Considering Rehoming - Looking for Advice

[ClarityBee]

So a little backstory: Up until very recently I had two budgies, Aerie and Soleil. I got Aerie as a baby and had her as a solo budgie for awhile. She was totally happy and very much so our little princess. She loved people and was completely content to hang with us and definitely saw us as her flock. I didn't have any intentions of getting another budgie, but Soleil just fell into our laps. I found him flying outside my workplace and we managed to catch him and turn him in to our local humane society. No one claimed him, so a few weeks later we decided to take him home.
Aerie wasn't used to being around other budgies so wasn't really fond of him but put up with him, and Soleil absolutely adored her. Followed her everywhere and had to be doing everything that she was doing.
We never really bonded with Soleil. He has always been completely uninterested in people, which was totally fine. He had Aerie, and Aerie had us, so no worries.
Except Aerie passed away suddenly a little over a week ago. We have no idea what happened. She was only 18 months old and was fine all day. Super happy, no signs of stress or illness. I didn't even hear anything when she died and I was one room over with the door open reading. I just went to put them to bed and she was dead on the bottom of the cage. We're heartbroken, she was our best friend and she was really bonded to us.
I'm not going to get another budgie. I just can't, not without feeling like I'm replacing Aerie. But now we have Soleil, who is not bonded to us and has no desire to be around us, and he's all alone. He just sits in the same 2 spots and plays with the same 2 toys no matter how much I shift things. He doesn't seem super unhappy, he stills plays and flys around our apartment and talks to himself all day, but we're worried that he's going to suffer being alone. We love him very dearly and have been trying to work with him, which will obviously take much more time than a week, but we're worried it might not be enough since Soleil is used to having another budgie around. We're considering rehoming him to someone who has other budgies, but we're unsure if that would be the best thing since he's used to us and our apartment. He seems tough though. He took being caught outside, living at the humane society, and then coming home with us in stride, and when we moved into our new apartment he didn't miss a beat, whereas Aerie took awhile to adjust. He also doesn't really seem attached to us.
I just dont know what to do. Does anyone have any advice to offer? I would love some other opinions since I seem to just be talking in circles.

 

[budgieluv3]

I first want to say I’m sorry about your bird.

I have been in almost the exact same position myself. But you have to ask yourself, would your bird do well with even more change?

I found once I had the single bird, given some time, she bonded with us much closer and found other forms of entertainment (toys, (she really started shredding), learning tunes from music etc.).

I hope this hard decision works out the way that is best for both of you.
There was also a thread “what to consider before rehoming” but I can’t seem to find it.

 

[Ember-Tiel]

***READ THIS and Sign PRIOR to Posting Your Bird for Rehoming****

Before re homing your bird to anyone on Avian Avenue please do your research. Do a home visit first. Look their name up on google. Check out if they have any prior convictions for animal abuse. Ask for a reference, ask for 3 references. Are they involved with a bird rescue? Ask for a...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Kassiani]

I am just so sorry to read of the loss of your sweet girl!

If it were me, I think I would continue to work with Soleil. In time, I think your bond will improve. Perhaps some day you will feel ready to get another budgie, but that time isn't now--and that's ok.

If you do decide to rehome Soleil, please be thorough about investigating any person or family into which he would be re-homed. There are lot of scammers out there who will take a bird and immediately sell it for a profit. I recommend reading the link posted by Ember-Tiel. It contains valuable information.

 

[Lori D Pert]

This is tough. May I say I am so sorry for the loss of your bird. In many cases it can be an opportunity to bond with your remaining bird. But not always. If getting another bird is not an option then perhaps rehoming might be best. Remember he is grieving too. He has lost his cagemate. A good home to an older budgie isn't an easy find. But it can be done. I worked at an avian rescue for years and saw this unfortunately happen time and time again. If bonding or a pal isn't an option then it's probably best to rehome him. Just being honest.