New budgie or not, and what/how/when?

[DanF]

I have a female budgie I've adopted 11 months ago. I was told she was around 1 year old at that time, so by now she's close to 2.

To describe the bird's character: both myself and my partner work from home, and her cage is in between us almost the whole day. We move her cage around to wherever we are, other than during the night. She's a very quiet bird, but mostly interacts with us via chirping. In most cases she starts the "conversation", especially when we haven't interacted for a long time (and she might get a little bit angry if we don't respond hehe). She also stays in the closest place to us literally the whole time. The cage is open 24/7, but she never gets out, yet she looks to be comfortable and happy roaming around and occasionally flying from one side to another. She lets us pet her, but she never got interested in coming on our fingers, although she does get on our hands for food.

I am now thinking of getting another budgie. Whenever I had budgies when I was younger, I never had them alone, always had 2. And I am also aware they are naturally better in a flock. So, more so than for our benefit of having another lovely bird, it's more for her.

So the question is, should I got ahead and find her a buddy?
If yes, I was thinking of getting a relatively young one, maybe less than a year old so it will also get used to us humans and perhaps it would be easier to tame.
Also, does it matter what sex we go for?
If we get a male, I guess there is also the chance of them mating at some point? Cause I am not prepared for this in terms of knowledge (as I never gone through it before).
If there is the possibility of them mating, does it matter of the budgie's colours?
Also, I guess it would be best to get a second cage so they are separate for a day or two until they get used to each other?

I appreciate any other tips Thank you

 

[Chatot5]

Curious to see what others say. We have a female budgie, who loves people. She will sit with you and fly around the house. Also very very quiet. After about a year and a half, we got another budgie so she would have a friend.
Both are girls and I would say mere acquaintances. They each have their own flight cage, and interactions when they are out are very minimal. They like to both fly around together. And will flock call if one is in another room. But other than that, you rarely see them sitting next to each other. They definitely don’t preen each other. I’d say it seems the newer one is more interested in being friends, and Chatot (original budgie) really isn’t having it. She will constantly just move away from the other one. It’s been about 6 months now, so I think they are just going to be neighbors for life.
So yes, most people, even our vet say they prefer company, but I honestly have not seen any signs that she’s any happier having another bird here. Although, maybe it would have been different if it was a boy.

 

[DanF]

Thanks for your feedback

 

[sunnysmom]

The rescue I help with always adopts budgies out in pairs unless the adopter already has a budgie. They really seem to be very flock oriented and enjoy having a buddy.

 

[GreenThing]

There is always some risk when you add a new bird (even though that risk is much lower with budgies than other species)-- it's good to be prepared for them not to get along, you'll need to quarantine and take time introducing them, etc. Adding a male or female could present unique challenges-- or it might not!-- depends more on personality than gender. You might want to work on hand-taming her more before adding another, but that's another unknowable-- the new budgie might influence her to stick with the new bird and not be as motivated to socialize with you, or it might bring her out of her shell. So much depends on the individual bird. I've only had three, but they couldn't be more different.

Budgies really come to life around another budgie. I started with one and added a second when my first started contact calling after me when I left for work (I work full time). I'm sure there are solitary budgies who live happy lives with owners who give them lots of attention, but there is something in their little brains that is just wired to be part of a flock. And it's just so FUN to see them together-- you might see a new personality emerge in a bird you thought you knew.

Similar to @Chatot5 , my budgies have been more "siblings" that tolerate each other than closely bonded, but I think as humans we might underestimate how much safer and "complete" birds feel with another bird around, even if they don't show overt affection to one another. I have one budgie recovering from an infection, right now, and just placing their cages next to one another makes a difference. They eat when the other one eats and preen when the other one preens.