Confused at getting one or 2 birds

[jadedLimer]

Hi there,

I've been in the process of looking for green cheek conure and have finally found the mots lovely one. The breeder truly cares for her flock and Im excited to get her. However, the breeder has told me that there was also a baby lovebird raised together with the gcc babies and is basically super attached to the one I wanted to get. The breeder says they are inseperable and stay currently in the cage together and seep together, play fight etc. She has asked me to take the lovebird on for free (if i want) as it is attachted to the GCC. Now I was only prepared to get one bird and possibly getting a second one in 8-12 months time maybe. What are the pros and cons of this? Is it wise?

Thanks,
L

 

[Emma&pico]

would you be keeping them in same cage or separate cages ?

If you want them both then I would have separate cages and supervised out of cage time and keep a very close eye on them beak sizes is so much different between them both lovebirds go straight for feet and if they do get into a fight I will say neither bird will back down both can be very feisty birds

there’s a lot of people who have mixed flocks and it works but I wouldn’t have them sharing a cage
As babies they may get along as adults that’s anyone guess

 

[jadedLimer]

Yes that is very valid ! I think i have the mental capacity and emotional one currently to give more attention to one bird. And it would feel like a diservice if they dont get equal attention. the main things I was considering is maybe its good for the conure to have another bird for company and maybe i should make an effort and adapt my lifestyle to getting 2 inteas of one. I was planning on keeping them in the same cage but you are righ that if they grow older they would need to seperated. Ive also heard its difficult to train 2 birds at the same time!
I guess a major pro would be that for days im busy with work they would have eachother for company - i guess i wonder if i could replace the lack of another bird with loads of foraging activities and toys for days i cant be with bird for most of the day?

 

[Emma&pico]

Yes that is very valid ! I think i have the mental capacity and emotional one currently to give more attention to one bird. And it would feel like a diservice if they dont get equal attention. the main things I was considering is maybe its good for the conure to have another bird for company and maybe i should make an effort and adapt my lifestyle to getting 2 inteas of one. I was planning on keeping them in the same cage but you are righ that if they grow older they would need to seperated. Ive also heard its difficult to train 2 birds at the same time!
I guess a major pro would be that for days im busy with work they would have eachother for company - i guess i wonder if i could replace the lack of another bird with loads of foraging activities and toys for days i cant be with bird for most of the day?

It’s not hard to train two birds it’s do able mine both do tricks at same time only thing is they can get distracted as one bird focus on just you but mine can both flip tunnel wave shake hands recall take hoops off stand working on fetch and putting hoops back

I work two 12hours shifts a week I am at work tomorrow and sat so I am going to fill up foraging toys tonight before bed so they are ready for morning for them I get in about 7:20 have my tea clean cages fill water bowls foraging toys they get to be out for an hour then bed at half 8
I leave radio on for them they have separate cages they are fine remi tells me off a little bit but soon forgets pip doesn’t seem bothered just happy to see me lol

if you think one is for you at min then stick to one especially if a lovebird isn’t what you wanted

lovebirds are amazing little birds but my female is hard work
Pico my male who sadly died was amazing little bird
Pico and remi (gcc) were able to be out together of cages just didn’t take much notice of each other but Indie (lovebird) just attacks everyone especially when hormonal and even worse since losing pico

my green cheeks are babies at min 9months and 5months

Have you researched lovebirds they are very different personality wise from green cheeks

 

[~Drini~]

I would say either get both birds, or choose another GCC. Don't separate these two.

It must be a good breeder, given they care enough about the birds to give the lovebird for free just so that the pair remains together.

 

[Zara]

For these two birds, if they have only just weaned and fledged, there is a risk that their "bond" is like that of clutchmates which can later break as they sexually mature and find they are not compatible. However, it is not a rare thing for some clutchmates to bond for "life" (I have a bonded pair from a clutch).

If the breeder is willing to give the lovebird for free, they must be pretty sure these birds are bonded and truly believe it will last so I agree with @~Drini~ , don't split these two up. But if you do take them, maybe look for a cage that has a divider? Or have a second cage for just incase there are any bumps further down the road.

Don't feel pressured into taking two birds. If you just want one bird for now, then wait for another conure.

 

[jadedLimer]

Wow guys, this has been really eye opening. I truly appreciate you guy’s responding so quickly.

I agree that I don’t think separating these two would be a good idea. I was definitely not prepared to have 2 birds instead of one so I’m now considering the second bird or will have to look elsewhere. I looked into lovebirds in the beginning of my research journey last year and did think their personalities were cute but I had already hand reared a clutch of parrotlets that year from my friends bird and was keen on getting a different personality type. So in terms of the feisty but clingy nature I think parrotlets and lovebirds are alike and I do have experience with that.

gonna have to decide what decision to make, probably get a bigger cage if I was getting both!

 

[Zara]

probably get a bigger cage if I was getting both!

You could look into a double cage with divider.
So on the good days when all is well they have a huge cage to play in (lovebirds thrive in space) , and on the days there is some bickering or one bird wants some personal space, you can put the divider in and they still have a good sized cage each;

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[jadedLimer]

just to update I ended up getting both of em ! they were really good for a week or so, but noori (the conure) started to ignore the lovebird being extremely velcrod to me. Probably she was missing her home. Th lovebird on the other hand did not like this and would sit at the swing screaming all day to get noori to come and play maybe ? It did start to get worse where the lovebird began attacking Noori’s legs for ignoring her and then noori would begin biting her. This went on for a month and it was starting to get scary. So I decided to rehome the lovebird to my friend who was looking for one at the time! It was convenient because now Noori visits the lovebird and they can still hangout but in doses to keep them safe!! I got lucky in my situation but in hindsight I should’ve been more prepared for a situation like that, I thought it would be rainbows and sunshine from the get go but they were fighting quicker than I thought! (they had separate cages dont worry). Everyone’s advice was super helpful thank you

from Baby Noori &Me ​

 

[Aestatis]

If you ever decide you want another conure later on you can always get one then. There's a lot of smaller birds that seem to go up for adoption/craigslist around 1-2 years of age.