Question:I have a parrotlet and love her so much, but I was raised with a cockatiel when I was a child and wanted to get a cockatiel too. I didn't know though if a parrotlet and a cockatiel would get a long??
Answers:
I've had a dog who nursed piglets, a cat who nursed baby squirrels, a dog who allowed an adult cat to nurse on her daily (no milk). I currently have a dog who is in love with our cat - they do strange, secret things in the dark.
As for birds, I do bird rescue. I have 1 parrotlet, 1 lovebird and 21 cockatiels. The lovebird lives in an aviary with 10 tiels, the parrotlet lives by himself.
I've heard that lovebirds should never be kept with other birds. My male lovebird is bonded to my cockatiels. He preens them, feeds them, and sits on their eggs. They love him, like he's their little pet.
Then there's the parrotlet, Harvey, aka The Green Hornet. He's my buddy and I can handle him, but he is not allowed near the other birds, the cats or the dog. The other animals get locked up when Harvey's out - for their protection, not his. He'll sneak up to anything and bite it, especially fond of cockatiel toes. But most of all Harvey hates that lovebird.
Like others have said - do not house them together. Put the cages near each other. Keep the tiel off of the parrotlet's cage - parrotlets are very quick, and agile.
If they show non-aggressive interest towards each other, let them meet on neutral ground, away from the cages - under close supervision. Make sure there are lots of toys and snacks.
You can't make two animals love each other, but anything is possible.
They can, but don't put them in the same cage or you may end up with a beat up cockatiel or two birds that have bonded and couldn't care less about you. Just introduce them slowly and praise the parrotlet when it starts to accept the new bird. Good luck!
They may or may not, depending on the situation. Definitely do not house them together. Also cockatiels carry some diseases that do not harm them that could kill your parrotlet.
Check it out, like you are, before getting another bird.
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