the lady i got her from guaranteed her health she was a breeder that was getting overwhelmed I think. She said this one was getting beat up on. She seems pretty sweet i had to grab her from the box i brought her home in and she squawked, but never bit. She has a green band that says 1014PB which i think is some kind of code. The lady said she was very young.

My Lutino actually ate from my had for the first time ever too. It's almost like he was jealous of the other budgie. He ate a millet bit from my hand!!!!!

Cool!! Were both birds eating from your hand or was the lutino trying to grab the millet before the new bird could get it?

A little competition can be useful sometimes lol. It's also useful when one bird is tamer than the other because the tame bird sets a good example for the wilder one.

Yeah it almost seemed like he was jealous. He's started at her the whole time and has been dancing for her. I covered their cage and left for like 3hrs and they were both fine when I got home. They seem to get along for the most part but there have been some little fights. I think he's going to be fine with her. Now time to get a nest lol.

Birds are going to have some arguments, that's just the nature of the beast. But it sounds like they like each other pretty well.

Jan is right though that it's MUCH too soon for a nestbox. The lutino is much too young for one thing, and they haven't been together long enough to form a pair bond which is VERY important to breeding success. They also haven't settled into their new home yet, and feeling safe and secure is also an important factor in breeding success.

But most important of all, breeding birds is a HUGE responsibility. There are about a million things that can go wrong and you have to be able to deal with any problems that arise. To do it right, you need to do a lot of reading on the subject in advance so you have a good understanding of what's involved, and make a realistic decision about whether you have the time, money and emotional strength to deal with any disasters that may occur (because disasters do occur all too frequently).

I'm primarily a cockatiel person so I don't know where to find the best resources on budgie breeding. But if you think you'd like to breed your birds later on when the time is right, I'd suggest reading this 10-part article on the responsible breeding of cockatiels to get an idea of what's involved. The issues might not be exactly the same as budgie breeding but it's probably not too different either. The different parts of the article aren't conveniently linked together so the navigation is a little awkward. Go to http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/artspctl.htm#Cockatiels and scroll down to the R's and start with part one. Part 9 (IX) is listed out of sequence so watch out for that.

I didn't really mean anytime soon. I realize that it's going to be months before any of that. My lutino actually stepped onto my hand to get millet today, which is awesome it's amazing how much of a difference getting another bird made. I take everything you guys say seriously because yo seem to be the most knoweledgable people I have found on the subject of birds. My lutino has been pulling on the tail feathers of my female. Not pulling hard just kinda grabbing it and gently pulling almost like he's caressing it. Also my sister has a lovebird she told me is not tame at all and has never been out of it's cage. If anyone is interested in it and lives in PA let me know or I may try to keep it my self otherwise.
I'd rather stick with my budgies but if it means letting a bird fly and experience the world I will keep it and try to tame it a little. By the way I am a Soldier who has a really bad case of PTSD so getting these birds tamed a little is very theruaputic for my condition and I and all Veterans with issues thank this forum and especially you Tielfan.

Another great step. The new bird is now eating millet from my hand as well!!!!

I'm glad we were able to help! Birds and other pets are very good for us, they have simple needs and it's rewarding and relaxing to watch them respond to our care.

It's great also that your birds are getting along together so well - it doesn't always work out that way. Having the lutino actually become tamer as a result of the new bird was a very unexpected result, and I would never have guessed that it might turn out that way. But budgies are social birds who form a flock bond with their human companions, even more so if there are no other birds around. So even though he may not have seemed to like you very much before, he was apparently with you long enough to see you as a flockmate, and maybe his sudden tameness was his way of telling the new bird "this guy is mine!". When the new bird settles in the three of you will be flockmates together.

There are exceptions, but in general lovebirds have aggressive temperaments and don't like birds from other species. They have been known to kill budgies and even cockatiels (which are bigger than the lovebird but aren't very aggressive). So if you take your sister's lovebird, you would have to watch the situation carefully, keep the lovebird in a different cage than the budgies, and even if they seem to get along reasonably well you would need to supervise any out of cage play time that they had together.

You could suggest that your sister try the food bribery approach on her lovebird. If they can build a better relationship maybe the bird won't need to be rehomed at all.

She's just trying to get rid of it. She's not a good pet owner. She's one of those people who gets pets and tires of them. But anyway I moved their cage into our living room so we will always be close and they'll get used to us quicker. And again thanks for all the advice.