Hello there!

[Pajarita]

If I were in your situation, I would get the largest cage I can fit in my home and get her a mate. Not a baby, mind you, an adult (pairing adults with babies hardly ever works and, when it does, it takes a couple of years because the baby needs to mature). They do better in flock but they do very well with a mate. And, if at some point in time, down the road, you can add another one or two pairs, better still.

Now, as to birds of prey and bird lovers... well, I am not saying they don't love their birds but it's not the same kind of love a parrot owner would have for his/her bird.

[Hannerz]

Lately I've been doing noisy and active things further from the cage and quieter things nearby. She seems calm with me being near the cage so long as I do not make sudden movements or move my hands towards the cage. Because of her fear of my hands, she is not ready to take treats from my hand yet. She'll take a treat after a few minutes of contemplation if I wedge it in the cage bars near me. She's getting quicker to decide to take them now and I am working on getting her used to my hands with the same method I used to get her used to me. Improvement is slower on that front, likely because I have to use my hands whether she is scared or not in order to take care of her. The concerns I was voicing earlier had more to do with her not being as interested in what I am doing when I am not being scary. She spends most of her time just sitting, not looking around at things or visibly reacting to the majority of them.

Thanks for your feedback on pairs, Liz and Pajarita. I have been leaning a lot more towards that option lately. If I am able to give her a happy and healthy life with me, then that is what I want to do. And I would enjoy having another bird around. I still have some concerns on cage size, though. I don't have room for one larger than what I already have (32" wide x 18" deep x 34" tall) or it another the same size or smaller, which I know I would have to use for quarantine. It definitely isn't ideal, but do you think it would it be alright? I've also looked into rescues again and the closest one to me is inconsistent on their site about how far away they are willing to adopt out to, so the rescue option might be open after all! Is there anything besides age you think I should look for as far as compatibility? I'm going to sit on it for a little longer before making a decision just to be sure, but I am trying to gather all the information I can in the meantime.

Fido recently left the cage on her own for the first, and so far only, time. She was extremely antsy for a while and suddenly exploded out the door when my back was turned. She seemed nervous about it and spent the entire time sitting up my closet, but it's a start. I ended up having to help her back in at night, which freaked her out but led to me holding her on a perch for the first time. Much better for both of us than toweling her!

[Pajarita]

The cage you already have should be OK for two tiels but you will need a small one for the quarantine UNLESS you adopt from a rescue where they have already quarantined in which case you don't need to, BUT you still have to keep them separate for a while until they accept each other (very easy and fast with tiels because they are intensely flock oriented so, even when they don't choose the other bird as a mate -which they might do later on, they would still be OK with one another). Now, if you get a bird from Craig's List or Kijiji, you do need to quarantine.