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More than one bird?

DavyG

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I've had my Pineapple Conure (Tweetz MacKenzie) for about six months now, he is a year old. Now, my mom wants to get herself a bird. How do Conures interact with other bird species or another Conure? She had her eyes on a Lorikeet, but the maintenance and aggression may be a little much.
 

Mizzely

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Birds do best in a flock :) So for the most part, even if they don't like each other, I find them happiest with someone who speaks their language, so to speak.

usually, same species do just fine with each other, but not always. I find it easiest for them to sort stuff out if they both can fly. I also don't like to mix beak sizes, because a bigger beaked bird can hurt a smaller beaked one much quicker, even kill, without even meaning to.

Also of course each bird needs its own cage, and be prepared that if they REALLY don't like each other, you will need to plan ahead with separate out times or separate rooms.
 

DavyG

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My mom is looking for something super playful! I am just worried about safety and my conure losing interested in me, happened with a pair of Cockatiels when I was younger. Any suggestion for similarly sized birds that would fit the playful as hell motif?
 

AkasyaEllric

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I can't think of anything of similar size off the top of my head that's super playful. The most playful birds I can think of are lories/lorikeets (which I saw you discuss in the other thread) and caiques. Caiques are bigger than a green cheek though, by a lot. Regardless of size, like Mizzley said, you have to be prepared for the possibility of them not getting along. You could get another green cheek and have them not be able to stand each other. Since it would be your Mom's bird is there a possibility that they would be seperated anyways?
 

DavyG

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@AkasyaEllric do to a few different issues at home that is not likely. I am just trying to maximize my chances :) my bird may very well be an bum. I am pretty sure he is.
 

Lady Jane

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do to a few different issues at home that is not likely. I am just trying to maximize my chances :) my bird may very well be an bum. I am pretty sure he is.


What do you mean by bum?
 

Mizzely

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It depends on your definition of playful. For me, conures are already a playful species as a whole. I'd say any pyrhurra conure species would be your best bet.
 

cassiesdad

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Buddy, our Nanday, is indifferent to the tiels and budgies that he shares our front room with. He could care less about them...unless they try to steal food from him! He's extremely food-protective , and will drive the intruder off and then stand guard over his food.
Buddy and Milton are jealous of each other, and don't like each other. When Buddy vocalizes, Milty will tell him, in no uncertain terms, to "SHUT UP!" Buddy just squawks louder at Milty. :rolleyes:

Every bird is an individual, so this is just Buudy's take on the others...
 

Mizzely

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Tweetz is very playful, if not a little clingy, with me and my younger brother but he seems to despise my mom.

That's perfectly normal for a bird to pick favorites.
 

DavyG

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That's perfectly normal for a bird to pick favorites.
Right, in the case of my bird I handled him a day or two after we brought him home, so she wants that experience. I think he warmed up to my brother because he likes his bald head.
 

Mizzely

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Right, in the case of my bird I handled him a day or two after we brought him home, so she wants that experience. I think he warmed up to my brother because he likes his bald head.

That doesn't mean anything. I was the only one that handled my first bird, Jingo, and he bonded to my husband, even though I fed him, cleaned his cage, gave him treats, etc.
 

AkasyaEllric

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Same thing happened with my canary wing Ollie. I did everything for him and he started attacking me to get to my husband. We're in a better place now, but he still makes it known that I am NOT his favorite frequently. Then Diggle, again, I took care of him and he bonded to my daughter. You can't force or even determine who a bird will bond to, they pick who they pick. Diggle is a lot less serious than Ollie at least and will go to anyone, he just lets her pick him up and pet her without giving hard bites. Slade, we've only had him 2 weeks, so we will see haha.
 

BrianB

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I have 3 conures that are pets. I never let them near the breeders. Two of them are in separate cages in the office and the other is in the family room. The office birds are Nibbles my pineapple green cheek, and Jackie, the rescued blue crown. I never leave them out of their cage unsupervised. If I leave the room for more than a few minutes, they both go back in their cages. Nibbles really wants to get onto Jackie's cage, but Jackie is bigger and I'm afraid Nibbles will get bit. Nibbles has a play stand on top of her cage, so sometimes I will put Nibbles back in the cage and let Jackie get on the play stand. The only reason I do this is because Nibbles can't see what's going on from inside the cage, otherwise there would be jealousy and screaming. I'm already dealing with jealousy issues between them. Nibbles was my first bird and is still my baby. She's also very independent and can spend hours amusing herself without any interaction from me. Jackie has had a rough life, and has some medical issues right now so he needs a lot more attention. Mostly it is positive reinforcement that he can step onto me without fear of being hurt. Taking food from me, and being touched without flinching or screaming. We're making good progress, but Nibbles is jealous. If Jackie is on me, Nibble will fly down and try to get on my other shoulder. If I could trust them together, it wouldn't be an issue. Maybe someday, but not right now. Wasabi, the blue crown in the family room, is unhappy with me at the moment because he's on a diet. We tried to put him and Jackie close together and that was a nightmare. Nothing but screaming. If he sees another bird on me, he has a fit. I tell him that if his attitude improved he might be a finger bird again, but that never helps. So, at the moment, I have three birds with very different personalities and I won't let any of them get close enough for direct physical contact. Maybe someday, and right now I'm enjoying getting to spend a little bit of time with each of them one on one.
 
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