Parakeets alone or a pair?

[8GeeseALaying]

They should live much longer than 2 years!!!!  Average 5 - 8 years.

I am so glad you got 2.

They are highly social birds... a single bird will have a very miserable life, unless the human owner is there with it every day all day.  Someone who has a job, or has to go to school, will not be able to give enough time.

You will get much more enjoyment from 2 birds......watching them play together, and chase each other about.  They are much more lively kept in pairs of groups and are so interesting to watch.

Its not true that 2 are harder to tame.  

It it true that they won't bond to you like you are their mate.

But they will get tame and love to hang out and play with you like you are their friend or a member of the flock.

What colours did you get?  

I have 11 budgies at the moment.  

I think the males make the best pets.  The females can bite hard and get in bad moods, also they are more destructive and like chewing stuff like you furniture.  

The males are more lively and sing more.  

Make sure you give them vegetables and fruits, as well as some hard boiled egg sometimes.

If they only eat dry seed they will get sick and die as they lack all the vitamins and minerals they need for long healthy life. 

Enjoy you new pets!!!

I got a Normal green and a blue and white recessive pied. Both are males as i was told by pandapaw

 

[catw]

And hamsters sleep all day and run in their wheel all night. Not good companions.

 

[8GeeseALaying]

And hamsters sleep all day and run in their wheel all night. Not good companions.

I had a few nice ones but my last few would bite like crazy. So far my birds are getting tame, today i have had them 2 wks and my green one already knows "up" and "down" but the pied still likes to cling to the wall like a scared cat sometimes.

 

[jak2002003]

I had a few nice ones but my last few would bite like crazy. So far my birds are getting tame, today i have had them 2 wks and my green one already knows "up" and "down" but the pied still likes to cling to the wall like a scared cat sometimes.

Glad you are enjoying them!
You will have to post some pics... I would love to see them.

Now they are young birds, this is the idea time to eat different foods apart from the seed. They are at the age when they are playful and like to chew up and play with things, and are likely to sample new foods.

Once they get older they are very had to get to try new stuff... they get into the habit of eating only what they are used to.

Try something different each day... its fun to watch them play around with new foods, and chew them up!

Mine love the following which I just put on the bottom of the cage, or hang up next to a perch.

A peeled carrot (whole).
A chunk of broccoli (stalk, leaves and head)
Yellow sweet corn on the cob.
Apple core (after I have eaten an apple - remove the seeds as they are poisonous).

Next time you have a hard boiled egg, cut them a slice and crumble it up and put in a pot in their cage.

Don't forget to wash all the vegetables and fruit first, and throw away the fresh foods after a few hours to stop them going bad.

A chunk of cuttlefish bone is great for extra calcium too.

If they get all these foods regularly, as well as fresh budgie seed, they should get all the vitamins and minerals they need.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I'm glad your budgies are getting used to you quickly 8GeeseALaying! I got my parakeet from Petco (Not the best place - they had healthy birds and took good care of them...but they are NOT tame!) It has taken me 3 months to get her used to me being in the room. She is starting to not absolutely freak out when I change her feed/water. Which is really good for her. I enjoy the challenge, though. I love birds. They are so fascinating.

 

[catw]

Just like people they are all different. Some are friendlier than others. I got my last pair from a pet shop and they were remarkeably healthy, produced 12 babies who were also healthy and lived a long time. The males seem to live longer than the females and the males seem to be more laid back and friendlier than the females.

I've never had a love bird but they are called that for a reason. They make good pets as long as you only have one.

 

[cocobeware]

Thats good because budgies in the Australian wilds fly in flocks of hundreds of thousands, they are never alone. Not to mention introducing a new bird to an existing birds enviroment after the fact often takes a lot more effort.