Conflicted whether to adopt a second budgie

[soundsfun]

Our 5 month old budgie, Tofu, has been such a delight for our family. He’s hand tame, enjoys hanging out with us, eats well, cracks us up with his antics, is super smart and trainable, and has even started to mimic us. He’s been just a joy to have in our lives, and we feel so lucky to have such a great little budgie.

My concern is that WE aren’t enough for him. He gets a minimum 2 hours/day of out of cage/quality interaction time with us. But on weekdays, we are all at school/work for 7+ hours a day and some weekends are so busy that we’re out of the house for hours at a time again. We turn on the radio and give him lots of toys and foraging opportunities to keep busy with when we’re gone; but, I know budgies are flock birdies so it feels so wrong to keep just one little guy alone. I feel selfish for wanting to keep Tofu this way for OUR sake, when it’s not necessarily the best choice for his wellbeing.

We want to get him a buddy so he won’t be bored and lonely. We’re aware of all the responsibility involved in getting a second budgie, and are happy to take it all on for the sake of our budgie’s happiness. BUT we feel so conflicted because we love the bond we currently have with him, and it would break our hearts to lose it.

Before we jump in to this big decision, I’d love to hear all the different perspectives. What would you do - keep him an “only” or get him a buddy?

 

[The_Mayor]

@Britnicorn to the white courtesy telephone!

My own feeling is that generally speaking it's good for animals (or at least the non-solitaries) to be able to spend time with others of their own kind. And that's especially the case if you know you can't be with him as much as you'd like.

The down-side is that birds don't always think that this is in their best interests and sometimes don't want anything to do with the other bird.

The reason I paged Britnicorn is that she has recent experience in introducing a new bird and has been recounting that process.

 

[Sparkles99]

I'd get Tofu a friend! Before you do, please post a picture of Tofu with their face clearly visible in natural light. Many people think they have a male or female & they actually have the opposite. I've been trying to learn budgie sexing for a long time now, yet still get confused by greys & dilute colours.

Longterm budgie people can advise you about the best gender for your current budgie. I introduced two male budgies (1 a baby; 1 an adult). It was frankly easy. I understand that females are much more dicey & age, etc. matters more. Britnicorn also introduced two males. Longterm budgie people can better help you if Tofu or the prospective new budgie turn out to be female.

 

[Britnicorn]

I would get him a friend. I got Phoenix a friend for the same reason, because I wasn’t able to spend hours with him every day.

Phoenix hardly changed at all when I got him a new friend, he’s still the super loving, playful, and smart little guy. Him and Raijū will both hang out with me together, it’s just twice the love I feel like he’s actually become easier to train after getting his new friend as well because he wants to show off for him And anything I teach Phoenix Raijū picks up and learns as well

I was also worried they wouldn’t get along, especially since Phoenix was handraised by me and Raijū was raised in a flock. They surprisingly got along almost instantly, it wasn’t perfect and they would bicker quite often but they still loved each other. They still bicker occasionally but now that they’ve learned each other’s boundaries they hardly bicker at all. I hear it’s very rare for budgies to not get along, and when they don’t get along it’s usually due to an improper cage setup

 

[soundsfun]

@The_Mayor I feel the same way - it is good for most animals to spend time with their own kind. Thanks for paging Britnicorn!

@Sparkles99 Thanks! I’m always away from my phone when I’m on the forums, so I never get around to uploading photos! Our avian vet has confirmed our little guy is a boy, however, and his breeder is very certain he is a male too. I’m not rushing into getting the second one either, so I can wait until he’s older and sure he’s a boy before adopting #2. We do plan to get another little boy for better likelihood that they’ll get along!

@Britnicorn Thanks so much for taking time to share your experience! I’ve been quietly reading your posts, too, and love how the relationship between Phoenix and Raiju has come along! I am so heartened that you’ve now got twice the love and haven’t lost Phoenix’s original bond. AND both birds have had a positive effect on each other - BONUS! I hope we’re as lucky as you with #2.

 

[Lady Jane]

Can you get little buddy budgie from the same place/breeder? Oh I see a name already, BB or BeeBee

 

[GreenThing]

I don't think you'll regret getting another OR lose your bond with Tofu. Perfect harmony isn't guaranteed, but with budgies your odds are good. Merlin has continued to interact more with me even after getting Percy, and seeing them together and knowing that they are together and have the comfort of a flock even when I'm away eases my mind so much. There is nothing like seeing two budgies meet for the first time!

 

[Lady Jane]

You reminded me of a video I took of the two English budgies I used to have. its their very first meeting each other. They were from the same breeder so no quarantine needed.

Murphy & Mickey

Murphy met his little new friend last evening. His name is Mickey. He is of course an English Budgie from the same wonderful breeder as Murphy. He is cobalt in color. Mickey is 10 weeks old and learning his way around his new world of a big cage. The introduction to each other was nothing...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[CeciliaZ]

I would get him a friend...I found a budgie at work just over 4 years ago. I brought him home. I had 4 tiels at that time and a lovebird. I thought he might enjoy a budgie friend. I did buy a budgie at the pet store - and they did bond. After quarantine - I introduced them - both males - they both got along and still share a cage.

 

[soundsfun]

@Lady Jane I am actually contemplating getting our second from the same breeder, so we don’t need to quarantine. I’m also considering adopting a rescue, as I know there are so many needing good homes. Thanks for the video! It made me smile. Seeing budgies happy together never fails to cheer me up. Those two are super adorable!!

@GreenThing Your experience is so positive, like it was for Britnicorn. It would give me so much comfort to know he’s got a companion. Thank you for sharing about Merlin and Percy - that is what I want for Tofu!

@CeciliaZ Thanks so much for sharing yet another positive second bird experience! (Where are the negative stories? )

It’s pretty certain now... you’ve all made this a pretty easy decision. But I’ll sit on it for a few weeks, just to make sure I’m not acting on impulse. I’d also like to take time to do more research to make sure I do it right.

 

[Lori D Pert]

You won't lose your bond with Tofu. You are part of his flock and will always be. 2 hrs. a day out with you however isn't enough. A friend will keep him from being lonely. If you want to bond with your new bird keep them apart for several weeks and work with your new guy. Once they are introduced they may interact more with each other but Tofu will still be quite ready to interact with you. You won't lose him. My little hen is still the feisty little girl who eats my food and owns my phone. She still owns us even after getting a friend for her .lol

 

[soundsfun]

@Lori D Pert Thank you for your message. It truly warms my heart to read that we are already part of his flock, even though he's only been part of our family for a few months. It is also REALLY good to know that we won't lose him when he gets a friend. Your little hen sounds absolutely adorable!!

 

[soundsfun]

Thank you to everyone who took time to reply and to take my poll! It's unanimously in favour of adopting Tofu a friend - not even one person supporting leaving him as a single budgie! I'm certain now that the right decision is to get him a friend, so I've started a new thread to ask for advice about the second budgie. Please check it out and share your wisdom, if you wouldn't mind!