# New Budgie Catastrophe



## LedZeppelin (Oct 26, 2015)

On Nov 21st I bought a new budgie. I already have 2 budgies that I've had for 4 years. My two budgies are very sweet to each other and have never had a crazy fight EVER. When ever they are angry at each other, they are back to kissing and preening in 5 seconds. In the beginning my new budgie, Lola, was scared of my budgies Blue and Gray. Very normal right. After a week Lola wasn't scared but they didn't like each other at all. Gray and Blue would be chilling at one end of the cage, and when Lola came by they would shoo her away by making an angry noise. Lola would bob her head up and down, trying to kiss Gray but Gray would shoo her away. Blue and Gray *never* tried to hurt her, they would only get away from her or make her go away. They treated her like she was a zombie that they had to escape from, like she wasn't a budgie.

Through out the whole time I have had Lola, she has never let my other birds eat in peace. She would come down and take the food right in front of them. They would shoo her away, she wouldn't leave. Then they would leave. They were constantly trying to get away from her.

Today, Lola attacked Gray. *(Gray is not a fighter. When I first got her 4 years ago, I was able to touch her on day 1! In a couple weeks I could already have her perch on my hand. I didn't even have to train her. She is so calm, tame and sweet.)*

I did not see what happened. When I came home from school, I saw blood all over Gray's wing, under her wing and on her stomach under her wing.

Then I checked Lola and Blue. No blood. I looked around the cage and the food bowl had blood on the perch, the side and on the front of the bowl.

I know it wasn't Blue because since the very first day I met her at the pet shop she was with Gray. (I think they may have been sisters) They have always been best friends and have never had a big fight and rarely have tiny fights. They've never hurt each other ever. Their 'fights' are just yelling at each other (bird type of yelling) They've never had a problem with sharing food, they always feed each other.

-Lola is very young. She has bars on her head right to the top of her nose. But she is bigger in height than both of my budgies and a whole lot thicker.

-I do not hate or blame Lola. This is obviously my fault for being a bad owner.

Any suggestions on how I can fix this?

-Do you know of any bird shelters in NYC that will take Lola 
(I know it may seem like a stretch, but I've had Blue and Gray for almost 1/3 of my life. I love them so much, I can not take the chance of them being killed by Lola)

-If Lola stays, how can I fix their relationship? 
How can I correct her bad behavior (attacking, not letting others eat)?
How can I make Blue and Gray view her as a friend, not an invader?
How can I be a better owner overall so that this type of thing doesn't happen again?

Do you know of any very low cost cages that I can buy online (USA) to put Lola in for some time?


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## Abeyance (Nov 1, 2016)

I think the very best thing to do right now is remove her from the cage. Budgies only have a little amount of blood in their body and if she attacks Gray or Blue it could be a lot worse. You could try looking on amazon or eBay for some cheap cages. Just make sure if you do decide to keep her the cage is big enough for her to fly around in. Get a bond with her so she trusts you and at least has a friend instead of being lonely on her own. Sometimes budgies just aren't supposed to be together and unfortunately because of their wide variety of personalities there's not always a way to fix it. I'm sure if you do decide to get rid of her though she'll go to a loving home that can look after her and give her the upmost care! I really hope you manage to sort things out for your budgies sake 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

Unfortunately, you have made some mistakes when bringing Lola into the lives of Blue and Gray. 

Lola should have been quarantined first- kept in her own cage for 30-60 days in a different room. 
Lola should have been introduced into the room, in her own cage and let the bird chat to one another and meet in a neutral location. 

You need Lola in her own cage asap. You need to go to the pet store, find a cage to keep her in, or order one of Amazon. 
She should not be kept with your other two budgies as you think she is aggressive. She should not be kept with any other budgies. 
If you can't keep Lola in her own cage, then you should look to rehome her.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

I'm very sorry for this unfortunate situation that could have been easily prevented. 
First and foremost when bringing home a new budgie, quarantine procedures must be followed in order to prevent a potential illness carried by the new bird to spread into your other birds: http://talkbudgies.com/new-budgie-arrivals/295153-quarantine-necessary.html
Getting a new budgie, immediately placing it in the cage with your other budgies without making the proper introductions is a recipe for disaster: http://talkbudgies.com/new-budgie-arrivals/295177-introducing-two-budgies.html

When two budgies are happy together and all is well, it's never a good idea to disrupt that and completely change the dynamics by getting a 3rd budgie and to expect they will all live in harmony.
Even if there were no fightings between them, still one of the budgies would necessarily be left out. More often than not, housing an odd number of budgies, especially 3 budgies will simply not work. There is no need to fix what isn't broken, especially when two budgies are happy and living in harmony.

For now it's important for you to check the injuries on Gray, because depending on how severe they are, she may need avian vet attention.
She needs peace of mind to settle from this whole ordeal, you can cover the cage on 3 sides and have some soothing music on low volume.

It's imperative that you separate Lola, this is a very serious situation that if left unattended can end in tragedy. If you don't currently have a spare cage for her, not even a small travel cage then get one as soon as possible.

After this very bad accident, there is no way to correct this in a way that Lola will continue to share a cage with your other budgies.
She needs to be house alone on a separate cage permanently.
At this point she should not even be allowed to share out of cage time with your other budgies.
If you are willing to work with Lola one-on-one with the goal of rehabilitating her then you can do so by working on forming and developing a bond with her and by using positive reinforcement techniques that reward good behaviour.
Be sure to check the stickies at the Taming and Bonding section for all the detailed information.

If you feel that you are unable to work with Lola, then finding her a new home, preferably with experienced pet bird owners used to dealing with more challenging cases would be the best option.

I'm wishing Gray a steady and full recovery.


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## JasnaM (Jan 22, 2016)

I agree that new budgie should be in her own cage! However, I don't agree that three budgies can't get along or that is impossible for these three to became 'friends' ever. 
I had two budgies that were very close but then I got a third one. I didn't put him in their cage right away, he was in separate cage but close to them. Then after a while I let them out all together and after some flying, they would return to their own cages. After some time, they all started to return to only one cage and they really were a great team, never had any problems with them and no budgie was left out, they did everything together! 
Now I have four budgies and with the last one I followed the same procedure and there are no problems except occasional quarrels but no fighting. I have two males and two females.
It is very important to have separate bowl of food for each budgie and big enough cage!


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

When blood is drawn during a fight, that's when strict measures must be taken in order to ensure the safety and welfare of all budgies involved and that means housing the aggressor budgie alone on a separate cage indefinitely.
It's simply best to not risk another violent episode from happening. The largest of cages will not stop the constant chasing/harassing as well as the fighting that can be triggered by the smallest of things and escalate into tragic proportions. 

I'm glad that in your case things have worked out well, but in reality bad situations like this one can and will happen and this will depend on multiple factors, including how the budgies were introduced, the type of environment they live in and their temperaments/personalities. 
Even when housing two or more pairs of budgies in the same cage and having an even ratio of males/females, there can still be fights between the males for one given female's affection and if one doesn't pay attention to the signs from how they behave and interact, then things can end quite badly.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Cindy,

I'm sorry to hear about the problems with your budgies! However, you've been given great advice  For your situation, Aluz's advice is excellent.

I hope that Blue and Grey are able to live at peace now that Lola has been removed into her own cage! Please let us know how things progress, and I hope Grey is feeling better after the attack.

Jasna,

I agree that three budgies can be friends. I have seen it before. However--based on countless experiences--it _usually_ does not happen quite like that. Just today, I have replied to three different threads in which members have had to separate their budgies due to having three in a cage and them not getting on. Because of this, we tend to advise members not to start with three budgies or add a third one, because the flock dynamics could change in an instant and there is very little surety that they would all get along.  :thumbsup:


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I agree 100% with aluz.

When a budgie is aggressive to the point of drawing blood, it should never be caged with any other budgies. 
And, I would certainly not take the risk of giving her out-of-cage time with Blue and Grey after this incident.

I certainly hope you have separated Lola into a different cage at this point?

Have you had Grey examined by a qualified Avian Vet to determine the extent of the injuries?

This cage is on-sale through Petco for a great price and is an excellent size for one budgie 30" L x 18" W x 18" H

You & Me Flight Cage 

You can call a PetCo store near you to see if they will give you the same price in the store if they have any available.

As background reference with regard to budgies in general.

While some people are successful in housing three birds in one cage, this arrangement is generally not a good idea. While it sometimes works dependent on the individual birds' personalities, oftentimes at best one bird will end up being the third wheel. I had three males and housed two in one cage and one in another. They were allowed to have out-of-cage time together and did very well. 
Trying to keep them all in one cage did not work out as one would completely bully the other two.

Whenever a new bird is brought into a home where there are one or more budgies present, the new bird should be quarantined.

Quarantine means housing your new bird in a different cage in a different room as far away as possible from the room where your current bird(s) are housed for a period of 30-45 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.

It is also a good idea to always take a new budgie in to see an Avian Vet for a "well-birdie" check-up. This allows you to develop a good relationship with the vet and the vet can establish a baseline for your bird in case of any future illnesses or injuries.

Distinction between an Avian Vet and a Vet that "Will See Birds"

After quarantine, the two cages should be placed next to each other for several days. When the birds are finally introduced, it is best that it be done in neutral territory.

When it is determined which cage will be used for the "flock" everything in the cage should be rearranged.

Another important point that should always be considered is that whenever bringing additional budgie into your home, you must be prepared to house it in a separate cage (and oftentimes a different room) on a permanent basis should that bird and your other bird(s) not get along.*


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## JasnaM (Jan 22, 2016)

I agree that any new budgie should be placed in separate cage. Even when I had only one and brought him a friend, they were in separate cages until they decided to move in together. I read about three budgies not getting along but thank god, mine were exception! I currently have three cages (had 4 cages before) so it wasn't a problem to give them separate homes.
The fourth budgie was my mom's but her partner passed away so we adopted her. She had bigger cage and all of my budgies moved to her cage, they only go to their cage during they out-period. I think that they get along because they are all non aggressive. I was very skeptical about two adult hens getting along so I monitored they behavior. They don't like to be close but they don't fight.

When my mom's other budgie was alive, at one point she babysat all five of them and they were all fine. I think maybe it's because two of my mom's were english type budgies that are REALLY calm and not that active.


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## LedZeppelin (Oct 26, 2015)

I've had Lola separated since Sunday. I found the exact spot where Gray got hurt. It was under her wing in a spot that she always picked at. I feel so stupid because there is a good chance she was picked at it and accidently went too far. 

But still, I am happy that I posted this because now I know how to introduce them to each other better. I have Lola's cage on my desk so that she is not lonely. She is not shy so I think we will get along great. Blue and Gray chirp to her from far away as if they miss her. I wish they would have treated her more kindly before. I think being alone will help Lola see that she doesn't need to hog the food because it's not going anywhere.


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## JasnaM (Jan 22, 2016)

Great! After a while, you can let them play together outside their cages and see how they get along


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