Need advice- rehome or keep solo?
Hi,
This is Pearl. I got her as a companion for another budgie I've had for years before the other one died. She's been with me for a year now and she's alone.
Here's the thing- I don't know if she's happy being alone or not and I need advice whether or not to keep her or rehome her to a flock. When she had a companion, they would always screech and fight (yes I did the separation period before introducing them). They have a big cage, more than 5 times a day, the other budgie would be on one end, she would be on another, and she would just screech and yell at the other budgie for just existing on the other side of the cage with no provocation lol.
They actually fought more than chirped. Now, she's alone, she chirps a lot when she's alone, but she screeches when I have phone calls, meetings, and depending on what's on TV, she would either screech or chirp.
She used to do that agressive head bopping thing when she wasn't alone, but now she only head bops whenever I have something on TV and now it doesn't look as aggressive. She has also been lifting her leg up recently, while either looking at me or while she's relaxing, and she has no injuries as far as I can see/tell. She's not fully tamed but she does give me signals when she wants something like treats (she would chirp to get my attention, then start pointing her beak at where I usually place millets, then bop while chirping).
Now, I know that budgies aren't meant to be alone, so I'm seeking advice. I'm very hesitant about getting another budgie because there are only 2 avian vets in my city of 3 million people, and taking them to the vet costs me about $350-500 per visit (while I can pay right now, I know I won't always be able to afford it if I keep getting more budgies down the line), and I really don't want to keep another budgie after her, when she passes years later. On top of that, due to RTO for my work, I'm usually out of my place for 8-12 hours a few times a week.
Any thoughts? Do you think she's happy alone or am I being delusional and she needs a flock that I should rehome her? This has really kept me up a lot, and I'm really unsure which would be better for her.