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Adding a 3rd female?

CoryM

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Cory
Hi,

I’m very new to the Avian pet community, my first two being my female budgies named Piper and Bebe, and let’s just say every day is a new learning challenge. Piper and Bebe are not yet tamed, they won’t perch on my finger, and fly away whenever my hand is in the cage. They won’t leave their cage even with the door open, but seem fairly happy with being left alone. This is just to update everyone on how far along we are with taming, I’ve had them for about a month now.

Now to get to my question: a friend of mine needs to relocate her budgie due to a housing emergency and has asked if I would take her. To be clear, this is another female budgie. I’m concerned about having 3 females in one cage when I don’t even have my current two bonded with me yet. The cage is plenty big enough, that isn’t a concern. I’m hoping some budgie experts can help weigh in on this with me and offer some insight. I’d hate to have my friend’s budgie end up somewhere unpleasant so I’d like to help, but getting another cage just isn’t a option financially at the time.

Please help!

Best,
Cory
 

Budgiebonkers

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Budgies do best in pairs not uneven numbers they should all get along fine if theres no male around all my hens live together away from my males unless breeding all do fine
 

sunnysmom

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Welcome to the forum!
 

PoukieBear

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If you were to take her budgie, then I would also request that she give you the cage to go with her. That way you can still help your friend out by providing a great home, and you can also keep your sanity without worrying about three birds together in the same cage.

They may get along fine, or it may be a nightmare. You'll also need to quarantine this new bird for at least 30 days, which will require her to be in her own cage anyways.
 

CoryM

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Cory
Thanks for the help guys,

I’m able to get her cage from her for the quarantine period, but this also raised another question. I’ve heard it’s easier to tame budgies by themselves and that having them be in a pair makes it harder. Would it be wise to keep this new one by itself to bond with it, then swap it with one of mine to bond with it by itself, and then swap it with the third? The idea being that each one gets alone time in the other cage for training purposes? Or would this cause unneeded stress as my current two are already warmed up to eachother?

What do you guys think? Good or bad idea??

Cory
 

lotus15

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Hi Cory, welcome to the forum! Female budgies can be kind of testy at times, and it's always a gamble as to whether they'll get along with other females. If your current two get along well, I'd be hesitant to put a third into the same cage because she may cause discord. If you do decide to adopt her, I would definitely keep her separate cage so that she has her own living space, then introduce the three of them outside of the cage in neutral territory and see how they get along. You can decide to house them together based on your observations after that.

As for taming, sometimes having them in pairs can make it more challenging because they "distract" each other from you, but they can also learn from each other. So if you have one that is a little bit more brave and you can train it to step up or eat from your hands, it will likely help the shier one to do the same. I think swapping cages among them would cause unnecessary stress. Instead, if you do want to train them alone / independently of each other, I would take them to a separate room for the training session only where there are fewer distractions and you two can focus on each other.
 

Garet

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I wouldn't swap them if I were you. I have a bonded tiel and lovebird, and they really don't like to be apart. If I have to take Mims into the shower or out with me, Guzma gets pretty depressed and keeps calling and calling or flying around to look for her. I mean think about it; if your budgies do form a bonded pair, you're essentially taking away one budgie's girlfriend and throwing a stranger in her home.

Just because it's harder doesn't mean it can't be done. It will just take more time and patience, that's all.
 

karen256

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You might work with the new one while she's by herself in quarantine, and in her familiar cage. She might already be a bit tamer due to being an 'only bird'. Then use her as a role model for the others. One thing I've found with budgies - the very best motivator for them is jealousy. They are greedy little birds. If your two untame ones see a new budgie enjoying millet and other favorite treats from your hand, you can be sure they will work up the courage to try pretty soon.
 

Fergus Mom

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You might work with the new one while she's by herself in quarantine, and in her familiar cage. She might already be a bit tamer due to being an 'only bird'. Then use her as a role model for the others. One thing I've found with budgies - the very best motivator for them is jealousy. They are greedy little birds. If your two untame ones see a new budgie enjoying millet and other favorite treats from your hand, you can be sure they will work up the courage to try pretty soon.

I had to laugh at that, since that is exactly what motivated Fergus to finally hop on my hand with both feet - Fiona was hogging all the millet!
 

Monica

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Monkey see, monkey do! If you do it right, it's actually *easier* to work with a group of birds than it is to work with individual birds. You want the bird to be relaxed and calm. Taking a bird into a bathroom or small room and cornering them is the opposite of exactly that. You want to gain their trust in a way that is beneficial for both of you. If you do something that scares them, it can take away their trust.


An Experiment with Budgies | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 
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