Lonely Budgie

cinderellacomplex

Hi guys,

I had 3 budgies, two were a pair and both have recently died.. boy budgie just seemed to give up after girl budgie died unfortunately. The one that is left is only around a year old, maybe slightly more.. and he seems quite lonely now. He was fairly tame before he was put in with the others, we had kept them separate for quarantine after he came home, but the others were pretty anti-social when it came to people and he became shy again pretty quickly. My sister has been able to get him to sit on her finger for a little while, but we don't have the time to make up for the interaction that he used to get from the other birds.

I am not keen on taking another young bird now because I don't want to get into a loop of always having one left, so as far as I see it I have two options.. 1. Try and find someone that has other budgies and could take him.. or 2. Find an older bird that needs rehomed and take them on.

Anyone have any ideas about where I should look for this? Right now I am favouring the first option because I think that he'd be happier with a group of birds, though I don't want to end up sending him somewhere that he'll be worse off! He has never stayed outside, would that be a possibility or is he too old to make that change?

purpledays

My honest answer has to be speak to a local (or as near to as is local !) breeder, and ask their opinion. Lets face it , he has had a hell of a shock and is now wondering what on earth has happened. He has been used to having two other budgies and is now in his own. TBPH (and I am no expert) I would say he need to be with other birds as this is what he has been used too.

YorkiePud_3

Hi there .. my Dad used to breed and keep budgies (a little over 20 years!) and so I had a word with him ... he said this budgie is the perfect age to start getting use to people.
He also said if the other birds were rather anti social, then the worst thing you could do is stick this one in with a new bird which may cause it to go into its shell (pardon the pun!) and really go wild ... the fact he was fairly tame before means that you can really make headway with him if you can spend some time with him.

He also said if you have a mirror in the cage, he'd advise you to take it out straightaway.

Actually, my neighbour has taken on a budgie who has had a mirror in its cage for a number of years. Poor little sod only stands in front of the mirror all day, not making a sound, (thinking it's a mate, but some can think it's an enemy to attack and it ends up driving them psychotic. I've even known some damage their beaks by trying to attack this "new bird" and defend their territory) and doesn't show any interest in anything.
It doesn't talk, doesn't even come up to the end of the perch to listen to you when you talk to it ... it's just in its own world and sits there all fluffed up in silence. Poor little thing ...

Even if you don't have this budgie out flying much through the day, (and as long as the cage is big enough so that they can extend both wings fully and flap to exercise their chest muscles then it's okay) then sit by it or shout to it, sing to it etc ... or leave a radio on for him.

Dad says he wouldn't have thought it would be long before it came round ... but he said he thought the worst thing you could do would be to get another for it for company if it was cowed with the others, or rehome it somewhere where the first thing they could do would be to chuck it into an aviary with other birds. If it's shown signs of taming down it's the age where it could really learn to be friendly and make a smashing bird!

I remember my Nan having a budgie on his own and he lived quite happily for 16 years!! As long as they are stimulated by noise - the telly on, the radio, you talking or singing to him (not playthings like those silly plastic budgies you clip on their perches which drive them insane and make them want to breed 24 hours a day), then they should be fine on their own.

I hope he goes on okay!!

cinderellacomplex

Thanks guys

Yorkie, thanks so much for taking the time to ask your dad for me! Budgie is currently in a large parrot cage with plenty of room, and he does get out to fly around the living room quite regularly when the cats are shut out! He'll just hop back into the cage by himself when he's tired. We do have a mirror right now but he ignores it completely aside from when he wants to play with the bells on the bottom. He never paid any attention to it because him and the other male bird were pretty friendly, I guess it hasn't even occurred to him to chatter to the mirror instead! Will just replace it with a couple of regular bells anyway

He likes being whistled to and will come and listen but is quite cautious about getting close right now. I'll give it a good go until around June and see how he gets on with time! Thanks

YorkiePud_3

Hiyah *S* ... no problem .... !!

How about trying him in a smaller cage now he's the only one? I wonder if he feels a bit lost and vulnerable with all that room, being in a big cage on his own? If you've a spare small cage I think I'd be inclined to stick him in it for a day to see if it made a difference!

I don't know much about budgies, but I know a little about larger parrots and they always say if you want a parrot who is going to look upon you as a friend and playmate, then it's best to have them on their own so hopefully you'll see a big difference in your boy by June! Fingers crossed!

cinderellacomplex

Hey, thanks for the point. I see where you are coming from and I do have a smaller cage though I'm not sure if it would be terribly beneficial, we have lots of fixed branches arranged in the larger one so although it is big, it's not dead space.. it's quite secure and cosy for the most part - kinda like a tree, minus the leaves! The larger cage has the advantage of being a lot sturdier too, just in case the cats get amnesia and forget to pretend not to see/hear/smell the birdie :P