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2 birds better then 1??

T1nyB0ost

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
3/5/21
Messages
16
Hi everyone! We have been discussing getting an African Grey for a few months now. We currently only have a quaker, who we love so much and is just so sweet, albeit a bit scared (I think he'll warm up) . We are able to provide for both and spend a lot of time with our current bird, we have a good vet, a good boarder, we love making and inventing things for him. Next move is a nice outside aviary. I think we could be good grey owners as well (I know they take a little more than our little quaker). Do you think this is a good idea? Can it cause our current bird to become unhappy/ jealous etc? Anyone here own a quaker and a grey with good result? Things are going so well with our baby, I don't want to disrupt the flow and the peace but it's always been a kind of dream of ours to have a grey also. Thanks in advance!!
 

JosienBB

Biking along the boulevard
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This might be an unpopular opinion, but if I had to do it all over again, I would've stuck with just one. Easy to acquire birds, but they're a lifetime commitment, for better or for worse. I watched my beautiful, loving Ophelia, whom I acquired as a baby, go from a happy bird who loved everyone to a psychologically damaged little girl who plucks her feathers because she was bullied by my other bird. I made the difficult decision to rehome the bully, and not one day passes that I don't feel guilty about it. And my formerly happy loved everyone Ophelia, while happy again, still plucks and loves only my mother, who does not return her love. The damage has been done, it's irreversible, and it's all because i was selfish and didn't think it through carefully before getting another bird. I live with the guilt every day, knowing I've ruined my beautiful Ophelia.
 

Tazlima

Jogging around the block
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Messages
623
First and foremost, there's no way to predict how your current bird will react to a new bird. If things are going beautifully, I'd think very carefully before rocking that boat.

I have a quaker and a grey (a timneh), and while I adore them both, if I'd known more going into it, I wouldn't have chosen this particular combination.

The biggest concern is powder down. The dust produced by old world birds like greys can be dangerous to the respiratory system of new world birds like Quakers. I have an air purifier by the grey's cage and am fastidious about cleaning and airing out the house, but no matter what steps I take, just being around a grey is inherently risky to the Quaker.

Quakers are, as a general rule, relatively open to the idea of a mixed-species flock, which is reflected in the behavior of their wild brethren. You'll often see wild quakers mingling with other kinds of birds.

Greys are... not. In the wild, they tend to stick with other greys and shun any other company. My quaker is indifferent towards my grey, but the grey would definitely chomp him given the opportunity. I'm actually kind of lucky that she can barely fly, because he can easily avoid her just by perching someplace high up, and he has enough sense to leave her alone. (I'm hoping that some of that aggression is caused by frustration, and that it will subside as her flight skills improve and she gets more fun, healthy exercise, but I know that's probably a pipe dream).

Thankfully, about the only time they get close together is when they both want to be on me, for scritches or training, which is kind of ideal, since I'm right there to run interference. Even then, I make a point to keep space between them (e.g. one on either side of me), and I don't relax until one or the other has moved away. The rest of the time, the Quaker respects the grey's territory, and she has learned to respect his as well (early on, she tried to climb his cage and play Godzilla a few times, but that's basically stopped now).

I'm constantly aware of how much bigger she is, and how much damage she could do if she got ahold of him even once. She's learned to leave him alone because I ask her to and because I defend both territories from the other, so they don't feel the need to defend it themselves, but the aggression is by no means gone. I see how she looks at him.

They coexist relatively peacefully these days, and they definitely learn from each other's chatter, but I don't feel like they enrich each other's lives in any meaningful way. Both were single birds before they came to me, and I think they would both be perfectly content if the other vanished and they went back to being a single bird.

They remind me of a pair of neighbors who politely wave when they see each other, but never stop to chat (and one of them is secretly judgey and kind of racist). And that's actually about the best possible outcome.
 
Last edited:

T1nyB0ost

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
3/5/21
Messages
16
This might be an unpopular opinion, but if I had to do it all over again, I would've stuck with just one. Easy to acquire birds, but they're a lifetime commitment, for better or for worse. I watched my beautiful, loving Ophelia, whom I acquired as a baby, go from a happy bird who loved everyone to a psychologically damaged little girl who plucks her feathers because she was bullied by my other bird. I made the difficult decision to rehome the bully, and not one day passes that I don't feel guilty about it. And my formerly happy loved everyone Ophelia, while happy again, still plucks and loves only my mother, who does not return her love. The damage has been done, it's irreversible, and it's all because i was selfish and didn't think it through carefully before getting another bird. I live with the guilt every day, knowing I've ruined my beautiful Ophelia.
Yes this is a fear I have for sure. Thank you for sharing your story. I think this may be a more popular opinion then I think. It will help in this decision we are making!
 

Gigibirds

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
2/15/21
Messages
1,035
As much as I want to say yes, I wouldn't really recommend it. It's really hard to give two birds the same amount of attention, and the original bird tends to get jealous and/or sad. But good luck with whatever decision you make!! I know how tempting it is to get another bird :) (hehe, that's how I wound up with a whole aviary full of lovebirds)
 

T1nyB0ost

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
3/5/21
Messages
16
First and foremost, there's no way to predict how your current bird will react to a new bird. If things are going beautifully, I'd think very carefully before rocking that boat.

I have a quaker and a grey (a timneh), and while I adore them both, if I'd known more going into it, I wouldn't have chosen this particular combination.

The biggest concern is powder down. The dust produced by old world birds like greys can be dangerous to the respiratory system of new world birds like Quakers. I have an air purifier by the grey's cage and am fastidious about cleaning and airing out the house, but no matter what steps I take, just being around a grey is inherently risky to the Quaker.

Quakers are, as a general rule, relatively open to the idea of a mixed-species flock, which is reflected in the behavior of their wild brethren. You'll often see wild quakers mingling with other kinds of birds.

Greys are... not. In the wild, they tend to stick with other greys and shun any other company. My quaker is indifferent towards my grey, but the grey would definitely chomp him given the opportunity. I'm actually kind of lucky that she can barely fly, because he can easily avoid her just by perching someplace high up, and he has enough sense to leave her alone. (I'm hoping that some of that aggression is caused by frustration, and that it will subside as her flight skills improve and she gets more fun, healthy exercise, but I know that's probably a pipe dream).

Thankfully, about the only time they get close together is when they both want to be on me, for scritches or training, which is kind of ideal, since I'm right there to run interference. Even then, I make a point to keep space between them (e.g. one on either side of me), and I don't relax until one or the other has moved away. The rest of the time, the Quaker respects the grey's territory, and she has learned to respect his as well (early on, she tried to climb his cage and play Godzilla a few times, but that's basically stopped now).

I'm constantly aware of how much bigger she is, and how much damage she could do if she got ahold of him even once. She's learned to leave him alone because I ask her to and because I defend both territories from the other, so they don't feel the need to defend it themselves, but the aggression is by no means gone. I see how she looks at him.

They coexist relatively peacefully these days, and they definitely learn from each other's chatter, but I don't feel like they enrich each other's lives in any meaningful way. Both were single birds before they came to me, and I think they would both be perfectly content if the other vanished and they went back to being a single bird.

They remind me of a pair of neighbors who politely wave when they see each other, but never stop to chat (and one of them is secretly judgey and kind of racist). And that's actually about the best possible outcome.
This reply is so very helpful thank you! I didn't even think about the dust. I knew that the size difference was a big one and something that would need to be worked out and watched closely. Do you think in general with an attentive family and enough to do, birds prefer to be the only one?
 

sunnysmom

Ripping up the road
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I think when looking to add another bird, sticking to the same beak size is the easiest/safest route. I have tiels and a goffin. I make it work but life would be much easier if I could let them out safely together. I can't.
 

Gigibirds

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
2/15/21
Messages
1,035
My bird prefered being the only one! But she eventually got used to having less attention.
 

Tazlima

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
3/7/19
Messages
623
This reply is so very helpful thank you! I didn't even think about the dust. I knew that the size difference was a big one and something that would need to be worked out and watched closely. Do you think in general with an attentive family and enough to do, birds prefer to be the only one?
It depends on the individual bird. While my quaker and grey both seem perfectly content to do their own thing, I think my tiel really feels the lack of a same-species friend. (He visits mirror boyfriend every evening for a nice chat). If I had the space, I'd get him a buddy in a heartbeat.
 

T1nyB0ost

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
3/5/21
Messages
16
I think when looking to add another bird, sticking to the same beak size is the easiest/safest route. I have tiels and a goffin. I make it work but life would be much easier if I could let them out safely together. I can't.
Thank you! This is helpful and makes a ton of sense.
 

T1nyB0ost

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
3/5/21
Messages
16
It depends on the individual bird. While my quaker and grey both seem perfectly content to do their own thing, I think my tiel really feels the lack of a same-species friend. (He visits mirror boyfriend every evening for a nice chat). If I had the space, I'd get him a buddy in a heartbeat.
Got it! Thanks for your info
 
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