A new baby to our flock

[Melscamp]

I adopted 5 budgies in November. They were about a year old. None were tamed. They have a room for themselves and are out 12 hours a day. Munny jumps on my hand to eat millet, Roger and Bunny eat while I'm holding it and Hunny and Sunny sometimes. We've come a long way. They have a great life and great set up. However, Roger doesn't have a mate and just watches the 2 pairs sometimes. I wanted to get an even number of budgies.
A friend has babies and I'm getting one next week, Gerdy. She is hand tamed so far and just started eating seed. My plan is to keep her in my living room for a least a week, maybe 2, to get her used to me and let my flock hear her first. Then bring her cage in the bird room for a few days before letting her out.
I know it will change our flock and don't know if she will become Roger's mate or things will switch. Munny is our man, bonded to Bunny, Hunny & Sunny are ladies and I'm unsure about Roger because he's lutino. I also think they are English and Gerdy will be smaller.

Is this a good procedure?
Does everyone love babies and they will accept her quickly?
Has this happened to anyone and how did it go?

 

[DestinyCall]

I would recommend a four week quarantine period before you introduce the new bird to your existing flock. This will give you more time to bond with the new bird and protect your other birds from any visible illnesses that the new bird might be harboring. During quarantine, monitor the new bird closely for signs of sickness. Be sure to wash your hands after interacting with the new bird and avoid sharing supplies between the two cages. One sick bird is bad. Six sick birds is VERY bad.

As for how the birds will respond to the new arrival ... it depends. Everyone DOES NOT automatically love babies and the group might consider her an unwelcome intruder in their turf. On the flip side, parakeets are natural flock birds and they will probably accept her after some initial drama and social restructuring. Putting her in the room, in her cage, so they can see her and get to know her is a good idea. Before letting her out for the first time, I recommend changing around the bird room a little. Add new toys, move perches around, add some millet sprays in strategic locations - give the birds plenty of distractions to keep them busy, so Gertie isn't the center of attention. You can expect a little squabbling at first, especially around food or favorite perches. Make sure there are multiple feeders and extra spots for Gertie to rest. Monitor the interactions to make sure she is not being harassed (or harrassing) too much. With any luck, she should be settled in within a few days. If things are not looking good, you may need to separate Gertie. If one bird seems to be the main problem, you could also try separating that bird for a while to let Gertie get settled into the group. Removing an aggressive bird temporarily can sometime change the group dynamic enough to fix the problem.

Good luck and I hope all goes well for you.

 

[Melscamp]

Great idea with moving their stuff around. I ordered a new cage so it might show up before I bring the baby in. I ordered it at the beginning of quarentine from China while they were still in full lockdown.
If I can do 8 weeks and counting in quarentine, then little Gerdie can do half that, lol.

 

[Melscamp]

Follow up link about unweaned babies
http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html