If you watch a cockatiel and an Indian Ringneck go about their business in separate cages, you might wonder, do those birds get along-to which the answer is no.
Do cockatiels and Indian ringnecks get along? The answer is no, and owners should not place an Indian Ringneck and a cockatiel together, nor should they play outside the cage without close supervision. Indian Ringnecks are larger than cockatiels and can be aggressive toward the smaller bird, causing injury.
So, what exactly makes this a bad idea? Let’s read on and find out by evaluating the personalities of each bird.
Indian Ringneck Personality
This beloved species has been kept as a pet for hundreds of years. The best type of owner for an Indian Ringneck is a person who will be able to give lots and lots of attention to this type of bird.
The Indian Ringneck is charming and very delightful, and they can also learn to talk. It takes a lot of time and patience – in other words, being a devoted pet owner, to really make this parrot feel at home, stimulated and really develop his full potential.
Your Ringneck Needs your Attention and Time
These little birds need lots of time outside of their cage as a way to stay happy. Otherwise, they may get neurotic and this can be hard to fix. They have a really long tail and need a larger cage than that of a cockatiel.
They really love toys and love to toss them around, stand on them, play on the toys and so much more.
You will need a lot of toys to keep up with your Indian Ringneck, this “destruction” they partake in is them just being their natural selves. We show you some toys your Indian Ringneck will love here!
Indian Ringnecks tend to chatter a lot and some of it gets to be rather ear-splitting at times. Seriously, they can get pretty loud – in this article, we explain how loud they can get and what you can do about it.
They Have Big Appetites
They have really big appetites and will eat all kinds of fruits, veggies and of course nutritional pellets. They live for more than thirty years, so be sure you are up for a challenge.
This is a pet companion bird that takes a lot of time, energy and materials to keep it satisfied, happy and stimulated. It requires a lot of careful consideration before you welcome an Indian Ringneck into your family’s home.
Still, they are one of the best pet birds you can get! We show you 20 reasons why Indian Ringnecks are so awesome here!
Cockatiel Personality
Like the Indian Ringneck, the cockatiel has a huge personality and is funny in its mannerisms. But unlike the Indian Ringneck, the cockatiel tends to be a bit cuddlier.
Cockatiels can talk, but they are most known for their ability to whistle and copy music they hear. You can even teach them to dance to the music! We show you how in this article!
They whistle at their favorite humans, their reflection or even their favorite toy. If your Indian Ringneck, who is a lover of toys as we discussed, were to take their toy, this could lead to an upset bird.
These guys definitely need lots of attention but can do well by themselves for short time periods going around their cage foraging for food, playing with toys or whistling.
Do not misunderstand, however, they still need plenty of out of the cage time and prefer to be on their favorite person’s shoulder if at all possible.
Good Fit for The People Who Lives in Small Apartment
This particular bird is also an ideal choice for bird lovers living in an apartment, unlike the Indian Ringneck who tends to be very noisy and could possibly bother the other tenants living in your complex. Additionally, we show you 5 other birds that are great for apartments here!
Cockatiels need a cage with plenty of perches, toys, food and of course require lots of room to stretch and flap their wings without the wings touching anything. This alone makes it a bad idea to share a cage with an Indian Ringneck.
In order to understand their needs a little better, we recommend reading our following articles:
Cockatiels like to eat pellets, fruits, veggies and they love to forage for food – no difference to Indian Ringnecks here.
Summing It Up
As you can see, there tends to be fundamental differences between the two birds that do not make them conducive to living together.
Certainly, every bird has his or her own personality and it will be up to you as the owner to determine if your Indian Ringneck can get along with a cockatiel or vice versa.
Let’s See What Other Bird Owners Think
There are plenty of stories from bird owners on the internet that show both sides of the story.
For instance, one user going by “Little Buttercup” on the Indianringneck.com forums stated that her cockatiel and ringneck get along well, but they do have their very own cages.
However, this user does note that Coco, the cockatiel, hisses and makes noise at Kiwi, the Indian Ringneck. Now the Indian Ringneck tends to run away, the user stated, but this is not the case for all birds of that species.
Like humans, each bird will react in his own way. The user also went on to state that there are people who cannot leave a cockatiel and ringneck together outside of the cage or else they will really harm one another or possibly even kill each other.
The owner says the same we do – it is not suggested to keep them together in one cage.
Indian Ringnecks Can be More Aggressive Sometime
Other users in the submitted their stories; for instance, a user by the name of Vinayv92 states that Indian Ringnecks tend to have a much more aggressive personality than do cockatiels.
This user suggests that allowing them time together, supervised, might be okay, but other than that an Indian Ringneck in a bad mood could kill a cockatiel.
Based upon this evidence, we infer that Indian Ringnecks and Cockatiels do not get along and should not live in the same cage together.
You can read the post here.
Related Questions
What birds do cockatiels get along with?
Parakeets can sometimes be successfully kept together with cockatiels, but some experts do not recommend this because the birds are very different in size. It is not recommended to house lovebirds, large parrots, canaries or finches alongside cockatiels.
Do Cockatiels need to be kept in pairs?
Cockatiels are not solitary creatures in nature. Therefore, they will always want the company of another bird like themselves. They may be kept in male and female pairs, but if you keep a few birds together you can keep same-sex pairs just fine.
Do Cockatiels get lonely?
Cockatiels absolutely do get lonely. They are sociable and love to be around others like themselves. They need to interact with you or some other bird in order to really thrive and be at their best. They are liable to become depressed, quit their singing, stop playing, stop eating, and may spend their time lonely in a corner of their cage, seemingly hiding in a corner of the cage.
Can You Keep a Cockatiel with a Budgie?
Flocks of parakeets and cockatiels do live together in the wild, and so it makes perfect sense that they can share a cage right inside your home. You can put some pairs of cockatiels and budgies together peacefully but there does run the risk that one of the birds could get hurt.
In Closing
All in all, our research indicates that cockatiels and Indian Ringnecks do not get along. If they spend unsupervised time together, it could lead to injury or death of either bird, most likely the cockatiel.
If you wish to bring these birds into your home, be sure they have separate cages and supervised playtime.
