Ask Lafeber

How can I make 2 parots get along to each other?

I have a quaker, Pancho, aged 2 years and 3 months and a green cheek conure, Rico, aged 9 months. They don’t get along each other, everyone would say it’s the Quaker’s fault, but honestly, the biggest fault lies with green cheek.
I taught Pancho not to attack Rico when the little one is in the cage. Pancho sits on Rico’s cage and doesn’t bite him, but Rico always comes up with the intention of biting Pancho’s legs. Rico has been with us for 7 months, in all this time we have taken both of them out of their cages only 2 times. The first time Pancho jumped to bite Rico, and the second time Rico jumped on Pancho’s head.
What can I do in this situation?

Hi,

The short answer is you can’t make them get along. Birds have their own personalities and even birds of the same species will not always get along. Mixing species is always a risk, and more often than not, they don’t get along. There is also a big difference in beak size and power between the birds, as well as different temperaments. You can’t train either bird not to bite the other, because instinct always wins. At some point, one of the birds will lose his temper and badly injure or kill the other. It happens quickly when a parrot attacks another, and you won’t have time to react. This is how birds end up losing toes or a foot or leg, or an eye or their life. So it’s best to not let either bird on the other’s cage or let them out at the same time. It’s likely to get worse and not better, because the green cheek will start getting hormonal for the first time. These are not birds that would be likely to interact in the wild at all. Enjoy them separately and don’t worry about them not getting along because it is perfectly natural.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda