Inanimate "friend"

[Drewa]

I have written elsewhere about my budgie Muffin who I have had for 2 weeks. She didn't seem to be settling in and was still very scared whenever I did anything inside her cage. She just looked miserable and bored, not going anywhere near her toys. I'm pretty well decided I will get her a budgie companion but I want to get one from the same breeder and it will be a few weeks until he has any available. In the meantime something had to be done to improve her quality of life.

I found this on the internet (

) and played it and Muffin immediately reacted in a way she doesn't when I play just budgies chirping. I thought maybe it would be a passable companion for the time being and so, with some trepidation, I bought one. It came on Friday but for some reason I was reluctant to put it in her cage. Then yesterday I found a bright pink plastic budgie that I had bought some time ago and decided to put that in the cage to gauge her reaction. Last night she kept looking at it, sidling along the perch in that direction and chirping at it..

This morning I had to go out for quite a while so left Muffin with the TV on for company. When I returned I found a much happier bird who, when she wasn't sitting next to pink bird was having wonderful fun on her swing (previously ignored). So I bit the bullet, moved pink bird to another perch, and put the new one where she had been. Muffin was there straight away. I set it off making a noise a few times but after that it was up to her and she is beginning to learn and has made it chirp quite a few times, though maybe doesn't really quite understand how/why. But since it went in she has sat right next to it and exhibited preening behaviour I've never seen her do before.

I am so glad she is so much happier but I do realise that a plastic chirping budgie cannot replace the live variety, so I am even more sure now that I will get another!!

 

[Linus]

If you buy a parakeet from the same breeder and they are related there is a higher risk that babies will have deformities.

 

[suparnovajuice]

She looks like a lovely bird. I think some budgies do ok by themselves and some just need to have a friend of their own kind. Not a bad thing though, twice the number of budgies, twice the fun

Is there anyone else locally you can get a another one from? I see lots of adds online for budgies at the moment on pre-loved / gumtree (I love browsing birds for sale online, but no more for me right now - I keep telling myself!), including some lovely hand fed babies who all seem to be up't north, but might depend on your transport situation etc.

 

[Drewa]

If you buy a parakeet from the same breeder and they are related there is a higher risk that babies will have deformities.

But would there be any negatives to doing it if they didn't have babies?

 

[greys4u]

2 sides to the coin, the two may hate each other or if it is a male, nature will take its course

 

[Drewa]

Small changes I know but we are making some progress. Yesterday I let her out to have a fly around. It took her 45 mins to decide to leave the cage and I got her back when she came to feed - her bowl is attached to the door of the cage so I just gently closed it. Today she was out much longer but finally succumbed to the delights of millet! Later on I was just touching her perch with one finger and slowly moved it along towards her. I couldn't believe it when she let me touch her foot and then did "step up" with that one foot. You are almost holding your breath at the sheer honour of this "wild" bird starting to trust you!

 

[NirAntae]

It's such a wonderful feeling, isn't it? :-D

A lot of budgies are much happier with companionship. They are the reason so many 'small parrot' toys have mirrors (it's a bad idea for many other small parrot species). Glad the plastic companion is helping her for now!