What Birds Live Well With Budgies?

If you don't mind the noise, birds make wonderful pets. They are beautiful, fun to watch and some can be trained to talk. Budgies are small birds, often confused with parakeets. Widely available in pet stores, budgies are inexpensive and can live as long as a dog. When introducing your budgie to another bird, pay close attention to signs of aggression or dominance. Budgies may bully other birds, but with time and patience, your birds can live together peacefully.

  1. What Are Budgies?

    • Budgies are small birds that originated in central Australia. Budgies make excellent pets due to their low noise level, ability to mimic and general good health. Male budgies make better pets than females, who are prone to a variety of health problems. Determining the sex of a budgie can be difficult, depending on the variety. Generally, male budgies' upper bills are blue in color, while females' are white, red or brown.

    General Care for Budgies

    • With proper care, your budgies will live from two to seven years or more. Clean the birdcage and scrub the water bowl once a week to prevent illness from harmful bacteria. Talk to your vet about special vitamin supplements and preventative medication for lice, worms and mites. Added to the bird's drinking water once a week or once a month, these vitamins and medications will keep your budgie healthy and parasite-free.

    Compatible Birds for Budgies

    • Budgies are compatible with most other birds, including larger birds such as parrots. However, your budgies may bully birds smaller than itself, so it's best to avoid putting your budgie in the same cage as small birds like canaries. Because budgies are active birds, ensure your cage is large enough for two birds to comfortably stretch out their wings and turn around. Provide two water and food bowls to avoid fights.

    Introducing Your Budgie to a New Bird

    • Always keep a new bird quarantined for a month in a separate room from your budgie to ensure it is disease-free. During that time, administer any medications and vitamins recommended by your vet. When it's time to introduce the new bird to your budgie, do so in neutral territory rather than in one bird's cage. If either bird displays aggressive behavior, keep them caged separately but keep allowing them to interact outside of their cages until they get along. If the birds show no aggression toward one another, you may safely cage them together.