Buying a New Companion After a Keet Passes Away

User Question
I had a parakeet Pecker. I brought home Betty, a younger more active bird (and a male), and while they truly enjoyed each other's company, there was something of a constant power struggle going on. But Pecker was so docile that she pretty much gave Betty his way (yes, they have gender-confused names!) and they were happy to be roommates.

That is, until disaster struck us last Saturday. I woke up to find Pecker at the bottom of the cage, completely off-balance. I ran to the phone and called the vet, but by the time I was off the phone, I'd lost my little Pecker. I'm crying once again as I write this -- I love that little bird so much -- and Betty is just as unhappy as I am.

So once again I'm asking for your advice. Is it a good idea to wait a while before getting a new friend for Betty? Does Betty need to mourn, and should we respect Pecker's memory by waiting a while? I want to get someone for Betty as soon as possible but I want to be careful not to upset him any more than he is. (He did start eating again after about three days and today he was almost normal -- he gave me is usual squawks this morning so I was very encouraged!)

Also, I want to get a hand-raised parakeet this time, in hopes that I will be able to have more contact with the new bird, and hopefully with Betty once she sees that I'm okay to touch! The only ones I can find here in Chicago are English Budgies, which I read are very similar to regular budgies (which is what Betty is), only bigger. I don't want Betty to feel threatened -- do you think this size thing will become as issue?

I'm sorry to send you such a long email, but you've really been the only reliable source for answers on the internet. I sent out several other inquiries this week that haven't been answered before I decided to write to you again.

Thanks for your help with Pecker. She was a happy, spoiled bird for the time that I had her -- I only wish it had been a much longer amount of time.

Lisa's Answer
I'm so sorry to hear about Pecker passing away! It's always very hard to lose a parakeet, they are such friendly little pets.

I'm not sure that parakeets mourn as much as they suddenly are sad and lonely, they are confused why the bird they were always in a 'flock' with is suddenly not there. So if anything I would err on the side of getting the new keet sooner rather than later, so that they don't feel lonely any more. I wouldn't just put the new bird in the same cage - give them separate cages and let them get used to each other gradually. But having someone to 'chirp' to will be comforting to Betty.

English budgies definitely are bigger and in the bird world bigger means more powerful. With my three parakeets it's the "middle in age", Pinto, who is the biggest and therefore the boss. You never know, you might get a gentle English budgie. But I might personally almost rather have a bin-o-budgies bird that was the same size and that I could hand train over a few weeks, vs getting a hand raised bird that was pre-trained but towering over my current pet.

All Questions in this Category

List of Parakeet Question Categories

NOTE: Because of the huge volume of incoming questions, I no longer answer them one by one. Instead, we have created a live, free Parakeet Forum which is very active, where people are online 24 hours a day to help you with your parakeet related questions. If you have any questions about parakeet care - or simply want to share your parakeet stories and photos - please join us!

Parakeet Forum