Baby Chicks and a Budgie

[cleoandfrankie]

Hello y'all! I have recently ordered 4 baby chicks from mypetchicken.com. I plan to spend lots of time with them to make sure they are not skiddish or aggressive. BUT!, I also have a budgie who loves to spend time out of her cage following me around. I was wondering if I could maybe spend time with both the chicks and my budgie at the same time. They would not share the same sleeping place, and would only be together under my supervision. If either of them are aggressive I would immediately end their gatherings. What is worrying me is the spread of disease. One of them might be immune to it, but th other not, and I don't want to get my budgie or my chicks to get sick. Is this a good idea to spend time with both of them at the same time?

 

[azygous]

You have a justifiable concern, but I can't answer your question. I urge you to get out your google and do some research.

 

[aart]

You have a justifiable concern, but I can't answer your question. I urge you to get out your google and do some research.

Agrees^^^^..... and would be interested to know what you find.

Oh, and Welcome to BYC @cleoandfrankie !

 

[MiniIndyRanch]

I have a parrot that has free access to fly the house and we made sure to quarantine the new chicks we got from MPC. Hatcheries are incredibly sterile environments, so I chose not to risk the tiny chicks health by introducing a strange adult bird (who i have owned since she was only 4 months old, so i know her medical history)... I have always been told that when bringing home a new bird (although previously this was just in regards to parrots) it is wise to quarantine for a month, or until you know everyone is healthy.

Better safe than sorry, imo!

 

[cleoandfrankie]

Alrighty so, I have decided to not let them meet each other. The chicks would have to be kept away from my budgie for a month before they could be intoroduced. Doing this would make sure neither of them are sick. After a month the chicks would be bigger than my budgie, and since there are four of them and one budgie, they might gang up on her. After a month I might let them meet her while she is on my shoulder, but nothing more. Best wishes to you all, and thank you!

 

[cleoandfrankie]

Alrighty, so I have decided to not let them meet each other. I would need to quarantine the chicks for a month before they can meet my budgie. By then they would be bigger than my budgie and since there are 4 of them and one budgie, they might gang up on them. The only meeting I might allow is my budgie on my shoulder with the chicks running around (after a month). Best wishes to all of you, and thank you!

 

[azygous]

After a period of quarantine is observed and you do let the chickens meet the budgie, you may find your chickens are completely indifferent to the smaller bird.

I have large flocks of wild turkeys that come around my place and even mingle with my chickens, but they do not interact except for occasionally one of my hens will covet the grain a turkey is eating and rush her to drive her away from what she considers to be hers.

Even my rooster is indifferent to both the toms and the turkey hens.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm guessing that if the keet and the chicks were to meet, the parakeet would be the more dominant bird! Pretty bird, BTW. I had a parakeet once who was awesome. He loved to play on the table. I gave him a couple of containers with little trinkets (buttons, paper clips and the like). He'd run around taking the "toys" from one container, and putting them in an other. He'd sit on the cat's head (cat restrained) and preen her ears and whiskers, all the time muttering "Pretty Bird! Pretty Bird! I love you!"

 

[cleoandfrankie]

Quick side question, if you have ordered from mypetchicken.com, how long does it usually take for them to get here after they are shipped? I got express mail on them.

 

[MiniIndyRanch]

Quick side question, if you have ordered from mypetchicken.com, how long does it usually take for them to get here after they are shipped? I got express mail on them.

My first group of 4 shipped on 4/13 and arrived 4/15 at 6:45am. The second group of 3 was the same. Shipped 4/18 and arrived 4/20 at 7am. All 7 arrive happy and healthy, and are still thriving.