I have an old (8 or 9 years) male budgie who I inherited. Two questions. Should I get him a mate, and if so would an older female or a younger one be best and second, he has been in the same cage for all that time approximately 2feet cubed and I would like to get him a newer and larger cage. Just worried that too many changes may upset him. Any suggestions?? Thankyou. Peter. :bluebudgie:

I have an old (8 or 9 years) male budgie who I inherited. Two questions. Should I get him a mate, and if so would an older female or a younger one be best and second, he has been in the same cage for all that time approximately 2feet cubed and I would like to get him a newer and larger cage. Just worried that too many changes may upset him. Any suggestions?? Thankyou. Peter. :bluebudgie:

 

 

Hi Peter and friend and welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll find some great advice here. I guess it's really up to you if you want to get him a mate. Has he always been a lone budgie? If so, you could keep him that way. If you wanted to get him a mate, I would prob go an older/younger male or an older female. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he's to old to mate, so hopefully you weren't looking to do that. If you do get him a friend, don't forget to quarintine him/her. A young 'brother' as such may give new life to an old fella (Laughing out loud).

 

As to the cage, go for it. I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra room. Perhaps go for the new cage first before the new friend? If your worried about change, mayb set it up near him for awhile, then move him over. If he is tame, you could allow him to explore it before the big shift. You could even keep the same toys/food dishes etc... so he has something familar.

 

Hope this helped a little. Ask away if you need any more info...

Edited December 28, 200717 yr by maesie

:ygbudgie: Hi and welcome to the forum, lots of wonderful topics to read. I am sure your guy would LOVE and appreciate a new cage with lots of toys!! As for the companion, he is probably set in his ways but if you introduce a new buddy (after a quarantine period) keep she/he in a separate cage until you see how they interact, perhaps they will get along, all budgies are different!! :bluebudgie: And good on you for taking him in, so many budgies get abandoned and even, if not tame, they are such sweet little companions.

Hi, welcome to our forums :bluebudgie:

you have come to a great place with tons of info and alot of knowledgeable people. there is also alot of info if you would like to read in the Budgie FAQ section of our forum too.

as for the cage size, the bigger it is the better. the best type is a flight cage that is wider rather then taller.

l would love to see pics of your little buddy.

YAY !! Go for the bigger cage...wider rather than taller so he can fly across the cage from perch to perch. As for the friend ? Depends on if he would enjoy the interaction or become stressed by a new and livelier companion. Quarantine is ESSENTIAL for at least 30 days before the newcomer goes in with the older budgie. Too old for mating so I would choose another boy if you were going to get him a friend. No mirrors in the cage to become possessive of. Bigger cage means toys and fun. Go for the cage first and see how he gets along for awhile with space and toys and then think about a friend ...or not :bluebudgie:

Yes, if you get him the new cage first, then you will have a spare cage to quarantine the new budgie in.

YAY !! Go for the bigger cage...wider rather than taller so he can fly across the cage from perch to perch. As for the friend ? Depends on if he would enjoy the interaction or become stressed by a new and livelier companion. Quarantine is ESSENTIAL for at least 30 days before the newcomer goes in with the older budgie. Too old for mating so I would choose another boy if you were going to get him a friend. No mirrors in the cage to become possessive of. Bigger cage means toys and fun. Go for the cage first and see how he gets along for awhile with space and toys and then think about a friend ...or not :hap:

 

Kaz hit it on the nail this would be my advise too exactly.

I have an old (8 or 9 years) male budgie who I inherited. Two questions. Should I get him a mate, and if so would an older female or a younger one be best and second, he has been in the same cage for all that time approximately 2feet cubed and I would like to get him a newer and larger cage. Just worried that too many changes may upset him. Any suggestions?? Thankyou. Peter. :hap:

Saturday...Hey folks, thankyou so much for your responses, and so prompt. I will get him the larger flight cage to start with and consider a buddy for him in the near future once he has settled in. The main reason for the friend is companionship while I'm at work, and the radio, even classic fm ABC which he loves is not the same as someone to have serious budgie conversations with. Take care all and once again, thankyou so much for your thoughts and concern, you are good people. :feedbirds: Cheers, Peter.

Just one suggestion with the cage is how well does he fly? Some older birds who have been kept in a smaller cage cna not fly that well. Having a bird (Harley) that has issues flying make sure that there are perches running around the edge of the cage so that he can get from one side to the other without having to cage walk or randomly throwing himself across the cage (Harley use to do this in his bigger cage and they can really hurt themselves when the crash)

 

Enjoy your older bird. Harley is 8 All my others are under 18 months however Harley has always had a mate with him for the last 4 years. Also he seems to get on better with Blue the other male then the females.

 

Good on you for taking on an older bird

YAY !! Go for the bigger cage...wider rather than taller so he can fly across the cage from perch to perch. As for the friend ? Depends on if he would enjoy the interaction or become stressed by a new and livelier companion. Quarantine is ESSENTIAL for at least 30 days before the newcomer goes in with the older budgie. Too old for mating so I would choose another boy if you were going to get him a friend. No mirrors in the cage to become possessive of. Bigger cage means toys and fun. Go for the cage first and see how he gets along for awhile with space and toys and then think about a friend ...or not :rip:

 

Kaz hit it on the nail this would be my advise too exactly.

 

congrats on your freshly aquired bird and may he bring you lots of joy!

Edited January 8, 200817 yr by KAZ

:ygbudgie: May he enjoy his larger cage and possibly future companion!