Post by Marianne Marlow on Nov 7, 2011 8:18:50 GMT
Does My Budgie need a Friend? The Pros and Cons of Owning a Single Bird By Hezz.
A question many people ask is “should I get my budgie a friend for company?” This requires careful consideration as what suits one owner may not suit another.
The Pros of Owning a Single Budgie:
Bonding: If your budgie comes to you as a young bird just weaned from its parents and not long out of the nest (around 8 weeks old), this young baby bird will be looking to connect with another being. With no other birds around, it will start to bond with its humans. If what you are looking for is a pet to interact with, spend time with and generally be included as part of the family, than this is the way to go. Budgies are a flock creature and their entire world revolves around their flock. You and your family will become the budgie’s flock.
Gradually as your bird becomes used to you and your family you will find he/she will want to spend more time with you and may start to repeat phrases that it hears regularly. But you must be prepared to spend time with the bird, otherwise it will become lonely. The ideal situation for a happy single budgie is when there is someone home most of the day to give him attention. Leaving the radio or television on can help but isn’t the same as you being there.
A single budgie is often the much-loved family pet we remember from our childhoods, who will follow you around, wolf-whistle on command and generally have the run of the house.
Costs: The cost of buying a budgie and setting him up with a cage and food is very reasonable. Of course toys are a must to keep him occupied while alone, but the costs of owning and maintaining a single bird are within the reaches of most people’s budget.
Space: A single budgie which spends most of his time out of the cage does not need a large cage as he is rarely in it. He ideally will have an outside play area to provide a safe, secure place for him to play. This can be anywhere in a budgie-proofed room or even on top of their cage. A budgie is small enough to be kept in a single room if necessary, although most enjoy having a whole house to fly around in. The minimum sized cage for a single budgie is 18”x 18” x 18”. Personally, I think this is way too small. Bigger is always better.
The Cons of Owning a Single Budgie:
The biggest point against having a single budgie is when the owners don’t have the time necessary to spend with their bird so that it doesn’t feel left out and lonely. Budgies are a flock-bird, and to a single bird the family or owner becomes the bird’s flock. If this interaction is denied to the single budgie left alone in its cage we then have a bird denied the very essence of a happy life.
The Pros of owning more than one Budgie:
Bonding: (With each other) Two budgies or more will be quite happy to be left alone to do their own thing, without human interaction. Two budgies will normally form a bond with each other and provide each other with the companionship necessary to keep them happy and fulfilled. They can still be tamed, but it will take more work from the owner and most likely neither will form a particularly close bond with you. They can bond with their owner as well as each other but only if the owner works with them, pays them a lot of attention and earns the birds’ trust.
The Cons of owning more than one Budgie:
Bonding: (With the Owner) As mentioned above, two or more budgies are more inclined to bond with their own kind rather than with their owner. It is rather rare for multiple budgies to have strong bonds with their owner, the exception being the budgie which was kept as a single bird for some time, forming strong bonds with its people, before more birds were added to the flock. This original budgie of the household will generally still retain its human bonds, as long as it still has human contact, but also form bonds with the subsequent birds.
Space: The more budgies, the bigger the cage needed. And for multiple birds, the bigger the better, as it gives the birds room to move around, fly from perch to perch, and have room apart from another bird, if necessary. Again budgies which spend most of their time out of the cage will not need as large a space as budgies which spend almost their entire time in their cage. Not all birds will get along with each other and sometimes may have to be separated for whatever reason. Therefore another, smaller cage is often necessary, either to house a troublesome bird or as a hospital/travel cage.
Costs: A bigger cage means set-up gets more costly, feeding is more costly, twice as many toys are needed, and are shredded at twice the rate; and vet bills more than double if your pets become ill.
The decision to have one budgie or two (or more) is not a question that can be answered lightly. It really is a decision that the owners must make in the best interests and the well-being of their pets.
A question many people ask is “should I get my budgie a friend for company?” This requires careful consideration as what suits one owner may not suit another.
The Pros of Owning a Single Budgie:
Bonding: If your budgie comes to you as a young bird just weaned from its parents and not long out of the nest (around 8 weeks old), this young baby bird will be looking to connect with another being. With no other birds around, it will start to bond with its humans. If what you are looking for is a pet to interact with, spend time with and generally be included as part of the family, than this is the way to go. Budgies are a flock creature and their entire world revolves around their flock. You and your family will become the budgie’s flock.
Gradually as your bird becomes used to you and your family you will find he/she will want to spend more time with you and may start to repeat phrases that it hears regularly. But you must be prepared to spend time with the bird, otherwise it will become lonely. The ideal situation for a happy single budgie is when there is someone home most of the day to give him attention. Leaving the radio or television on can help but isn’t the same as you being there.
A single budgie is often the much-loved family pet we remember from our childhoods, who will follow you around, wolf-whistle on command and generally have the run of the house.
Costs: The cost of buying a budgie and setting him up with a cage and food is very reasonable. Of course toys are a must to keep him occupied while alone, but the costs of owning and maintaining a single bird are within the reaches of most people’s budget.
Space: A single budgie which spends most of his time out of the cage does not need a large cage as he is rarely in it. He ideally will have an outside play area to provide a safe, secure place for him to play. This can be anywhere in a budgie-proofed room or even on top of their cage. A budgie is small enough to be kept in a single room if necessary, although most enjoy having a whole house to fly around in. The minimum sized cage for a single budgie is 18”x 18” x 18”. Personally, I think this is way too small. Bigger is always better.
The Cons of Owning a Single Budgie:
The biggest point against having a single budgie is when the owners don’t have the time necessary to spend with their bird so that it doesn’t feel left out and lonely. Budgies are a flock-bird, and to a single bird the family or owner becomes the bird’s flock. If this interaction is denied to the single budgie left alone in its cage we then have a bird denied the very essence of a happy life.
The Pros of owning more than one Budgie:
Bonding: (With each other) Two budgies or more will be quite happy to be left alone to do their own thing, without human interaction. Two budgies will normally form a bond with each other and provide each other with the companionship necessary to keep them happy and fulfilled. They can still be tamed, but it will take more work from the owner and most likely neither will form a particularly close bond with you. They can bond with their owner as well as each other but only if the owner works with them, pays them a lot of attention and earns the birds’ trust.
The Cons of owning more than one Budgie:
Bonding: (With the Owner) As mentioned above, two or more budgies are more inclined to bond with their own kind rather than with their owner. It is rather rare for multiple budgies to have strong bonds with their owner, the exception being the budgie which was kept as a single bird for some time, forming strong bonds with its people, before more birds were added to the flock. This original budgie of the household will generally still retain its human bonds, as long as it still has human contact, but also form bonds with the subsequent birds.
Space: The more budgies, the bigger the cage needed. And for multiple birds, the bigger the better, as it gives the birds room to move around, fly from perch to perch, and have room apart from another bird, if necessary. Again budgies which spend most of their time out of the cage will not need as large a space as budgies which spend almost their entire time in their cage. Not all birds will get along with each other and sometimes may have to be separated for whatever reason. Therefore another, smaller cage is often necessary, either to house a troublesome bird or as a hospital/travel cage.
Costs: A bigger cage means set-up gets more costly, feeding is more costly, twice as many toys are needed, and are shredded at twice the rate; and vet bills more than double if your pets become ill.
The decision to have one budgie or two (or more) is not a question that can be answered lightly. It really is a decision that the owners must make in the best interests and the well-being of their pets.