Companion for Budgie?

[Yinx]

Hi all,

I posted a message sometime ago about my adoption of a 4 mth old male budgie. Well, the budgie has been with me for abt 3 weeks now, & is housed alone in a 28cm (length) X 35cm (height) X 22cm (width) bird cage.

My budgie will chirp very loudly whenever he hears the sounds of other wild birds chirping. This happens at various times of the day (esp. in the evening). It seems to me as if he's trying to communicate with the other birds.

I don't want him to feel lonely (I cannot afford to play with him all day, as my school holidays are ending soon), & am thinking of getting him a companion.

Here are my questions :
1) Is the cage too cramped for 2 budgies? My male budgie is an American budgie, & I will be getting a similar sized friend for it.

2) Should I get a male or a female budgie? I've read in budgie bks that budgies can get territorial, so is it safer to get a female budgie to keep him company?

3) Should I get a budgie younger than my present budgie? Or does the age not matter?

I've not managed to successfully tame my budgie yet - he does perch on my hand, but only after much coaxing! My budgie was raised amongst a colony of birds, & has never been hand tamed before.

Honestly, I'm not that keen on getting another bird. However, if it is in the best interests of my budgie, I do not mind doing so. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you!



[This message has been edited by Yinx (edited 12-17-2000).]

[Brown]

Hello Yinx,

I do not have a budgie, but a canary. My canary has the same interest as your budgie... chirping loudly when he hears other birds, there are kept by my neighbours.

It seems like the birds chirp to each other, obviously communicating. But i didn't get another canary for mine, as i think he is too old to adapt to a new friend. I think he is slight more than 10 years old. He seems to enjoy himself too, even though he doesn't have a companion in his cage. He still chirps happily and hopping around in his cage and singing.

[rbird]

Hello Yinx,
we have a 4/5 you male who talks, is finger trained, sits on my shoulder and lives a very comfortable life. They are quite happy to be alone once trained but do demand about 30 min attention every day.
You will get the best result if you say the same word over and over until he picks it up then he will add to his vocabulary. it is apparently important to use a voice similar in pitch to a woman's they seem to latch onto it quicker. They actually (talk) using their throats not mouths.I am a bit concerned about the size of your cage. We have one 45cm (w)X 35cm (deep) X 50cm (h)in dimension. He is able to jump around all he wants and we have given him three different sized perches made from local eucalypt trees to give him variety for his feet.
If you add another bird he will probably not pay attention to you and will not learn to talk.
hope this helps

Ross and Dorothy
Melbourne,Aust.