Spacey'sMom
Member
- Aug 24, 2022
- 70
- 30
- Parrots
- 2 Budgies!
Hello All,
I have made a number of posts since beginning our journey with Teerie and Yvie the budgies. We are not immediately looking for another bird but I like to do my research far in advance. We considered getting more budgies but many people suggest that creating larger flocks of them can lead to them loosing interest in interacting with us and/or loosing their tameness? I understand that this heavily depends on the bird and the handling but we are interested in some other traits in our next bird(s). (Some of these things may be different with different budgies, especially hand-raised ones but ours were not. We got them as young adults)
Things we LOVE about the budgies:
-Watching them skitter around and be cantankerous.
-The chatter(within reason).
-The equally annoying yet entertaining personalities.
Reasons they fit our lifestyle:
-They are small and agile which while hopefully never necessary, will help keep them safe in a worst case scenario. (we have cats and dogs, see bottom)
-While busy and noisy, the volume is generally not too much for us.
-They are independent and schedule heavy which, while we would like more interactivity, does work to our advantage.
Things we would like to have in our next bird:
-Greater interest in interacting with us. Doesn't need to be cuddly but one that actively wants to interact with us would be wonderful.
-Small to Medium birds would be preferred, partially because they would be able to utilize many of the existing bird trees/stations but I also assume that a larger parrot species would be more likely to injure our budgies(intentional or not).
-Outdoor or harness capabilities. I spend a lot of time outdoors and would love a safe tag a long. Nothing in the small/medium size would be safe for free flight in this area in terms of predation but something that can enjoy that time either on shoulder, in a carrier, or monitored on an outdoor perch.
-Trainability is a big factor for me. That is a huge reason I was interested in parrots and why I got our budgies. We've done, step-up, touch all over, target, and minor flight training with our budgies. While we can and have been expanding that skillset. We are more or less cohabitators to the budgies. We just live in their house lol. Having something more interested in us and even willing to please would be amazing.
Daily life for our budgies:
-They let themselves out of their cage(just covered with a light weight cloth) and into our bedroom(where the cage is) and hang out on a perch next to a window while I take the dogs and go feed the horses.
-Once I get home I feed the mammals(2 dogs, 3 cats), add a small scoop of dry mix to each of their forage trays(aka scrabble boxes) then they get 3 scoops of dry mix with a veggie on top. I keep a fresh water bowl for them at one bird station and a larger bath bowl at another.(Teerie likes to bathe every couple days. Yvie will on occasion but its infrequent so I'll mist him once a week.) I usually add a bird safe tea or hay to each. The food bowl goes on a different station every day so they have to fly around to find it. I then let them out of the bedroom and they generally fly themselves down.
-They generally sit at the station by a window and shriek on and off for 30 minutes then track down the food bowl. They eat, fly around screeching for another 30 or so then settle in to nap at the station next to my desk for 3 or so hours. They don't spend all of it asleep. Generally soft chirping, chewing on one of their toys/the wood of the perch, etc.
-Around 1-2 they start waking back up, will go snack, Yvie will try to buddy up to Teerie, get screeched at and run off by her then keep coming back. Whether its just their way of playing or she actually gets annoyed with him? Not sure lol. I have to run them off my house plants and curtain rods a few times a day Especially around this time. I keep some dried seedheads of grass around so if they mess with my plants too much I can redirect them to those(They generally only mess with my Spider Plants which is just fancy grass).
-They settle in to nap, preen and chatter until about 4-5 when all the animals start waking up. My husband generally gets home between 5-5:30. He will love on them as much as they let him and they will sit on the station next to his desk and/or screech for the next hour lol. They finally get sleepy around 6-6:30 and are put to bed between 7-8:00
-They do a lot more flying around and screeching on the weekend when my husband is home. Especially if they don't get let out at the same time. While they don't demand much direct attention time out of us we plan our days around them.
Species we have looked at and considered and based on our impressions, what concerns we have:
Cockatiel:
-dusty
-night terrors
GCConure:
-nippy
-noise
SunConure:
-noise
-clingy
Quaker:
-Bonding to one person
-noise
Ringneck:
-noise
-clingy
Eclectus:
-bonding to one person
-hormonal
Of course this can all vary but the main things I haven't found info about in my research is how they interact with budgies. We don't need them to buddy up to the budgies and they would have their own separate room(cage) for bedtime but if its a situation where they cannot tolerate the budgies at all and have to be kept separate at all times it will not be something we want to risk. I'm sure this will vary depending on the bird but anyone with direct experience keeping them and maybe how hand-raised vs adult adoptions change how they respond to budgies. We would prefer to adopt through a local rescue but if a hand-raised baby will be better for all birds involved we can do that too. This is not an immediate concern and we are in the research stage.
For anyone concerned about how I manage the birds the 2 dogs and 3 cats:
Both dogs have been raised around a ton of different animals including birds of varying sizes. The horse farm has chickens which included a number of small running chicks as well as the adults.
The same is true with 2/3 cats. Both were outdoors before we got them one a barn cat, and one a dumpster cat.
The birds are never left unattended with any of our other animals. We do not encourage any interaction from bird to mammal and vice versa. The Bird stations are made specifically to be as catproof as I can make it.
2 bird stations are large trees with branches too thin for the cats to climb and either a foam or cardboard catch tray that would collapse if a cat tried to get up on it.
2 bird stations are on foam platforms atop a shelf and curio.
The last is an area above the kitchen cabinets. Each place is as secure as I can make it and as I work from home the situation is constantly monitored.
The dogs and cats spend most of the day sleeping. If on any given day they seem more interested, the cats are shut in a bedroom (which if left open they tend to sleep in anyway).
We wanted smaller, more agile birds in case they ever had need to escape, which has not happened at any point. The same way we got dogs that are big enough to keep up, agile enough to evade the horses, and small enough to scoot under a fence. We have never had the horses try to chase down our dogs but its better to plan for it and never need to. That in mind, any bird species we get we will want them to share those traits. The budgies and our mammals all live happier, more enriched lives by being able to come out and interact with us and move around the house. The risk has been calculated for and mitigated as much as possible.
I understand if there are concerns and I can answer any questions but please know its not up for debate and I do not do so lightly. I don't mean to be defensive but I'm not someone thinking its funny to watch a bird pick a fight with a cat. We may keep them and have them out at the same time, but that doesn't mean we do so carelessly. Sorry I'll hop of the soapbox now!
I have made a number of posts since beginning our journey with Teerie and Yvie the budgies. We are not immediately looking for another bird but I like to do my research far in advance. We considered getting more budgies but many people suggest that creating larger flocks of them can lead to them loosing interest in interacting with us and/or loosing their tameness? I understand that this heavily depends on the bird and the handling but we are interested in some other traits in our next bird(s). (Some of these things may be different with different budgies, especially hand-raised ones but ours were not. We got them as young adults)
Things we LOVE about the budgies:
-Watching them skitter around and be cantankerous.
-The chatter(within reason).
-The equally annoying yet entertaining personalities.
Reasons they fit our lifestyle:
-They are small and agile which while hopefully never necessary, will help keep them safe in a worst case scenario. (we have cats and dogs, see bottom)
-While busy and noisy, the volume is generally not too much for us.
-They are independent and schedule heavy which, while we would like more interactivity, does work to our advantage.
Things we would like to have in our next bird:
-Greater interest in interacting with us. Doesn't need to be cuddly but one that actively wants to interact with us would be wonderful.
-Small to Medium birds would be preferred, partially because they would be able to utilize many of the existing bird trees/stations but I also assume that a larger parrot species would be more likely to injure our budgies(intentional or not).
-Outdoor or harness capabilities. I spend a lot of time outdoors and would love a safe tag a long. Nothing in the small/medium size would be safe for free flight in this area in terms of predation but something that can enjoy that time either on shoulder, in a carrier, or monitored on an outdoor perch.
-Trainability is a big factor for me. That is a huge reason I was interested in parrots and why I got our budgies. We've done, step-up, touch all over, target, and minor flight training with our budgies. While we can and have been expanding that skillset. We are more or less cohabitators to the budgies. We just live in their house lol. Having something more interested in us and even willing to please would be amazing.
Daily life for our budgies:
-They let themselves out of their cage(just covered with a light weight cloth) and into our bedroom(where the cage is) and hang out on a perch next to a window while I take the dogs and go feed the horses.
-Once I get home I feed the mammals(2 dogs, 3 cats), add a small scoop of dry mix to each of their forage trays(aka scrabble boxes) then they get 3 scoops of dry mix with a veggie on top. I keep a fresh water bowl for them at one bird station and a larger bath bowl at another.(Teerie likes to bathe every couple days. Yvie will on occasion but its infrequent so I'll mist him once a week.) I usually add a bird safe tea or hay to each. The food bowl goes on a different station every day so they have to fly around to find it. I then let them out of the bedroom and they generally fly themselves down.
-They generally sit at the station by a window and shriek on and off for 30 minutes then track down the food bowl. They eat, fly around screeching for another 30 or so then settle in to nap at the station next to my desk for 3 or so hours. They don't spend all of it asleep. Generally soft chirping, chewing on one of their toys/the wood of the perch, etc.
-Around 1-2 they start waking back up, will go snack, Yvie will try to buddy up to Teerie, get screeched at and run off by her then keep coming back. Whether its just their way of playing or she actually gets annoyed with him? Not sure lol. I have to run them off my house plants and curtain rods a few times a day Especially around this time. I keep some dried seedheads of grass around so if they mess with my plants too much I can redirect them to those(They generally only mess with my Spider Plants which is just fancy grass).
-They settle in to nap, preen and chatter until about 4-5 when all the animals start waking up. My husband generally gets home between 5-5:30. He will love on them as much as they let him and they will sit on the station next to his desk and/or screech for the next hour lol. They finally get sleepy around 6-6:30 and are put to bed between 7-8:00
-They do a lot more flying around and screeching on the weekend when my husband is home. Especially if they don't get let out at the same time. While they don't demand much direct attention time out of us we plan our days around them.
Species we have looked at and considered and based on our impressions, what concerns we have:
Cockatiel:
-dusty
-night terrors
GCConure:
-nippy
-noise
SunConure:
-noise
-clingy
Quaker:
-Bonding to one person
-noise
Ringneck:
-noise
-clingy
Eclectus:
-bonding to one person
-hormonal
Of course this can all vary but the main things I haven't found info about in my research is how they interact with budgies. We don't need them to buddy up to the budgies and they would have their own separate room(cage) for bedtime but if its a situation where they cannot tolerate the budgies at all and have to be kept separate at all times it will not be something we want to risk. I'm sure this will vary depending on the bird but anyone with direct experience keeping them and maybe how hand-raised vs adult adoptions change how they respond to budgies. We would prefer to adopt through a local rescue but if a hand-raised baby will be better for all birds involved we can do that too. This is not an immediate concern and we are in the research stage.
For anyone concerned about how I manage the birds the 2 dogs and 3 cats:
Both dogs have been raised around a ton of different animals including birds of varying sizes. The horse farm has chickens which included a number of small running chicks as well as the adults.
The same is true with 2/3 cats. Both were outdoors before we got them one a barn cat, and one a dumpster cat.
The birds are never left unattended with any of our other animals. We do not encourage any interaction from bird to mammal and vice versa. The Bird stations are made specifically to be as catproof as I can make it.
2 bird stations are large trees with branches too thin for the cats to climb and either a foam or cardboard catch tray that would collapse if a cat tried to get up on it.
2 bird stations are on foam platforms atop a shelf and curio.
The last is an area above the kitchen cabinets. Each place is as secure as I can make it and as I work from home the situation is constantly monitored.
The dogs and cats spend most of the day sleeping. If on any given day they seem more interested, the cats are shut in a bedroom (which if left open they tend to sleep in anyway).
We wanted smaller, more agile birds in case they ever had need to escape, which has not happened at any point. The same way we got dogs that are big enough to keep up, agile enough to evade the horses, and small enough to scoot under a fence. We have never had the horses try to chase down our dogs but its better to plan for it and never need to. That in mind, any bird species we get we will want them to share those traits. The budgies and our mammals all live happier, more enriched lives by being able to come out and interact with us and move around the house. The risk has been calculated for and mitigated as much as possible.
I understand if there are concerns and I can answer any questions but please know its not up for debate and I do not do so lightly. I don't mean to be defensive but I'm not someone thinking its funny to watch a bird pick a fight with a cat. We may keep them and have them out at the same time, but that doesn't mean we do so carelessly. Sorry I'll hop of the soapbox now!
