Many of us would like to own a bird of our own. Of course, there are many different types of birds, and not all of them are suitable for keeping at home. Each species of bird alone has its specific needs. For example, a parrot needs a larger cage than a budgie. However, the question arises as to whether you should keep your bird all alone in a cage, or whether it could benefit from having one or more conspecifics.
The fact is that it is not easy at first to answer this question because problems can always arise when keeping several birds. It can happen like with us humans, that two birds just don’t get along, for example. So this article will be about the pros and cons of keeping birds individually. So you know exactly whether you should give your birdie one or more friends.
A bird is the same as a bird? Here are the differences
First of all, of course, we have to differentiate between the different bird species. If you are thinking about giving your bird a partner from another bird species, there are a few things to consider. For example, if you own a budgie, you should never keep it with a larger parrot or lovebird. This type of bird is much more aggressive than the small budgies and your darling can be seriously attacked and injured.
For these reasons, you should always keep your bird with other related birds. In the case of budgerigars, these would be grass parakeets, cockatiels, and finches, for example. You should also make sure that there is enough space in the cage for all the birds and that there is also enough parrot food and general feeding options so that there are no arguments.
Advantages of solitary housing
The main benefit of keeping a bird alone is that you can train it very easily as there are no distractions from other birds. So the bird becomes very tame very quickly. He can become your most faithful companion and of course, you don’t need as large a cage as is the case when keeping several birds.
So if you don’t have that much space in your home, this can be an advantage. However, you should still make sure to let your bird fly freely in your apartment from time to time so that it is not just in the cage all the time.
Disadvantages of solitary confinement
Most birds that are suitable as pets are social animals. Like us humans, they quickly become sad when they have to live in isolation from their peers all the time. It is therefore advisable to keep at least two birds. So your birdie has a friend and is automatically happier. Many bird owners buy a mirror as a toy instead of a second bird. Under no circumstances should you do this if you keep a bird alone because otherwise, it will think that its reflection is conspecific.
In general, birds that are kept alone are often very stressed and in severe cases may even pluck their feathers to relieve this stress. In addition, it may be the case that the beautiful song of the bird stops at some point and it just screams. Therefore, you should only keep a bird alone in certain exceptional cases, as these are highly social animals.
That’s why you shouldn’t keep your bird alone
As just mentioned, birds are very social animals. When several of the conspecifics meet, a high level of contentment is evoked. The birds then feed and scratch each other, play with each other, and also groom each other. As a human, you have to compensate for all these factors when you keep a bird in isolation.
This is simply impossible. You can be a loyal companion for your bird, but this is also possible if your little companion already has a few other species-appropriate friends. Because there are many misconceptions about keeping birds individually.
Conclusion
Although there are exceptional cases, such as an illness or if your bird does not get along with other conspecifics, in which you should keep your bird alone, these animals are not loners. The opposite is the case because, without at least one partner, your bird can become extremely unhappy. Therefore, give him a friend in any case, so that not only you are happy but also your darling.
