tiels and grays

Question
I had a cockatiel form the age of 8-20, he died in a house fire. i have wanted a bird for a while but, my wife had never had a pet before and is afaid of most all animals. talked her looking at cockatiels and she just fell in love with a baby tiel at the pet store.  we've had him for about 8 months now and has been a outstanding pet. says 3 words and whistles  and is loving to the whole familiy. i think he really gets too much attention sometimes. i try to limit it sometimes becuase i think he needs a little time to rest.

first is this a good idea? i find he gets a little demanding if he's out too long.

what is too long for a tiel.

also i have always wanted a African Grey. i would probably keed them in seperat cages next to each other. do you think they would have any problems with each other if i were to get the gray young?  

and most importantly how much time would a gray require? i would probably be the main handler he him/her. there is almost always someone in the house. but, acual time out of the cage would be about 3-4 hours after i get off work? would he/she be ok. for 5-6 hours a day with no one but the tiel as company?

sorry for bing long wind'ed
Glenn


Answer
Hi Glenn,

Having multiple birds in the same household is rarely ever a problem, but I would never recommend putting a grey and a cockatiel on the same playpen (and definately not in the same cage). There is too large of a size difference to safely introduce them to each other on the same perch/area.

But, you can definately keep their cages near each other (once your new bird has gone through proper quarantine procedures of course).

you can read more about quarantine guidelines here:

http://www.parrothouse.com/quarantine.html

There is no such thing as too much attention for a bird. In the wilde, they would have constant attention/interaction with other flock members. Whatever attention people give to their bird, it is ALWAYS less that what they would get if they had another bird companion.

The only consideration you need to make is if your bird is out of his cage too long, he might be hungry or thirsty.

I would recommend a bare minimum of three hours out of cage time for a grey (I recommend at least 2 for any parrot as a bare minimum).... but do keep in mind that greys have tested to have the same emotional needs of a 2 to 3 year old child. So you should make sure a grey parrot gets as much attention as possible.

I hope this helps answer your questions. Please let me know if you think of anything else. :)

-Maggie