Questions about new parakeet, and sexing my first one

[Siún]

Hi, Folks.

I posted here a couple of weeks ago about a juvenile parakeet I found exhausted/starved/dehydrated outside. Happy to say the bird was acting like a normal 'keet within days and the vet says it's healthy and thriving. We suspect it's a female, so I've named her Maisie.

Maisie seemed lonely, and was fixated on watching and trying to ineract with my my free-flying green-cheeked conure, so I got her a companion 'keet last week. I kept them separate for several days in side-by-side cages so I could get an idea how well they'd get on together. They liked to sit as close as they could, so I thought they were going to be a good fit.

I bought a big flight cage while they were still getting acquainted from their own spaces. Maisie and the new bird were introduced to the new cage at the same time, so neither bird would have an immediate advantage or sense of ownership that the other didn't have. They both took to the new environment immediately. The trouble is, the new bird is turning out to be very high-strung, noisy and dominant, and this seems to be having a negative effect on Maisie,. They are willing to share a perch now and then, but otherwise Maisie tries to avoid the other bird and seems duller and less playful/curious than she was before. The new bird's considerable noisiness makes Maisie close her eyes, which says to me, anyway, that it bothers her.

Questions:

1. How long should I wait to see if things settle down? I have up to 14 days to return the new bird. While I don't like the idea of returning any animal I've taken into my home, in my circumstances this would effectively be the only choice if the situation doesn't change. I also don't want Maisie--who has already been through so much--to have to deal with this stress any longer than she has to.

2. Can you tell the sex of the new (blue) bird from the photos below? If you think it's male... do male parakeets tend to be noisier than females?

3. Is it ever better to have just one parakeet? As I said, my conure flies freely around the house, so I didn't think it was fair for Maisie to be caged alone, especially since she can see the conure interacting with us all day. We spend time with Maisie, but it will never be at the same level.

Thanks in advance, once again, for your input. I really want to get this right.

P.S. The blue bird is smaller than Maisie. The seller said the blue one is about 4 months old, and the vet thinks Maisie is at least 5 months, though not much more than that.

 

[fiddlejen]

From the picture on the left, the blue one appears to be a baby, younger than Maisie.

Boys do indeed tend to be noisier. And, depending on the bird, more active than females, in my moderately limited experience.

Eyes closed does Not necessarily indicate avoidance, in a healthy happy bird it can often mean trust as well. However, the "tries to avoid the other bird and seems duller and less playful/curious," could indicate a problem... or, it could indicate comfort with the new bird.

Budgies are highly sociable and generally should be kept in pairs or more --when possible -- but many people have happy singleton budgies that are bonded to their human. Budgies Will squabble even when they love each other.

I don't have any advice for you, regarding returning or not returning the new budgie -- except that, for both their sakes, IF you're gonna do so it should be Soon. The longer you wait, the more they get adjusted to each other and their new home, and the more they will miss each other. (Even if they were killing each other!)

 

[kristina7799]

I've not had a female budgie... but I have two males that are quite the chatterboxes! In fact, from the time I uncover the cage to the time I cover it back up, it's RARE if atleast one of them aren't chattering. One of my males actually chatters quietly as he lightly naps. Napping is the only time the other one IS quiet and it's funny to watch him get annoyed if they try to nap together. <3 They aren't "loud" just never ever quiet. I used to do home health care and met many many budgies over the years and the females were typically a little quieter, but it's hard to generalize that because many of them weren't in the best situations. My boys are happy, spoiled, and live like kings LOL.