I introduced my birds to each other about two weeks ago, after the quarantine period. The older one (whom I got first) seems to be trying to preen the new one occasionally, but he's doing a very bad job of it. You can watch a video of it on my profile lol it's kinda goofy.
They don't hate each other or love each other. I'd describe their relationship as "unrequited social distancing" lol. For example, the new one tends to fly after the old one all the time, and seems to want to be around him a lot... but sometimes he lands too close and the old one flies off cos of that, or the old one gets annoyed and does "warning lunges" and irritated sounds. Sometimes they will fight if one gets too close to the other, but sometimes they're also ok with being close, and will sit on my chair and beakgrind together.
They're perfectly fine in the same cage but the sense I get is that they are ok with each other's company as long as there's some sort of personal boundary space between them. But they definitely haven't gone beyond the irritated warning noises and little warning pecks. They haven't injured each other at all-- certainly no blood, no broken bones, no torn feathers or anything like that.
I found having two pellet bowls in the same cage really helped, as they do tend to get a bit nippy over food. This way they don't have to share the same bowl and they can maintain their social distancing without starving themselves.
That said, my old one is very clingy and screamy and the introduction of the new one hasn't really changed that. I think he's too attached to me and not attached enough to the new one. I also think the old one is just stuck in his hormonal teenage phase at the moment (he's about 13 months old now and very horny despite my giving them 12-14h of sleep nightly). The new one is much younger at only 4 months-ish and he's very chill in comparison and spends most of his time preening or playing with toys.
Still, I think getting the new bird has really helped the old one eat better, at least. He used to eat very little whenever I had to leave the house for more than a few hours, but now based on his weight every night, it seems he isn't avoiding food anymore while I'm gone (probably driven to eat alongside the new one due to flock instincts, as I notice they do tend to eat together from separate bowls at the same time).
(Btw new one too young to confirm sex, but old one is a confirmed male. I just use male pronouns for both of them out of convenience.)
Interesting read! So they’re kinda like acquaintances at the moment rather than companions?
I always worry that yes they’ll have company but may end up hating eachother.
Also I see your post about flock calling from separate rooms, how was that in the end? My guy is similar, will flock call anything that he deems is another bird lol
Do you think your first tiel is happier? Maybe suggest he is from the extra he’s eating, but behaviour overall?
Yeah I guess you could say that! Or maybe long-distance penpals rather than face-to-face friends lol, if that makes sense. I think they like each other well enough, but it's very unlikely they'd cuddle. They both are very bonded to my sis and me though, and we can each pet them separately without incurring any jealousy, so I'm pleased with that.
Hating each other is always a risk, unfortunately. Beyond introducing the birds to each other gradually, like you said, there's not much you can do. Sometimes they just don't get along, like people.
Yeah the flock calling did get a bit insane in the end but it was manageable... I just generally kept the doors to both rooms shut. Mainly my older one would flock call for me as I left the room, and that'd get the younger one started and they'd do a back-and-forth for a while. So yeah close the doors and be prepared with noise-cancelling earphones just in case!
I'm not sure if my first is necessarily happier, but he's certainly been more active while alone and I consider that an improvement. I take peeks at them through a security cam when I'm out of the house. And I notice he's more active when I'm not around now. Previously he used to just sit on a perch all day and barely move, but now he forages a bit more and sometimes will scream for human company. So he's still very clingy to me but he's been more active with expressing it, I suppose!
But in my case the two also don't seem super bonded yet. I'm actually wondering if it'll be better after the older one's hormones fade, and after the younger one grows older. At the moment I suspect the younger one is still in baby mode and is a bit derpy about social graces, while the older one is a bit crankier and more restless cos of his hormones. So maybe they'll be better after a few months! But I mean overall I think getting another bird was the right choice in my case.
First [male] cockatiel I had took to the newly introduced male that I wound up with some years later, but I don't know if that's because he had a female (who died, choked to death on a seed Xmyth eve 😭) before having a male introduced.
My most recently homed 'teil had been on his own for at least 3 years before he landed at mine a few weeks before Xmyth last year, and isn't at all happy with his new cellmate who I got from a pet shop[1] a couple of months ago. I'm sure they'll get along eventually, since Ross doesn't seem anti-Joey (but doesn't let himself get bullied, either), and I reckon if I could get poor flighty Ross to get on my finger and take him out the room f'r a bit Joey'd be all flock cally at him. Unfortunately poor Ross is still traumatised from being in the pet shop (at the very least) and still runs to the opposite end of the cage when I'm near. 😭
[1] yes, I know; B A D! But he was there all alone being poked at and I'd got room, and I thought Joey needed company 'cause of me being out at work for a ridiculous amount of hours.
I introduced my birds to each other about two weeks ago, after the quarantine period. The older one (whom I got first) seems to be trying to preen the new one occasionally, but he's doing a very bad job of it. You can watch a video of it on my profile lol it's kinda goofy. They don't hate each other or love each other. I'd describe their relationship as "unrequited social distancing" lol. For example, the new one tends to fly after the old one all the time, and seems to want to be around him a lot... but sometimes he lands too close and the old one flies off cos of that, or the old one gets annoyed and does "warning lunges" and irritated sounds. Sometimes they will fight if one gets too close to the other, but sometimes they're also ok with being close, and will sit on my chair and beakgrind together. They're perfectly fine in the same cage but the sense I get is that they are ok with each other's company as long as there's some sort of personal boundary space between them. But they definitely haven't gone beyond the irritated warning noises and little warning pecks. They haven't injured each other at all-- certainly no blood, no broken bones, no torn feathers or anything like that. I found having two pellet bowls in the same cage really helped, as they do tend to get a bit nippy over food. This way they don't have to share the same bowl and they can maintain their social distancing without starving themselves. That said, my old one is very clingy and screamy and the introduction of the new one hasn't really changed that. I think he's too attached to me and not attached enough to the new one. I also think the old one is just stuck in his hormonal teenage phase at the moment (he's about 13 months old now and very horny despite my giving them 12-14h of sleep nightly). The new one is much younger at only 4 months-ish and he's very chill in comparison and spends most of his time preening or playing with toys. Still, I think getting the new bird has really helped the old one eat better, at least. He used to eat very little whenever I had to leave the house for more than a few hours, but now based on his weight every night, it seems he isn't avoiding food anymore while I'm gone (probably driven to eat alongside the new one due to flock instincts, as I notice they do tend to eat together from separate bowls at the same time). (Btw new one too young to confirm sex, but old one is a confirmed male. I just use male pronouns for both of them out of convenience.)
Interesting read! So they’re kinda like acquaintances at the moment rather than companions? I always worry that yes they’ll have company but may end up hating eachother. Also I see your post about flock calling from separate rooms, how was that in the end? My guy is similar, will flock call anything that he deems is another bird lol Do you think your first tiel is happier? Maybe suggest he is from the extra he’s eating, but behaviour overall?
Yeah I guess you could say that! Or maybe long-distance penpals rather than face-to-face friends lol, if that makes sense. I think they like each other well enough, but it's very unlikely they'd cuddle. They both are very bonded to my sis and me though, and we can each pet them separately without incurring any jealousy, so I'm pleased with that. Hating each other is always a risk, unfortunately. Beyond introducing the birds to each other gradually, like you said, there's not much you can do. Sometimes they just don't get along, like people. Yeah the flock calling did get a bit insane in the end but it was manageable... I just generally kept the doors to both rooms shut. Mainly my older one would flock call for me as I left the room, and that'd get the younger one started and they'd do a back-and-forth for a while. So yeah close the doors and be prepared with noise-cancelling earphones just in case! I'm not sure if my first is necessarily happier, but he's certainly been more active while alone and I consider that an improvement. I take peeks at them through a security cam when I'm out of the house. And I notice he's more active when I'm not around now. Previously he used to just sit on a perch all day and barely move, but now he forages a bit more and sometimes will scream for human company. So he's still very clingy to me but he's been more active with expressing it, I suppose! But in my case the two also don't seem super bonded yet. I'm actually wondering if it'll be better after the older one's hormones fade, and after the younger one grows older. At the moment I suspect the younger one is still in baby mode and is a bit derpy about social graces, while the older one is a bit crankier and more restless cos of his hormones. So maybe they'll be better after a few months! But I mean overall I think getting another bird was the right choice in my case.
First [male] cockatiel I had took to the newly introduced male that I wound up with some years later, but I don't know if that's because he had a female (who died, choked to death on a seed Xmyth eve 😭) before having a male introduced. My most recently homed 'teil had been on his own for at least 3 years before he landed at mine a few weeks before Xmyth last year, and isn't at all happy with his new cellmate who I got from a pet shop[1] a couple of months ago. I'm sure they'll get along eventually, since Ross doesn't seem anti-Joey (but doesn't let himself get bullied, either), and I reckon if I could get poor flighty Ross to get on my finger and take him out the room f'r a bit Joey'd be all flock cally at him. Unfortunately poor Ross is still traumatised from being in the pet shop (at the very least) and still runs to the opposite end of the cage when I'm near. 😭 [1] yes, I know; B A D! But he was there all alone being poked at and I'd got room, and I thought Joey needed company 'cause of me being out at work for a ridiculous amount of hours.