Bringing home a playmate for your bird

The Crystal Parrot - Quite often we are asked if someone should buy a “playmate” for their bird. The usual reason is that the person feels bad that their bird is home alone all day. Birds are flock animals and when you add them to your home, you become their flock! Your bird will much prefer quality time as opposed to lots of time with you! And the attention that you give them does not necessarily have to be 100% undivided! Include your bird in daily routine and activities. Something as mundane as folding the wash can become fun and quality time for both of you. Birds love to be talked to and this can certainly be accomplished while you are doing other things! If he can’t be in the same room with you while you are doing something like cooking supper, put on some fun music and sing with your bird! They are still having fun with you and you are still tending to the daily routine!

Giving your bird a playmate because you feel bad for him might not be what he wants! There is no guarantee that they will get along and it is rare that you can have two living in the same cage without bickering or serious injuries. You may now have to deal with jealousy issues and depending on the birds, this could become quite serious! Dealing with one and possibly two jealous birds is much more time consuming than dealing with a bird that is bonded to you and is content with their life! We think that you would not be pleased if someone decided you needed an extra person in your family and plunked down some strange person in your home with the expectation that you will get along wonderfully! People do not get along with all other people-even when they choose another person to share their home-have you seen the divorce rate lately? Just because both creatures are birds, does not automatically mean that they will even tolerate one another!    

Multiple bird homes are successful for the people and the birds because the people understand up front what they are getting into and know the rewards and pitfalls ahead of time and have the correct motives for doing so. To add another bird to an already time constrained home is never a good idea. This will only frustrate you and the birds in the long run. In many cases, these types of situations end up being a re-homing situation because it simply becomes too much!

Remember that adding another bird to your already “not enough hours in the day” will also add more work and expense. Not only will you have another one to clean up after, it is also double the expense! Creating time for your bird does not require clean up detail and it is free! If you strive to give your bird the right kind of attention, he will look forward to it each day and will you be surprised at how much you will look forward to it as well!