I would love some help from the budgie experts! My husband and I went to check out a pet shop nearby us and couldn't resist looking at the baby budgies that were there!

 

We discovered a very sweet budgie that unfortunately had had its wings clipped. The lady at the shop said that people had come into the shop, selected the budgie and asked for its wings to be clipped to be hand tamed. They have since rung the pet show to say that they no longer want the budgie! I was horrified and wanted to take the budgie home with me BUT I already am the lucky owner of a beautiful male budgie who is around 15 weeks old. I have had him since he was six weeks old and I love Smuggler to bits! He is trained and a talker and delights my husband and me with new words that he has learnt.

 

Would anyone please be able to answer the following questions that I have so that I can make a decision about loving and caring for a new budgie?

 

The budgie with the clipped wings is 6 - 8 weeks old and the lady at the pet shop is at least 95% certain that the budgie is female. So my questions are:

 

1. What are the negatives of introducing a new budgie?

2. Is there a quarantine period for introducing a new budgie; Is it best to have them in separate cages?

3. Do male and female budgies get along?

4. Would a pecking order be established and is the female ususally dominant?

5. Will Smuggler still be able to talk if a new budgie is introduced?

6. Do clipped wings grow back? I am under the impression from the lady at the pet shop that the budgie will never be able to fly, it will glide only.

 

Sorry for the amount of questions, just would love help and any other advice that people consider relevant to help me with my decision. The lady at the pet shop assures me that if not sold, they will hand tame the budgie and sell it as a hand tamed budgie. Would this be in the budgies best interest?

 

Thank you!!

Edited May 1, 200817 yr by KAZ

Hello and welcome

 

Firstly... never believe what a petshop says. If they think that the budgie will not fly again after having a wing clip, then they definantly dont know how to sex baby budgies either hehehehe.

 

1. What are the negatives of introducing a new budgie?

- Your current budgie will not bond as closely to you

- Your current budgie will mimic speach less, if at all.

 

Positives

- Your current budgie wont be lonely when you are out/at work

- You have twice the birds to love

 

2. Is there a quarantine period for introducing a new budgie; Is it best to have them in separate cages?

- Quarantine is 30 days in seperate rooms, and being careful not to spread germs and dust from one bird to the other on clothing etc.

 

3. Do male and female budgies get along?

- Yes, but i find the relationship between two males is less complicated as there is not breeding and hormonal female issues - yes it's the same with budgies hehehehe

 

4. Would a pecking order be established and is the female ususally dominant?

- Pecking order is not too bad with budgies, but its always best to have at leat 2 feeding dishes at the same height, but in a different spot, so there are no fights over who eats first.

 

5. Will Smuggler still be able to talk if a new budgie is introduced?

- He will be able to talk, but he probably wont if he is living with another bird. Talking comes from bonding, and if he bonds with a bird rather than you he will talk to his bird friend instead.

 

6. Do clipped wings grow back? I am under the impression from the lady at the pet shop that the budgie will never be able to fly, it will glide only.

- Hhahaha, petshops are hopeless !!! Yes! the wing feathers will grow back when the new budgie goes through a moult and she will be able to fly

Edited May 1, 200817 yr by **Liv**

Hello and welcome to BBC, Liv has covered everything most excellently!! You can get that other budgie, just quarantine it and in that time period, you can step up the one on one training before they are put together. In the meantime, really work with your other budgie that is not all that old to begin with. Do check out our FAQ section as there is lots of information that you would probably appreciate. And we love pictures, check out our sizing requirements by checking on my signature. Again, welcome to the forum!

Thank you Liv! You've definitely helped me! I would LOVE another budgie but I LOVE my little person (budgie) already, especially the way that he has bonded with me. Quite different from any other budgie I've ever had before! I think that it would be sad to complicate things for him. I know what some females can be like! I will think good thoughts that the other budgie goes to a lovely home! I am sure that it will!

 

Thanks again for your time I really appreciate it!

Edited May 1, 200817 yr by KAZ

I have 3 birds together. Two males and a female (in the house) Both males are talkers, one is more so that the other. They will still talk and if you continue to spend time with them, they will still come to you.

 

I have no problems with mating as they don't have a nest box to lay eggs in.

 

I have 3 inside too. 2 boys and a girl

 

Mine are tame and come to me, sit on my shoulder etc. but they are not the lovely smoochy tame you get from having a solo budgie.

It sounds like you've already been given some great advice already... so I'll just pop in and say hello and welcome to the forums... I'd love to see a picture of your 'Smuggler' (LOVE the name too )

I LOVE the name too Would it be the other half of the phrase budgie smuggler ?

Hi, welcome to the forums

 

l would love to see some pictures of your budgie.

Edited May 1, 200817 yr by birdluv

Hello to Birdluv, Kaz, Maesie, Daz, Phoebe and Liv :dbb1:

 

Thank you all for welcoming me to the forum and for your advice. I appreciate your time!

 

In answer to your question Kaz we did name him keeping the phrase "budgie smuggler" in mind - we thought it was sweet. Glad you like the name. I have been asked to include a picture by Birdluv - I am still trying to work this out but I hope to post a picture soon! :budgiedance:

 

Thanks again for your time and advice!

lol :budgiedance:

If you need help with posting a picture, you can click on my signature, "how to post pictures" :dbb1:

Hello again Birdluv!

 

Here we go! This is smuggler at around 6 weeks old. I would like to take some more photos over the weekend to show you, he's alot more grown up now. There are so many beautiful looking budgies on this website! I am beginning to change my mind at only having one! Do you know what breed he is? Thanks again, have a great weekend

 

he is a beauty

he looks like a spangle violet.

Smuggler is gorgeous.

 

Just a word of warning that budgies are addictive. I started with 1 and now have 4. If you do get another one the good thing is he will have a friend to talk to when you're away from home.

Hi Vicky

 

Thank you for the word of warning! I will have to be careful I think! By the way, do you have male and female budgies? If so, were (are) your males talkers? Do they still talk?

 

I think I would like another male budgie. If I get one what should I do to make them both become talkers?

 

Daz I see that you have two male budgies, what did you do to make them both be talkers! Do you have to keep them in quarantine for a longer period of time and complete similar training like I did for Smuggler?

 

Thanks Vicky and (Daz, if you read this!)

i have 2 tame male budgies that are both talkers, i had my first boy for 12 months before i introduced the other male and i made sure i talked to them heaps and the second male a couple of months ago starting talking.

Hi Deb

 

Thanks for your reply ! You are lucky to have two male talkers! Are they together in a cage or have you kept them separate?

 

Thanks again!

Hi Deb

 

Thanks for your reply ! You are lucky to have two male talkers! Are they together in a cage or have you kept them separate?

 

Thanks again!

 

 

they are in the same cage, they are very close, they preen each other and feed each other. when they are out of their cage they both love sitting on my shoulder together.

Thanks Deb!

 

You've made it very difficult for me not to want two little boys now! :feedbirds:

it is a hard decision, i love budgies so much that i could not have just one and i love watching the way they relate to each other. They are addictive, when i joined this forum 5 months ago i had 2 tame budgies and 5 in a aviary, i now have 16 in my avairy.

HI there

 

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I have been a little flat out in the past few days. I have 3 male budgies and 1 female. Unfortunately my male budgies are not talkers. They prefer bird language.

 

If you have one male budgie you have a better chance of getting him to talk. It can be possible to get 2 male budgies to talk but could be harder to do because they may rather talk in bird language to each other.

 

If you want 2 male budgies to talk I suggest that you spend lots of time with Smuggler and talk to him heaps and then when he can talk introduce a second budgie. Some budgies end up not being talkers at all no matter how much they are trained. I think it all depends on the temperament of the budgie.

 

It's a hard decision I know as to whether to get another. When I bought my first (George) he would hear birds outside singing and would want to be with them. I felt sorry for him and got another budgie for him so he could have a friend. This made him very happy and from there I bought another 2 and now have 4.

 

Good luck with it all. Let us know Smugglers progress and if you decide to get another

male budgie.

 

Hi Vicky

 

Thank you for the word of warning! I will have to be careful I think! By the way, do you have male and female budgies? If so, were (are) your males talkers? Do they still talk?

 

I think I would like another male budgie. If I get one what should I do to make them both become talkers?

 

Daz I see that you have two male budgies, what did you do to make them both be talkers! Do you have to keep them in quarantine for a longer period of time and complete similar training like I did for Smuggler?

 

Thanks Vicky and (Daz, if you read this!)