So, I have no parrots as of yet. I am joining this forum to get advice before I purchase one. I had a cockatiel many years ago and he was a wonderful pet. I am now considering having a budgie, a cockatiel, one of each, or two of one species. I have found a breeder that has hand fed babies. He is telling me that it will be fine to raise a cockatiel and a parakeet in the same cage, as long as they are both babies that were raised together. They are actually currently in the same incubator. Perhaps this is not the correct place to ask this question, so I will search around on the forum a bit.
I understand that once they reach maturity, this is especially when things could start to not go well. I have also heard that at any time, any two birds can get irritated with each other. It is also true that there is a size difference, which means the budgie is probably more at risk. I also understand that they have different dietary needs.
I don't want to do anything that will be dangerous or potentially harmful. I have no idea if keeping these two birds together is common place and not that risky or if it is a big no-no. I was planning to get the largest Vision cage to house the two birds.
Why do we want a budgie and a cockatiel? Well, I am interested in budgies because of their quirks and I love their chirpy voices. I have heard, from the breeder, that they will not become hand tame and bonded unless they have around three hours of time with their owner a day and that if you miss a day, they will just revert to wild. He spoke highly of cockatiels in that they are pretty easy going and gentle birds. The cockatiel is supposed to be more chill and want to hang around on a shoulder, where the budgie might just be pretty flighty. If I get a budgie, he will need friends... Then they may just end up being a bunch of birds who are not tame, but just pretty to look at... This is what the breeder has me thinking, that they will bond with each other and not to me at all.
Perhaps it is better to get two cockatiels, but am I running the same risk with them not getting along in the future?
I sincerely hope that I am over thinking this, as I would love to have a budgie and a cockatiel. Remember, these are hand fed birds that are in the same incubator at the moment.
One other thing to consider is that I have a cat... She was born without a rear leg, so she cannot jump higher than the seat of the sofa, but she has claws. She is pretty emotional and quirky. We babysat guinea pigs for two months and all she did was stare at them, no aggression. She seemed to like the company. Birds may be different though. Is it a terrible idea to bring a bird into a house with a cat? I don't want the birds to be living in fear with a creepy cat staring at them all day.
If this is posted in the wrong place, forgive me!
Thank you for any advice you can offer before I become a bird owner.