I did not quarantine them because they were in the same cage together prior to me getting him and it was only a weeks time before picking up the baby. I did not realize they had already been caged together, that does make a difference, in that situation any problems that one had the other would have already been subjected to. Since pet stores get in new animals all the time I didn't know if the birds were from the same or different "batches".

Its just very sad because the little one wants to cozy up to the big one but she doesn't want anything to do with it. I am really surprised at this, the problem at the feeder sounds more like fear or stress making the younger one leave instead of actual bulliness, and then wanting to cuddle at other times seems surprising??? Not sure why the attitude would change from one time to the next.

I can separate them but doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a pair? Only if you are talking about a breeding pair. Another bird in the same room especially if in cages next to each other can provide just as much companionship. They can still vocalize and possibly even preen each other through the bars (if they chose) but could still be separate so there would be no dominance issues/fear/or stress.

If the feeding issue does not resolve I may have to bring the big one back, get a younger one, keep it in a spare cage for quarantine. Again if they are from the same batch and no new ones have been introduced into the cage at the pet store than quarantine is probably not necessary. If it is either a completely new set of birds or if new birds have been placed into a cage near the others than quarantining should be practiced.

I'm also very nervous about breeding. We have had aviaries full of budgies of opposite sex and have also had small cages wit opposite sex budgies. We made sure to offer no nests in their cages and keep daylight/nightime hours consistent. We have not had a real problem with breeding. They will sometimes go through the motions and we have had a very occasional egg laid on the floor but no real extreme amounts of breeding. With finches and lovebirds on the other hand we may have a female with no males in sight and she will lay eggs constantly. SO we have to keep switching toys, perches etc to keep her from going into season again. So either way it can be curbed if not completely stopped.

I feel two separate cages defeats the purpose of having two budgies bonding. They may not bond as closely in separate cages which can be both a good and a bad thing. They can still offer companionship when you are away and will usually be easier to handtame if in separate cages but no they will not bond to each other as closely.

Can you tell me how long it can take for two budgies to accept each other if they do decide to be friends.Just like with anything it can take varying amounts of time. Some may accept each other immediately, others may take several weeks. As long as they are both eating then if you want to keep them together, great. If the one is not eating enough to be healthy then they do need separated whatever you decide on keeping the second one.

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