parakeets

[zebsoc]

Since I'd had a lot of problems with my finches I decided to go for parakeets on my 2nd double flight cage instead of more finches.
I got 6 parakeets so they could be a flock.
I've had parakeets in the past and they all got along reasonablely well.
I got them from Petco and was happy that they took good care of them, clean cage, large, and they were not really afraid of human beings like other parakeets I'd seen.
They were happy I got the gray/green one because he was older than the rest and no one had ever chosen him.

Tho its been 2 months, he is still the only one that has his flight feathers.
How long does it take clipped feathers to regrow?
The others don't seem to like him much. Often they force him off his perch. And sometimes they all gain up on him and chase him from one end of cage to the other's. Fortunately he can fly and they can't yet.
Am I endangering him by leaving him in this situation?

See pictures of new parakeets below.
The cage in picture was just a temporary cage until the double flight cage got put together. They actually increased their chasing him After moving into larger cage.
None r really bonding with each other. The yellow snd dark blue seem to be starting to bond.
The gray/green is male but not sure about rest.
In the travel cage he's the one in the far Left/Bottom.
They all do enjoy playing with their toys and are very talkative to each other and to outside birds or noises.

[mohum]

What about introducing some more perches so they have a choice? I can't see how many you have. I also give a selection of feeding stations so they aren't competing all the time.

[zebsoc]

Hi Mohum
Thank you for your suggestions.

In their new double flight cage they have lots of perches and feeding stations.
I haven't taken pictures of them in their new cage yet. I will try to take some tomorrow.

Mainly it seems he rarely stands his ground.
And so the rest pick on him because he leaves the perch and they keep shooing him from perch to perch
and like a dog if a cat runs, they can start to chase him if runs.
At times they seem like they either ignore him or are ok, but then it starts up again.

I'm not sure how long to give it a try. I don't want him to end up getting hurt or killed if I'm not around to stop it in time.

He is the tamest of them all. Not that he is friendly but not as skittish.

Sometimes I think he would be better as a single pet, but the problem was that he never got chosen to begin with and is older than the rest.

[Sheather]

I have nine parakeets at the moment after being gifted some this summer and catching an escapee that showed up in our backyard. Four were given to me on my birthday this summer, they were from Petco and they were also wing-clipped, except for one who - like yours - was a bit older and had gotten her wings back already. I noticed that for the longest time, the four new birds (three hens and a male) did not associate even a little with our original four males. Two of the females, whom I assume are sisters, bonded immediately, and the new male and new female. It has only been in maybe the last two or three weeks I've started to see the new parakeets flock with the original ones and play together, though they remain most closely bonded with their partners from the petshop. It's also only now, after about three months, that the three clipped parakeets are showing new wing feathers. It will take 3 - 5 months for them to be able to fully fly again if clipped as babies, but mine are able to flutter and get across and to the top of an 8' x 8' aviary no problem even with clipped wings.

I'm not sure why your budgies aren't all getting along, I find mine buddy up into pairs with a best friend (sex seems not to matter) who they spend the most time with, but particularly the males also associate and play with others as well. None of my parakeets bully one another, though after catching the ninth budgie and introducing him, he proved a little bossier than any of the ones we had already and broke up a bonded pair of two males, bonding with one and leaving one as a third wheel. There was no aggression though and this parakeet then simply joined in on the shenanigans of a mellower pair who had no issue forming a trio and who all act closely bonded with each other now.

[zebsoc]

Hi Sheather - thank you for your post.
I'm glad to know that my parakeets wings will be growing back in another month or two.
Yours sound like a great group of parakeets.

I think that too many of mine want to be alphas. My White, dark blue and yellow are especially active. The light blue and bright green are becoming more alpha too as they settle into their new homes. The older one is the least and therefore he gets bumped off perches more.
I'm hoping that once they can fly and the don't need to get each other out of the way to move easily that it might reduce their bickering.

Pictures below of current cage.