Regular readers will know that last year I bought a male companion for my lonely budgie, Artemis, and they hit it off like a Mills & Boon novel. But unlike a Mills & Boon novel, they did not live happily ever after because Parzival passed away after only a few months ðŸ˜
So Artemis was lonely again. (She is still not impressed by human company.) So a few weeks ago, when I once again had access to a dwelling with more than one public room, I tried again, this time with a male budgie I named Apollo. Isn’t he a handsome fellow?
It’s quite a long process to introduce two budgies if you want it to go well. For the first two weeks, my nieces looked after Artemis at their house while I started hand-taming with Apollo at my flat. Then I moved to their house to guinea-pig sit and continued the hand-taming with Apollo in one room while Artemis was in the other. At this point, they could hear each other, though not see each other. They were both quite excited by the fact that there was another budgie in the vicinity.
After that, it was time to let them see each other. I spent a week putting their cages in the same room, moving them closer and closer. Artemis was very excited by the end, almost trying to force her way through the bars to get to her new toyboy.
Eventually, one Saturday (the day before Artemis’ birthday), I let them both out in the same room and let them get to know each other. It did not take long before they were snogging like a pair of teenagers. And then Apollo groomed Artemis’ head, which is her favourite thing in the world. I think it’s fair to say she was pleased with her birthday present. (The following video has music so don’t play it on the bus or something. But do look up who the music is by 😉)
After the ‘wedding’, there was still the issue of moving in together. Artemis is an old hand at getting back into her cage, but Apollo is a little challenged when it comes to spacial awareness and/or depth perception, and it was his first time trying to enter her cage. Despite being on the landing perch right next to the door, he couldn’t find it.
Fortunately, I had already had a few weeks to hand tame him, so he nervously let me pick him up and put him inside. And they lived happily ever after (so far), except for a wee bit of pushing, shoving, and maybe even biting (although neither is showing any signs of injury). True to their names, they are like a squabbling but affectionate brother and sister. I’ve put in two food bowls now, because they’re not the best at sharing, but here’s proof that they can share sometimes. (Music again on this video. Be kind, use headphones.)
So here’s hoping for a much longer and happier life together, this time! 💕
K C Murdarasi 
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