FINCHforum

I " think" I am keeping Olaf ( Olive) at home with Franklin. They are so sweet together. I have a 30x18x18 flight. I also have a divider I have put in. Is this something I should do? My thinking was to house them separately for now, but side by side apartments, with common ground play time. Because of age, I do not want any mating going on, and don't know if this is something I should worry about yet. Also, I wanted them to both still want to be with me as well, not too much into each other. This defeats my purpose of having them. I would like them each to bond with me as well. What is the best way to accomplish this? Or...... Should I let them live in the same apartment with the divider out? I have read many conflicting things, the benefits of living in separate cages, and then living together. I guess each has their own view of things and what is best.

Since Franklin is apt to view the cage as "his" I would use the divider for at least a week or two, so they can get accustomed to the idea of living together and redraw territory lines.

Assuming they get along well outside the cage at the end of 1-2 weeks, you can re-arrange the cage (to re-draw property lines) and remove the divider.

I don't know how much time they spend inside the cage, but if it's any length of time, I might get a second 30x18x18 and interconnect it with the current cage. That would be a better size for two budgies.

If they spend lots of time outside, then there's no real need for a larger cage.
My pair lives in a similarly sized cage (except it's taller rather than longer) and once the bird room is finished, they'll only spend nights in their cage.
(As it is currently, they spend about 8-10 hours/day running free.)

I wouldn't worry about mating at all.
They won't reproduce unless you give them a nest box. (They can mate all they want and she may lay an egg or two, but that's normal. You can just remove any eggs that get laid - usually in the food bowl or on the floor. You're not going to have babies unless you provide a nest box.)

Thank you. I have Franklin in a completely different cage, he is in a keet cage, but not big enough for two. So putting them into the 30x18x18 would be new to them both. I had this flight as an extra cage but am trying to find somewhere to put it. But in getting ready, I have the divider in. When I am home from work, they are out of the cage and on their gym or on me. So from 4 -8 each day and weekends during the day, they are on the gym or on me. They get along fine so far outside the cage. No problem. But is I house them together WITHOUT the divider, will it interfere with my bonding or them wanting to be with me? Living next to one another I have read will allow them to interact through bars while in cage, but will still seek attention from me as well. Or does it really not matter much?

Still not sure what to tell the preschoolers as to why Olive will be staying home.

That sounds like a good plan.

Putting them together shouldn't harm the bonding process with you. Some believe that putting them together makes it difficult to bond, but I've never found this to be true. (And I've worked with a few hundred hookbill fosters over the years, plus my own.)

I just recommend spending one-on-one time with each, out of the sight-line of the other so as to avoid feelings of jealousy interfering with things.
Ideally, it should be 30-60 min of alone time with each per day, but the more time, the better.

Once they've each bonded with you, you can start spending time with them together. This works with some birds and not with others. Some get insanely jealous. Others aren't bothered at all. It just depends on the individual.

As for what to tell the kids, that's a tough one.
I usually prefer to go with some variant of the truth.
Since they're young, I might say Olaf is on vacation but he'll visit soon. And then bring him in every so often. I might even see if you could get approval to bring them in together on an occasional basis. That would be even better.

Vacation should be something they understand at 3-5; you could liken it to their vacations from school. (The kids don't spend all day, every day at school. So neither does Olaf; he goes home too sometimes. And he goes on vacations with his birdie family.)
And it's not gone forever, so nothing to be sad about. It's just gone for a little while. That's what I'd say.

That is a great idea!! Thank you!

Harley2013 -- Glad I could help!

In fact, you could have fun with the vacation idea. Perhaps Olaf could send your class a post card or a letter with a photo to help ease their mind that he's okay between "visits."

You could even use the letters/postcards as a teaching tool. (e.g. Olaf says he's building sand castles, swimming and hanging out with the seagulls. Where do you think he's vacationing?.....That's right, the beach!)

And you could do a weekly visit. As long as you use the same routine, it shouldn't be all that stressful for him. Birds learn quickly and they're not usually nervous as long as they know what to expect.
His visits could always be used as great as a bargaining chip/reward too (e.g. better clean up the toys so everything looks nice for when Olaf arrives tomorrow!)

Yeah, I'd milk that for all its worth! LOL

Olive and Franklin would be happier together so they can snuggle and play and groom each other. Either way if you work with them enough they should be relatively tameable, but since they're going to be next to each other regardless, the wire in between makes no difference in their tame-ability now as they are still able to communicate with each other.

It will be harmless for the birds to mate now. Without a nestbox, the hen will not lay any eggs. Likewise, being so very young, there will be no territorial aggression on either bird's part. I've introduced completely unfamiliar adult budgies and never had a fight.

Sheather wrote: Olive and Franklin would be happier together so they can snuggle and play and groom each other. Either way if you work with them enough they should be relatively tameable, but since they're going to be next to each other regardless, the wire in between makes no difference in their tame-ability now as they are still able to communicate with each other....

Totally agreed with this!

It made me realize I should clarify that the reason I suggested using the divider -- to help get them accustomed to living with each other, while preventing any aggression that could arise from fear/nervousness or territorial-ness.
But if they're good friends who've never had a problem and it's a cage that's new to both of them, then I don't see the harm in skipping the divider entirely. I'd just be sure you put them in together when you have a few hours to observe, just so you can ensure everything is harmonious.

With parakeets and other hookbills, I like to give them a chance to explore their new cage before I put them in. So I'll leave it open and accessible during free fly and I'll pop some treats and toys in there to lure them in. I'll let them have access for a day or two. It's not mandatory, of course, but whenever possible, I do this as it helps ease the transition.

Great!! Then this I shall do. I will let them both explore for a day or two while I set it up, they can watch, explore and then I will introduce while I am able to watch them a few hours just to make sure all is well, but from what they have shown, they are a match!