Sarah Rose
Meeting neighbors
I've had Clover for around three months now, and she seems to enjoy being with me. We have a somewhat strong bond, and she loves coming out of her cage to hang out, get head scritches, and train.
I've heard that cockatiels are "flock birds" and need another friend of their same species in order to thrive. I've also heard that they will most likely bond to each other, and ignore me?
Her cage is somewhat large (24 x 22 x 33 inches) and is located in the "animal room" or "office" where our guinea pigs are and where my parents work at home. My mom will occasionally take her out during the day while I'm at school, but thats the only time she's out of the cage during the day. Once I get home from school, she spends about 4-5 hours out of the cage. I try to dedicate at least 1-2 hours of that time as quality time, but sometimes I have so much homework or am so stressed out that I'm not able to spend as much quality time as I'd like with her.
Recently we took her to the vet because she was hanging out on the floor so we were concerned she might have a respiratory infection or be nesting. Our vet said that she was healthy, but she could start to be one of the "egg layers" if she continued to exhibit nesting behavior or even if we got her a friend.
What do you guys think? Is she fine on her own, or would it be best to get her a friend? I want to do whats best for her. If we got her a friend, I would want to get a female, not a male (no babies!), but I've heard that even two females will bond to each other. Please let me know!
I've heard that cockatiels are "flock birds" and need another friend of their same species in order to thrive. I've also heard that they will most likely bond to each other, and ignore me?
Her cage is somewhat large (24 x 22 x 33 inches) and is located in the "animal room" or "office" where our guinea pigs are and where my parents work at home. My mom will occasionally take her out during the day while I'm at school, but thats the only time she's out of the cage during the day. Once I get home from school, she spends about 4-5 hours out of the cage. I try to dedicate at least 1-2 hours of that time as quality time, but sometimes I have so much homework or am so stressed out that I'm not able to spend as much quality time as I'd like with her.
Recently we took her to the vet because she was hanging out on the floor so we were concerned she might have a respiratory infection or be nesting. Our vet said that she was healthy, but she could start to be one of the "egg layers" if she continued to exhibit nesting behavior or even if we got her a friend.
What do you guys think? Is she fine on her own, or would it be best to get her a friend? I want to do whats best for her. If we got her a friend, I would want to get a female, not a male (no babies!), but I've heard that even two females will bond to each other. Please let me know!