It is not a good idea to get a third bird, especially since you already have a mixed gender pair, getting another bird may lead to fighting and aggression over the female and you may need to end up housing the birds separately to prevent severe injury. Even if you had all of the same gender it is best not to have an odd number of birds because often two will bond and the third will be a loner.
Snow and Aria's Ongoing Picture Thread
Hello, new member here and owner of two parakeets (male 2 years old, female 3 years old). We are looking to get a third budgie, ideally male. We saw one that captured both of our attention immediately but are a bit uncertain it’s a male but almost positive. Looking for any advice, clarification. Here’s a picture of the prospective budgie
![Bird Parrot Beak Pet supply Mesh]()
thanks for any help!
thanks for any help!
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You must observe the quarantine protocol when adding a new bird to the flock. Birds do not have to be in a hormonal phase to be aggressive, what is the reason you want to add a third bird? If you go ahead and get another bird make sure you are prepared for all possibilities. You may find these articles helpful.
www.talkbudgies.com
www.talkbudgies.com
Quarantine IS Necessary!
Quarantine IS Necessary I get asked the question; "But is quarantine really necessary?" almost daily and the answer is ABSOLUTELY! Quarantine is essential for the health of your birds. I'm amazed however at the high number of people who do not quarantine or don't have a clue to what quarantine...
www.talkbudgies.com
Your Harmonious Flock
One of the most common issues we get on the forum is to help with an issue of flock dynamics. Whether you have just two birds, or twelve, the dynamics between them is essential for having a harmonious flock and a happy owner. The problem can start before you even have a bird living in your...
www.talkbudgies.com
Hello and welcome to the forums!
Glad you did some research before getting a third budgie.
They are indeed social creatures but as long as they have a flock mate or buddy (which in some cases of single budgies can be another human, if the human is bonded to them and spends enough time with them), then they are just fine. As Cody mentioned, if there are odd number of budgies, they tend to leave one out as the "third wheel" and may even fight for each other's attention. This isn't always the case (such as flocks which start off as 4 and then one passes away and the other three still get along) but usually happens when introducing a new budgie to make an odd-numbered flock.
Additionally, not only you would have odd numbers but odd genders as well; even though you female seems to have calmed down hormone-wise introducing another male or female to the mix would likely cause everyone to go haywire competing for each others' affections during breeding season. Males often fight for the attention of one female in a n uneven flock; females can be jealous and aggressive and fight each other if there are uneven numbers as well.
So it seems that for now you've made a good choice
Meanwhile, even though your female seems not to be so hormonal lately, it's best to still actively discourage breeding in every way possible. There are many resources on the forums to ensure you're updated on this information; i'll provide some of those links below:
When We Don't Want Eggs!
A Breeder's Tips for Discouraging Breeding
A Heartfelt Plea to All Members
If you have any questions after reading through the links above or the rest of the forums, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help!
Cheers 👋
Glad you did some research before getting a third budgie.
They are indeed social creatures but as long as they have a flock mate or buddy (which in some cases of single budgies can be another human, if the human is bonded to them and spends enough time with them), then they are just fine. As Cody mentioned, if there are odd number of budgies, they tend to leave one out as the "third wheel" and may even fight for each other's attention. This isn't always the case (such as flocks which start off as 4 and then one passes away and the other three still get along) but usually happens when introducing a new budgie to make an odd-numbered flock.
Additionally, not only you would have odd numbers but odd genders as well; even though you female seems to have calmed down hormone-wise introducing another male or female to the mix would likely cause everyone to go haywire competing for each others' affections during breeding season. Males often fight for the attention of one female in a n uneven flock; females can be jealous and aggressive and fight each other if there are uneven numbers as well.
So it seems that for now you've made a good choice
Meanwhile, even though your female seems not to be so hormonal lately, it's best to still actively discourage breeding in every way possible. There are many resources on the forums to ensure you're updated on this information; i'll provide some of those links below:
When We Don't Want Eggs!
A Breeder's Tips for Discouraging Breeding
A Heartfelt Plea to All Members
If you have any questions after reading through the links above or the rest of the forums, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help!
Cheers 👋
Here’s a few of my favorite pics of them, just being silly. They like to explore together and cause trouble…and knock the ninja turtles off the blind tops.
The blue male is Snow, nicknamed B-Jax (named after his predecessor, a 10.5 year old similar looking budgie), and the female is Aria aka Ms. Flooferkins (yep).
One I just took to portray their rather large home.
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