# How to introduce new budgie to OG budgie?



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Hi! So I’ve had my girl Athena for about three months. She’s still a baby and only 5 months old. She is just starting to really open up and get more playful. She doesn’t know how to step up and won’t eat from my hand but will eat spray millet if I hold it near her. 

I bought her a friend almost a month ago, Poseidon, he’s 10 months old, and his quarantine is almost up. He is moving into my room on the 28th. I want to make sure his arrival doesn’t set back the progress I’ve made with Athena because Poseidon is a very timid and skittish bird. They will be kept in seperate cages for at least a few weeks so they can chirp and get to know each other. 

How do I avoid setback with Athena?

Also she free flies around the room as much as she likes when I am home. Will this still be ok while Poseidon is acclimating to his new home?


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Put the two cages near one another for several days. 
My guess is that Athena is going to climb all over Poseidon's cage when she is having her out-of-cage time as she will be quite eager to meet him.
You will have to see how Poseidon reacts to her. He may be interested or he may be a bit afraid.

You may need to take Athena into a different room to work on her taming as she will be more interested in her new budgie friend than anything else.

Have you been working with Poseidon on stepping up?

After that, please be sure to introduce the budgies in neutral territory. 
Sometimes having two or three supervised meetings prior to moving them into one cage is advisable. Before introducing a budgie into another budgie's cage, the cage should be completely rearranged (perches, toys, food and water dishes) in order to help prevent any potential territorial issues. *
*Introducing Two Budgies*

*How large is the cage in which you are planning to house the two when the time comes? Length, Width and Height.
Please make sure you have 2 food dishes, 2 water dishes and 2 swings in the cage so they will each have their own.

As you have a mixed gender pair, you are going to need to do everything necessary to prevent breeding.*

*A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*Rearranging their cage frequently will help tremendously.
Please be sure you never put a nest box or anything that could be used as a nesting site in their cage.
When they come into condition, you need to limit the light they get to 8 hours a day and limit the amount of protein in their diet.
*


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Ok thank you so much!! I plan on getting an aviary within the next few weeks, the dimensions are L31.25x W21 x H53.75

I will be sure to move her to different location while doing training. She usually isn’t very responsive though, her attention span is very short. Usually two or three minutes is all she’ll do it for. 

No I haven’t been doing that with Poseidon. I have just been placing my hand on the outside of his cage as he is very timid. If I even place my hand in his cage he freaks out and flies around it. 

I will also make sure to rearrange the cages and be very careful during their first few meetings. I am also concerned about breeding so no happy huts or anything like that will be in the cage.

As for the 8 hours of light, they are in my bedroom. Will a blackout cage cover be sufficient? Does it have to be silent and dark or just dark? 

Thank you so much again! 💚💛


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You are very welcome. 

You only need to limit the daylight when they are in condition and a dark cage cover will be just fine.
Silence isn't critical. When I had mixed genders in the same cage in my bedroom, I would watch TV or be up rummaging around in drawers after putting my budgies to bed.

I'm glad to hear you are going at Poseidon's pace with regard to taming. That is excellent!

We'd love to see some pictures of Athena and Poseidon if you have some you'd like to share.*


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Sure!! 

Here is my little girl Athena💙:

















She likes to play fetch with this shredding ball, except I do the fetching after she tosses it off the cage haha 😂

And this is my baby boy Poseidon💚:








He’s a little scaredy cat of the phone so this is the only photo I have.


----------



## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

They're so cute! Poseidon is the same mutation as my girl Mallorn (sky blue yellowface II opaline) with the addition of clear flight pied and single factor violet


----------



## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Your birds are very cute, please make sure that neither one of them have access to that silver tinsel garland that can be seen near Poseidon's cage, if they were to eat that it would be very dangerous to them and make them very ill.


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Cody said:


> Your birds are very cute, please make sure that neither one of them have access to that silver tinsel garland that can be seen near Poseidon's cage, if they were to eat that it would be very dangerous to them and make them very ill.


Thank you! And yes his cage is far enough from it that he has no access. I haven’t been letting him out of the cage at the moment because really anytime I go near it he freaks out. I think opening the cage door would really startle him. Also since he is in quarantine I don’t want any chances of him getting in the other room with Athena.


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Athena and Poseidon are adorable!! Thank you for sharing their pictures with us.

I recommend you remove the wooden dowel perches in the cage and replace them with natural wooden perches of varying diameters to help prevent pressure sores.*
*Pressure Sores*
*Bumblefoot*
*The information in this link will give examples of better options for perches:*
*Essentials for a Great Cage*


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

FaeryBee said:


> *Athena and Poseidon are adorable!! Thank you for sharing their pictures with us.
> 
> I recommend you remove the wooden dowel perches in the cage and replace them with natural wooden perches of varying diameters to help prevent pressure sores.*
> *Pressure Sores*
> ...


Yes! Most definitely I will once he is moved in and out of quarantine. I have five perches in Athenas cage, one of them being a wooden platform.

I just didn’t want to switch out the perches for him yet because he is so so skittish. I don’t want to scare him more than he already is. He freaks out even while changing his food and water, I think a perch change at the moment would be too much. But I have them already and next week when he moves in I will also be rearranging his cage. Hopefully 🤞🏻 it’s not too much for him. This is my Athenas cage set up, his will be similar (and yes I know size is too small ☹ she is out all day though) but I am getting an aviary within next week or so. Planning on using this as the neutral territory once they are introduced and then it will become their permanent home.


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Absolutely adorable!! 
You are doing great with your preparations! 💜💜*


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Just wanted to give an update! Poseidon moved in last night and they both were chirping! Athena didn’t fly over to his cage but this morning she did! They were beak to beak (he was inside the cage and she was outside) and they seemed happy. He eventually just perched and started preening as she walked around on the top. 

I got her to perch on my hand in front of him, from the top of his cage to my hand!! I hope that helped Poseidon (my little scaredy-cat) see that hands are ok. I am also very happy that she did that right after hanging with him.


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)




----------



## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Sounds like they are happy to have each other's company.


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Cody said:


> Sounds like they are happy to have each other's company.


Yes I think so too. 🥰 There is some territorial foot nipping going on, but hopefully that passes soon.


----------



## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Sounds like introductions went pretty well!! I look forward to updates 👍🏻


----------



## AthenaTheBudgie (Nov 24, 2021)

Hello again! So they have been interacting quite a bit today! I am still new to budgies and reading behavior. They hang out with each other, her on his cage, and chirp together.

However, the foot nipping is still continuing. How long is is this to be expected? Should I allow it to continue or get her away when it begins. I know it’s a territorial thing but I am worried about injuries.

Also she is trying to get at his food, she can’t though since she is outside the cage. They are on different diets at the moment. We finally weened her off seeds a few days ago, she has pellets only now (after morning chop) His bowl has pellets mixed with seeds. Could it be because she sees and wants the seeds or is it a territorial thing?

Just now as I was writing this, I heard two loud squawks. Both birds flew quite rapidly away from each other, her back to her cage and he flew around his. I wasn’t looking because I was typing this. 😫

She is now back on his cage and they are chirping. Is this all normal for first day introduction?


Update: Found out what the loud squawk was. He flew around his cage to her quickly and I think it startled her so she flew away. Is that aggressive on his part towards her? 

Sorry I have so many questions I just want to make sure I’m doing this right and learn more about what’s going on between the two of them.


----------



## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The foot nipping is normal when one budgie is inside a cage and one is outside the cage. Even budgies that are well bonded will nip at one another.
I don't believe Poseidon was being aggressive toward Athena. He probably just wanted to see her and it startled her.*


----------

