Adopting a 2nd TAG

[spookyhurst]

I haven't been here in a long time! Old timers may remember me and my TAG Nikko. She is now 10 years old. Yesterday I brought home a 4 year old TAG named Alexis. Does anyone have advice about adding a 2nd bird to the home?

 

So far, Nikko is a bit needy (fussing for attention more then usual). She seems intrigued by Alexis, but not necessarily in a good way (she tried to lunge at her, and made the high pitch peep she uses when she tries to go after the dog). Their cages are side by side out of necessity, but the vet says not to let them have any real contact until after Alexis's test results come back.

 

Alexis is a little standoffish right now, and a bit nippy. She doesn't acknowledge Nikko much (even though Nikko is dancing all over the place right next door). She is a tiny thing! Only 246 grams (Nikko is 300). Her little legs are like sticks, and she looks like a vulture when she puts her head down.

 

Hopefully everyone will settle down, but was just wondering if anyone has any helpful tips for a smooth transition. Thank you!

[Talon]

SPOOKY!!!!! .

 

I am soooo very happy to hear from you again! I think of you often and wonder how you and Nikko are. I have 2 greys and an amazon. Congrats on your new addition!

 

I would just continue as you are doing with your new one. It will take time for Nikko to adjust after being an only child for 10 years, but she will learn to accept her new sibling. I always made certain that Talon, my first continues to get everything first as she is used to. She is the first to get out of her cage always, and the

Ast to go to bed. I offer her treats and food first and continue to offer her cuddles and special moments. She is not friends with my 2nd grey, but she is a cag and Talon is a tag. I think this makes a difference. I wish they would preen and play, but they have. Learned to exist and tolerate each other after the initial period of adjustment and deciding who was boss. Just keep reassuring Nikko that she is the "special" one as always, and she will most likely love her new sibling over time.

 

Please keep us posted and can't wait for pics of them both!

[judygram]

Congrats on your second addition of a Tag and so glad to hear from you again for you have been missing for a long time. Penny has given you some excellent advice and be prepared for them to never really get along as that is just the way they are but they can learn to co exist without too much problem. Just keep up what you are doing and post a couple of pics of Alexis for us to see.

[spookyhurst]

I often think of you and Talon too! We got our TAGs around the same time (Nikko was 4 when I adopted her), so I could never forget Talon :-). I knew you had adopted a CAG, but didn't know about the amazon. You have quite a house full now!

 

I do hope they'll be friends, as I've always wanted Nikko to have a companion. Today, Alexis snuck over to Nikko's cage while Nikko wasn't home (she was hanging out in the living room). Oh, Nikko would be furious if she knew Alexis had been nosing around HER stuff ;-).

 

Alexis was doing a bit better today. She still makes a little growl when I pick her up, but not as much as day one. She's eating everything in sight, and seems likes she's getting comfortable with her new surroundings.

 

Thanks for the tips Penny! I'm trying to make Nikko feel like the alpha bird, so hopefully she won't feel like she's been replaced. I had no idea she would be so irked about sharing her home with another TAG.

 

SPOOKY!!!!! .

 

I am soooo very happy to hear from you again! I think of you often and wonder how you and Nikko are. I have 2 greys and an amazon. Congrats on your new addition!

 

I would just continue as you are doing with your new one. It will take time for Nikko to adjust after being an only child for 10 years, but she will learn to accept her new sibling. I always made certain that Talon, my first continues to get everything first as she is used to. She is the first to get out of her cage always, and the

Ast to go to bed. I offer her treats and food first and continue to offer her cuddles and special moments. She is not friends with my 2nd grey, but she is a cag and Talon is a tag. I think this makes a difference. I wish they would preen and play, but they have. Learned to exist and tolerate each other after the initial period of adjustment and deciding who was boss. Just keep reassuring Nikko that she is the "special" one as always, and she will most likely love her new sibling over time.

 

Please keep us posted and can't wait for pics of them both!

[spookyhurst]

Hi Judy!

 

I will try to post a pic of Alexis tomorrow. She has a very interesting eye. It has little flecks of brown in the iris. Sure makes it easy to tell the two of them apart!

 

 

Congrats on your second addition of a Tag and so glad to hear from you again for you have been missing for a long time. Penny has given you some excellent advice and be prepared for them to never really get along as that is just the way they are but they can learn to co exist without too much problem. Just keep up what you are doing and post a couple of pics of Alexis for us to see.

[spookyhurst]

Two things that I didn't expect: Alexis has been here only 3 days, and yet "asked" me to tickle her head today. She even let me scratch all around her neck! She still growls a little when I ask her to step up, but most of the time she steps up for me with no problem. Second, Nikko is jealous that Alexis is starting to bond with me. I didn't expect this since Nikko has always favored my mom. Tonight, my mom was holding Nikko (which I thought she would like) and I was holding Alexis. Nikko made such a fuss that I put Alexis down and picked up Nikko. She hustled up to my shoulder (something she rarely does), and sat there until I put them to bed. Alexis seemed a bit put out that Nikko hogged up all the attention, and didn't want to go to bed. Nikko, however, went to bed happy. Whew, 2 birds can be rather exhausting!

[spookyhurst]

Here is a close up of Alexis's interesting eye:

 

[Talon]

Hi Spooky, Alexis is beautiful, and she has a unique eye. Very pretty. 2 birds can feel overwhelming and exhausting in the beginning, you may wonder occasionally....'what have I done?'. But as time moves on, you will adjust and it will be your new normal. Hang in there, once they settle in,they will adapt to knowing who gets special time with you and they will patiently wait for you.

Keep coming with the updates, I love it. Any updated pics of Nikko?

[katana600]

Congratulations on your new addition. It sounds like you are doing remarkably well with introductions. I love that Alexis has the unique coloring in one eye, soon Nikko will notice if you pick her up to check for that clue, I can imagine her learning to close her eye so you can't be sure. LOL. We have two parrots who have learned to tolerate one another and they talk to each other, but they don't want to be within arms length. I followed Talon's advice to always let my number one retain her status and it has helped to keep the peace for the most part. I really look forward to following your two, my memory is spotty, but I can't recall anyone else with two tags. I am sure they will have unique interactions and an interesting "course of study" for all of us to learn more.

[Talon]

Congratulations on your new addition. It sounds like you are doing remarkably well with introductions. I love that Alexis has the unique coloring in one eye, soon Nikko will notice if you pick her up to check for that clue, I can imagine her learning to close her eye so you can't be sure. LOL. We have two parrots who have learned to tolerate one another and they talk to each other, but they don't want to be within arms length. I followed Talon's advice to always let my number one retain her status and it has helped to keep the peace for the most part. I really look forward to following your two, my memory is spotty, but I can't recall anyone else with two tags. I am sure they will have unique interactions and an interesting "course of study" for all of us to learn more.

 

I agree totally! It will be fun to follow 2 tags!!

[danmcq]

Hi Spooky!!!! It's great to see you back again and with a newly rehomed tag as well. It sounds like you are doing everything correctly with generous amounts of time and Patience letting the new fid on the block become used to the flock, humans and surroundings.

 

I look forward to the updates on this.

[spookyhurst]

I'm finally back! I've been meaning to post these pictures for 2 weeks, but those birds eat up all my time :cool:.

 

A recent picture of Nikko:

 

 

 

And the 2 girls on the first night (we've since shortened the legs on Alexis' cage so that they are the same height):

 

[spookyhurst]

Forgot the update! Nikko still hates Alexis, and Alexis is a bit scared of Nikko. I now have to lock them in their houses when I'm not in the room, because Nikko climbs down off her house, waddles over to Alexis's house, climbs up and attacks :eek:. I think if Alexis stood up for herself (instead of flapping away in terror) Nikko would back down, but for now, she's not ready to assert herself.

 

Before the "lockdown," these two have fooled me more then once. The first time I was napping on the bed, and when I opened my eyes, things didn't seem right. "Alexis" was on her house, but playing much more aggressively then normal. I became suspicious, but then "Alexis" pooped on the bedroom floor (something Nikko never does). I finally inspected them closer, and "Alexis" was really Nikko :cool:. Alexis was sitting on Nikko's house the whole time. Another time, I picked up "Alexis" and left the room, only to hear "Nikko"let out a loud screech. I thought, "Oh no, Nikko has already learned that annoying sound," but nope, they had switched houses again. Switched is actually a nice way of putting it. Nikko chases Alexis off her house, and since she has no where to go, she climbs up onto Nikko's house. That's come to end for now, because I won't leave them alone for even a second now.

 

One last thing: Nikko will tolerate Alexis sitting on my lap, so long as Nikko gets the shoulder. Progress, I hope?

[DawL]

Do they have to have their cages right next to one another?

[Talon]

Hi Spooky! I

Love the pictures! Especially Nikko, she always had a special place in my heart as she is so much like Talon, both in looks and personality. I can't imagine having 2 birds that look like twins! That would be so hard, but funny! At least I have a tag and a cag, so it's easy. Sounds like you are making progress when they both are on you. They will learn to coexist, and after time, they will be able to be out unsupervised together. My 2 took a while before I completely trusted them. Mostly, rikki would try to be friends, but Because she is bigger, Talon was always scared, thought she had to defend herself, but mostly flew away. They now are fine, not friends, but accept each other as flock members. Poor Talon is not the king bird anymore, and that is heartbreaking for me, but I try to give her extra attention and special time with me.

 

 

I love the updates, keep them coming!!

[judygram]

Like Penny said they may never be friends but they can learn to co-exist in the same house but it will just take time but I love how you got them mixed up, the more time you spend with them the more you will be able to tell them apart as each will have their own quirks. Thanks for sharing a couple of pics of them with us, they are gorgeous Tags.

[Luvparrots]

Hi Spookyhurst, I love your pictures. My favorite are TAGs!!!! I have a TAG and a CAG and Ana Grey weighs in at 303g and Sterling Gris is in at 505g. Ana Grey is fearless and is still in charge with the CAG and ZON. She is very swift of flight and the guys lumber like a copter. Looking forward to reading more and hope they work out their differences soon.

[spookyhurst]

DawL, their cages aren't quite as close as in the picture, but they are next to each other.

 

Penny, I've always loved Talon too! Nikko and her could be sisters :-). I'm so glad to hear that Talon finally accepted Ricky into the flock! It makes me hopeful that someday Nikko will quit lunging at poor Alexis. My mom thought that Nikko seemed more like her old self today, so maybe she's turning the corner and adjusting to not being "King Bird" anymore. But like you, I feel bad that I disrupted her little life :-(

 

A couple stories: I've been calling Alexis "Alex Mack" (there used to be a show on Nickelodeon called The Secret Adventures of Alex Mack), my mom calls her "Ally Mack", and my dad calls her "Ally McBeal" (Alexis is very thin). Poor bird won't know what here name is! But then again, Nikko goes by a ton of nicknames, ie. Beaker, Beakie, Tweeters, Nikkie B., etc. I'm beginning to think we're all a bunch of weirdos here ;-). Secondly, Alexis's former owner didn't have her sleep in a cage, she put her in a small crate with a towel. She said she was told that it keeps them from getting arthritis in their feet. I place the crate on top of Alexis's cage at night, but put it in the hallway during the day (no other place to put it right now). Nikko is obsessed with that crate! She will crawl down off her house, waddle into the hallway, and explore that crate until I make her stop. Which got me to thinking, maybe it's not a great idea for Alexis to sleep in that crate once she hits maturity? Will she think it's a nest, and get all broody? Nikko has been broody all month long, so I can see why she's so interested in that crate. Which gave me another thought, maybe Nikko will be nicer to Alexis once breeding season is over. It seems like she's always more cantankerous when her hormones are going strong.

 

So many of you have more then 2 birds. I don't know how you do it! These two keep me hopping :-)