Separating bonded parakeets causes emotional distress, so it must only be done to protect their health.
You may need to separate bonded parakeets (budgerigars) if one of them has an infectious disease, you don’t want opposite-sex birds to breed, or one bird becomes territorial over space and resources.
Separation is necessary when bonded budgies start fighting. This may not have to be a permanent estrangement if they’re temporarily irritable when hormonal or molting.
If you need to separate bonded parakeets, house them individually in separate rooms. Parakeets are flock animals that seek the comfort and security of togetherness if they can see or hear each other.
Bonded vs. Unbonded Parakeets
Signs that a pair of budgies have bonded include:
- Sharing a perch and sitting together in tranquility.
- Regurgitating food into the female’s beak.
- Imitation of each other’s calls and songs.
- Beak tapping.
- Allogrooming and preening.
Some parakeets coexist in the same cage without forming a close bond.
If you keep two parakeets that don’t fight but rarely display the above behaviors, they’re likely content to share a space but won’t protest at being separated.
Parakeets Bonding for Life
When captive parakeets form a bond, it usually lasts a lifetime. This union isn’t always about breeding.
Two male parakeets can share a lifelong platonic bond. Female parakeets are more territorial and are likelier to clash, adversely impacting their ability to bond in same-sex pairs.
Wild parakeets are slightly more fluid with their attachments, driven to reproduce and propagate the species. If a male is infertile, a female will likely seek a new partner.
How Separation Affects Bonded Parakeets
Parakeets deeply miss their partners when separated, often searching and calling for the absent friend and showing signs of deep sadness when not reunited.
A parakeet will eventually accept life without its bonded partner. It may even bond with a new bird.
Reasons for Separating A Pair of Parakeets
There are some genuine reasons why bonded parakeets should be separated:
Sickness
Remove the sick parakeet immediately if one has an infectious disease or ectoparasites (like mites) and the other is unaffected. The symptoms of ill health include:
- Labored breathing.
- Streaming from the nostrils or eyes.
- Vomiting.
- Loss of voice or croakiness when verbalizing.
- Changes to urine or feces.
- Appetite loss.
- Lethargy.
- Depression.
- Muscular weakness and tremors.
The sick parakeet should be quarantined in a separate cage in another room.
Bullying and Resource Guarding
Resource guarding is more common in female parakeets, who are naturally more territorial.
If a female experiences an increase in hormones, she may hoard food. This is commonly observed with nesting behaviors, especially during the breeding season.
If one parakeet refuses to allow the other to eat or access resources, the other will become distressed.
Unwanted Breeding
Unplanned breeding is likely if you keep a mixed-sex pairing of bonded parakeets.
Males will usually take the lead, demonstrating the following behaviors:
- Regurgitating food.
- Preening and proudly displaying its plumage.
- Imitating the calls, chirps, and songs of the female.
- Head bobbing.
If a female welcomes these courtship rituals, she’ll respond in kind. The parakeets will chirp and chatter as though deep in conversation together.
Removing a male from a shared cage won’t prevent egg laying. Proximity to a mate triggers the female’s breeding hormones, with the only difference being that the eggs will be unfertilized.
Opposite-Sex Siblings
If you have a brother and sister, they must be separated before maturity so they don’t breed. Siblings that reproduce are likelier to have offspring that never hatch or sickly hatchlings with inherited diseases.
The same applies to mother and son or father and daughter combinations. Separation is essential because birds don’t recognize their relatives or instinctively understand the risks of inbreeding.
Fighting
Two bonded parakeets are unlikely to fall out and start fighting without reason. Watch how they interact and ensure they’re not just playing, which can involve rough-and-tumble physicality.
A sign that always signifies aggression in parakeets is pecking at the feet. You may also observe severe injuries to the wings, face, beak, and cere. This may be why there’s bleeding.
Bonded parakeets fight for a reason, with aggression usually temporary and circumstantial. Common reasons for two previously friendly parakeets to grow hostile include:
- Increases in hormone levels lead to uncharacteristic irritability and intolerance.
- Molting feathers can make parakeets ill-tempered.
- Two parakeets will struggle in a small cage because they lack resources and territory.
- Mating aggression, with the male attempting to breed with the disinterested female.
Don’t let the conflict continue unabated. If you separate bonded budgerigars before the conflict worsens, it may be possible to restore the bond once both parakeets have cooled off.
How To Separate Two Parakeets
If possible, enlist the help of a friend, preferably someone familiar with your pets. One can distract the parakeet that’s staying while the other captures and relocates the second bird.
Once separated, they need a temporary or permanent break from each other.
If you separate two parakeets living in the same home, two cages in the same room won’t work. They should be housed in separate rooms, ideally on different floors.
If bonded budgies can see or hear each other, they’ll attempt to reunite. They may start calling each other, with these calls growing distressed when answered, yet their friend remains absent.
Sometimes, you must separate a bonded pair of parakeets for health or safety reasons. Weigh this against the distress caused, especially if they remain deeply upset weeks after separation.
