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Concerned about Linnie bond with Budgie

sarahjbg

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
6/28/20
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Hello everyone!

I have three birds that I absolutely adore: a cockatiel, a linnie and a budgie. Our budgie, Ernie is a male who we rescued - he was our first bird, followed by our Linnie (Leaf) and our Cockatiel (Henrietta who we fondly call Hen since she often looks like one). They are all in separate cages and but have lots of out of the cage time - our cockatiel isn't super interested in the other birds and Leaf and Ernie are a bit intimidated by her.

Leaf is a hand raised Linnie and when we first got her she was quite cuddly and sought us out for lots of affection. She loves her scritches and while she won't always step onto our hand, she will step onto our arm. Ernie started out as the only bird in the house. He was super flighty, liked to be around us but wouldn't let us get too close. When we brought Leaf home he was overjoyed - he was like a completely different bird. After seeing us get close to Leaf, he gained the confidence to hop onto my shoulder and seems so calm and happy.

My concern is that all of a sudden they are very tightly bonded. It is so cute to watch them playing together but I worry that we are losing our bond with Leaf. When we go to say hello or give her a scritch she will often run away to be with Ernie. Ernie is now starting to try and mate with Leaf - I should mention we don't know for sure yet if Leaf is male or female. We haven't done a DNA test yet and Leaf is only about 15 weeks old. Will this attention trigger egg laying at some point if Leaf is a girl? Will she stop wanting affection from us all together? My husband is worried because he had an extremely affectionate cockatiel as a child. They got a second cockatiel (a male) and after that she was never the same bird. She started laying eggs and never wanted to be touched again and would hiss if any human came near. I want them to be happy and I love that they get along but I am not sure how to handle this and any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you :)
 

Dona

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Welcome! Your flock sounds lovely!

I think it's often the case that you lose a little of your bond when your single bird finds a close friend or a mate. But it's a happy thing too. We can never give our birds what another bird can. But with that said, a budgie and a linnie are not a great match. Stranger pairs have happened but keep a close eye that your linnie is safe with a generally far more aggressive budgie.
 
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JLcribber

@cockatoojohn
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I want them to be happy and I love that they get along but I am not sure how to handle this and any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you
Well this is a no brainer. Who's happiness is more important, the human's or the bird's? We have a million other ways to be happy. They don't. The bond with you may not be as tight but that also has a lot to do with how much you put into nurturing that relationship with both of them.
 

sarahjbg

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
6/28/20
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I’m
Welcome! Your flock sounds lovely!

I think it's often the case that you lose a little of your bond when your single bird finds a close friend or a mate. But it's a happy thing too. We can never give our birds what another bird can. But with that said, a budgie and a linnie are not a great match. Stranger pairs have happened but keep a close eye that your linnie is safe with a generally far more aggressive budgie.
Thank you so much! Today it so sweet - Leaf was snuggled on me and for the first time Ernie flew over and landed on my arm and got close to my face. Their bond is very sweet and it is nice how they keep each other company and provide entertainment for each other. Ultimately their happiness is most important - I will watch out for the budgies behaviour though. Leaf very bossy but calmer while Ernie is super hyper and gets in her space.
 
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