Thinking about getting two Budgies!

[kaylor]

Hello! I am thinking about getting two budgies and was wondering what is the difference between getting two budgies compared to one. I will get them together at the same time so they should already be bonded. Also if you guys have any tips for me as I hopefully will be a new budgie owner in the future!

[Deleted]

Hi kaylor, I bought one budgie about 6 months before the second, both male (Jesse & Max). I bought the second, Max, as a companion bird. Budgies are very social & need lots of interaction. My two get on great (mostly) & Max picked up skills from Jesse such as stepping up onto my finger, also interacting with me & my family - Jesse bonded with me, Max bonded with him. I would say Max has enriched Jesse's life more than I ever could. There'll be others who've bought a pair who'll be able to give advice about that.
I would also encourage you to learn as much as you can about budgies & the care they need before you buy - esp if you are new to budgies, there's lots of info here & advice.

[elysianblight]

I think you are doing the right thing! 

My original plan was like the poster above.. I was going to get one, bond with it, and then a fews months later get a second one to make sure it wasn't too lonely.
This has problems though. If you get two birds and different times (especially from different sources) you NEED to quarantine them for 30 days.. which means you have to have two separate cages in two separate rooms.
Twice the time, twice the expense.

I actually ended up with two at once, the same age from the same source. I can't say I regret it.
Sometimes I catch myself wishing I had just one, so I could bond closer to it - BUT THEY ARE HAPPY and that is the most important thing They may not be "cuddly", they may not want to sit on my shoulder much, but that's ok. They are birds. they get to do their bird things together and I get to watch them. Sometimes they include me.

 
The biggest difference between two and one: It's probably going to take longer to have a good strong bond.  
I had to work with Cypress and Citrine together all the time until they trusted me enough to be slightly separated without panicking. 
They still don't like to really be apart, but I can find times where one is occupied in the cage and the other is willing to come chat/play with me for a bit nearby. 

[blue48]

I'm reading this thread with interest.

Now I have a bigger cage, I have been strongly tempted to get a friend for BertieB, but torn between sharing him with another budgie. He is happy and we have a great bond, but I worry that he is missing out on budgie friendship.

I think I'll stick with just one. It would be awful to get him a friend and find they don't get on.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Like @cal I got Tweetie Pie first and then got Buddy. Tweetie Pie has a very timid and skittish nature. He was not comfortable with my hand, would eat millet when I held it up to him but would not step up. Whenever I put my hand in the cage he would move away. He was happy, chirping and playing with his toys but would not come out his cage. I am recently retired and started to do more volunteer activities outside my home so I was worried he might get lonely. About 5 months after getting Teweetie Pie, I heard about Buddy and that he needed a home (I named Buddy . Buddy is about 4 months younger than Tweetie Pie, both males. Buddy was hand raised and very tame. When I brought him home he got a respiratory infection and needed a quarantine period of about 3 months. Once I put them together, they immediately bonded and became besties. They've been together for 3 months. Buddy has become less tame - he doesn't step up like he used to but does fly to me for millet and sometimes to sit on me. Tweetie Pie has become more tame and he also flies to me to get millet (yes, he comes out their cage to fly around). They taught each other many things. I have no regrets about getting one and then the second. It gave me the opportunity to learn Tweetie Pie's personality first and then learn Buddy's personality while he was in quarantine. I think I would do the same thing again.

[Hezz]

Have a read through this as well might help with the decision-making.
budgerigarsforum.proboards.com/thread/750/budgie-friend

[blue48]

Thanks Hezz and a great post by Marianne Marlow .

It seems I am the ideal single budgie owner. Retired so I'm home most of the day, and I do enjoy being part of BertieB's family and the interaction we share. He is very affectionate except for the occasional nip, talks really well now and seems to enjoy a head rub or beak scratch (on his terms). He loves to sit on the lid of my laptop and peck at the moving cursor, adores his toys and I think he has a pretty rich life for a single boy.

Edit:  It seems Hezz must be the recipient of my thanks for a great post

[Marianne Marlow]

Thanks, but Hezz did the work, I just posted her words

Jul 26, 2020 8:49:56 GMT blue48 said:

Thanks Hezz and a great post by Marianne Marlow.

It seems I am the ideal single budgie owner. Retired so I'm home most of the day, and I do enjoy being part of BertieB's family and the interaction we share. He is very affectionate except for the occasional nip, talks really well now and seems to enjoy a head rub or beak scratch (on his terms). He loves to sit on the lid of my laptop and peck at the moving cursor, adores his toys and I think he has a pretty rich life for a single boy.

[birdguhl]

blue48, BertieB sounds like he has a great life!

Chasing the cursor - Would love to see a video of that!

[blue48]

Jul 26, 2020 9:20:52 GMT birdguhl said:

blue48 , BertieB sounds like he has a great life!

Chasing the cursor - Would love to see a video of that!

Your wish is my command birdguhl .   It's better really when he sits on the lid and I chase his toes

[birdguhl]

Thanks, blue48 - what a sweetie! Bit like a cat with a torch beam

[elysianblight]

Awww. Mine watch a bit of tv but they are still afraid of my phone and completely ignore my computer.

If I had known I would be home for 4+ months for quarantine literally right as I got them, I would have just had one instead of two.
I hope someday they actually like me enough to sit on me and let me scritch them, but I doubt it will happen.

[blue48]

I'm sure they will in their own time elysianblight. They are curious little creatures. BertieB let me gently rub his neck very soon after I got him, with my fingers throught the cage bars and now I know when he wants a fuss because shouts for attention and when I go over he puts his head down for me. I also know when he doesn't because he bites me lol.