Ask Lafeber

Introducing New Parakeet

Hello,
Thank you for your quality products, especially the Nutri-berries! My bird is a fan.

I have had Pip, a solo parakeet for 3 years. She slowly became trusting with our family and our guinea pig, Roo. She became very comfortable flying to and from her cage and interacting with Roo who was kept in an open “pig pen” near her cage. Pip and Roo would hang out all day and even nap together. Pip learned to mimic Roo and make guinea pig noises frequently. Last year Roo died and I do believe Pip grieved. She stuck to her cage much more and became very quiet. I felt the need to provided Pip with a new friend. Recently we introduced Juniper, a young parakeet (sex unknown). They are next to each other but in separate cages. I am surprised at Pip’s reaction. She was not as “excited” as I thought she would be to see another Parakeet. She has remained pretty passive about it, ignoring Juniper and going on about her business as if he/she isn’t even there. Juniper, on the other hand, seems very curious and ready to mingle. I worried Pip would be aggressive, if anything, but for her to completely ignore is unexpected. I imagine it is difficult to decipher birds’ behaviors, as they are all so individual. Just curious if this is considered normal.
Thank you

Hi Shannon,

Pip’s lack of interest is pretty common for an older parakeet when the other bird is young. Pip may be more interested as Juniper gets older. But if Juniper ends up being a female, they may not get along since Pip has had the house to herself for 3 years. Female parakeets can be very territorial and aggressive towards younger birds and other females. It’s best to only let them have interaction when you can closely supervise them. As Juniper gets older, you may be able to determine the bird’s sex. Just always supervise them and let each bird have their own cage.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda