Lonely bird on my 12 hr shifts

[buurd]

My male bourke's has gone through 2 weeks of mourning for his cage mate, and I think he's doing better.

But I start some 12 hr shifts on Monday, after being with him most of these 2 weeks. I am worried about him being lonely.

It might be ok if he had birds in the tree by the window to watch and call to, but its deep winter here and snow is piled on the branches. Any birds are stopping by only rarely, and it's fleeting. I hardly hear bird calls from outside, and they are usually crows or canadian geese.

I have played him clips of birds in aviaries to listen to and he seems to like it. But I cant leave the PC on for 12 hrs while I am not there. I cant hire a sitter for him. So I really dont know what to do for him.

Sometimes he starts singing and lwaiting for a bird to call back and when one doesnt, he just keeps singing fast and doesnt stop unless I play him a clip. Im worried he's going to sing himself sick, when Im not here.

 

[Melscamp]

This is just so sad. He needs a new mate. Much love for your male bourke.
I have a YouTube playlist for when I go to work. It's 8 hours and it keeps them going. They hear commercials but it's mostly Bernie Sanders and the purple mattress. (I looked at the price for a friend once a month ago.) I also set up a timed light so they get a full 12 hours. I'm totally an amateur but read this stuff helps. The grieving process is different for everyone.

 

[Jen5200]

While I’m at work I do play the radio for my birds. They do seem to enjoy having the music, people talking, etc.

 

[buurd]

Would it be wrong to tape him, and play that back to him for hours? Would he fall in love with himself or something messed up?

 

[noodles123]

I don't know about that, but it hasn't been that long when you think about it...No solutions here, but just saying, 2 weeks is nothing. Think about how long it takes to get over that kind of loss and remember that they have the cognition of a 2-year -old at bare minimum.

 

[fiddlejen]

I put actual old-fashioned Radio on Classical station anytime I will be gone more than a few hours. (I.e. at work etc.) I don't actually listen to classical myself so it has a distinct meaning for my birds.

As far as your Singleton. IF it were me, I would get another birdie. Maybe the same kind, to be a pair again, or maybe different, like maybe a pair of finches in a separate cage next to the Bourke. I don't mean, rush right out to do so. But if it were mine, I would tend to assume a singleton bird would eventually be lonely if I were consistently gone for long periods.

(I say- IF it were mine, because I am Not an expert. And IF this is Not what would WORK for you, then in that case, don't do it! Please doN't get any birdie that YOU don't want!)

 

[buurd]

I dont think Ive owned a real radio in a couple decades.

I ended up making a playlist of birds he might like to listen to: Bourke's , other grass keets & cockatiels in aviaries, etc. So I pop it on my iPad and hes got at least 8 hrs of it. Bourkes sleep thru the middle of the day, too, so that helps. hen hes not doing that, he likes to sun himself in the window, mostly, from what I can see.

I really dont see any other way but getting him a companion, eventually. I just cant replace another bird in his life. We sing songs every night and he likes that, but he needs a bird companion

 

[18WheelsOfSteel]

I know Mr. Beau Dandy loves listening to the radio, he dances and sings and displays every sign of a happy bird when songs he digs come on, might be worth considering picking up an inexpensive radio to see whether or not he likes it too, you can usually find a fairly inexpensive radio that should serve the purpose relatively easily.

 

[buurd]

Budgies are more playful, extroverted and sassy than bourke's. Ive never had a Budgie, but this seems to be the case from what I can see. Im not sure what budgies are into, but he is missing the buddy he lost 4 weeks ago. Music just doesnt cut the mustard for him; neither does human talk. He was calling to her, in his mourning, and calling to the outside birds. So he needs the sound/company of other birds.
So far, so good with his playlist. He hasn't declined in health, like I was worried he might, and has lessened his 'mourning' calls. But being the type of bird he is, he will need some bird company, sooner than later. I just have to get financially stable again, before that can happen.

 

[noodles123]

The thing is, he misses his specific mate. If your friend died and your parents brought you a new friend, you might have the same connection, but you might not.
I am not sure that a new mate will fix this-----it could, but it is a gamble.

 

[buurd]

The thing is, he misses his specific mate. If your friend died and your parents brought you a new friend, you might have the same connection, but you might not.
I am not sure that a new mate will fix this-----it could, but it is a gamble.

The correct analogy is that how would you feel if you were a captive human of some other species and that that your human buddy that youve been with all of your life died, leaving you alone, and you were unable to connect to other humans outside of the place you were prisoner, and what if you couldn't even hear their voices from outside, but rarely? Its not just that he lost his buddy, but that his life in captivity is unnatural and his being away from bird company is doubly so.

So its not a matter of replacing his lifelong (as far as I know) buddy. There is no replacing her. But he is going to need bird company. They dont have to live together in a cage, and he doesnt need to like them, as he did her.

He just needs a well-suited, mellow breed of his kind of bird, or close, to have some bird company in his life. More than likely, this means another bourke or splendid, or possibly a mellow finch or two, that he can call to and listen to and share a room with.

I know larger parrots can bond very heavily with their human. But he's a small, mostly wild grass keet, and humans are a bad substitute for real, substantial company.

 

[LaManuka]

This is where I would normally recommend a budgie as a new companion, but not in this case as the average budgie would be WAY too boisterous for your mellow little Bourkie. He really does need some company but temperament is crucial. I don’t know how easy grass parakeets are to come by in your part of the world but I wish you well in your search for a suitable companion.

 

[buurd]

This is where I would normally recommend a budgie as a new companion, but not in this case as the average budgie would be WAY too boisterous for your mellow little Bourkie. He really does need some company but temperament is crucial. I don’t know how easy grass parakeets are to come by in your part of the world but I wish you well in your search for a suitable companion.

They dont seem easy to find where Im from, and I wouldnt know where to look for a splendid, for example.
If I were in a rush I think he might end up with a couple of finch neighbors, because I see them pop up for adoption frequently. Society finches are supposed to be on the mellow side (?). But I know nothing about finches.
Im not in a rush right now, so hopefully a bourke's or splendid pops up for him. I would imagine he can communicate better with them, I think.