Rehome? 2 budgies vs mixed species

[Wolf]

Please don't worry about the length of your posts as that is when we begin to receive details and in most cases that is where we find the answers to most problems and then try to let it stand on its own merits especially once you start receiving replies as it can get really confusing if you change it after someone replies.
I am not sure what perfect or even near perfect care for my birds would be other than being able to return them to the wild. But with the way that we keep destroying their natural habitat along with the fact that they don't know how to survive in it due to having lived in captivity for all of their lives, that isn't happening. The near perfect care is in your own mind and according to your standards of which some are for the birds benefit and others are for yours. That is not to say that it is bad or wrong but it is more a matter of perception. Most of what you have shared seem to me to be great and I have no issues with any of it ,but I do feel that no matter how hard we try, our best efforts fall short so their is always room for improvement.
I am sure that keeping the bird poop cleaned up is a good thing( I keep tissue on hand at all times) and that the birds prefer to not have to step in it, but I really doubt that it is high on their priorities and as for keeping them entertained goes, I think that teaching them to entertain themselves and giving them the opportunity to do so is healthier in the long run than to have them too dependent on us for this. Even things that seem to be good on the surface are not always as great as they appear to be. One of the areas that this has been proven time and again with parrots of all species is in diet and nutrition, where we have learned that in some cases too much can be just as bad or worse than too little.
I don't so much think that being a perfectionist is a problem, I see your problem as being more closely related to over thinking a situation without all of the information that you need to make clear choices and then the anxiety that comes from that because it creates a cycle that easily gets out of hand because it feeds on itself. But hey we all have our issues, me I just do the best I can and hope to stay out of my own way and that is harder than it sounds.
As I was posting this reply, it shoed your Craigslist solution to me. I can't reply to it as it is something that I don't do and have no experience with. I am curious as to how it goes, however.

[Tiana]

Thanks so much Wolf!

I ended up watching a video from when I lived at my old house and it helped me recall simpler times that maybe will return in the near future. Right now I am completely overwhelmed with trying to get 2 Masters degrees simultaneously and work for a living at 3 less-than-part-time jobs. My house is a mess and the truth is I don't keep up on everything I try to do for the birds. Perhaps as I shift into my summer job which is more exhausting but at least more straightforward I will have a clearer head.

Side note: I really love the way budgies play. Any ideas on how (or if it is even possible) to teach the cockatiel to play more?

[Tiana]

[EDIT]
Thank you Wolf for making this feel like a safe space to communicate!

[Wolf]

I don't have any Cockatiels so I have no idea as to how much they play on their own, so I had best defer to Pajarita, Liz and any other people here with Cockatiels.

[Tiana]

This is like my dream play session with my birds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LzlBRuPpeo

This is more like how my birds are, except both of mine respect each other more than the ones in the video. But you can see how the budgie is trying to engage and the cockatiel is stressed by the engagement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwBJEVatWlU

[Pajarita]

Yes, the budgie is annoying the tiel which makes her react but the woman is blaming the tiel when what she should be doing is providing a mate for the poor lonely budgie.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I don't mean to criticize you as I can plainly see that you try really hard to provide a good home for your birds but I have long changed my mind about the 'goodness' of my home compared to other ones. It's easy to fall into this belief but it's not reality. There are plenty of good homes out there, we are not the only ones. And both your birds would be much happier not going on trips in backpacks and having a mate of their own species, instead. People tend to think of birds as little humans or feathered dogs but they are neither, they are highly social birds and the small species don't really need humans for anything but providing good husbandry as long as they have a mate or a small flock. They love us out of their peremptory need for company and the goodness of their hearts, not because we deserve it.

I also don't agree with your idea of fostering the tiel. I don't think it's kind to keep on switching a bird from one home to another, it's very stressful to them. If you decide to rehome him, then do just that. And if you want a really good home for him, don't look for humans who want the bird for company or entertainment, look for humans who have other tiels in a flock environment, who give them good food, good light a good schedule, don't breed them and have no personal expectations of any type of interaction with them. The interaction will happen spontaneously and of the birds own accord if they are treated kindly but they should be nothing more than a bonus and not a requisite. Tiels and budgies are not really companion species. People force this type of relationship on them but it's not natural to them because they are intensely flock oriented and do a million times better with other tiels than with the most loving human.

[Tiana]

Yes, the budgie is annoying the tiel which makes her react but the woman is blaming the tiel when what she should be doing is providing a mate for the poor lonely budgie.

Yeah that video was really frustrating to watch. I don't think she should even have them free-flighting together if that is their relationship but instead she sits there and lets them "fight" and criticizes them for doing what comes naturally to birds of different species. I'm glad my birds turned out to be such an exception to this rule of budgie/tiel antagonism; I love when they chirp happily to each other and groom each other. There are only some days (probably due to the stress that I bring into the room from work) that the tiel doesn't want anything to do with the budgie.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I don't mean to criticize you as I can plainly see that you try really hard to provide a good home for your birds

I appreciate that.

but I have long changed my mind about the 'goodness' of my home compared to other ones. It's easy to fall into this belief but it's not reality. There are plenty of good homes out there, we are not the only ones.

This is true, and why I have considered rehoming. I just feel like there is such a stigma around rehoming. Like "how dare you commit to a bird and then add it to this overwhelming pool of birds who need homes!" This is made worse when I go on somewhere like craigslist and see so many birds who are obviously not in good situations (admitted by the owners) for rehoming. Should I take away a potential home for them by rehoming by bird? Also there is the fact that I love my bird and I would miss him terribly.

And both your birds would be much happier not going on trips in backpacks

I'm not sure where you got this idea. It is obviously true that they wouldn't want to go together, but individually they enjoy the backpack trips. They jump into the backpack when I bring it out and and chirp with delight at the new sights and sounds of the meadow. I'm sure it depends on the bird though, both in terms of size and personality.
http://www.celltei.com/pakobird.html

and having a mate of their own species, instead.

I'm going to assume you mean friend here, not breeding mate.

People tend to think of birds as little humans or feathered dogs but they are neither, they are highly social birds and the small species don't really need humans for anything but providing good husbandry as long as they have a mate or a small flock.

I'm assuming "people" does not refer to me, since you have no way of knowing how I think about my birds. I agree that some people mistake what it means to have birds. I disagree that having small birds is all about husbandry and not relationships. If that was the case, why would anyone want budgies or cockatiels? If you want something pretty to look at you could get fish.

I also don't agree with your idea of fostering the tiel. I don't think it's kind to keep on switching a bird from one home to another, it's very stressful to them. If you decide to rehome him, then do just that. And if you want a really good home for him, don't look for humans who want the bird for company or entertainment, look for humans who have other tiels in a flock environment, who give them good food, good light a good schedule, don't breed them and have no personal expectations of any type of interaction with them. The interaction will happen spontaneously and of the birds own accord if they are treated kindly but they should be nothing more than a bonus and not a requisite.

Ah this is a really interesting point, thank you!

Tiels and budgies are not really companion species. People force this type of relationship on them but it's not natural to them because they are intensely flock oriented and do a million times better with other tiels than with the most loving human.

I'm not sure I agree with this. I don't know much about tiels but I know for goats (herd animals) and budgies (large flock socializers) that in the wild they easily socialize with multiple companions. As long as I am considered part of the flock, they are a great companion species. Obviously it is not natural for a bird to socialize with a human but I'm not sure why you say this is unique to parakeets, since it is not "natural" for larger parrots to associate with humans either. Perhaps if you had a specific reference. What type of birds do you consider natural companion species?

I also don't agree with your idea of fostering the tiel. I don't think it's kind to keep on switching a bird from one home to another, it's very stressful to them. If you decide to rehome him, then do just that.

This may be a separate topic, but wouldn't it be good to adjust birds to multiple environments? I would think that staying for a little bit at someone else's house while I am in town and can visit frequently would be good practice to reduce anxiety if I have to take a trip out of town and need a bird-sitter. Admittedly, I'm basing this theory on my experience training other animals besides birds.

[liz]

The cockatiel is the gentler species. They only bite when they are trying to get their point across. The budgie would not back off so the cockatiel was doing the only thing it could to defend itself.

[Pajarita]

No, I actually believe that birds should have mates. Real mates that they will have sex with, nest, etc. It's what nature decreed and the only thing that truly fulfills them. But this doesn't mean I believe in allowing them to breed, which I don't.

Husbandry is everything for ALL bird species, large, medium and small. And part of good husbandry is allowing the bird to live under the arrangement where said bird would be happiest. Small species are always happiest when in flock. I've taken in many little ones and a number of them came to me from been personal pets and from owners that assured me they were happiest having a close relationship with humans but all of them (and this is without a single exception, mind you) took to flock life with a passion as soon as I allowed them to and never looked back. While, on the other hand, I've had large birds that never did bond with another bird and wanted only the company of humans so it seems to me that the larger the species, the closer it bonds with a human. Mind you, this is not only my personal opinion, it seems to be consensus because small species are classified as aviary and large ones as companion while the medium size ones go from aviary to companion, depending on the species.

The reason why I say that parrots don't like to go to unfamiliar places is that they are not natural explorers and never go farther than their own territory. These are prey animals so, to them, an unfamiliar place is a dangerous place.