Budgie or love bird

[katrenia]

Okay, I've narrowed my bird search down to two birds. I can't decide between a handfed budgie and a handfed love bird.

I love them both in every way and at this point I'm so stuck. I love the talking potential of a budgie, which is something I never cared about in birds before hearing their adorable voices. Of course if my bird doesn't talk I'll still love them. And I like the colors
Of the lovebird better.

I am fully prepared to spend $200 on a budgie that's handfed and understand the search will take a little longer.

If people could tell me their experiences bonding with budgies that would be great. I really want a bird I can bond with, and I'm a stay at home wife so I have the time to spend bonding.

 

[Miss_sj]

I can't comment on lovebirds as I've never had one, but I LOVE having budgies. I started with one non handfed male budgie, and I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but we somehow muddled through with the help of my vet and this board. After roughly 2 weeks, he suddenly realised we were his friends, and that was it- he was completely friendly. Ever since we've been good friends he loves riding on my shoulder, chatting to me and just being with me. We then got his baby sister more recently. She isn't as tame, but will fly to us. She likes to chew on my jewellery. Flynn talks really well, in fact, sometimes we ga have to be careful what we say around him. Budgies are friendly, cheeky, full of mischief and fun- they are awesome!

One thing I'd say is they are very social-its well worth considering a pair of budgies so they can be friends.

 

[katrenia]

I can't comment on lovebirds as I've never had one, but I LOVE having budgies. I started with one non handfed male budgie, and I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but we somehow muddled through with the help of my vet and this board. After roughly 2 weeks, he suddenly realised we were his friends, and that was it- he was completely friendly. Ever since we've been good friends he loves riding on my shoulder, chatting to me and just being with me. We then got his baby sister more recently. She isn't as tame, but will fly to us. She likes to chew on my jewellery. Flynn talks really well, in fact, sometimes we ga have to be careful what we say around him. Budgies are friendly, cheeky, full of mischief and fun- they are awesome!

One thing I'd say is they are very social-its well worth considering a pair of budgies so they can be friends.

I have officially chosen to go with a budgie. They are a little more suitable for apartment life. And you made me feel better about their personalities. I want a bird I can bond with, but also has lots of fun! Thank you very much for your reply.

 

[Miss_sj]

I love their little personalities. Having two, its so much more obvious! They are very sweet despite being so cheeky

 

[Zara]

I just posted on your other thread so I´ll sopy the message here:

I would like to add that budgies really do like to be in pairs or groups, so maaybe you could consider two birds. A lone lovebird would be ok alone only if you have a lot of time to spend with them (as any lone bird needs).

If you change your mind and go the lovebird route, get an unclipped male peach faced

Love bird or budgie

Okay, I've narrowed my bird search down to two birds. I can't decide between a handfed budgie and a handfed love bird. I love them both in every way and at this point I'm so stuck. I love the talking potential of a budgie, which is something I never cared about in birds before hearing their...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Budgiebonkers]

if a single budgie gets allot of attention they don't need a friend

 

[Lori D Pert]

Budgies are full of personality and very curious little birds by nature. Getting a hand fed one may make taming easier but you really must invest the time to completely tame a budgie in order to bond with it. If you want one that is "open" to taming look for a sweet little baby who is playful and curious and interested in you at the breeders/petstore. Boy or girl doesn't matter. If a sole budgie you need one that is open to human bonding. Most will tame if enough time is invested and you allow them to be a part of your "flock" but some just do need a budgie friend. If to be a solo budgie that means being home most days to interact with your bird. Allowing free flight within your house so birdproofing is a must. Budgies can be noisy, even a sole one so keep this in mind if in an apartment. My little girl was the 6 week old baby at the breeders who was hanging upside down from the aviary cage having a great time practicing her flying, ignoring the other budgies. This was the one that got my attention. She tamed in 2 weeks. So yes, personality does matter...lol

 

[katrenia]

Budgies are full of personality and very curious little birds by nature. Getting a hand fed one may make taming easier but you really must invest the time to completely tame a budgie in order to bond with it. If you want one that is "open" to taming look for a sweet little baby who is playful and curious and interested in you at the breeders/petstore. Boy or girl doesn't matter. If a sole budgie you need one that is open to human bonding. Most will tame if enough time is invested and you allow them to be a part of your "flock" but some just do need a budgie friend. If to be a solo budgie that means being home most days to interact with your bird. Allowing free flight within your house so birdproofing is a must. Budgies can be noisy, even a sole one so keep this in mind if in an apartment. My little girl was the 6 week old baby at the breeders who was hanging upside down from the aviary cage having a great time practicing her flying, ignoring the other budgies. This was the one that got my attention. She tamed in 2 weeks. So yes, personality does matter...lol

Thanks for the reply, I'm a stay at home wife so I actually get a little stir crazy. I honestly don't have the energy for people lol and definitely prefer animals so a single bird might be great for me. My husband also has serious animal allergies. He is allergic to cockatoos but we tested with other bird breeds and he doesn't have a problem. We want to start with a single bird and assess the individual birds needs for now.

 

[katrenia]

if a single budgie gets allot of attention they don't need a friend

Thanks for the reply, I'm a stay at home wife so I actually get a little stir crazy. I honestly don't have the energy for people lol and definitely prefer animals so a single bird might be great for me. My husband also has serious animal allergies. He is allergic to cockatoos but we tested with other bird breeds and he doesn't have a problem. We want to start with a single bird and assess the individual birds needs for now.

 

[katrenia]

I just posted on your other thread so I´ll sopy the message here:

Love bird or budgie

Okay, I've narrowed my bird search down to two birds. I can't decide between a handfed budgie and a handfed love bird. I love them both in every way and at this point I'm so stuck. I love the talking potential of a budgie, which is something I never cared about in birds before hearing their...

forums.avianavenue.com

Thanks for the reply, My husband has serious animal allergies. He's allergic to cats, rabbits/rodents, and short hair dog breeds, all cause breathing problems. He is allergic to cockatoos but we tested with other bird breeds and he doesn't have a problem with them, he even sniffed a conure and was totally allergy free. Still I always try to be careful. 1 bird could have no affect and then two could be enough allergen. We want to start with a single bird and assess the individual birds needs for now. We probably will end up with another budgie but we'll take our time.

 

[katrenia]

I love their little personalities. Having two, its so much more obvious! They are very sweet despite being so cheeky

Yes, that's definitely what won me over. I love watching little budgie bath videos. I like how they constantly chatter too.(just like me) They seem so energetic and fun to watch fly and play.

 

[katrenia]

Thanks for the reply, My husband has serious animal allergies. He's allergic to cats, rabbits/rodents, and short hair dog breeds, all cause breathing problems. He is allergic to cockatoos but we tested with other bird breeds and he doesn't have a problem with them, he even sniffed a conure and was totally allergy free. Still I always try to be careful. 1 bird could have no affect and then two could be enough allergen. We want to start with a single bird and assess the individual birds needs for now. We probably will end up with another budgie but we'll take our time.

Also I'm all day I'm basically only gone on Saturdays. I would say I easily have 5+ hours to spend on a bird a day.

 

[Zara]

He is allergic to cockatoos but we tested with other bird breeds and he doesn't have a problem with them, he even sniffed a conure and was totally allergy free. Still I always try to be careful. 1 bird could have no affect and then two could be enough allergen.

Maybe it is because Cockatoos are Old world parrots and conures are New world parrots. The old world parrots are the dusty ones. Lovebirds and budgies are both Old world parrots.
Sounds like maybe you should be looking more toward a Parrotlet or Conure, as both are small new world parrots

 

[katrenia]

Maybe it is because Cockatoos are Old world parrots and conures are New world parrots. The old world parrots are the dusty ones. Lovebirds and budgies are both Old world parrots.
Sounds like maybe you should be looking more toward a Parrotlet or Conure, as both are small new world parrots

That's interesting, do you have any links with info on that by chance? We researched for about a year now and budgies have always been the #1 bird suggested for my husbands allergies. That doesn't mean it's true there's lots of misinformation, it's just what I've read.

 

[Lori D Pert]

It would depend on how severe your husband's allergies are. My son always used to react to our cockatiel but no problem at all with the budgies

 

[katrenia]

It would depend on how severe your husband's allergies are. My son always used to react to our cockatiel but no problem at all with the budgies

He hasn't shown any allergies to any other birds but the birds known for being dust birds. I would take him to a pet store for budgies but he's allergic to the other animals in the pet store. I took him to a bird store (which doesn't have budgies, the birds that are there belong to the owner) and he did perfectly fine until a cockatoo caught our attention and we started playing with him. There were three types of birds we were looking at and interacting with outside of the cockatoo too. We are 100% sure it was the cockatoo because he put his face on the other birds and spent like 40 minutes with a conure but as soon as he touched that cockatoo he was done.