A popular question I get is whether or not two birds can share the same cage.
Often the questioner is asking about two different species of birds, exactly like you are right now - or just about any combination of birds you can imagine.
If we’re talking about an outdoor aviary with natural standards such as real tree branches, dirt and/or sod ground and so on, then combining appropriate birds is fine as long as they are not too many birds for the space. One example is cockatiels in an aviary with a few finches and ground birds is fine.
When it comes to indoor cages though, other than with canaries, finches and other ‘straight beaked’ birds, I don’t think hook bills (parrots) should share cages.
The top reasons for this being that rarely is any cage big enough for two. Each bird should be able to fully extend their wings, at the same time, without touching each other and while sharing the same level perch.
The two birds need to eat the same food, which means pellets meant for a large macaw won’t be well tolerated by a mini-macaw and vice versa. One bird might eat so much that the other bird is prevented from getting their share. This and other stresses can lead one or both birds to self-mutilation (feather plucking) which is a disorder that starts far easier than it ends. Some feather pluckers never stop once they start.
For any birds, even the same species, sharing a cage makes mutual injury a major issue. Far too many times there are birds that have lived together for quite a while and all it takes is one accident. Just one mistake or misplaced bite and the injury could be fatal to a bird, devastating to the owner.
I’ve had birds come into my care after ten years or more together with another bird, without any problem, until one day a single act of aggression takes the top of the other bird’s beak off, or punctures a hole clean through. Sometimes the aggression is even worse and one of them loses their life.
Finally, birds that are allowed to share a cage will often not be as human bonded as they might be otherwise. Are you ready to give up the loving companionship of your birds?
We keep our birds together, but not in the same cages. We discourage any touching between the birds as well. Our two in-house macaws (a Severe macaw and a Blue & Gold macaw) have been together for nearly 5 year without ever touching; however, they interact regularly with talking, noises and counting on each other to be there in their own individual cages, whether during the day or in their sleep cages at night.
Here is even more about cage set ups complete with pics:
www.4AnimalCare.org/birds
You have two of the most beautiful and highly intelligent species in the psittacine world. They should give you many years of joy and enrichment, but should live together like neighbors, rather than a 'couple'.
And if you're wondering about being able to breed, they can't. Sometimes two birds of different species will go through the motions of breeding when they become very bonded and the female will even lay eggs, but these eggs are always going to be infertile.
It's also not unusual for two same sex birds to go through the motions of breeding, although I see this far more often in smaller birds like finches and budgies/parakeets.
Enjoy your birds and keep up the good work
Certified Avian Specialist
Cert. Avian Specialist; Int. Assoc.Animal Behavior Consult; Pet Ind. Joint Advisory Council; author