Parakeets

[IzzyBizzy]

So my boyfriend is looking to get one/two Parakeets, BUT when he goes out of town I'd be watching his baby/ies. If he gets one I don't want the Parakeet to get attached to being around Kiwi and Gabby that when the baby goes back to my boyfriend he/she gets depressed.


Do you all recommend him getting two so they don't get lonely?

Plus he works full time and has a part time job, so hes out of the house Monday-Friday from 5:30 am - 9:30 pm.

His dad would also be watching the birds too when hes out, ideas/tips.

 

[Tarnation]

In that situation, where your boyfriend is working all the time, it would probably be best to get two. If he still wants them tame, maybe get already tame babies from a breeder. That way they will still interact with your bf, but will have each other whilst he's not home.
Although pretty much all birds are flock creatures, budgies especially and really like companions, particularly if there isn't a human to be their companion pretty much all day.
They're sweeties to watch and so little that two doesn't cost that much more than one to keep, so for their sake I would recommend two. Mostly male, as they're less likely to fight or breed- unless that is the intention.

 

[IzzyBizzy]

It'll be hard because no one in our area breeds Parakeets. We'd have to take about a 2-3 hour drive to the nearest breeder, so he'd be getting them from Petsmart or Petco.

 

[Vincent]

My family got a budgie last September, then another one last month. When we had only the first one, he spent a lot of time playing with his toys and was steadily getting tamer. He sometimes screamed for a couple of minutes, which I interpreted as longing for more companionship. When we got the second bird, they bonded right away. It threw a bit of a wrench in our bond with the first bird, but he hasn't dumped us. More importantly, he seems much more content now (less screaming and more expressive personality and bird behavior).

 

[pinkdagger]

I think generally, especially with birds, they do better with same-species companionship. They don't even have to be housed together, but just having another bird around can do wonders. This is especially important if the humans frequently aren't/won't be around.

 

[Coki]

I believe budgies are one of the most dependant birds you'll find out there. It's true what Pinkdagger says, most birds do better with companion of their same specie, but in my opinion, budgies do need a couple.


You can buy one, tame it, and then bring a couple for it, but most of time is better to tame two budgies than one. They copy everything their couple does, specially males, so if you tame one, the other will be tamed aswell. A lonely bird (Same with clipped ones) may be more insecure and may dislike human contact even more that if it has a companion. They're most of the day with their couple and love to follow their mate everywhere, atleast that is what happens with my eight budgies. If they're bonded, they won't leave their couple alone for more than five minutes a day, lol.


So yeah, i recommend you getting two (A female-male, or male-male, never two females, they tend to rant a lot, specially if they don't have enough space in their cage. Though there are exceptions for this) really young budgies, that way it's easier to tame them. Females tend to be more territorial and unconfident, since it's their nature, they have to protect their nests and their babies.


Also, you also need to know they're not the “cuddly” kind of birds, they can hop on you and play with your clothes/hair/whatever you have on you, but they don't like to be petted, they prefer their couple to have that privilege.


Budgies are wonderful birds, they're really fun to be watched and if tamed they're really good companions to interact with. You won't regret getting a couple

 

[IzzyBizzy]

Thanks guys. He's really excited. Looking for young males now in the NOVA (Northern VA) area.

The cage he'd get its about 18x18x17 so it is pretty small, but I think its a good size for him to start out with.

 

[Vincent]

The cage he'd get its about 18x18x17 so it is pretty small, but I think its a good size for him to start out with.

Has he seen Petco's 18x18x30 "finch cage" that sells for $50? It's a great size for two budgies.

 

[Coki]

I was thinking and maybe if your boyfriend isn't sure of which bird will suit him better i recommend a bourke parakeet. I don't have one yet, but they're more active at dawn and dusk, plus they're not so dependant and can be alone as long as you give it some attention hours, like any bird. They're really quiet and easy to tame. They may be a little shy but they're not agressive and hardly bite. They are not destructive but they do need to fly lot so the cage should be bigger. They don't play much with toys, and if they do they like toys that are easy to chew.

Budgies though are a great choise, they're really really fun to play and interact with. I'd suggest to get firsly two instead on one, even if you're going to buy a couple later. They're much confident if they're together than alone and if they're young they will be easy to tame, especially if tou've two males. But it's just an opinion though, make sure you upload pics once you get them :-D

 

[IzzyBizzy]

Well he loves Kiwi and Gabby, the bad thing about the Bourke Parakeets is when their most active. His mom goes to sleep early, and is awake early too. Plus the Petco's Parakeets he just wants colorful ones. Damn picky boy.

 

[Coki]

What a pitty. Well, then i wish him luck with their budgies and don't forget to post pics!

 

[gibsongrrrl]

So my boyfriend is looking to get one/two Parakeets, BUT when he goes out of town I'd be watching his baby/ies. If he gets one I don't want the Parakeet to get attached to being around Kiwi and Gabby that when the baby goes back to my boyfriend he/she gets depressed.


Do you all recommend him getting two so they don't get lonely?

Plus he works full time and has a part time job, so hes out of the house Monday-Friday from 5:30 am - 9:30 pm.

His dad would also be watching the birds too when hes out, ideas/tips.

one thing i would be concerned about with those long hours is that the birds wouldn't get enough sleep unless someone else was getting them up or putting them to bed, or if he only saw them on the weekends. They need, at the very least, 10 hours of dark and quiet. That means, they'd need to be in bed by 7:30 if he got them up at 5:30. Not saying he shouldn't get them, just wanted to mention it.

 

[IzzyBizzy]

Trying to hard, and gibsongrrrl his room is pretty dark until the sun is fully up in the sky. So the babies would be fine with the dark time, I also plan to get them like a little hut too. Just I know I need to hep him find 2 males. How do I tell the sex of Parakeets? My Lovebird was easy, but I don't know about Parakeets

 

[Lady Jane]

My heart felt suggestion to you is to stay away from Pet store birds and take that long drive. The birds from a breeder are easily trained and generally m ore healthy.

 

[lotus15]

I absolutely love budgies and think they are some of the most special birds That said, 18x18 is truly much, much too small a cage for two of them. That's the minimum recommended cage size for a single budgie, and for two it would most certainly not be enough space. I would recommend as big as you can go but a good rule of thumb is a minimum of 18x30. It's particularly important that they have space when he works such long hours and won't be able to give them any out of cage time.

 

[camelotshadow]

Maybe try to find a bird store closer by.
Think someone just got a nice keet at a local pet shop so could get lucky.

I found a nice english spangle or mix at a local bird store.
They had reg keets too.
They were young but not babies & parent raised. So not tame
I took a big chance that I could handle the tame & luckily its going great esp for 5 days
Still don't think it would have went so well if she weren't clipped.
She'd have the edge by being able to fly away & good luck catching her.
Now all she can do is fly to floor & run around. I just bend down & pick her up with li struggle.
Now she will even get on my finger.
Were doing good
She already stands by the door waiting to come out & jumps on my finger.

Mine luckily is a very steady bird. Not flighty even the vacumn noise doesn't bother her.
Sometimes she chirps to it.

 

[Coki]

All my birds were bought from pet stores, and yes, it took months to tame them and i am still working on it. I don't know how people have birds in pet stores in the usa, all i know is it feels really good when you give them a better life. If you don't buy your budgie from a breeder someone will eventually do so, but i on't know if people will buy them from a pet store.

It takes a lot of time to tame them, you will probably lose your patient sometimes, but all you have to do is keep trying and never, EVER, get mad at your bird.

Young males have pinkinsh-purple ceres without any white. Adults have blue cere without white near to their nasal foses.

Females have light blue with a lot of white next to their breathing holes and they can have brown or white too. When they're hormonal they've a strong-blackish brown with a woody texture.

I also recommend bigger cage for two!

 

[IzzyBizzy]

Well, I'm looking still. I only have the 18x18 because its a spare cage. I could give him Gabby's cage, but I don't want Kiwi to get all evil on me.

I'm also looking on CL and some keets come with medium cages. Hopefully I'll find a nice priced one.