Parakeet update and interesting turn of events

[lovezebs]

sundancekid

I can't see why they wouldn't remember each other, if they had lived together and possibly shared a cage. I would just love to see that first meeting, and their reaction to one another. Please take a video, or at least some pictures. I am really curious.

[sundancekid]

I will be picking him up next Saturday. He's in an extremely tiny cage, so I feel pretty bad about making him wait. I just don't have a spare moment until next weekend!! I'm going to try to do a short quarantine, but my husband is probably not going to tolerate parakeets screaming across the house at each other for very long. I will try to get a video of their introduction. I'm very interested to see what happens. At the very least, I think the guy I have here will be very happy to get a companion.... he is obsessed with the finches. He sits on one side of the cage and sings soft little songs to them. It's very cute.

[lovezebs]

sundancekid

That sounds awfully cute.
I'm glad you decided to take him in.

I would make the initial intro's through cage bars, just to be on the safe side. Let them get used to hearing each other, then seeing each other from a bit of a distance, then closer.

Personally, I would make the actual physical introduction, in a small room, and let them both out of the cages , to get as close or as far away from each other as they feel ocomfortable with.

While you're keeping an eye on them, I would change the big cage around. Move the perches to different locations, change the food and.water dishes around and so on. The reason for that, is that this will appear like a new cage, and your current boy, will not get possessive (as in this is my cage and I'm going to kill you if you take one step Iinside my territory). Do you see what I mean?

Once the two guys are acquainted (and hopefully like each other) , you can grab them, and put them into the cage together.

Make sur that there are two food cups, two water bottles etc. , so that there are no squabbling.

Good luck

[Atbird]

Two parakeets are better than one. As for the cage that the blue keet is in, it looks like those small "parakeet" cages sold in petstores and that weird white bent bar on the top right of the picture is a plastic circle swing that comes in the cage. They are the "cheapest" cage you can buy in a pet store (although I think completely over priced) and sometimes come with a setup.

Just to play devil's advocate, if the lady just found a bird and didn't know what to do with it, then this would be the cage she would be sold.

Also, just because two birds escaped at the same time does not mean they were abandoned! When I was younger (much, much younger) I was playing with a pair of parakeets in their cage in the yard and for some unknown reason I opened the door and they both flew out.

More recently, my father's first pair of canary babies were in their little cage getting some sun, when, while bringing the cage back into the house, he accidently dropped it, the bottom fell off and off flew both canaries! I just like to keep an open mind about the back stories of strays. People who work in shelters/vets etc tend to vilify the supposed owners of these animals because they've seen many "stupid" reasons for abandonment, but there are plenty of people that lose animals that are never returned...there are many reasons for strays.

[Babs _Owner]

sundancekid

Im very excited for you and the two birds. And yes OMG that blue parakeet is HUGE!!! Be nice to know how you feel about the interaction with the woman, and if the birds do indeed know each other.

You have enough experience with budgies to know if they knew each other before. Happy thoughts to you and the new arrival

[sundancekid]

Well, it's been a super crappy day, but I have the blue parakeet. One of my finches escaped outside this morning, due to something stupid I did. Full story on Finch Chat. Stupid, stupid me.

In honor of my lost finch (JoJo), I named the blue parakeet Joey. I didn't ask the people a whole lot of questions.... it was a teenage girl and her mother. They were kind of weird and I just wasn't in the mood to probe. Whether they found him or were just trying to unload him doesn't really matter to me.... I know I will give him a good home. They've been keeping him in one of those teeny tiny cages they sell for finches with a tiny water tube. Not even enough space for him to turn around without his tailfeathers getting stuck.

The green one is now named Frankie. I know I did not introduce them correctly, but I'm in such a sour mood today, I just couldn't deal with it. I don't think they recognized each other at all. I set the cages next to each other and they were very interested. Even seemed frustrated that they couldn't get to each other. So I just put Joey in there. They seem to be getting on ok. Frankie is definitely the dominant one, but has been sharing his perches, food, millet etc. There's been some pecking, kicking and screeching. There's also been some playing, kissing and singing. No outright fighting, chasing or plucking. I rearranged some things and they've been exploring together. I think they'll be fine once they get settled.

[Babs _Owner]

sundancekid

Oh nooooooo I am sooo sorry about your lost bird. Oh I teared up a little bit.

Is it warm enough out to put the finch cage outside so his cagemates can call him back home??

Maybe even put the cage near an open window so he can hear them outside and maybe find his way back home

Im glad the parakeet ended up being a success story

[sundancekid]

Babs

Thanks. I had the cage out there the whole time I was trying to catch her. She just wouldn't fly over to it. She was my most vocal. I only have 2 left and they are very quiet. I wish I could've left the cage out where I last saw her, but it started storming soon after she took her final flight and the back patio isn't covered. As soon as there was a break in the rain, I went looking for her some more, but it's quite hopeless at this point. She's been gone for almost 12 hours now. We are expecting a some more storms tonight or I would leave a window open. Sigh.

The keets are well on their way to a bromance. Frankie is still a little nosy about what the new guy is doing in his cage, but doesn't chase him away... just wants to supervise his activities. They are settled in for the night and roosting together right now. At least that's going right!!

[wildbird]

I would still leave a cage out on a table with the cage door open and some mille, seed and water inside just in case she comes back. That way at least you have a chance of keeping her coming back until you can get her to come inside. It would help if you had a tape with some finch songs that you could play. When I turned some english sparrows out that I had raised, they both came back inside the the screen porch and right back into their cage. I decided they wanted to stay, so I kept them. I hope you can get her back.

[vinay]

You needn't worry about introducing male budgies to each other . Generally they are very social and should get along right away . Given the size of the cage you've bought them , you should have no concerns whatsoever regarding fights.
Good on you for rescuing these guys .
Good luck

[lovezebs]

sundancekid

I'm so happy that Frankie and Joey, are getting along well. That's really good news.