Two Silent Birds

User Question
On Jan. 1 this year I lost one of my 2 keets to illness. I waited about 5 weeks before getting another one. I first had them in separate cages close together and 2 weeks ago put them in the same cage. I have 2 of everything they need and use in their cage. My older keet is male and about a year and a half. The new one is female I think and is about 11 months old. My problem is that the silence is deafening! My older keet doesn't seem to want anything to do with the new one, who has the softest chirp I ever heard. She seems to want to get close but Blue, my older keet pecks at her to keep her at bay. It was suggested by several people to take Bella back to the store and get another one, but I can't do that to her. I don't know whether to separate them again and wait it out. There has been no real fighting, but I feel the birds must be very unhappy since there is hardly any chirping going on. Do you have any suggestions? Your site is the most thorough and honest I've found. Thank you, even if you don't get a chance to reply.

Lisa's Answer
It's good that you won't just bring the keet back - that's not a fair thing to do! Keets are all unique and each have their own special personality. Often you don't realize how special a keet is until you have them for a few months.

Keets are normally quiet when they are settling into a place. It's an evolutionary safety thing. But also, keets are often quiet if the place is quiet. It scares them. Do you play music for them? Try playing classical music for a week. Then the next week, play rock music. Rotate through different styles of music - and sing along so the keets know that it's OK to sing. You don't have to sing well :) I bet that eventually you will hit a style of music that they enjoy, and they will start to join in!

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