# Can a pigeon and a conure live together?



## Oars (Jun 6, 2006)

I have a pet pigeon, I'm not sure if she's a king pigeon or a homing pigeon, that I rescued about a year and a half ago. She's quite tame to me and is gentle to my little 5 year old nephew and my mother, but can't seem to warm up to my husband - keeps slapping and biting him.

Anyway, the other week I was in PetCo buying bird food and there was this very friendly jenday conure that kept dancing and bouncing up and down in front of me and trying to get my attention. It seemed like it was very friendly and dying for someone to take it home. It broke my heart to leave him in the store because it seemed like he was almost begging me to take him home.

But I have my pigeon at home. She's not caged. Would the conure and my pigeon fight and hurt each other? Thanks for any insights.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

A hookbill can actually rip the beak off of a pigeon or dove. Pigeon skin is also fairly thin compared to the capabilities of a parrot. Your conure could severely debilitate or kill your pigeon. 
We just let our parrot out when the doves are not out and vice-versa. 

Some people go years without an incident and then all of the sudden there is an emergency. The pigeon will always lose.

Also, conures can be rather pushy. I know sometimes they beat up cockatiels--and tiels are better equipped to fight back against that beak than pigeons.


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## Oars (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks for the opinion. Can the conure stay in a cage, and how many hours at a time? Maybe I could alternate placing the conure and then the pigeon in a cage and only let one of them out at a time.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Oars said:


> Thanks for the opinion. Can the conure stay in a cage, and how many hours at a time? Maybe I could alternate placing the conure and then the pigeon in a cage and only let one of them out at a time.


How much time do you have? Are you home during the day? Have you ever had a parrot before? 

Conures need a lot of time. They are very intelligent and social. They can get bored easily and need a lot of things to do and learn. If they are left alone too long, as with any parrot, they can develop destructive and self-destructive behaviors. They can live in a cage and come out to play for hours at a time. Those people I know who have happy parrots spend 3+ hours a day with them. 

http://www.theconureparrot.com/Conure-Care.html

http://gcch.tripod.com/faq.html

http://conurecommunity.com/ethology.htm

http://www.parrotsecrets.com/conures/prtdld/Book4-ChooseFirst.pdf



*Be sure to do a lot of research before impulse-buying any living thing. It is cruel to purchase an animal whose needs you do not know well. * I am so sick of people asking me why their fish/bird/iguana died even though they had no idea how to take care of it. You sound like a kind person, please do not be as unwise as others have been. Go to a local parrot club meeting and ask lots of questions about conures. Some cities even have conure-specific clubs. Get to know some hobbiests who specialize in these birds and see what they have to say. Visit someone who has a conure (especially right away in the morning) and see if you can handle the noise level long term. They will scream when you want to sleep, have guests, etc because they are parrots and they're loud. I have a friend who is working with her conure right now on a problem with screaming specifically at bedtime (really really late--because he feels like getting attention.) You often can't really stop them from screaming two times of the day, though: morning and evening. 

If you're ready for it, a parrot can make a bright and wonderful companion. They can be extremely charming and sweet, and learn many things. But please consider whether you have the time to balance both of your birds and your other responsibilities. Our household has done fine with a rotation between my doves and my sister's parrot (not a conure--but about as pushy lol).


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Oars said:


> Thanks for the opinion. Can the conure stay in a cage, and how many hours at a time? Maybe I could alternate placing the conure and then the pigeon in a cage and only let one of them out at a time.


It might be better to let each have their own cage. They have different needs. A pigeon needs a long cage for flight. A conure needs a cage to climb around in and colorful toys. They both have different dietary needs. The resulting territorial issues could cause conflict when you are trying to switch birds.


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## Oars (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks very much for your information. I don't think I will be buying the conure, then. It's pretty expensive. I was afraid of what might happen to him emotionally if he lives all by himself for months at a time in the store, watching people come and go and not having anyone be his permanent friend/owner. It must not be pleasant for such a social animal and seems rather inhumane.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Oars said:


> Thanks very much for your information. I don't think I will be buying the conure, then. It's pretty expensive. I was afraid of what might happen to him emotionally if he lives all by himself for months at a time in the store, watching people come and go and not having anyone be his permanent friend/owner. It must not be pleasant for such a social animal and seems rather inhumane.


Any decent bird store will be playing with their birds each day. A friend of mine breeds and sells birds and used to keep a store here and there were almost always birds out being played with (when they didn't need some alone time or a nap.) In her home the birds are either in cages close to or with other birds they can talk to or out playing on playstands. 
Though, I can't say I have much respect for what I've seen of PetCo in general. 
Conures usually sell decently because they are so good at getting attention. It's the budgies with quiet personalities (as opposed to those like our bird who are quite flamboyant) and doves who seem to have trouble. (Especially since so many ringneck doves who are sold from petstores have the fate of being released by cheapskates who don't do research at weddings and then lost/starved/killed by predators.)


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## Oars (Jun 6, 2006)

I hope they take him out and play with him once in a while everyday. Maybe somebody already adopted him.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

If you ever do want to try having a parrot (and have time to give both incompatible birds attention) you might try getting a budgie or a cockatiel. 

I had a budgie at 4 years old (with lots of help from mom of course) and he was a sweetie. They can also be a bit dominant/cocky and vary quite a bit. 
Another good parrot to start out with is a cockatiel. They are often a bit less outgoing than budgies, but can be very sweet with time getting to know you. They care quite a bit about their appearances. 
I've also heard of people doing ok with conures as first birds. They are challenging with a big personality, but I know they mesh well with certain people. My boyfriend, for instance, doesn't really like most birds, but really makes a connection with conures. I do better with cockatiels and cockatoos. Part of it is just personality matching (and lifestyle matching.)


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