First, I have heard from others (although never experienced it personally) that many female parakeets will not accept another female into their "home" unless they are in a large flight/aviary setting. They will fight over the "best" food, the "best" perch, a nesting place etc sometimes actually injuring one or the other bird.



Did you quarantine these birds and give them time to get to know each other from a neutral setting (a cage belonging to neither of them) or just immediately place them into the same cage together? If placing into the same cage immediately then the older budgie is protecting her home. When bringing more birds into a home you need to have at least two separate cages. Begin with a quarantine period to make sure neither bird shows any signs of illness. After quarantining introduce them in a neutral space such as a playgym, a stand, a new cage, even the back of a chair to perch on. If you do not have a separate unused cage then remove the bird from the cage you intend on keeping them both in, change toys, feeders perch etc around until it is a "new" cage. Then place both birds into the cage at the same time or as close to the same time as possible. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they are not fighting and are both able to eat. This will give them a better chance to get along in the future with neither feeling the need to guard their territory.



As far as getting another bird. If you do not have the time or space to quarantine I would try sticking to the same birds you already have. If they seem to be having problems purchase a new "temporary" cage and remove the aggressive one from the home cage. Try starting over with introducing them. Take one into a separate room for a week or so. Then bring the cages into the room together. Then introduce in a neutral space, then make the "home cage" as "new" as possible and try them together again. See if that makes any difference. If aggression or dominance is still coming in to play then you may need to keep them permanently separate where they can still keep each other company from separate cages but you can work with one or both to tame.

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