Do I need another Budgerigar?

[Ralph1Malph]

I gave my wife a young budgie for Christmas that I got from a breeder mate.
We had arranged for two, but unfortunately his dog skitzed out at something and crashed into his aviary letting most of the pairs and younguns out! He was only able to spare one for me.
I asked him whether it is better to have a pair ...to keep each other company... he said not if we train him to be human friendly and interact with him a bit.
That said, I don't want to buy another from a pet shop where the age and stock is uncertain, but don't want to wait until next breeding season and have two of different ages.

Any advice?

Ralph

[THE BOOGER]

if you want it to talk and be family friendly just 1 is ok they will treat you or your wife as their mate:D Also if you put a mirror in the cage they will spend all day talking to themselves in budgy and ignore you so no mirrors is a good idea:)

[meldrew]

I agree with what The Booger said, it will become more tame and be more likely to talk if it is an only budgie. If you did decide you wanted another one however, you can tell if they are young if they have a number of feathers, with dark bars of colour close together across the top of their head. As they get older the bars get further apart and disappear. If you do a search on the internet you may be able to find a club in your area, they would sell decent birds, and at a better price and health than pet shops usually.

[numpty]

There's a flock of around 500 out the back of the Fire Station here right now. Have been here all morning. I'm sure 1 or 2 wouldn't be missed :D

[THE BOOGER]

There's a flock of around 500 out the back of the Fire Station here right now. Have been here all morning. I'm sure 1 or 2 wouldn't be missed :D

Actually I occasionally but "bush budgies" as they are better breeders than domestic ones they increase the hardyness of my breeding stock.:D i buy from licensed places so not really from the bush I hope:angel:

[OffTrack]

If there is someone at home most of the time a single bird is probably ok, but if you are going to leave it by itself during the day I reckon you'd be better off with 2. They are very social and it's a bit cruel leaving them alone.

[Ralph1Malph]

If there is someone at home most of the time a single bird is probably ok, but if you are going to leave it by itself during the day I reckon you'd be better off with 2. They are very social and it's a bit cruel leaving them alone.

That's my concern, I work all the time and wifey most mornings. Of course the billy lids are at school. I might just leave him as a solo job for the time being. I can always introduce another later I suppose.

Ralph

[Jeff]

We started with one Budgie, he learned to talk and was very much part of the family. After he was involved in an accident and lost a leg we decided to get him a female companion. He became less involved with us and more with her until she escaped one day to join the wild bush Budgies but was soon replaced with another female. She learned some basic words and is much friendlier than her predecessor.

A Budgie breeder I work with recently offered me some he had that weren't up to show quality so now we have four. The male is becoming more and more friendly but the female is a nutcase and doesn't like us or the other birds and chases them around when we have them out together (they are in two cages).

They all have their own personality and whether two is better than one is dependant on them as much as you.

Jeff

:rocket:

[ramblingboy42]

time to listen to John Williamson's ...The Budgie Song
you will feel guilty and get another one.............

[d@rk51d3]

time to listen to John Williamson's ...The Budgie Song
you will feel guilty and get another one.............

:D

My first thought was "Bill the cat". :D

[scarry]

I would just have one,it will be OK.The other thing you can do is let him out & he will get very tame,particularly if the kids spend a lot of time with him.Best time to have him out of the cage is at night,they are sared of the dark so will only stay in the lit areas of the house.He will also start talking as he gets tamer.
If you want to also clip his wings if you are worried he may escape.

Good luck