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Question:

September 28, 2020

Friends


What type of conure can I get to be a friend for my green cheek conure? Also should or could it ve6a female


Answer:

Hi Tanea,

I get this type question a lot, because people don’t understand bird to bird relationships. Basically, birds do not have “friends”. They live in flocks for protection, and as young birds they have some interaction with flock members, but once a bird is mature, it bonds with a mate and does not have much interaction with flock members. We try to have a flock member bond with our birds, rather than a mate bond, because of course we aren’t a mate. The problem with adding another bird is that your bird either won’t want anything to do with it and will just be jealous, or your bird will bond with the new bird, regardless of its gender, and will not want to have anything to do with you anymore. If your conure is a tame pet, I do not recommend getting another bird to put in the same cage. If you want another bird for yourself, then it needs to have its own cage and you most likely will need to handle the birds separately. Sometimes they may get along well enough to be on a playstand together. But again, unless you want to lose them as pets, you don’t want them to be together enough to form a bind with each other. A lot of people start getting pet birds, and get several, and all of them play together like one happy family. But in a few years, the birds start getting sexually mature, and then the trouble starts. Birds bond, fight with other birds, and bite you because they have a bird to bond with and to them, that is better than a human. So basically, don’t get another bird unless you get it for you, not for your conure.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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