Budgies and canaries make great pet birds that are easy to care for. If you’re pondering putting them together, you’ll first need to research their special needs and personalities to help you determine if the two can make great buddies.
Can budgies live with canaries? It’s not recommended to keep the two birds together as the budgies can injure or even kill canaries with their hooked bills. But if you must pair them, then make sure you should provide them with sufficient space and closely monitor them for signs of conflict.
Below, we have discussed in more detail whether it’s safe for budgies and canaries to live together and the factors to consider before putting the two pet birds in the same cage.
Can Budgies Live with Canaries?
It’s not a good idea to house budgies and canaries together. This is mainly due to the aggressive nature of the little budgies.
Plus, the fact that budgies have a hooked bill which makes them better equipped to fight the wax-billed canaries.
Budgies are bullies and canaries are unable to defend themselves against them, so they’ll always be on the receiving end. The fact that budgies are larger than canaries makes it even less likely that canaries will survive a fight with them.
However, some bird owners have succeeded in putting the two birds in the same cage where they seem to get along pretty well.
But the secret here is to buy them at the same time when they’re still babies. If possible, choose two birds that seem to sit next to each other without fighting.
Providing the birds with a large space can help keep them from becoming territorial.
What to consider when housing budgies and canaries together:
Before you bring the two birds to live together in the same cage, there are a variety of factors to consider. These will help ensure you meet the special needs and requirements of each bird.
Compatibility
Budgies are quite aggressive small birds and are highly likely to attack canaries if kept together in the same cage.
Canaries too, especially the males, can become quite aggressive. But they’ve softer beaks and are not good at defending themselves from the powerful hook-billed budgies, just like their cousins from the parrots’ family.
Budgies can easily break canary’s feet and beaks like a twig, seriously injuring them or even killing them!
Cage size
You also want to ensure that the two birds you plan to put together have sufficient space where they feel comfortable and can fly and climb freely.
A spacious cage ensures that each bird enjoys a great deal of space away from the other. And this minimizes the chances of the two birds fighting as to who should sleep or sit where.
Budgies like climbing and you’ll often find them perched high up in the cage, so they need a taller cage.
Canaries, on the other hand, like flying a lot and will need a cage that’s wider to promote a good back-and-forth flying experience.
Get a cage of at least 30 ft. for one budgie and one canary. A good rule of thumb is to get a cage that allows a 10m distance between your pet birds.
Inside the cage, you should provide separate food and water bowls for each bird.
You should also provide perches, toys, and other enrichment items for every bird inside the cage. This will help prevent fights over resources.
Be sure to provide some hide spots in the cage in case any of the birds wants some alone time.
Diet considerations
The diets of the two birds are pretty similar as they require a mixture of pellets, seeds, and fruits and vegetables for a balanced diet.
However, this doesn’t mean that they should eat each other’s food. Each of the birds may like different kinds of pellets, nuts, and seeds.
Canaries, for instance, prefer a more seed-based diet. Budgies eating the same may develop obesity, fatty liver disease, tumors, etc.
Thus, we recommend feeding your budgie and canary foods specially formulated for each of them if you want them to stay happy and healthy.
Provide both birds with varieties of food and treats to avoid competition over food. If you give one bird a treat, be sure to do it for the other one.
Remember to provide the birds with separate food and water bowls inside their cage. This will ensure each pet eats its food freely without competing.
Monitoring behavior
Even if your two pet birds seem to be getting along pretty well, there’s no guarantee that a fight won’t happen at some point.
For this reason, we recommend frequently supervising how they get along in their cage.
If you notice any form of aggression or conflict between them, consider splitting them and putting them in different cages.
You should be even more watchful of these birds when either of them starts breeding. Why?
Because the femes tend to become more aggressive during breeding and fights may start in their shared cage as a result.
How do you introduce budgies and canaries to each other?
Properly introducing budgies and canaries can help cement their bonds and increase their chances of becoming buddies in the same cage.
As much as possible, we recommend introducing them to each other when they’re still babies.
Also, when buying them at the pet store or breeder’s, be sure to choose two birds that seem to sit close to each other peacefully.
Before putting them in the same cage, you want to first have them in separate cages and monitor how they get along. Do this a few times every week for several weeks.
You can also put their cages close to each other to enable them to bond before ultimately shifting them into a single cage.
When you think they’re ready to stay together, then you can put them in a spacious cage as we recommended above.
Even then, continue monitoring them daily for signs of conflict. And don’t hesitate to seek veterinary help if you notice odd behavior in any of your birds.
Final Verdict
Budgies and canaries may or may not get along well. Though they’re around the same size, budgies can become aggressive toward them and their strong beaks can easily injure the canaries. However, you may still be able to successfully house the two together. You just need to ensure you introduce them properly from the word go.
Provide the birds with enough space to prevent overcrowding and take care of their mind dietary needs to avoid competing over food. Above all, keep monitoring behavior of your birds inside the cage. If your birds start conflicting, split them into separate cages before they can badly hurt each other.
