New Parakeet Fights with Two Existing Parakeets

User Question
I now have 3 parakeets. The last one I obtained is having trouble with one of the other two. Do you have any suggestions on how to stop him from fighing with Lucy (the newest).

Lisa's Answer
I have a full page of instructions on introducing a new parakeet into an existing cage -

http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/articles/bird_company.html

If all you did is dump a brand new keet into an existing home, there's bound to be trouble. Your existing birds had a routine, had a settled life, and all of a sudden a newcomer was dropped in without warning. Think of it in your own life. What if a 9 year old unknown boy was just dropped into your house, given one of your rooms and started roaming around, touching your things and taking food from your plate? You'd probably be a little upset an annoyed and would try to regain some order. The same thing is happening here.

If you have another cage I *highly* recommend putting the newcomer in her own cage to let the birds get used to each other. Eventually yes they can live together if they get along - but that won't happen immediately. You need to ensure that there are 3 food dishes, 3 bathtubs, 3 of everything so the birds don't think this is a competition for survival.

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