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A Friend For Bogie


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Hi all!

 

So, Bogie's a happy little guy and seems to love being a part of our family flock. But sometimes we think about getting him a friend.

 

Even though we work from home and he has a lot of time outside the cage and with us, sometimes I think he would benefit from having a birdie companion. But I have a lot of questions about how getting a second budgie affects the good bonding you have with the first. And I'm also curious about advantages of getting another male or a female. (I wouldn't mind Bogie having a little mate, but we don't really have any plans for breeding, so is it just more trouble than it's worth to have a boy and girl?) Also, is it possible that the two just won't get along?

 

I'd like to hear opinions and real stories from those that have made the change from a single bird to two.

 

Thanks!

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Nobody? Really? I know many of you have large aviaries, I'm just surprised there's no advice for me. :-(

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Hi Wendymoon. I haven't been on a lot lately but I can give you a dose of my personal experiences. :P My oldest budgie, Bluey is now 5 and half. For 4 years he was an only bird and we all had a beautiful bond with him - he was the best little pet bird you could ever have. After all this time we (I) decided to get another.. Turns out the second bird (Smudge) is a hen but at the time was taking pot-luck. Funny all the breeders on here can sex their chicks, but my local ones can't.....anyway Bluey was not impressed with having a friend, especially as said friend would try to land ON him not beside and constantly invaded his personal space. Smudge has been with us for a bit over 12 months and it is only the last couple of months that Blue will actually approach Smudge, and then only out of the cage. In the cage he flys to the opposite side to where she is (she is a stroppy little thing and can be nippy). In fact I think getting Blue a friend was rather stressful for him, and for a long time did wonder if i shouldn't separate them and allow Blue to have his personal space. They are in a large flight cage but still he wasn't too happy. I still made sure that Bluey had time out on his own with us, and we have kept up a close bond.

 

I don't know how old Bogie is but if he is younger then you probably won't have the same problems I did - Bluey was very much a middle-aged accountant in bird-form and looked for a quiet life.

 

Getting a male/female??? If you aren't going to breed, it doesn't matter. They will only look to breed if you provide a nest-box, so no nest-box, no baby budgies. Males a generally considered more fun, less moody, more laid-back than females and that has been my experience too. I have recently added another male to the flock and even though he came from an aviary and wasn't really quiet at all, he has settled in really well and is taming nicely - he is about 6 months old. Bluey has taken to this new fellow (Sparky) rather easily and the boys are now hanging out together.

 

Is it possible the two won't get on??? From what I have seen and other people's stories, yes it can happen. I have known situations where a bird has had to be rehoused because it was a physical threat to another, but I do think this is rare. I perservered for a year with Smudge and Bluey and I doubt a lot of people would have given them as long, but Smudge wasn't threatening Blue physically. He was so passive she didn't need to - she lunges at him and he flys off.

 

Sorry it is a bit long-winded, but I have tried to present my experiences as they have unfolded. Hope this helps somewhat. Probably just confused you!!!;)

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I don't have personal experience introducing a new budgie to a current one that was already tame, but I did have two inside budgies a few years back. While they did sit on my hand and associate with me, they were more bonded with each other. You will most likely lose some of the bond/connection you have with Bogie, but no one can really say how much. There is also always the possibility they wont get along. You'll need to quarantine the new guy/girl (don't think it would make much of a difference either way) for 30 days, and then start the slow introductions. I can't really offer much more advice than this. Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Thanks for the comments. If we do get another bird we would definitely do quarantine.

 

Still not sure what we'll do; it seems a bit risky getting a second bird when things are going so well with Bogie. He's about a year and a half old, so I don't know that he's totally set in his ways, but I do think he wouldn't really like anyone else playing with his bells. ;-) From the comments, I think I'd be more inclined to try and get another boy.

 

While we'd hate to lose our bond with him, we also want what's best for Bogie and sometimes think that would mean letting him be part of a bigger birdie flock. (Goodness, it's like parents trying to decide about having a second child!) I'll let you all know if we get another!

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Nobody? Really? I know many of you have large aviaries, I'm just surprised there's no advice for me. :-(

 

 

People with large aviaries are not the people you need advice from as ours are aviary birds and you need advice re a tamed bird.

Please be more patient when waiting for advice. :)

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Nobody? Really? I know many of you have large aviaries, I'm just surprised there's no advice for me. :-(

 

 

People with large aviaries are not the people you need advice from as ours are aviary birds and you need advice re a tamed bird.

Please be more patient when waiting for advice. :)

 

Hi Kaz,

 

Sorry if I seemed impatient. I had also tried asking on another thread and got nothing there either, mostly I just didn't want the thread getting buried. But I think maybe you misunderstood my comment, I was saying I know many on have large aviaries and are therefore not in the best position to advise on my situation, I just figured there would be a few on here with comments. And then there were! :-)

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Nobody? Really? I know many of you have large aviaries, I'm just surprised there's no advice for me. :-(

 

 

People with large aviaries are not the people you need advice from as ours are aviary birds and you need advice re a tamed bird.

Please be more patient when waiting for advice. :)

 

Hi Kaz,

 

Sorry if I seemed impatient. I had also tried asking on another thread and got nothing there either, mostly I just didn't want the thread getting buried. But I think maybe you misunderstood my comment, I was saying I know many on have large aviaries and are therefore not in the best position to advise on my situation, I just figured there would be a few on here with comments. And then there were! :-)

 

:D I actually saw your thread when you first posted it but because I didn't have specific advice I thought I'd wait to see who else comments. Then when I saw your got no love :o I felt the need to add what I could. Glad you got some advice and look forward to hearing what you decide.

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I have some experience on this, the first thing to do whether you get a male or female, quarantining the new budgie from your current budgie is a must.

Slowly introduce them. What l did l put their cage side by side. Then every day l let them interact outside of their cage and l kept a close eye on them. After awhile they started to hang out in each other cages. Then l took one of the cages so they could share one cage all the time.

 

While the new budgie is quarantined. take them time to bond with it and you will then have 2 bonded budgies :)

Edited by birdluv
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I have some experience on this, the first thing to do whether you get a male or female, quarantining the new budgie from your current budgie is a must.

Slowly introduce them. What l did l put their cage side by side. Then every day l let them interact outside of their cage and l kept a close eye on them. After awhile they started to hang out in each other cages. Then l took one of the cages so they could share one cage all the time.

 

While the new budgie is quarantined. take them time to bond with it and you will then have 2 bonded budgies :)

 

Thank you for the encouragement, birdluv! The slow interaction makes a lot of sense. And two bonded budgies sounds so nice. :)

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I have some experience on this, the first thing to do whether you get a male or female, quarantining the new budgie from your current budgie is a must.

Slowly introduce them. What l did l put their cage side by side. Then every day l let them interact outside of their cage and l kept a close eye on them. After awhile they started to hang out in each other cages. Then l took one of the cages so they could share one cage all the time.

 

While the new budgie is quarantined. take them time to bond with it and you will then have 2 bonded budgies :)

 

Thank you for the encouragement, birdluv! The slow interaction makes a lot of sense. And two bonded budgies sounds so nice. :)

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I have some experience on this, the first thing to do whether you get a male or female, quarantining the new budgie from your current budgie is a must.

Slowly introduce them. What l did l put their cage side by side. Then every day l let them interact outside of their cage and l kept a close eye on them. After awhile they started to hang out in each other cages. Then l took one of the cages so they could share one cage all the time.

 

While the new budgie is quarantined. take them time to bond with it and you will then have 2 bonded budgies :)

 

Thank you for the encouragement, birdluv! The slow interaction makes a lot of sense. And two bonded budgies sounds so nice. :)

 

 

Hi Tiamungie............I noticed you are new to the forum, but you havent actually managed to make a post as you may have hoped to. Please go to our New to BBC section and introduce yourself.

Cheers kaz :)

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My first budgie i had as a teenager was housed with my brother's budgie. I had a boy & my brother had a girl. They were both untame babies/young when we got them and even tho i also had budgies by themself later, he was still my tamest budgie Ive ever had by far. I forgot to recut his wing once and he flew away. My sister teased me with the stupid saying "if you love something set it free & if it comes back to you it is yours, if it doesnt it never was"... we lived on acreage & it had large birds chasing it from gumtree to gumtree & it rained that night... yet the next day he flew back to our pergola and I got him back. He was a very very tame budgie despite having another budgie friend. So I personally think alot of it comes down to the personality of the individual bird.

 

 

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