Comments on: How to Add Another Bird & Mixing Species http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/how-to-add-another-bird-mixing-species/ Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:22:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Connie Hennessy, Ocala FL http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/how-to-add-another-bird-mixing-species/comment-page-1/#comment-19688 Connie Hennessy, Ocala FL Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:21:48 +0000 http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/?p=207#comment-19688 We adopted a 9 yr old CAG in June, 2010 who had lived with 2 other parrots. Although he seemed to be coming right along with his socialization, he was still "my" bird, and, since my husband is retired and home most of the time we decided perhaps a female CAG would be a nice addition to the "family". On November 12, 2010 we introduced a 2 yr old female CAG who came equipted with her own condo and accessories. Solomon (our male) seemed to enjoy looking at Zazu and Zazu would "chirp" at him and he would "chirp" back. We saw no hostle or aggressive behavior so we opened Solomon's condo door but left Zazu safely within her condo and out of Solomon's reach. All was fine..at first. Solomon climbed onto Zazu's condo walking around the top and peering in on her. We decided since things were going so well we'd open Zazu's door..Solomon climbed down near the entrance and in a very sweet voice literally said, "Com'mon out!..Com'mon out!" When Zazu approached the condo door, Solomon lunged at her with such force he lost his balance falling to the floor and Zazu fell striking her head on the cocktail table. What's the best way (under these circumstances) to reintroduce these two? Solomon has regressed in his training..just making wierd sounds with no words and refusing to step up when asked by myself. Any suggestions? We adopted a 9 yr old CAG in June, 2010 who had lived with 2 other parrots. Although he seemed to be coming right along with his socialization, he was still “my” bird, and, since my husband is retired and home most of the time we decided perhaps a female CAG would be a nice addition to the “family”. On November 12, 2010 we introduced a 2 yr old female CAG who came equipted with her own condo and accessories. Solomon (our male) seemed to enjoy looking at Zazu and Zazu would “chirp” at him and he would “chirp” back. We saw no hostle or aggressive behavior so we opened Solomon’s condo door but left Zazu safely within her condo and out of Solomon’s reach. All was fine..at first. Solomon climbed onto Zazu’s condo walking around the top and peering in on her. We decided since things were going so well we’d open Zazu’s door..Solomon climbed down near the entrance and in a very sweet voice literally said, “Com’mon out!..Com’mon out!” When Zazu approached the condo door, Solomon lunged at her with such force he lost his balance falling to the floor and Zazu fell striking her head on the cocktail table.

What’s the best way (under these circumstances) to reintroduce these two? Solomon has regressed in his training..just making wierd sounds with no words and refusing to step up when asked by myself.

Any suggestions?

]]> By: Kass http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/how-to-add-another-bird-mixing-species/comment-page-1/#comment-12236 Kass Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:30:42 +0000 http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/?p=207#comment-12236 I let my male cockatiel and pair of budgies out every morning for a couple of hours play time together. The budgies mostly ignore the cockatiel but he follows them everywhere and does what they do - preening, chewing wood, knocking toys off the top of the cupboard etc. He is enamoured of the male budgie. The budgies ward him off with a feint nip if the tiel gets too close but otherwise they even get in each others cages together without problems. They go back into their separate cages after play time but the tiel hates to be separated from the budgies and screams for them if they are out of sight. I put the cages together outside during the day. My tiel is naturally a very nervous bird (much more so than my first tiel which escaped) and I feel he needs the 'Flock" feel of having the budgies around. The downside is he prefers playing with them to training. He can wave, nod. shake no, turn circles, bow, follow a stick, and also put paper clips in a cup and go through a drainpipe tunnel, but the latter two tricks he is bored with and won't generally do now. He has also mostly stopped talking and whistling tunes, partly because he thinks of that as a mating display only, and partly because he prefers to talk - or shriek - budgie. He does come voluntarily to me for head scratches, rides and company - sometimes even on command when we are doing flight training! Should I wean him off contact with the budgies to get him to play more with me and train better? How do you manage to have so many birds together and still train each individual (as in your cocatiel video where you train it with other birds next to it) and have each one relate well to you and not prefer the other birds? I thought I would like to get another tiel but I am afraid that then neither of them would relate to me. I let my male cockatiel and pair of budgies out every morning for a couple of hours play time together. The budgies mostly ignore the cockatiel but he follows them everywhere and does what they do – preening, chewing wood, knocking toys off the top of the cupboard etc. He is enamoured of the male budgie. The budgies ward him off with a feint nip if the tiel gets too close but otherwise they even get in each others cages together without problems. They go back into their separate cages after play time but the tiel hates to be separated from the budgies and screams for them if they are out of sight. I put the cages together outside during the day. My tiel is naturally a very nervous bird (much more so than my first tiel which escaped) and I feel he needs the ‘Flock” feel of having the budgies around.
The downside is he prefers playing with them to training. He can wave, nod. shake no, turn circles, bow, follow a stick, and also put paper clips in a cup and go through a drainpipe tunnel, but the latter two tricks he is bored with and won’t generally do now. He has also mostly stopped talking and whistling tunes, partly because he thinks of that as a mating display only, and partly because he prefers to talk – or shriek – budgie. He does come voluntarily to me for head scratches, rides and company – sometimes even on command when we are doing flight training!

Should I wean him off contact with the budgies to get him to play more with me and train better? How do you manage to have so many birds together and still train each individual (as in your cocatiel video where you train it with other birds next to it) and have each one relate well to you and not prefer the other birds? I thought I would like to get another tiel but I am afraid that then neither of them would relate to me.

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