Single budgies?

AkCrimson · 9/26/11

Anyone here have JUST ONE budgie? I have Poe and I will likely be keeping him a single bug. I am a stay at home bird/dog mom so he gets a lot of attention. He doesn't exactly WANT said attention yet, but I've only had him about a month.

Anyway, I was just hoping to hear stories from single budgie parents.

Thanks!

Anne & Gang · 9/26/11

I have three but they are all in separate cages as only Baby Boy Blue is tame...the other two are wild as can be...they have plenty of toys to play with and that is the key..provide them with lots of toys and things to do and he will be fine on his own.

chere · 9/26/11

Nope not a single budgie Mom either

, but mine just love, love their swinging oval mirrors and music to talk by..............

Laurul Feather Cat · 9/26/11

Single budgies can and do become extraordinary pets. Give him time and he will tame himself and come to you because budgies are driven instinctual to see other a social relationship with another living being. Myself, I feel it is wrong to keep only a single budgie because they are so flock oriented and social. A human cannot be all things to a budgie and they need one of their own species to bond with.

However, you must do what you feel is right for you. I have only given you my opinion and told you what I would do for my budgie.

Feather · 9/26/11

Swan is a single budgie. She doesn't even like most other budgies. :rolleyes:

She's is tame on her own terms. She'll fly to my head on occasion and sometimes lets me give her scritches, but is mostly very independent.
She does perfectly fine on her own, though she does have the rest of the flock to entertain her. She has a lot of the bigger girls wrapped around her little claw.

Budgiebonkers · 9/26/11

nope I have more then one It be weird if I only had one I wouldn't want to be by my self say for life I'd rather be with someone

Anneka · 9/27/11

Laurul Feather Cat said:
Myself, I feel it is wrong to keep only a single budgie because they are so flock oriented and social. A human cannot be all things to a budgie and they need one of their own species to bond with.

However, you must do what you feel is right for you. I have only given you my opinion and told you what I would do for my budgie.

I do agree with you that keeping only one budgie is wrong.
I believe it is selfish.

Twitter09 · 9/27/11

I have Bourke Parakeets, which are not exactly the same as Budgies but they are social birds too. I have 2 females and just keep them caged separately. That gives them the socialization and comfort of another bird but they don't get that really strong bond. Actually, I didn't plan it that way. I wanted to cage them together but now they like having their own cages and don't appreciate the other going in their cage.

Both birds are fully-winged (not wing-clipped) and enjoy flying around together - they have stayed tame and come to me, but I let them do it when they feel like it. They explore on their own some of the time and sit with me some of the time. And sometimes I lay on the floor, with a piece of millet in front of me (I pretend to eat it) and they fly right over to join in. Maybe this would work with budgies too?

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65sunnyday · 9/27/11

Well Hillari, I don't think it's selfish to have only 1 budgie, & he's got lots of toys & chewables & likes being out w/you. Maybe soon you will be able to get him a friend, which you can always justify by knowing that they ARE sociable little guys, & love making cheerful little sounds back & forth more than anything

cosmolove · 9/27/11

I as well do not think that it is bad to keep them alone. We all need to understand that almost all birds that are kept as pets usually have "flock" instincts. Now does that mean its wrong for us all to only have one? No if you are giving them lots of toys and social time then they are fine. I have kept budgies singly and in groups and both ways were about equal I only ever had one (who was actually kept in a group then eventually kept alone once the others had passed) who was truely tame tame. The others were tame on their own terms.

If you are giving them time I do not see a problem with you only having one. I mean heck I have a blue crown conure who LOVES other birds he is such a cuddler but he's kept alone with no problems.

Poetic Ramblings · 9/27/11

Junior is currently our only budgie and has been for about 5 years. When we had other budgies she always tried to interact with them, but they pretty much completely ignored her. They had each other and she was sort of the odd one out. She hasn't been alone though as she's flock-mates with our tiel. She's tried to make friends with our Grey, but she shooes her away.

Renae · 9/27/11

I think it depends on the budgie. If they are getting human interaction or interaction with another species of bird, some will be fine being a single/only budgie.

My (6) budgies are incredibly happy as a flock, and much prefer to be with each other. I had Kero (budgie) inside for quite awhile after he had injured his wing and can no longer fly, but it started to grasp when he was losing weight, talking to the toys, regurgitating to the toys, that he just wanted to be with “his” flock, and I couldn’t hold back from keeping him away from them any longer. I ended up re-arranging the aviary so he could get around since he can’t fly, and put him in with the others, he is over the moon to be with them once again. I will also add, Kero was interacting with Mishka and Quinn, however he started to keep distance, I think this is realization that they aren’t his true flock, like the other budgies are.

looniebirds · 9/27/11

If you have other birds it might be fine. But for some reason, the sight of one lone budgie always makes me feel kind of sad.

AkCrimson · 9/30/11

I do have other birds. I have a blue crown conure.

I thought I might see that argument, that keeping a single budgie is cruel. I completely disagree and am offended that some people...think its "selfish". If it's selfish to have a single budgie then its also selfish to have a single sun conure, or tiel, or grey or anything else. The whole point of bird ownership is to provide them with a flock as best we can. Whether budgie or macaw its our responsibility as humans to offer them everything they need to the best of our ability. Which I intend to do.

I am home all day long and have plenty of time for my bug. It's not as if he will be cooped up in a cage all alone all day. He will be out as often as he likes when he is ready to do so.

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SDavies · 9/30/11

no fun in one budgie

GlassOnion · 9/30/11

Budgies in particular, crave attention from other birds moreso than many other species of birds. I think they really do enjoy companionship from another birdie friend.

marian · 9/30/11

I dont see problem with keeping just one either.As long as they have plenty of things to do.

AkCrimson · 9/30/11

What makes people think budgies need another bird more that any other species? Except for a select few, all wild parrots live in good sized flocks. I personally think that this notion comes from the fact that the majority of budgies are purchased as parent-raised birds, and therefore make quicker bonds to other birds as compared to humans.

If you took a parent raised conure, or amazon, or macaw (etc) and gave him the option of human vs parrot he would undoubtedly choose parrot. This is all we see in the illusion that budgies above other species need bird companionship. Doesn't mean I can't give him just as much happiness as you all give your single caiques, greys, keets, pois, etc.

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Anneka · 10/1/11

Solitary keeping has been a hot topic, just as pellets (good or bad?) or wing clipping. Such threads often end up with arguments and threads being closed.

However, for the best of our captive birds, I am not afraid to say the following: If you're convinced that your budgie is enjoying his life to the fullest, then I wish you could see how much budgie-budgie interactions your Poe is missing

Feather · 10/1/11

I mentioned earlier that Swan is a single budgie. She has been with other budgies - I have two I'm fostering right now. She does not even try to interact with them. She hangs out with the cockatiels, preens Anica, but never gives Kittiwake or Kingfisher the time of day. She all but ignored my late budgie, Cupcake, as well for the short time that they lived together.
But I agree with Hillari. We keep other bird species single. What makes a budgie so different?

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