Ask Lafeber

Should i get my bird a friend?

Greetings.
I got a show budgie about 2 months ago. Her name is Angel 🙂
I love her with all my heart but i have basically given up. After spending months sitting next to her, talking to her, offering treats and placing my hand near her she won’t become tame 🙁
She is not scared of my hand but will not climb on top of it and will not come to me. She is also not active. She is clipped so maybe this is the factor but either way she basically spends majority of her day just sitting and preening. She only chirps and gets excited when she hears other birds (outside or when i play sounds on my computer)
I am not sure what to do anymore and have thought maybe i should just get her another friend instead.

I just wanted to know if getting a new baby budgie will maybe allow me to train the baby budgie easier and get him to fly to me and then Angel will grow confidence and copy the baby’s steps.

Hi Cassidy,

Angel still may need more work. Two months seems like a long time, but some birds can take much longer to come around. Of course, female budgies are not as friendly as the males, in general. If you get another bird and want it to be tame, you need to keep it in a different cage. If they share a cage, neither bird is likely to be tamed at all. Birds will almost always choose another bird over a human if they are in the same cage – even if they are both the same sex. I definitely would not put a baby parakeet with Angel. Female Parakeets can be very territorial and she could hurt or kill a younger bird. If you get a baby try to get a young male, in his own cage, and work with him separately from Angel. If you can tame the baby, Angel might get curious and want some attention, too. But again, do not put them in the same cage if you want them to be tame.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda