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Question:

August 12, 2022

Mixing species


My full flighted BFA has a playstand in most rooms of my home-she is always out when I am home. She shares her cage room with a cockatiel and budgie. They only fly loose when she is out of the room and they perch on top of her cage a lot. Will it ever be safe to let the cockatiel loose in the room when the amazon is in there? Anything I can do to make it safe?


Answer:

Hi Heidi,

Unfortunately that is a big no. Amazons can be very aggressive towards smaller birds. If your small birds landed on her cage when she is in it, she could kill or badly injure one of them instantly. Large bird versus small bird is a common emergency for bird clinics, and sadly the small bird rarely survives. It can happen so quickly – you wouldn’t have a chance to react or intervene. We have covered this in some of our past webinars about safety and emergencies and Dr. Lamb has shared some sad images. Keep the big girl away from the little ones and let each have their space as needed. It’s not even out of meanness or jealousy in most cases – it almost seems like an instinct or a reaction. And sometimes it’s a case of the bigger bird doesn’t realize how much stronger her beak is, as many big bird/small bird companions have ended up with the larger bird accidentally killing the smaller one just by playing. It’s too risky so continue to keep them apart.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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