I recently put two male budgies together in the same flight cage, after a slow introduction with cages next two each other over the last 2 weeks. Then I moved onto visits outside of their cages, and now in the one new flight cage. They both beak tap and feed each other, but the older boy courts and then puts his leg onto to other one trying to hold him while he feeds him. He does this all the time I get them together, which causes his friend to get mad, scream, and try to bite him. Is he just hormonal, or over excited to see a new friend? Do you think he will calm down? I really wanted them to be buddies. They get along great until Charlie gets too excited (as if he wants to mate) but Murphy is a boy.

It sounds like Charlie isn't too picky about who he wants to mate with lol. It's possible for birds to have same-sex relationships.

It's normal for birds to squabble sometimes and they're still figuring out where the acceptable boundaries are. Either Charlie will learn that he shouldn't put his foot on Murphy, or Murphy will decide that it's not so bad after all and he may as well accept it. As long as they have a good relationship in general this shouldn't cause major problems. They'll figure it out.

My cockatiels are gay together. Just ask anybody. It's true.

Welcome! Budgies have a very high sex drive so it's not surprising that Charlie is trying to mate with Murphy.

It's true, Stephanie (Bluekeets) birds are gay. Beaker has done the same thing your Charlie is doing.

Thanks for giving me hope & that this is pretty normal behavior, especially for budgies. They were together almost all day this past Sunday, and neither seemed too upset about it. Charlie bugged Murphy, but then I noticed Murphy stopped being afraid, and he just sort of pushed Charlie away with a pecking/ head-butt motion. He figured out how to let him know, "back off!" Funny thing, yesterday I saw Murphy now doing the leg thing to Charlie, lol! Tables have turned and Charlie doesn't like it either. It's fun to watch them relate to each other and figure each other out, and just be birds. Better than TV! I didn't get to enjoy this when Charlie was an only bird.

It sounds like they're both checking to see whether the other one is a girl (or is willing to act like one lol).

My female budgie (Cloud) does this sometime to one of my male budgies (Ninja) whom she is bonded to. She'll put her foot on his wing or back and then start bugging him by tapping him with her beak or just straight out squabbling with him. She just straight out bickers (no foot grabbing) with my other male (Waffles) who was added to the mix after Cloud and Ninja became an item. Anyways, I thought of it as more of a dominance thing than a hormonal thing. She definitely has a desire to rule the roost.

Now that they've been in the same cage for a few months now though, it seems like I find Ninja and Waffles roosting on the same perch whenever I uncover their cage in the morning. And it seems like I see them hanging out together more with Cloud becoming more of the outcast. She is still pretty young, but she's clearly hormonal since she is rubbing her vent all over the place just absolutely shamelessly. I haven't seen any mating behavior though (which is fine by me, no baby budgies please, at least not now).

I too find them very interesting to watch! They are such unique individuals. Like Cloud, she actually sings tons more than Waffles does and does the vent rubbing thing which makes her seem like a male but she's very clearly female. And I haven't been nearly as fussy about hormone control with the budgies since from what I understand, they won't bother laying eggs unless they have a suitable nest, so I just don't let them have anything that could be even remotely considered a nest. So with all this hormonal action going on, I've never seen any mating. These weirdos.

I don't know about budgies, but with cockatiels a hen will sometimes climb on a male's back if she desperately wants to mate and he's not doing his part. So that might be what Cloud is up to. Sounds like the boys would rather hang out together than get some hot boy/girl action.

To me, it seemed like the foot on the other budgie's wing or back was just pure dominance (which is not to say hormones don't play a role, just that I don't think it is a directly sexual move). I do think it's weird that she is clearly hormonal but the boys are all "eh" about her, even Ninja. Do they not even mate if there isn't a nest available? I figured they'd mate but that there wouldn't be any eggs unless I gave them someplace cozy.

Ninja is a yellowface single factor violet cobalt (or possibly sky, his tail feathers are very teal blue) budgie with a tick mark on the back of his head hinting at a recessive pied split. Cloud is a cobalt opaline dominant and recessive pied mix. I believe she's a mix of pied because one of her eyes is still black while the other is a dark, dark grey which can only be seen under direct light. She is, at the youngest, 9 months old now so her irises should have lightened up by now if she wasn't recessive pied. But she is waaaay too pied to just be recessive pied, so yeah. I think she's a mix of pied. I think she and Ninja would have some cuuute little babies for sure. I'd have to have takers for all the babies before I'd even consider letting them have a nest.

Waffles would make some pretty babies too, he's an English budgie, double factor violet, cobalt, opaline full body greywing. If I ever did decide to breed Ninja and Cloud, I'd need to find a nice English budgie female for Waffles.

They're all babies still though, so it's just wishful thinking!

Oh geez, sorry for the thread hi-jack!

Birds' hormone levels go in cycles - they're not 'ready to go' all the time like humans are, and nothing will happen until their hormone levels rise to the right level. If she keeps encouraging them it will help raise their hormone levels, unless they're simply too young to be very interested in girls right now.