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Can a Cockatiel and Budgie be together?

Avis19

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Emma
Hello Everyone

As a background, I have a 2-year-old male Budgie. I adopted him about 8 months ago from a not-so-great home. He came with his brother and they were in a very small cage, not hand-tamed and on a full seed diet. Almost Imideatly I noticed his brother was not well and long story short I had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him put down after months of antibiotics and vet appointments it was decided that was what was best for him. Avis my other Budgie had a much more minor case of sickness and has been all healthy now for about 3 months.

I am wanting to get another friend for Avis but am unsure about how he would receive another budgie as he is quite independent, even though he will come to my hand and sit on my head. My question is, would a cockatiel be okay to bring into this situation? I have a bird room and the Cockatiel would have a separate flight cage to my budgie but they would be out together in the day. I spend most of time at home so would be able to give both birds lots of attention. I have researched whether these two get along and I am aware they are seen together in the wild. Any advice would be welcomed, thanks :)
 

MelPage

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I know plenty of people that have budgies and cockatiels together. When I was young, I did as well. They get along just fine, but obviously monitor their interactions for the first bit to see how they do as each bird is an individual:)
 

C_Leigh

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My budgies and my tiel fly around my apartment without a single issue. Please observe quarantine and please be very vigilant while introducing them in a neutral area during the initial stages. If all goes well you should eventually be able to relax and live your life.

However everyone should keep in mind the first axiom of bird ownership which is birds we choose don't get to choose each other and may never get along. If this worst case scenario happens ask yourself if you have time to give each sufficient alone time out of the cage.

We must be prepared for all potential outcomes.
 

Lori D Pert

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I have had both together at the same time in separate cages of course. After quarantine monitor their out of cage time together. Surprisingly, it's the budgies who tend to be little bullies with cockatiels so do not leave them out of cage unattended. If this occurs then separate out of cage time may be needed.
 

Sodapop&Co.

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Tiels have been known to kill budgies, even budgies they get along well with! The beak difference and temperament difference makes this a bad idea. Budgies are hyper little creatures who don't understand how small they are, and will generally annoy Tiels (who appreciate peace and personal space a lot more) until the Tiel fights back. My Tiel disliked my budgies very much and they were closely supervised any time they were out together. It only takes one moment of jealousy or annoyance for the smaller bird to get injured or worse. The very best thing for your budgie would be another one of his kind.
 

Ripshod

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A tiel can easily kill a budgie. No matter how tame they seem and how friendly they are it just takes one small disagreement and it's over in a second. They may be from the same continent but their instinct and body language is quite different.
Why not get another budgie? They lose friends in the wild, mourn a little and move on. Their flock instinct will always drive them toward other budgies
 

.........

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I think out of cage time would be fine, as long as you are supervising and the birds get along. But if you really want him to have a friend, same species will bond the best.

Sure a tiel could easily kill a budgie. As could another budgie if it wanted to, life is dangerous and you can find horror stories about everything. I keep budgies and finches together and have not never had one single injury in about 4 years of keeping them together. I also know multiple people who have safely and successfully housed cockatiels and budgies in the same aviary. I also know even more people who let them have supervised out of cage time together. Without a large aviary I would never recommend housing them together, but it can be done.
 

Olliebirb

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I’ve tried it and it didn’t work for me. Mushu hated Oliver and would be aggressive towards him while Oliver just wanted to show him some love. He wanted nothing to do with Oliver. I would not trust keeping them in the same cage. Even my budgies go through moods where they fight with each other and if a cockatiel fought with a budgie the outcome would not be good. Supervised time with each other is completely different though. Unsupervised time in the same space can be risky.
 

Lori D Pert

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I guess I should elaborate a little. As has been stated here budgies tend to be little instigators. This is correct. They are inquisitive and playful to a fault. They tend to engage with and ultimately aggrevate the poor cockatiel. Constantly. Now some do get along. Sometimes though the budgies (being budgies) just can't take no for an answer. Then the cockatiel has no choice but to become aggressive. Cockatiels can take a budgie out. They are bigger but not being a particularly aggressive bird it takes time. Please watch your birds interactions. If your budgie is driving your cockatiel nuts by wanting to be near them constantly.....separate them.
 

Avis19

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Thank you everyone for all your replies. You have all given me some great advice that I will think over. If I ever did get the Cockatiel they would be in a separate cage and could easily come out at different times to the budgie. But I also would want them to talk if they both wanted to. I am still deciding but thanks for all the great advice. :)
 

Avis19

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I would personally get another budgie friend. :)
Yes, I would like to get a budgie as well. I have found it very hard to find a male budgie from a trusted breeder or from a rescue. I, unfortunately, had really bonded with a budgie at a breeder's aviary but they were female, so it wasn't going to work. Do you think the dynamics would be better if I had 2 budgies and a cockatiel? Or are you meaning that I shouldn't get a cockatiel at all? Thanks
 

Avis19

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I have had both together at the same time in separate cages of course. After quarantine monitor their out of cage time together. Surprisingly, it's the budgies who tend to be little bullies with cockatiels so do not leave them out of cage unattended. If this occurs then separate out of cage time may be needed.
Yes, this is what I was wondering as well. If Avis my budgie was being pesky I would be able to put him back in his separate cage. But I also wouldn't want to drive the poor cockatiel crazy with his insistence, so I'm unsure. Thanks
 

Avis19

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A tiel can easily kill a budgie. No matter how tame they seem and how friendly they are it just takes one small disagreement and it's over in a second. They may be from the same continent but their instinct and body language is quite different.
Why not get another budgie? They lose friends in the wild, mourn a little and move on. Their flock instinct will always drive them toward other budgies
I definitely would like to get A Budgie as well. I have not been able to find a male budgie from a reliable breeder or rescue yet, so still looking. Would you think it would be better to get a cockatiel if I had 2 bonded budgies?
 

Avis19

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Generally speaking same species together ok but different species together in one cage not a good idea. Not safe to have conures with other species either.
Okay, thank you. They would defiantly not be in the same cage. They would each get their own flight cage. But they would be in the same bird room.
 

Avis19

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I think out of cage time would be fine, as long as you are supervising and the birds get along. But if you really want him to have a friend, same species will bond the best.

Sure a tiel could easily kill a budgie. As could another budgie if it wanted to, life is dangerous and you can find horror stories about everything. I keep budgies and finches together and have not never had one single injury in about 4 years of keeping them together. I also know multiple people who have safely and successfully housed cockatiels and budgies in the same aviary. I also know even more people who let them have supervised out of cage time together. Without a large aviary I would never recommend housing them together, but it can be done.

Okay, thank you for your reply. They would always be supervised outside of the cage. It is good to know that some people have successfully kept them in the same household/avirary.
 

Avis19

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I’ve tried it and it didn’t work for me. Mushu hated Oliver and would be aggressive towards him while Oliver just wanted to show him some love. He wanted nothing to do with Oliver. I would not trust keeping them in the same cage. Even my budgies go through moods where they fight with each other and if a cockatiel fought with a budgie the outcome would not be good. Supervised time with each other is completely different though. Unsupervised time in the same space can be risky.
Thank you for your reply. They definitely would not be in the same cage and time outside of the cage would be supervised. But you make a good point that birds have unique personalities and may not take to each other, which I would need to be prepared for.
 

sweetwillow

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I introduced a female tiel as a friend to my lone female budgie after her cage mate (also female) passed. They live in separate cages but fly free in the room together. The get along well, the tiel is very chill and the budgie can be fussy and bickering at times. The downside of this friendship is that the budgie started exhibiting breeding behavior with the tiel. I've had her for 9 years and she never laid an egg until the tiel arrived which starter her on a laying jag. I guess it was love at first sight! Over the course of 5 months she laid several clutches. Luckily she stopped over the winter and I hope this behavior doesn't resume in the spring.
 

Avis19

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I introduced a female tiel as a friend to my lone female budgie after her cage mate (also female) passed. They live in separate cages but fly free in the room together. The get along well, the tiel is very chill and the budgie can be fussy and bickering at times. The downside of this friendship is that the budgie started exhibiting breeding behavior with the tiel. I've had her for 9 years and she never laid an egg until the tiel arrived which starter her on a laying jag. I guess it was love at first sight! Over the course of 5 months she laid several clutches. Luckily she stopped over the winter and I hope this behavior doesn't resume in the spring.
Hi, thanks for your reply. That is good to see you have had a positive experience. That was also one of my worries, that my budgie would become hormonal or try to mate with the cockatiel. My budgie is male though so there wouldn't be an issue of clutches. I'm still wondering if it would be better to get a female or male cockatiel.
 
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