Ask Lafeber

Question:

July 24, 2020

Birds


I have 3 diamond dove in a cage I have 1 parakeet in a other cage side by side i want to put them in a flight cage together will they get along


Answer:

Hi Jeannie,

Generally I do not recommend caging hookbills with non-hookbills. Mainly because they do not tend to be compatible and hookbills – parrots species – can be more aggressive and inflict serious or fatal injuries with their strong beaks. If you are talking about a large aviary that you can walk into, then the birds would probably be OK together. But you would need to observe them closely for the first few days. And absolutely NO NESTS. Once you add breeding to a multi bird scenario, you cause territorial behavior and fighting. You should have more food and water stations than there are birds in the cage to make sure all bird have access and one or two birds can’t claim a food station and prevent the other birds from accessing it. And if your parakeet is a female, be very cautious as they can be vicious when they get territorial or lay eggs. The little doves would have no defense against a parakeet. If this is simply a larger cage versus a walk in size, then I would not put the parakeet with the doves. And if you only keep the 3 doves together, the same rule of no nests applies – you should never provide a nest for an odd number of birds or the eventual bonded pair will bully and attack the odd bird out.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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