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Should I get another bird for my birb?

TailFeather

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My birb(intentional spelling) Emmi is around 6 years old now she(at least what the breeder and the vet said, no blood test) and I think that she would do well with having another friend to keep her company when I’m out and about. I forget to mention that she is a Goffin Cockatoo and a pretty quite bird, for a cockatoo that is. I’m planning on upgrading her cage size since I feel like she needs more room, she love to play on the bottom of the cage and it’s more bigger up and down than side to side. I was wondering if any one has any idea the type of bird that would be best for her to potentially bond with(not breeding but family and friend bond).
I’m also having a little trouble getting her on a pellet diet(she is just to stubborn for her own good) she will literally not eat for a a couple of days or more if I allow it to go that far(which I won’t). I am finally having a little success by grinding up some bird pellets and dusting her food (as you would with calcium for reptiles). But I’m hoping any of you have some ideas I may not of heard of as well as experiences you guys and gals may have gone through.
Also if any of you have an idea about a cage size that might fit in an 23-25in from left to right and 22-24in back to front cage size with quite a bit of height that'd be awesome. (Im not sure the correct terms for the dimensions so I hope I explained well enough what I mean I can also go up one or two more inches on the back to front)
 

Wardy

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The_Mayor

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I can't recommend any suitable companion birds, but, if she's spending a significant amount of time in her cage, you may want to see if you can make space enough to get a cage that has a larger length and width than you're looking at.

I know that some people who have big birds have relatively small sleeping cages for their birds. It's not a problem for those birds because they're out of the cage for most of the day.

Anyway, according to this table, the average wingspan of a Goffins is 26.5" so she might not be able to fully extend her wings in the cages you're looking at.
 
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camelotshadow

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I'd seriously try to enrich her life wo getting another Goffin. There is no way to tell if they would get along or view each other as rivals for your attention. With your time constraints I can't see adding another highly interactive needy bird to the home.

There is something to be said to having another bird around even if they don't interact as just the presence could be a benefit.

Penny could care less about Rio & almost never even makes it known they share a space in the same room. Rio is the same. Still you can tell they are aware of each other & do copy a flock call if one goes off or decide to take a bath at the same time. So I think with no one home 2 birds of different species can benefit each other.

I got Penny for me not Rio but I think she adds to his life & he adds to hers when am not around.

Still its complicates your life & will likely mean different out times so they your guy might get out less as a result.

Something to serious think about & if your bird is bonded to you I would try to add things to enrich the times you are not around rather than bringing in another bird which might make it worse.

More space would really help.
 

Sparkles99

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I don't think a 6 year old cockatoo is mature. They could get along for a few more years & when puberty hits suddenly not. Seems risky.
 

TailFeather

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Yes I thought about what you’ve all said and I agree. I always turn on Parrot town tv on YouTube when I’m not home and even when I’m home and she seems to love it she has been pretty happy with all the body noises. I also agree that I need to get her better enrichment toys. Any ideas?
And it won’t be fair to either my birb, any new bird, or me to bring them in our little flock of oddballs. I’ve got a 6-9(need to see her records again) ragdoll cat named Misty who doesn’t really care one way or another about my birb, a 14 year old toy poodle named Whinnie(the poodle) who is starting to loose her teeth due to age, and a bearded dragon named Eliza who is almost a year old. I think I just needed to be reminded of that.

Also I have another question on cleaning products for my birds cage usually I’d just take my birds cage outside and hose it down with water let it dry for a bit while my birb hangs out in my room. But I was wondering what you guys do such as cleaning (for some reason I can’t spell the word rutean, ruteans, ruetean? Brain fart)
 

TailFeather

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Yes I thought about what you’ve all said and I agree. I always turn on Parrot town tv on YouTube when I’m not home and even when I’m home and she seems to love it she has been pretty happy with all the body noises. I also agree that I need to get her better enrichment toys. Any ideas?
And it won’t be fair to either my birb, any new bird, or me to bring them in our little flock of oddballs. I’ve got a 6-9(need to see her records again) ragdoll cat named Misty who doesn’t really care one way or another about my birb, a 14 year old toy poodle named Whinnie(the poodle) who is starting to loose her teeth due to age, and a bearded dragon named Eliza who is almost a year old. I think I just needed to be reminded of that.

Also I have another question on cleaning products for my birds cage usually I’d just take my birds cage outside and hose it down with water let it dry for a bit while my birb hangs out in my room. But I was wondering what you guys do such as cleaning (for some reason I can’t spell the word rutean, ruteans, ruetean? Brain fart)
It’s 12:03 am and I just read some of my post…I thinks it’s past time for me to get some sleep and to worry later
 

finchly

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Kayla, you can clean with diluted vinegar or with Poop Off while your bird is still in the room. Preferably not in the cage. Then you only have to take it outside every couple of months.

As far as a second bird, I was just thinking about this. We were told to always have a 2nd of a species, and it's been nothing but trouble. Either they don't like each other, or they do but it means they don't pay attention to us any more. The same thing has happened with our bunnies.

If I could have a do-over, --- single birds only for me please!
 

sunnysmom

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I have a goffin. He is definitely an attention hog. LOL. Although it has been suggested to me to get a second goffin, I really don't think I could manage it. That said, I ended up fostering a cockatiel. To my surprise, having him around seemed to calm Elvis down, especially when we weren't home. We ended up adopting the tiel, Scooter. But I don't let them out at the same time. I'm too worried about the size difference. I don't think Elvis would hurt him on purpose but accidents can happen. So that basically means double the work for me as they have to have separate out of the cage time. But during the day, they are both in the same room in their cages. I would only, however, get a second bird if you want a second bird. As for food, goffins can be tough since they seem to be pretty unfood orientated. I have done pretty well with getting Elvis to eat Higgins In Tune pellets. Sometimes it's just trial and error to see what pellets they will eat.
 

TailFeather

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Sorry for disappearing for a bit had some things to do. Thank you everyone for the suggestions and guidance. I thought about it and I don’t think Emmi would appreciate another bird, she is pretty content now and i don’t want to mess that up. Again thank you all for the help. :heart:
 
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