Ask Lafeber

How do I introduce a friend?

Hi! My 2 year old green cheek conure, chino, might be getting a friend! He was raised with other birds when young and is pretty social with both other birds and people so I don’t see an issue in that, what I was wondering was how do I introduce this permanent resident? Chino is pretty bossy and he’s a bit of a diva, so how would I get him to not be jealous, alongside how would I train the new family member while also trying to solidify that my birds won’t fight?

Hi,

It will be entirely up to the birds. There is nothing you can do to make birds get along. Chino will be jealous, and at some point, the birds may fight. The new bird needs its own cage and should be quarantined in a separate room for at least 30 days. After that, you can have them in the same room and see how they react. Any interaction should be closely supervised. Also, you don’t want the birds to bond too closely, or they will lost interest in being pets.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda