Lovebirds and Conures....?

[RicosPoppy]

So, I have developed a soft spot for a GCC at a local pet store.

He has been there for several months and is starving for attention. I go in to see him pretty regularly and have handled him on several occasions. He seems very well socialized and hand tame. No biting and overall he is very very sweet, just dying for someone to love and preen him.

I am up to the task, but before I do anything I obvisouly have to consider what type of impact bringing a new bird into the home would have on Rico.

Rico is a single male and I must say he it quite spoiled. He gets all our attention and is a very bonded bird. Aside from a few days at the bird sitter each summer, he doesn't get much interaction with other birds.

I'm curious what kind of an impact bringing a new bird home would have on him. Could he learn to get along and accept a new bird, after being a single bird for more than 2 years?
Would ge get jealous and agressive? Would he resent us for adding a new and strange bird to our flock?

I just want to be sure I do what's best for Rico and the Conure.

If anyone has conures in their lovebird flock I would love to hear how they do together. I'm pretty sure that Conures do better in mixed flocks than most birds, and seem to adapt well. I'm just worried about my head strong and assertive little lovie.

[Janie]

I have "so far" dodged the Conure bullet but if I ever bring in another species, that's exactly what it will be, a GCC! I hope Kimmie sees this post cause she has a GCC that has been a great addition to her household. Lori also has one and is going to have TWO in a few days! :D And I get to meet him cause he'll be staying here for a couple of nights! Can't wait and I'm hoping my hubby gets the conure bug! :D

As far as adding any species when you've had a spoiled rotten single bird, that I can address! :) Oliver was my velcro buddy for a year when I got Big Boi and Shy. I did not expect him to accept them at all and figured he'd be very jealous. It's all worked out very well (thank heavens) and they do get along but Oliver still gets far more momma time than they do. In your case I know you won't be caging them together (:eek: ) but are more concerned about Rico's feelings about a new bird. I would imagine that he will be jealous in the beginning but he'll probably enjoy the company later on, even from afar. Kimmie's Abbey is great with her lovies and them with her but I don't think Lori's Cappie is liked by her two lovies. The main reason she's getting Cappie a friend! :D

I'd be interested in what others have to say. Good luck in what ever you decide to do. I think you're such a good lovie parent and could find plenty of love for another bird, too! :D

[Z28Taxman]

I've been telling myself that Ditto would hate a GCC or Sun conure. Now everyone is going to undo all I've done. :rofl:

I have wondered what Ditto would do. I suspect he'd not be too happy at first. Nobody can touch me without him pitching a major fit if he's in his cage. If he's out, they get bloody.

[Keltoth]

As you may or may not know, I have two GCCs and 49% of the USA lovebird population in my home (MJ has another 50% at her house, with the remaining 1% divided up amongst everyone else ;) ). One of my GCCs is a flighty, jumpy fella, and the other is a very well-adjusted, balanced GCC who is very loveable and handtame. All of these birds are housed in the same aviary room, but there is no love lost betwen my GCCs and my lovies. There are lovies that my GCCs would kill if they got the chance, and there are a few lovies that the conures will tolerate, even to the point where they will allow a couple of them (Myst and Stormie) to sit next to the GCCs on the conure's play-gym with them - but make no mistake; they are nothing even close to being bestest buddies.

Having said that, I believe my easy-going GCC would be much more friendly with individual members of my lovebird flock if he was left to his own devices. I think that Maverik brings out the worst in Molly and that because they have each other, these two conures feel like they do not need any lovebird friends and can afford to lord over them without fear of ever being alone.

In any case, I don't think Rico will be resentful long-term about a new bird, as long as you are spending equal amounts of time with him. Now, if you were to spend a boatload of time with the GCC and Rico hardly got any one-on-one time with you, then yes - I strongly believe he would become jealous and unhappy with you, and justifiably so. I am fairly confident that Rico would accept the new bird; the question would be just how close of firends they would become and how long that would take, if ever.

I believe that Kim has a GCC that is friends with her lovebirds - or was that Lori? I have a hard time remembering, but I seem to remember pics of them sharing veggies while standing head down and chest-to-chest in the veggie plate. I'm usre whichever one it is will share how her birds do together. In any case, I think you have a MUCH better chance of a satisfactory outcome introducing a new GCC to an established lovebird, rather than the other way around. I don't know about everyone else's lovebirds, but my peachies seem to be VERY adaptable and able to take even radical changes in stride with no longterm challenges.

...of course, this whole thread is worthless without GCC pictures from you... :evil: :rofl:

-Eric

[bellarains]

I do have a pair of lovies, so of course they are bonded to each other. Lacey however seems to like Cappie(my GCC), and does go over to his cage to visit now and then. They are not best of buds by any means, but they are up for a little chit chat every so often.

Bela(my other lovie) does not like Cappie at all though. He will fluff up, and get in the linebacker stance whenever Cappie comes near:eek:

Kimmies GCC was raised with her lovie babies, so Abbey probably thinks she's a lovebird:lol Seriously though, I'm sure it depends on the bird, but as a rule lovies are very territorial, and do not take well to other birds. There's always the exception to the rule though;)

I do love my GCC. Cappie is a wonderful little companion, but I always tell people, GCC's do get nippy, and require work to teach them that it is not acceptable behavior. Even then they will nip, they just learn pressure levels. These stages do pass, but I have to let you know that up front. As always, birds all have different behavior, but this is something I hear from almost anyone with a GCC, and as with lovies, it starts around the time they reach sexual maturity. As with that stage, the nippy stage also passes, so there is an upside. I will say that Cappie is worth every little nip I've received though:) Well, except for the lip bite, and I've gotten over that:rolleyes:

[kimsbirds]

Look at you all talkin sweet about our Abbey :happy:
We brought Abbey home when she was newly weaned around 10 weeks old. Since she was the "baby" in the house, she simply learned that anyone else there - bird or human or cat or dog - was just a part of her new flock. Shortly after she came to live with us, we had a batch of lovie babies we were handraising and she LOVED those babies ! She got to mock feed them, they huddled under her wingies and she even got some 'formula'....(*loves it to this very day too, little fart*). Since then, she's bonded with Daisy, Pop and various other birdies who've grown up and flown the coop in our home.
I think any new pet can be introduced to a household as long as there is no deviation from the present pets' routine and amount of attention given. Intro's DO need to be done gradually and this might take months, since both these birds are "older" (not babies I mean). I find GCC's in general more tolerant of change than lovies...so I hope you can weigh the pros and cons and decide what's best :)
Best Wishes,
Kimmie