Cockatiel Needs Friend?

[Pamela Hainsworth]

I have a three year old cockatiel, female, that has a large cage 4.5' by
2.5' with plenty of room to move around. She seems cheerful enough, but
should I get her a cockatiel buddy? I have heard they then do not like
people if there are two of them, but I do not want her to be bored when
she is in her cage alone. She is my only caged pet and I fell guilty.
Her wings are clipped and she gets out often and goes outside and
everything.

Any suggestions/opinions welcome.

Pamela

[kay chokas]

Kay
&
Gyro -- The Terrible 'too

[David G Fisher]

What you could do is get another cockatiel and keep it in a second cage, but
right next to the bird you already have. That's what I do, and my 2
cockatiels are very people friendly but also are never alone. I actually
keep all my birds close by each other. I'd like to put some of them in the
same cages but they've always had their own and I'm afraid it would just
cause problems to put some together.

Dave

Pamela Hainsworth wrote in message <35D64A0C...@imt.net>...

[Blue]

>I have a three year old cockatiel, female, that has a large cage 4.5' by
>2.5' with plenty of room to move around. She seems cheerful enough, but

>should I get her a cockatiel buddy? I have heard they then do not like
>people if there are two of them, but I do not want her to be bored when
>she is in her cage alone. She is my only caged pet and I fell guilty.
>Her wings are clipped and she gets out often and goes outside and
>everything.
>
>Any suggestions/opinions welcome.
>

I think Pudgy is 4 now. He's an only bird, and I suffered with the
same dilemna you now have. So about three weeks ago I borrowed a
female baby <less than a year old> from a friend of mine. I kept that
baby for a week to see how they would get along. It didn't work at
ALL! The baby wanted to see and play with Pudgy, but Pudgy would have
not part of it. I kept the baby's cage on the floor, and only showed
it attention after Pudgy was done being played with. Still he was
jealous, angry, and wanted her OUT! He was also afraid of her. I
thought it would be less demanding on my time. It was double the
work, double the amount of time for attention. It was two seperate
pets in no way interacting. At the end of the week there was not one
sign that Pudgy's stance had softened.

So now I still feel bad when I leave, knowing Pudgy is going to spend
the day home alone, but I remind him it's how he wants it.
>

[I R A Aggie]

In article <35D64A0C...@imt.net>, Pamela Hainsworth
<phain...@imt.net> wrote:

+ I have heard they then do not like people if there are two of them

I think that's a "depends" statement. Depends on the birds. I got my
first 'tiel in early January. I spent a lot of time with him when I was
home, but I was also gone for extended periods of time, too (8-14 hours,
depending). So I got him a companion, and for a while, they didn't seem
to want me around.

Now, they both want to be around me. And the first one is very posessive
of me. If I'm doing anything with his buddy, he has to be involved.

But we're all reasonably happy.

James

[Charlene2]

>You're falling prey to 2 seperate myths.
>First, she can be perfectly happy without a bird companion.

While this may be true, I don't think it's fair to a bird to not have the
opportunity to see another bird, let alone interact with one -- particularly
considering their long life span. I would liken this to having an only child
who couldn't play with the neighbors.

IMHO
Charlene

[Ralph]

Blue wrote in message <35d6fd38...@news.megsinet.net>...

>
>>I have a three year old cockatiel, female, that has a large cage 4.5' by
>>2.5' with plenty of room to move around. She seems cheerful enough, but
>>should I get her a cockatiel buddy? I have heard they then do not like
>>people if there are two of them, but I do not want her to be bored when
>>she is in her cage alone. She is my only caged pet and I fell guilty.
>>Her wings are clipped and she gets out often and goes outside and
>>everything.
>>

I don't think it is cruel to leave a bird alone when going to work, ect.. I
do think, however, a radio or tv should be left on when you're not home. I
had Woody for over two years before I got my second 'tiel, Twinkle (my
girlfriend couldn't keep her anymore). I had no problem with Woody when I
left her alone (I *always* left the radio on when I was gone).

Having two birds isn't *that* much more work than one, at least it hasn't
been for me. You just have to make sure that you still show the first one
that you still love him.

Ralph