# separating bonded(??) budgies



## avierj

i posted about a week ago and a half ago that i got my first budgie. i had to stay with my brother's family (who have 5 budgies) because of hurricane harvey. now that it's passed and i'll be going home soon, i notice that my budgie kept calling for my brother's new budgie (who we got the same day, from the same shop). she's in a cage with the other four and i've given in and brought him over to her and they sit together and are calm. when he's alone in his cage he is fine until he hears her calling him. he's not aggressive with me and has even eaten from my hand and stepped up on my finger and only gets startled when i put my entire hand flat into his cage (i avoid doing this now unless i really need to get something from his cage). but the second he hears her calling he goes into a frenzy and completely avoids my hand. and when i have him on my finger to take him to the other cage he constantly flies off (his wings are clipped for now) trying to find his own way and bites me when i try taking him back to his own cage. my question is, since he seems to really want to be with her, should i let my brother take ownership of my budgie so he won't have to be without her? i considered just taking him home and trying to tame him but i'm afraid of separating them.

also another concern: my budgie fluffs up a lot when i come near him or handle him but when i take him out of the cage to go to the other cage, his feathers are normal. what does this mean? should i just let my brother keep him so he won't be alone??


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## FaeryBee

*It would have been best if you had not broken quarantine with your bird.

Quarantine means housing the new bird in a different cage in a different room than the current birds (as far away from the room the current birds are in as possible) for a period of 35-45 days.

Budgies mask symptoms when they are ill. Symptoms may not show up for over two weeks. 
Often you will not even realize your bird is not well. Many budgie illnesses are airborne which is why you need to quarantine your new bird in a completely different room.

I'm confused from your post as to which bird belongs to you.

The male is your budgie and is in a cage of his own?

The female is your brother's bird and is in a cage with four other birds, is that correct?

The budgies you are discussing are not "bonded" they are simply used to one another.

The male bird will be just fine by himself once you relocate him to his new home.
It may take him a while to adjust to the new environment and that is perfectly normal.
You can cover his cage, top and three sides to help him feel more secure if necessary. Playing music for him will help as well.

It is always best to give a new budgie a minimum of two weeks before you begin trying to touch it or handle it in any way.

In the meantime, I would move the budgie's cage into a different room of the house and not expose it to the other budgies. Play music in both rooms to help minimize flock calling between the birds.*


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