Hi,
It is not very likely that she will accept another bird at her age. A young bird would simply annoy her. If you could find another older female, it might work. But you never can know if two birds are going to get along. You would need an extra cage because you can’t just put them together. They need time to get used to each other and show signs of either liking or not liking each other. And if they don’t get along, you have two birds in separate cages or you have to find a home for the new bird. I’m wondering if you are correct about your bird being a female, unless she has laid eggs? If not, you probably have a male. When you allow a bird to roam like you do, they spend time looking for a place to nest, and if you have a female, she almost definitely would have laid eggs by now. Female cockatiels are notorious for becoming chronic egg layers in captivity, and allowing a female to roam free is the worst thing you can do because it triggers egg laying. Even if for some reason this is a female and she can’t lay eggs, if you add a female and also allow her to roam, the new female will almost certainly lay eggs. If a bird keeps laying eggs over and over, it will eventually kill her. I know people think it’s OK because chickens do it, but they were bred for that and parrot species are not designed to lay a lot of eggs. I’m just not sure that getting another bird is what is best her. She’s been alone for 15 years, and it’s hard to know how much longer she will live. And again, they may not even get along.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
