adding a budgie friend

[pamie]

we have a new parakeet for a month now (it is still a baby with lines down to it's cere) - my son wants to get it a friend (it is doing wonderful with taming and comes out to play 1 hr a day) since he is at school all day and feels sorry for it being alone. we can't tell yet if it is a male or female...my question is when we go to get it a friend does it matter if they end up being 2 males, 2 females, or one of each (we aren't interested in breeding)? we will try to get the youngest we can find as this seems to help in the taming (they have their wings already clipped.
i plan on getting an 18x18 cage and putting the 2 birds in their own cages next to each other til they are acquainted - is this a good idea? - how long til they go in the same cage?

[crazy4birds]

Well first what color is the cere? and it doesn't matter whether u get 2 two females or 2 males...its just that normally males get along better than females knowing that females tend to bicker more then the males and the males r most of the time easier to tame....good luck with the new bird! 8)

[pamie]

well - the cere is kinda a faded pink - it could be a faded purple - like blue - we really can't tell!! i know when they get older the boys will be blue and the girls pink or brown - but he's really too young for me to differentiate right now. it does look like white rings around the nostrils - i heard this could be a girl then - wish it was easier!
thanks for your help! - what if we end up with a girl and boy? - will they constantly lay eggs?! - that can't be good for a female.
we will pick one at petco since they will give us 15 days to see if the 2 birds get along - if not they will let us exchange it - i think that will be good.
what do u think we should do - put each bird in it's own cage next to each other and if they seem friendly after a few days put them together - which bird goes in which cage?

[crazy4birds]

Well it all depends....i would put them in a seperate cage until u can tell whether they r the same sex or not and if they aren't the same sex then i would keep them seperate but next to each other so they can at least have some one to talk to and see that they aren't all alone.....good luck w/ the new bird

[Monica]

First off, I'd say it's much better to buy from a breeder if you can find one (and they usually only charge you $5-$15 for a baby), second, you should quarantine the new budgie for 30 days (and get it vet checked, or both if you haven't gotten the first one as well, just a general check-up atleast, and try to find an avian vet in your area who does not overcharge... general check-ups usually charge $56 and less, and they are well worth it). Keeping them separate makes sure that neither of the birds is carrying any illness. It actually helps you as well!

Females usually have a white cere (may have blue or tan on it as well), that turns crusty brown as they mature. Males will usually have pink ceres that may turn blue or purplish in color as they mature... It does sound like you may have a female, though tis hard to tell as of now.

If you end up with a male and a female, and don't want them to breed, then keep them in separate cages, never give them anything that can trigure breeding behavior (i.e. nestbox, nesting material, nothing with a hood over it such as feeding dishes that they can fit in, and especially no mirrors).

When you quaratine the new budgie in a separate room away from your first budgie, you can start the new budgies taming process, and this will give you a better chance that both birds will like to interact with you instead of ending up interacting with eachother first making it even harder to tame the second bird...

[cezanne]

I totally agree...NEVER buy Budgies from PetCo, PetSmart or any other chain store. They're colony bred JUNK. Please buy from a reputable breeder, they will give you the same guarantee if they're worth their salt as a breeder.

[cezanne]

Monica, I'm curious. I've never heard of the mirror triggering a breeder, is that common?

[Monica]

I'm not sure where my budgie Cosmo came from, but I believe Smurf was bought from PetSuperMarket in 98 or 99... Smurf is in his second home, and Cosmo in his third... Most budgies are colony/aviary bred, and I don't believe that they are junk (though birds straight from breeders tend to be of better quality/health than petstore bought birds... and there are a few rare stores who actually take care of their birds properly)...

About mirrors, some birds end up trying to feed the other "bird" and regurgitate to the mirror... They can't obviously mate with the "other bird" however, mirrors can and have caused many problems in pet birds, whether kept single or in pairs, etc... I'm strongly against mirrors and birds...

[Joel]

Hi Cezanne,

I kinda disagree with your comment about a breeder being worth his/her "salt" if they give a guarantee that they will take back a bird if it does not "get along" with another bird of one of their customers. Breeders can not always do this as they must re-quarantine that bird if it returns for obvious reasons and that can be both time consuming etc.........Who knows what it could have picked up in even just a few hours at the new home. I personally probably would not do that and I am reputable in my neck of the woods. Also, if someone wants a particular sex then they should make sure that they are getting what they are looking for before they pay for it and if that is not possible then they themselves should find a good home for the bird that they buy or purchase another bird or two to match up with each of their lonely birds etc.......JMHO....

I agree with Monica on the junk comment although I also agree that reputable breeders have better quality usually, as a rule.

[cezanne]

I can see your point Joel, I guess I'm just the type that if I sell a bird to someone I'd rather have it back than have it beat up or something else more tragic happen to it. Of course, I also believe that this 'guarantee' should be agreed upon at the time of purchase, it shouldn't be a blanket policy. I guess I was a bit vague...
As far as chain store birds in my opinion being junk, I conceed that there could be a store somewhere that has nice birds, but the ones I have seen here are "junk".
To Monica, now that you mention it I have seen birds regurgitate on mirrors, I wasn't sure what you were referring to in your post. Personally I wouldn't subject a bird to that kind of torture :)