Adding a Second Tiel

[cricketiel]

Hi all,

I was hoping to get some advice on introducing a second cockatiel to my little flock (which as of now consists only of myself and my 3 year old cockatiel Cricket). I will be starting vet school soon, meaning that I will be away from home and thus away from Cricket for longer periods of time every day than I ever have been before. If I had it my way, I'd spend every waking moment by her side, but as I start this new chapter I fear that won't be possible. I was thinking, therefore, about getting a companion for Cricket.

Cricket is bonded to me and follows me everywhere I go. Whenever I leave the room, she flock calls for me incessantly (something that I have been trying to train out of her, though my efforts have been fruitless thus far). It is clear to me that she truly hates being alone, as many birds do. Perhaps it is because she was a quarantine baby and I have been home with her almost every day throughout her entire life as I was a college student in remote courses, but she seems so distressed when left alone, not to mention the fact that her screaming might very well start to wear on my neighbors. I understand that birds are going to scream, but my primary concern is that she is so clearly distressed and I hate hearing her like that.

This brings me to my idea of getting her a companion. I know that there are no guarantees when it comes to introducing a new bird and that they very well may never get along. I plan to quarantine the new bird for at least a month before I begin slowly introducing the two, and intend to keep them in separate cages for the foreseeable future until I am positive that housing them together would work for them. I am prepared to house them in separate cages for the rest of their lives if necessary, and I have no expectations that they will be best friends (though that would be ideal, and we will certainly work towards that!).

I guess my question is: would this have any potential benefit on Cricket's separation anxiety? Even if the two are not friends (at first, or forever), I feel that having another bird in the room with her throughout the day could help with her separation issues. Kind of like, ambient companionship?? I don't know. Of course if she is bonded to me and not to the other bird, this might not be beneficial at all, not to mention it might just lead to TWO birds screaming for me when I leave the apartment...Long story short I am overthinking this like crazy. I'm already so stressed about starting vet school soon and the major life changes that come with that, but honestly my biggest stressor at the moment is worrying about Cricket and how this change is going to affect her.

Any advice about introducing a second bird to a bird who is HEAVILY bonded to me and accustomed to being an only bird would be so greatly appreciated, as would any advice about minimizing Cricket's stress when I have to leave for the day. Thank you so much for your time!

Signed,
Dana, the anxious bird mom

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[sunnysmom]

I think most birds appreciate the company of other birds. That doesn't mean they'll actually be buddies though. I know my very high strung cockatoo calmed down a lot when I started keeping my cockatiel in the same room with him. As for two cockatiels, tiels in general are pretty laid back birds and tend to get along fine with another tiel. They might not want to share a cage though. So be prepared for that. And as you said, introduce them slowly in separate cages and then see if they are interested in being in the same cage together.

 

[Tara81]

cockatiels are usually pretty laid back. Males are much louder than females. They will whistle at random times during the day, sometimes at the top of their lungs. But if you are lucky, you can teach the male to talk a little, beat box, and whistle a cool tune like star wars or Game of Thrones theme song.

If you do get a male, remember to replace eggs with dummy eggs or boil, cool then return. This way you won't have to worry about raising their offspring.

Or you can get a female and have two quieter birds that sit around most of the day. lol. They can be pretty sweet though.