What matters most
- Enough space and escape options
- Watching individual personalities, not just species labels
- Separate feeding or resting setups when needed
- Supervision during new or tense interactions
Common pressure points
- Competition over attention, food, or favourite spots
- Overestimating how quickly birds should mix
- Assuming calm means trust rather than shutdown
- Letting one confident bird dominate the household rhythm
Important: a quieter bird is not always a happier bird. In mixed households, the birds getting displaced are easy to miss unless you look for them.