conures and canaries

Question
Hi, I have just built an aviary for my 8 canaries and have just be asked to take
on 2 conures. Both are babies which were rejected/damaged by the parents
and one can't fly - fly wings on one side are gone and has a mangled foot; the
other doesn't fly yet either but does attempt to. Up til a few days ago they
were being hand reared by a friend but she can't continue keeping them. I
want to know if it's OK to put the conures in with the canaries. The aviary is
2m x 1.5m x 2m high. Can they all co-exist in the same area?

Answer
Hi, Suyin,

I would not mix these different species of birds in the same aviary for several reasons:

- The handicapped bird(s) will most likely require special accommodations inside a cage to fit the disabilities
- These 2 different species of birds have different dietary requirements/other needs
- Conures are much larger than canaries and can inflict serious damage/injury to canaries.  The conures have hooked beaks, whereas the canaries have straight beaks
- Conures are usually noisy birds and would not mix well with canaries
- If you want to breed the canaries, you do not want conures in the same cage
- You may not be able to keep both conures in the same cage together as they age, depending on how one reacts to the other that has no wing on one side and has a mangled foot

It is usually not a good idea to mix any different species/subspecies of birds together in a single setup, particularly birds with disabilities.  Birds with disabilities are often picked on by other birds and require special setups to accommodate their disabilities.  This also depends on the individual personalities of the birds involved, but species of aves that are too different don't mix well togther, and those with disabilities have to be treated specially.

Chrys

Chrys