I am thinking of getting a buddy for my bird. What are the pros and cons?

By Team Beauty of Birds

My female eclectus is 3 years old and she is getting very needy. She wants our undivided attention 100% of the time. I am thinking of getting her a companion so she will not be as lonely while we are at work. What experiences have other people had with adding a second bird to the family? Is it a good idea or a bad one? I don’t want the birds to decide they hate people once they have each other. When she gets mad, she can bite pretty hard. I don’t want that to become the new norm. Would you recommend a bird of the same species or a different one?

My female eclectus is 3 years old and she is getting very needy. She wants our undivided attention 100% of the time. I am thinking of getting her a companion so she will not be as lonely while we are at work. What experiences have other people had with adding a second bird to the family? Is it a good idea or a bad one? I don’t want the birds to decide they hate people once they have each other. When she gets mad, she can bite pretty hard. I don’t want that to become the new norm. Would you recommend a bird of the same species or a different one?

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1 thought on “I am thinking of getting a buddy for my bird. What are the pros and cons?”

  1. This is difficult to say…
    This is difficult to say. Generally speaking, unless you want to start breeding birds, you don’t want to get a “compatible mate” of the same species. Even if you get the same gender, they may start nesting. Mind you, hormonal behavior is NORMAL in parrots (as it is in humans). You can’t really stop it, you can only minimize it. There are pages on this website that cover that. Eclectus parrots (females mainly) are known to display territorial aggression around what she perceives to be the nesting area (and that may be under the desk, under a table, or in the corner of the couch, and she will aggressively defend that area against just about anyone. If breeding is not desirable, a bird of a different species may be a wiser choice; however, they need to be kept in different cages until they have bonded. This page provides information on eclectus parrots: /eclectus.htm – including managing their aggressive behavior.

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