much in time and money!

Good luck either way, just think it through first!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Be careful for what you wish for... you may be lucky and all goes well! More than likely it may not and you may end up having to do the same to the new fid that happened to the one you have now!

Plus it will cost you twice as much in time and money!

Good luck either way, just think it through first!

Very true. Learn how to handle and work with the bird you have now before you bring another one home. It's advice you wouldn't regret listening to.

 

[Farlie]

Not the best idea. You and your mom are the flock. This bird needs no other bird to confuse things.

 

[tka]

I don't have one, but I understand that Indian Ringnecks have some qualities that make them difficult in multibird, multispecies households. If you get one, the chances are that it won't be a companion for your conure. @painesgrey will be able to offer more information here, but has found that her IRN's territorial aggressiveness and need for attention makes things tricky for her other birds and she has to balance giving all of them separate attention.

Moulting often makes birds cranky. I would suggest working with the bird you have. You can teach both your conure and your mum games that don't require physical contact - teaching them to use a target stick them targetting the bird around the room is fun, then once you've got targetting down you can work on tricks like stretching, turning in a circle etc.

 

[LSA]

DO NOT GET AN IRN FOR YOUR CONURE! IRNs do NOT do well with other species! It's not often that I will tell someone what to or not to get, but this is one case. An IRN can be sweet or not, but certainly not with a conure.

Many members have single GCC households. @d_msparkles
@Coldbreeze works full- time and lives with her parents in a single GCC household.

 

[painesgrey]

This post might come out long-winded, so I'll try to break it up as much as possible.

I absolutely think that it's great to keep multiple birds. Even with regular attention, birds can get lonely or understimulated, and become increasingly demanding, vocal, and sometimes aggressive. Sometimes another bird in the home can help offset this.

That being said, bringing a bird home as a companion for another bird usually ends up being an absolute mess, especially if they're different species. You have absolutely no idea whether they're going to get along, and the consequences can be pretty dramatic.

I am lucky that my Quaker and my Caique get along. My Caique was reared and weaned alongside Quakers, so he was familiar with them. Even then, the two of them took quite a long time to get used to one another, and do normal bird behaviors like preening one another. However, even though they get along swimmingly, the fact that they're different species means a lot of behaviors get lost in translation, and the Caique's exuberance can sometimes aggravate my Quaker. For that reason, they are housed separately and only allowed to co-mingle under supervision.

Piper, my IRN, on the other hand.. is difficult. She was hand-reared and raised alongside conures and cockatiels, but really has no interest in being a part of the flock. She will bully my Quaker and, if given the opportunity, fly and chase my Caique, buffeting him with her wings while screeching. For this reason, we keep the birds separate from one another and have to be diligent with heading off certain behaviors while they're out of their cage.

Piper has no problem with Cake if he's on a perch or stationary, but the second he flies (especially to me), she instantly sees red. It has made it incredibly difficult to make sure everyone is getting one-on-one attention without having to cage Piper while Pippin and Cake are out. Unfortunately, that's often what I have to resort to.

That being said, she clearly wants a companion. She over-preens her wings while she watches Cake and Pippin preen one another. However, I get the feeling that she would only really welcome a male IRN, and I simply don't want to breed.

I think Piper would be happier as the only bird in the home, but so far I've not been able to find a suitable home for her.

The tl;dr of this: You shouldn't bring home a new bird with the expectation of it being a companion for your current bird. There's simply no guarantee that they would get along, especially as different species. If you do decide to bring home a second bird, you need to do it with the possibility of them hating one another in mind. Separate cages, separate out-of-cage time, etc., are all factors you need to consider.

 

[Mark & Da Boyz]

Have 5 birds. 3 Tiels, a Kakariki and GCC, I will pass along something that was told to me long ago. NEVER buy your bird a pet. You will likely ended up with another pet yourself and the more you try this the deeper the hole will get.

For the record I didn't buy any of these guys as pets for another bird I got them because I wanted too. Everyone added to the workload but the Tiels all get along, for the most part, but that's still 3 cages to clean, 5 birds to feed 2 times a day plus treats, 3 water bowls to change 3-5 times a day. Then there's 5 vet bills for Yearly check ups, and a what could be a huge bill if any of them get sick or hurt, (Riti being egg bound this spring came to over $1,000.00) so that has to be planned for. Plus if you need to board them...well 1 bird is $12.00 a day last time I checked so 5 will be $60.00 a day...so as I'll be boarding them for 5 days at Christmas it'll be $300.00.

Things to think about.

 

[LSA]

I need to move! Boarding one 24 hr period here is $15/budgie×2, $15/p'let (promptly asking, "What's a parrotlet?")×1, $15/GCC×1, $18/Sunday×1, $20/BCC×1, $25/pionus (promptly asking, "What's a pionus?")×1 and $28/IRN no meds x1 = $151 for 5 days would be $750 (she rounded it off.) plus 1.25 hours each i. Okay, I'll take the conures and Glenn on my 11 hour trip. That's only $70/night × 5 = $350. A live-in birdsitter is only $50/day&night for all birds, no cage cleanings and Glenn gets his meds.

Birds aren't cheap or easy. Make sure when you get one, it's for you! Of course, if your GCC is willing to get a job to buy its pet food, toys, cages, etc. plus clean those toys, cages, perches, etc. plus drive to the AV and pay the AV bill plus put its pet to bed and wake its pet up... I'd make sure the GCC had stable employment first though.

 

[Mark & Da Boyz]

Well all my crew are "Small Birds" the big guys go up in price quickly here as well.

 

[MauiWendy]

Not the best idea. You and your mom are the flock. This bird needs no other bird to confuse things.

Totally agree, why upset things. You and your mom and your bird are a flock. The similarities between your conure and a ringneck are about the same as my red bellied and parakeet. They are on separate ends of my living room and are never out at the same time. Keoki although only 4 months is not interested in being friends with Gary. He has made it pretty clear. So I have to protect Gary (for is own good) because he does want to be social with Keoki. They posture at eachother and copy. When one eats so does the other, same for preening. And they talk to eachother in their own way. Anyway that’s my two cents.

 

[Coldbreeze]

My mother has recently taken it upon herself to get Zazu out of the cage and hang out with her. Just the other day I came home from work to see my mother with Zazu on her shoulder. I was so happy! She told me all about her 4 hour morning with Zazu.

She gave Zazu blueberries then had her on her shoulder. Zazu bit her a few times but nothing too hard Zazu also flew off her and my poor 68 year old mother had go chase Zazu around the apartment and finally catching her by the tail which isnt the best way but she isnt the best bird catcher.. so.. I'm happy that they are starting to form a bond. I tease her that when Zazu gets all adult she gonna choose her to be her mate and I'll be chop liver. She shrieks and says "Oh no! I dont Want a pet bird!" But Zazu does very well as a single bird and as much as i stare at other bird listing or birds needing rehoming i torture myself, really. But I remember I have Zazu and I have school next year and a cruise coming up and getting another bird isnt in the cards currently

 

[Nola]

My kids have an IRN, 3 GCC and a Nanday. The 3 gccs are besties (non related and one a 2-1/2 yr old rehomed birdie), the IRN doesn't get on at all with the gccs. I myself have 3 GCCs and a Jenday, all are great buddies, though Marley my Jenday does get bullied on occasion by Pablo my pineapple gcc usually over food. If you really want another bird have you considered a meet and greet? That way you can see how they interact before committing to buy. Also too their first molt is very hard on them and you, if yours is like mine it coincided with their first hormone flurry, my two tame babies, Marley and Tango became chomping monsters, to all our relief its all just about passed.
Good luck with your decision, listen to your heart it's never wrong. Kind regards Nola