Question about two babies n diff species

[Wil3]

#1
Hi i am sorry if I missed a post w the same question-i have been searching for over a week for an answer in many of the nice and informative posts.
I will be getting a Pineapple Green Cheek Conure who will be about 4 1/2 to 5 weeks old in 2 weeks-God willing- and I will be hand feeding her still. I came across an Indian Ringneck, female also or male is available too—the same age plus or minus a week or so. And I always wanted one.
Is it possible to raise these two species together in the same cage? I know as older it’s a huge No-No when introducing a new bird to an older bird. But these will be the same age.
And would it be too much all at once to have 2 birds? The cage is plenty big enough I think for 2-it’s 24 x 22x 60”.
I used to have a parakeet but that was 27 years ago. I am in my mid 50’s now which hesitates me from getting the ringneck since they live long. I know it’s ok for me-maybe not my hubby who never had any pet birds- and 2 maybe pushing it a little.
Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experiences and knowledge. Wilma

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

#1
Hi i am sorry if I missed a post w the same question-i have been searching for over a week for an answer in many of the nice and informative posts.
I will be getting a Pineapple Green Cheek Conure who will be about 4 1/2 to 5 weeks old in 2 weeks-God willing- and I will be hand feeding her still. I came across an Indian Ringneck, female also or male is available too—the same age plus or minus a week or so. And I always wanted one.
Is it possible to raise these two species together in the same cage? I know as older it’s a huge No-No when introducing a new bird to an older bird. But these will be the same age.
And would it be too much all at once to have 2 birds? The cage is plenty big enough I think for 2-it’s 24 x 22x 60”.
I used to have a parakeet but that was 27 years ago. I am in my mid 50’s now which hesitates me from getting the ringneck since they live long. I know it’s ok for me-maybe not my hubby who never had any pet birds- and 2 maybe pushing it a little.
Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experiences and knowledge. Wilma

Hi Wilma, green cheeks are long lived as well. I would not raise them together since they are two different species. Is there a specific reason you will hand feed this baby? In all honesty, it's in the best interest of the baby to be weaned by the breeder as too many complications can arise when you bring them home un-weaned. It does not make them bond to you any more than bringing them home weaned and can result in behavior problems as your bird begins to mature.

 

[Zara]

Hi Wilma, That cage is not really big enough for two.

Also, it is best not to mix species in the same cage. They may start out ok, and be fine while they grow up, but one day things will very likely go south, and it´s impossible to guarantee you will be home to protect them. By all means you could have both birds in separate cages, they would be able to see each other and interact vocally.

 

[Wil3]

Hi Wilma, green cheeks are long lived as well. I would not raise them together since they are two different species. Is there a specific reason you will hand feed this baby? In all honesty, it's in the best interest of the baby to be weaned by the breeder as too many complications can arise when you bring them home un-weaned. It does not make them bond to you any more than bringing them home weaned and can result in behavior problems as your bird begins to mature.

Hi Thank you for your thoughts. I’m glad you mentioned that about taking in unweaned babies from the breeder. I just have been reading that hand feeding helps with bonding. But now that you said that; maybe too much! Yikes! Golly there is so much to this-it’s scary. I am at home full time for a long while and I have the time to put into raising her gently.
So confusing. I think you are right too about not raising two together. I guess if I have to ask, I shouldn’t do it for their sake which is priority.
Thanks again, Wilma

 

[Wil3]

Hi Wilma, That cage is not really big enough for two.

Also, it is best not to mix species in the same cage. They may start out ok, and be fine while they grow up, but one day things will very likely go south, and it´s impossible to guarantee you will be home to protect them. By all means you could have both birds in separate cages, they would be able to see each other and interact vocally.

Hi thank you so very much. Yes I suppose I would get a second cage especially when older. I appreciate your response and the prior response.
I think starting with the GCC is a good beginning for us. It is amazing how much to think about for one- so two maybe an overreach. Thank you
Wilma

 

[Diesel13]

I wouldn't take on 2 babies at once, especially if you have no experience raising babies. Weaning is such a critical stage for birds because when done right they learn to eat the right foods, how to play independently, and are allowed to fledge (learn to fly) properly.

You do not need to hand-raise a baby to make it bond to you. In fact, sometimes hand raising a baby can actually hurt your relationship later in life when they sexually mature. That's because you are the parent in their eyes since you hand-raised them, so when their hormones kick in and it's time to find a mate they may reject you and bond with someone else in the household.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Hi Thank you for your thoughts. I’m glad you mentioned that about taking in unweaned babies from the breeder. I just have been reading that hand feeding helps with bonding. But now that you said that; maybe too much! Yikes! Golly there is so much to this-it’s scary. I am at home full time for a long while and I have the time to put into raising her gently.
So confusing. I think you are right too about not raising two together. I guess if I have to ask, I shouldn’t do it for their sake which is priority.
Thanks again, Wilma

I can't tell you how many times we have people join that buy unweaned chicks with the same exact thought of hand feeding to build a better bond.. instead, they're joining because they have a serious health issue with the chick. More times than not it's a critical situation and either the chick dies or it ends up costing the new owner expensive vet bills. It's a rough start to life ( or end ) that can be prevented by allowing the breeder to keep that responsibility. Any ethical breeder would never sell an unweaned chick, but instead finish the hand feeding process with abundant weaning and send it to it's new home already independent and eating other foods.

 

[Wil3]

I wouldn't take on 2 babies at once, especially if you have no experience raising babies. Weaning is such a critical stage for birds....


Thank you. It makes sense! I’m glad I asked the questions! I appreciate this forum and all of you.
Wilma

 

[Wil3]

Thank you. It makes sense! I’m glad I asked the questions! I appreciate this forum and all of you and your knowledge. So at what age is appropriate?
Wilma

 

[Wil3]

I can't tell you how many times we have people join that buy unweaned chicks with the same exact thought of hand feeding to build a better bond.. instead, they're joining because they have a serious health issue with the chick. More times than not it's a critical situation and either the chick dies or it ends up costing the new owner expensive vet bills. It's a rough start to life ( or end ) that can be prevented by allowing the breeder to keep that responsibility. Any ethical breeder would never sell an unweaned chick, but instead finish the hand feeding process with abundant weaning and send it to it's new home already independent and eating other foods.

Thank you. Wow! That Was so very informative. I appreciate you bringing those topics to light for me. Thanks.
At what age is appropriate?
Thanks, Wilma

 

[Wil3]

{QUOTE="Wil3, post: 3226261, member: 38048"]
Hi thank you so very much. Yes I suppose I would get a second cage especially when older. I appreciate your response and the prior response.
I think starting with the GCC is a good beginning for us. It is amazing how much to think about for one- so two maybe an overreach. Thank you
Wilma
[/QUOTE]

Thank you. Wow! That Was so very informative. I appreciate you bringing those topics to light for me. Thanks.
At what age is appropriate?
Thanks, Wilma

Hi Wilma, That cage is not really big enough for two.

Also, it is best not to mix species in the same cage. They may start out ok, and be fine while they grow up, but one day things will very likely go south, and it´s impossible to guarantee you will be home to protect them. By all means you could have both birds in separate cages, they would be able to see each other and interact vocally.

Hi Zara do you think the cage is big enough for the one conure? I do plan on taking her out throughout the day.
Thanks in advance, Wilma

 

[tka]

Welcome to the forum!

Do have a look at this information on wingspan: Wingspan Info | Natural Inspirations Parrot cages The cage you have is on the small side for one GCC. If the bird is out for several hours a day then it could work out, but if your bird is likely to be in the cage for most of the day I would look into getting a bigger cage.

And just to second everyone else: hand-feeding is a difficult skill and a lot can go wrong. I think on this forum we've seen people desperate for help due to everything from crop burns (exactly as painful as it sounds - burns in the inside of a chick's crop from being fed formula that's even slightly too hot), yeast infections in the crop, chicks refusing food and becoming dehydrated, chicks taking too much food and deforming their crops, perforated crops... I don't know if you have any movement restrictions where you are due to the pandemic, but one of the things that's becoming harder is getting access to vet care. Many vet surgeries are allowing animals to be dropped off but the owner isn't allowed into the consultation room or the surgery itself. This is not an ideal situation to be in should something go wrong with handfeeding.

You can have a beautiful bond with a parrot who's older. We have many members here who have strong, close friendships with birds who came into their lives when the bird was weaned, a young adult or even middle aged or elderly. It's all about the way you interact with the bird. In many cases, hand-feeding a baby sets you up for problems later on - young adult birds are primed to seek out relationships and friendships outside the parental bonds. Much like young adult humans, they will move away from their parents and want to form relationships with potential partners, not whoever they see as "mum" or "dad". This can lead to a parrot transferring its affections to someone other than its primary caregiver when it was a baby.

 

[Wil3]

Hi Thank you. I will look for one that is already weaned- just from what you and others are replying. I don’t want the issue later in. I haven’t thought of that. My Mom has hand-fed many and she never had an issue. I have also been watching videos and reading a lot about “how to” and temp etc. I am pretty good when it comes to things like this, but yes it can be scary. A vet is not far like 10” that I can go to.
As far as the cage I read somewhere on line that a 24” x24” was a good size for conures. This was the closest I found and it has a play area on top-it’s an added two perches and two bowls. The top of the cage itself does not open, like I have seen some do.
My hubby is ok with me getting a bird but at the same time I was careful not to shock him with a larger cage. I figured I can get a larger one in a while but I jumped the gun because of the virus, I wasn’t sure I could get one.
Well I will call and see what I can do since I don’t have a bird yet.
Thank you so much. Really I appreciate it this info.
Any thoughts about me getting a male or female?
Wilma

 

[Wil3]

Thank you for the link. I see that 32x21 is an acceptable size also. It is 1” less deep than what I have, but 8” wider. I will look into that size.
Thanks

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Thank you. Wow! That Was so very informative. I appreciate you bringing those topics to light for me. Thanks.
At what age is appropriate?
Thanks, Wilma

Age appropriate for a hand fed chick ( or parent raised) would be 3-4 weeks after the chick is weaned and eating solid foods on it's own. In many cases regardless of species young birds are brought to a new home freshly weaned. Some will "regress" from the stress of such a drastic change of environment and all they are familiar with. They will either not eat, cry because they're hungry, get stressed, become defensive from all the changes. We live in a rapid paced world and unfortunately this is also imposed on living creatures. We have way too many new owners that express their concerns on why their new birds are having behavioral issues, fearful, biting... the list goes on. While your mother never had any of these issues...ten times and more did because they didn't understand enough to arm themselves with information on how to go about bringing a baby or adult bird home. Watching videos on hand feeding or reading "how to's" is never going to be as informative as having a successful mentor teaching in person. Please know this is not meant to be a soap box lecture... but my two cents as I have been a successful breeder of conures ( I stopped raising in 2009 ). Lastly, this old poem popped into my head while I was writing this:

Slow and steady our love does grow...
I sure do love you my escargot.

In addition.. my father once barked at my sister in his later years for continually pushing a button on his printer when it didn't print out fast enough..
( You had to be there to see his eyes bug out and look like giant saucers behind his thick glasses )


PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE !!!!!

I get a giant kick out of saying it to her when the occasion rises!

 

[BrianB]

I have put conure and cockatiel chicks that are being handfed into the same brooder. I had chicks from both pairs that came out of the nest box at the same time, so I put them into the same brooder. At such a young age, all they do is cuddle and sleep between feedings. These 2 cockatiels and 4 conures grew up together, but as they weaned they started to ignore each other and separate into tribes. Cockatiels together on one branch and conures together on another. They all sold quickly so they were probably together all of 8 weeks or so. It was a temporary thing, and I wouldn't put them together as adults.

It's not impossible for it to work with adult birds, but it's very unlikely. I do know of a conure/ringneck pair that live together in harmony but they are a special case. Both are very old, and the ringneck has a neurological issue. He will sometimes have seizures and the conure will protect him until he comes out of it. You can't bother one without the other coming after you for blood. They are certainly the exception as those two would never cross paths in the wild.

 

[Wil3]

I have put conure and cockatiel chicks that are being handfed into the same brooder. I had chicks from both pairs that came out of the nest box at the same time, so I put them into the same brooder. At such a young age, all they do is cuddle and sleep between feedings. These 2 cockatiels and 4 conures grew up together, but as they weaned they started to ignore each other and separate into tribes. Cockatiels together on one branch and conures together on another. They all sold quickly so they were probably together all of 8 weeks or so. It was a temporary thing, and I wouldn't put them together as adults.

It's not impossible for it to work with adult birds, but it's very unlikely. I do know of a conure/ringneck pair that live together in harmony but they are a special case. Both are very old, and the ringneck has a neurological issue. He will sometimes have seizures and the conure will protect him until he comes out of it. You can't bother one without the other coming after you for blood. They are certainly the exception as those two would never cross paths in the wild.

Age appropriate for a hand fed chick ( or parent raised) would be 3-4 weeks after the chick is weaned and eating solid foods on it's own. In many cases regardless of species young birds are brought to a new home freshly weaned. Some will "regress" from the stress of such a drastic change of environment and all they are familiar with. They will either not eat, cry because they're hungry, get stressed, become defensive from all the changes. We live in a rapid paced world and unfortunately this is also imposed on living creatures. We have way too many new owners that express their concerns on why their new birds are having behavioral issues, fearful, biting... the list goes on. While your mother never had any of these issues...ten times and more did because they didn't understand enough to arm themselves with information on how to go about bringing a baby or adult bird home. Watching videos on hand feeding or reading "how to's" is never going to be as informative as having a successful mentor teaching in person. Please know this is not meant to be a soap box lecture... but my two cents as I have been a successful breeder of conures ( I stopped raising in 2009 ). Lastly, this old poem popped into my head while I was writing this:

Slow and steady our love does grow...
I sure do love you my escargot.

In addition.. my father once barked at my sister in his later years for continually pushing a button on his printer when it didn't print out fast enough..
( You had to be there to see his eyes bug out and look like giant saucers behind his thick glasses )


PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE !!!!!

I get a giant kick out of saying it to her when the occasion rises!

Thank you.

 

[Wil3]

A

I have put conure and cockatiel chicks that are being handfed into the same brooder. I had chicks from both pairs that came out of the nest box at the same time, so I put them into the same brooder. At such a young age, all they do is cuddle and sleep between feedings. These 2 cockatiels and 4 conures grew up together, but as they weaned they started to ignore each other and separate into tribes. Cockatiels together on one branch and conures together on another. They all sold quickly so they were probably together all of 8 weeks or so. It was a temporary thing, and I wouldn't put them together as adults.

It's not impossible for it to work with adult birds, but it's very unlikely. I do know of a conure/ringneck pair that live together in harmony but they are a special case. Both are very old, and the ringneck has a neurological issue. He will sometimes have seizures and the conure will protect him until he comes out of it. You can't bother one without the other coming after you for blood. They are certainly the exception as those two would never cross paths in the wild.

Hi yes, thank you. I have seen the same pair. She’s a great Mama-Makes it look easy.
Anyhow yes I’m just getting one conure for now. I appreciate your thoughts and agree.