Getting to birds at once - how to socialize with them?

[Mari Amaral]

Hi guys!
As I always say: I'm new here! I'm in the process of getting a bird! (currently I've been researching non stop about what species would better suit me and my lifestyle).

- I've never owned a bird before, but I've been around some of them...
- I live alone in a two bedroom apartment with brick walls. Some rooms don't share walls with neighbors.
- I'm not home for most of the day (leave at 7:30 am and come back at 5:00 pm. Some times I have lunch at home...).

Since I work/ go to college all day, some people here sugested that I get two birds instead of one, and I really liked the idea!
But I would love to train my future feathered friend, and I read that it's much harder to do that when you have more than one bird... Also, I seems they will bond to each other (which is a good and bad thing) and win't care about me as much...

What should I do to socialize them properly since they already have each other? How to make them love me very much as well? How can I train two birds at once?

I plan on getting two male brother of one of these species: Indian ringneck, plum headed parakeet ou moustache.
Is it a bad idea to get one of them? which is the one that suits me better?
I have to say I probably have my heart set for two ringneck baby brothers... but I'm not sure yet... (again: I've been doing a lot of research, I know ringnecks can be moody sometimes.... I'm watching a lot of videos to try and learn more and more about them and their body language, and I've joined this amazing forum to do that too!)

 

[Jas]

I'm owned by two GCC who are siblings, we are a flock of three. They live in the same cage and I socialise and train them together.

I would say time is very important and how much you spend with them, you get out what you put in. Patience, trust and love all come at their own pace, they don't just love or trust you, you earn it. But two birds that are bonded allowing you to join their flock and sharing their almost secret lives is somewhat magical and an honour. You'll learn what each call means, what look is 'I missed you human , 'can I have some ', 'what is that', 'your fingers look great to chew', 'that looks scary' and many more. If their feeling playful, happy, neutral, bored, scared etc. I know when their in a mood or want some time which is what I give them. It also shows that you respect them, which is then building trust.

Everyone likes company and I made a promise to always try and keep birds in pairs or at least be able to be with their own kind. For instance when I'm older and the budgies have crossed over the rainbow bridge the conures would still have each other, but if I did decide to adopt a birdie I would look for a pair that needed to be rehomed together or two individuals that get along well and can live in the same household (not cage, they might be different species). A single bird is a lonely bird, a lonely bird is a sad bird, a sad bird can't enjoy life.

Also training is easy once you figure what makes them want to learn. Peanut will do anything for sunflower or safflower seeds, I use these for her when asking if she'll do big tricks like colour recognition or flight recall and specified perching. Pickles loves nuts (mainly almonds or walnuts) I use these when asking for big tricks. Switching up tricks is important as birdies get bored when doing the same thing over again. Changing quantity of rewards and the rewards themselves keeps training interesting. Never train when they don't want to it just puts them off, never end on a bad note, make it fun and enjoyable that way they'll want to train because last time it was fun.

As for the species it's down to personal preference, birds are individuals and don't follow rules.

 

[Harleyandme]

I was about to comment something about the times you are home yada yada, but it seems you have a pretty good grasp on the fact that if you get a needy, cuddly, always wants attention bird, you'd need to be home more than the time that you are. Since you have already considered this and put into account a lot of facts already I would say that the post above gives some very wise information about "Patience, trust and love all come at their own pace." (@Jas ). Time is super important when it comes to training birds and just having any level of trust and companionship in general. You definitely need more than one bird. You also have to consider and reconsider noise (as you have noted in your description about the brick walls I think you have already taken it into account). Ringnecks are loud, as are almost all birds, and yes, they can have mood swings. I have wanted an Indian Ringneck for a while now as they are such gorgeous birds. I would say you have to devote a lot of time you do have at home after work/school or whatever to train and socialise. This means free time is free time + birds. I hope you find the right companions

 

[Mari Amaral]

@Jas and @Harleyandme thank you for your comments!