Have one GAG, do i need 2?

[LukeP]

We have a year and a half old female. She`s great. We really enjoy her. She has become part of the family. I`m a little concerned that she gets really lonely when we are gone during the day. Kids at school, I`m at work, wife is out and about.

What happens when you put two of these units together? Do they get along? Do they like each other more than the people around them?

Any one care to share experinces?

Not into breeding, just trying to keep bird happy

[Guest]

they are birds, living beings. Does your bird seem unhappy, has it a large cage filled with stimulating toys, do you make a habit of responding to her calls, and talk bak to her, does she get time out of the cage daily? Is your wife at home most of the day? If yes, then probably adding another may upset the apple cart. There are no guarantees that a bonded, hand reared, tame pet bird will take to another one just like that. Besides, you don`t need to get another of the same species as a companion especially if they are not to share a cgae. A budgie or canary in a cage where your grey can see it will be a satisfactory companion. My first grey had his own pet budgie for years.

[LukeP]

played with, well feed. My wife takes more showers with the bird than she does with me.......

I was jus trying to find out how these guys get along with one another around humans. I`m not trying to start a zoo or a CAG farm.

[Guest]

I was trying to acertain why you think your bird needs a companion and offered a possibly less expensive but equally effective alternative to getting another grey parrot, based on personal experience.

[Stitch]

After trying various ways to introduce the birds to each other we finally had some success after our CAG (Zoe) realized she would still get the attention she`d become used to....most importantly, during play times. Their cages were within about six feet of each other which seemed `okay`...Zoe seemed to be working overly hard at keeping an eye on the little one and after she became less threatened her attitude toward the other bird was, basically, disregard. There were times they interacted but mostly it was initiated by the Parrotlet...Zoe acted like rather a snot to the poor thing...ignored him for the most part. In turn, the Parrotlet became aggressive and showed obvious signs that he wanted to either be friends or enemies...anyway, it didn`t work out. And not to say I wouldn`t ever take in another bird but THAT one kind of made our lives miserable.

Have you tried socializing your CAG to other birds maybe in a less permanent environment? Such as with friends who have birds or regular trips to the pet store? What kind of reaction does she have during those visits? Many bird owners have more than one bird and very successfully, at that. But, I would test out the reaction of yours first before making a final decision. In our case, we were lucky enough to find the perfect home for the Parrotlet who I still keep tabs on to this day. He`s now has several friendly feathered friends around him, much better.

I know people who have two or more birds and, yes, they interact with each other but also have equally good speaking skills with people...so I wouldn`t worry so much about that as with the fact that not all birds necessarily need feathered companions to be happy. Hopefully, you have plenty of toys and stimulating things for your bird to keep her interested during your absence. If wife is only `out` and `about` and not gone the entire day I wouldn`t think that too unreasonable--don`t worry about spending every hour with your bird. I don`t and, frankly, don`t think it`s necessary.

Good luck..whatever you decide.