Should I get another budgie???

Hi guys! I recently had to put my budgie down...😔 her buddy is sooo super sad and won’t stop calling for her. She is not bonded to me at all. She will talk to me and give me 5 and hop on my finger (when she wants to) she used to be quite happy in her cage and now she flies about the room a couple times seemingly looking for her friend. I got a GCC about two weeks ago. But he’s for me. Not her 😂 They are kept in separate cages and have not interacted yet... They will never share a cage. Should I get a new budgie so my girl Desi isn’t so lonely? She used to sing occasionally, but she has been yelling for her friend since she passed..

Do you know how your last budgie died? It's important to know the cause before moving forward with getting a new bird. Any new bird should be quarantined in a different room and a necropsy done on the dead bird (if it wasn't an accident) to ensure your other budgie isn't just carrying disease that it may pass on to the next budgie you introduce.

Assuming your budgie was not infectious, in time it may be wise to get another budgie -- they do better in pairs. But I would get one of the same gender as to deter any breeding, you don't want a million babies to care for.

Sorry for your loss... be careful with GCC and budgie, they might be friends but the GCC can bite toes off or kill a budgie. I know this be so my GCC but several toes off my parakeet. So terrible the biggest thing is to never let the parakeet walk on the GCC. Cage while GCC is in the cage those toes beco the perfect target

I would get a second parakeet if it was me, parakeets are very social and live in large flicks I happen to feel they are much better in pairs. But a big word of caution, parakeets can carry diseases , that mega bacteria yeast thing, and more likely to have the bird viruses. This is bro most come from huge breeder aviary and less likely to have vet care, or be tested for stuff and as they are smaller they are harder to test for that stuff. Knowing what I know now about parakeets and how they are bred and treated like throw away birds, I wouldn’t get one from a perstore I’d try to find a very good breeder, or a person who raises them st home and still I’d be careful or if I git one from pet store I would get it tested and poop checks and keep away from the Gcc for 20-30 days

Thank you for your replies! I do not know what the first parakeet died from. She went blind and started having seizures. The vet was of 0 help and I have no idea how she died. I don’t know her age as I found her on the school playground..
I will be waiting a bit to get another as I am VERY busy with my new toddler (GCC). I will definitely quarantine before introducing a new budgie. I am very nervous about letting the parakeet And GCC interact so they may only get to see each other through their cages. As for sex I was told to put in two girls is a no-no. Granted I had two girls before and they were so in love with each other after the initial pecking order ritual. But I was told it’s better to get the maLe and not provide any nesting materials.

I have two boys they do fine together
Congratulations on your new GCC

First and foremost, never, EVER buy a bird for your bird. Only buy a bird if YOU want another bird for yourself and have the time to treat it as a pet with its own time/play/space etc. I know your intention is to help your mourning bird, but a new bird will not replace what was lost (as they are all unique and the birds know this)...If you are committed to caring for 3 birds equally in totally separate spheres and cages with separate time for interaction etc, and YOU want to do it and have the time, then do it (as long as you can do it safely in terms of disease etc)..because that is what you could be looking at in the worst-case-scenario.

There are quite a few risks-- 1. if you get another bird, your old bird may not accept him/her at all and then you are looking at 3x the commitment required for one bird, as all 3 will have to be interacted with and allowed free-time while the others are caged--this could easily be 6-8 hours a day for all 3 when combined. They could seriously fight.
2. A new budgie could bring in asymptomatic diseases to your other 2 birds, or, you could spread asymptomatic disease from your current birds to the new one. Many diseases can be carried and spread without symptoms, or take years to show symptoms. Given the fact that you are unsure of your last bird's death, it seems risky. Many viruses cause neurological impacts and can survive on surfaces and undetected in seemingly healthy birds for years.
3. The birds could become hormonal (even if you have 2 of the same sex) and you could end up with new behavioral issues, or be the 3rd wheel in a weird love-triangle. If you get 2 of the opposite sex, they could still fight but they could also mate and then you are going to be in way over your head. With females, you run the risk of egg-binding (even if they are on their own--a hormonal female can lay infertile eggs when she feels like it- and that can pose health risks).
4. Three is often a troublesome number for people or birds.

Can it work? Yes. Does it always---I would say 50% of the time, birds don't get along (and there is a sub-sect of that rough percentage that tolerates the other while still requiring constant supervision during interaction). Even if they seem to get along, housing them together could lead to all sorts of risks....it could work, but it's so complicated.

Even in the same house, birds can spread disease, so quarantine and a better vet than your last would be ESSENTIAL ...I do believe they sell swab kits for certain viruses, but that could be expensive. I would certainly run blood work and panels on your current birds before bringing a new bird into the mix, and then do the same for him while in quarantine.

I WOULD NOT NOT NOT combine a female and male parakeet -PERIOD. It's always going to lead to the risk of hormones and breeding...

Thank you! Definitely some things to think about.... I would essentially be getting a new one for the parakeet, I just feel bad for her being alone. I mean I interact with her, but she was never really bonded to me. But you make a lot of excellent points. I am in the process of finding a new avian vet for sure! The last vet told me that since my parakeet isn’t showing any symptoms that the one that passed and it’s been well over a month Since symptoms began when she passed that she most definitely doesn’t have whatever happened to my Lucy. But now I really have no faith in that. And now I’m really nervous to introduce the GCC after quarantine... but they Will have to be In The same room because we have cats and a dog too. They all get their playtime separately.... The cats and dogs will never interact with the birds... Thank you for all of your input!!

Allylang1 said:

Thank you! Definitely some things to think about.... I would essentially be getting a new one for the parakeet, I just feel bad for her being alone. I mean I interact with her, but she was never really bonded to me. But you make a lot of excellent points. I am in the process of finding a new avian vet for sure! The last vet told me that since my parakeet isn’t showing any symptoms that the one that passed and it’s been well over a month Since symptoms began when she passed that she most definitely doesn’t have whatever happened to my Lucy. But now I really have no faith in that. And now I’m really nervous to introduce the GCC after quarantine... but they Will have to be In The same room because we have cats and a dog too. They all get their playtime separately.... The cats and dogs will never interact with the birds... Thank you for all of your input!!

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Birds get exposed to other birds without issue often (at least, in the short-term- I guess I can't speak for 10+ years down the road), but it's just important to be aware of the potential/theoretical risks- because symptoms are not necessarily an indication of contagion or long-term health-- at the same time, you should know that even the testing that is out there for things like PDD/ABV/PBFD can produce false negatives if the asymptomatic/carrier bird isn't actively shedding the virus, so it's some pretty sketchy stuff (albeit, legitimate--it's just that the viruses are complicated and ABV/PDD are pretty newly identified diseases - ABV was named in 2000 -from what I understand). It's just always the risk you take when you bring a new bird into your home, which is why it is really important to consider all of that. It's definitely something to think about if you are adopting or arranging for play-dates or even boarding). I guess you just have to do your best to make sure you think everything through and make sure the risk is worth it and that you do your very best to ensure a lack of any potential transmission. It's not SUPER common, but there are some estimates that say something like 40% of certain captive species could be transmitting ABV etc..but again, that is one study and it's hard to measure. Also- budgies/parakeets seem to get it less often than some other species, but they can still get it.

Here is a link to ABV stuff in the USA- https://lafeber.com/vet/avian-bornavirus-primer/

In my experience, parakeets are pretty accepting of new friends. Obviously this all depends on the individual bird, and you can never be 100% sure they will get along. However, every time I've introduced parakeets to another (four times now), it has worked out just fine. I have four in the same cage - two boys and two girls. One of the girls is kind of a grump, but the other birds quickly figured out her boundaries and squabbling is very minimal. Just make sure the cage is big enough. I've never noticed any breeding behavior in the 4-ish years I've had different sexes together, but I make sure not to give them anything that would cause them to want to nest. Good luck!

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