This afternoon I had the birds out and something happened that has never happened before......

Jerry flew into Winston's cage with Winston still in it. They were on different perches but they remained there for a good 20-30 minutes together! They weren't doing anything, they were rather calm and quiet. At one point they even tucked their heads behind their wings for a short snooze. This has never happened, whenever Winston is enclosed with Jerry he immediately leaves the premesis as it seems to make him nervous.

Eventually Jerry flew out and Winston remained in his cage, but maybe this is the start of a budgie breakthrough..

It's kind of strange that they don't hang out in the same cage more often. When I put Pogo and Ziggy together I put both their cages next to each other. Ziggy decided he wanted to hang in Pogo's big cage and slept there the first night and never left. Pogo was never "territorial" about it at all.

Maybe if you had a big cage they would like to hang out together in it.

Jerry's cage is even bigger than Winston's - I'd love it if they decided to move into Jerry's cage. But remember that we got Winston when he was at least a year old and both he and Jerry were caged alone for a long time. Neither of my guys seem terriorial - Jerry seems to really care less one way or another but Winston seems nervous if they're in the same cage.

Maybe a blue monster in the cage with him is not so bad anymore. Will be good if they can live together.

Scott may be on to the 'big' solution. Pogo's cage is wonderful - maybe 3x's bigger than Jerry's.

As you probably know, my 2 have small cages. They also spend time together in each other's cages & sometimes together, but Laker is always hopping around. I have to rethink the layout in our place. It is not a big place & every room is double or triple functioning as it is. The beauty of 2 small cages is I can transport them around in one or both. When they were given to sleeping side by side I really thought they could use Laker's cage at night. But Laker wouldn't perch. He clung to the cage walls & no happy night song or munching. Rio was very happy & didn't want to leave for his own cage. My husband wouldn't have Laker upset, so 2 cages it is - for now.

Are you thinking of getting them to cohabitate?

It's always been up to them as far as we're concerned, if they want to live together we're more than happy to let them. Winston just never seems like he's up for it - like Laker he sometimes flies to another room to be by himself. One day we want to get them a huge flight cage but I don't think we quite have room for that at the moment - and I like them up high and away from the cats.

Yes having cats really changes things. I agree that having the birds up high is a great safety idea.

When we had fish we called the tank 'Kitty Kat TV'. Vive would stand on her hind feet & paw the glass or if we had a chair nearby she'd sit there & watch them.. The Angles handled it OK. They learned she was no threat & would almost touch noses with her thru the glass.

It's been just over a year since we lost Vive. I often think it would be nice to have a small dog or another cat. Then I think the Budgies would lose a lot of their freedom & I stop dreaming. I'd never get any work done if I was wondering what the cat or dog was up to.
Free flight 100% has its disadvantages.

Getting that big cage was the best thing I ever did for Pogo ... and now Ziggy. It's plenty big for 2, and probably even more Budgies (I have no plans for more though). It doesn't take up that much room as it's pretty tall and on its own stand. I've got it setup with two food and water locations so they don't have to share one at any given time, and enough perches so they can get away from each other if required. It works out great IMO.

I've found that Pogo and Ziggy now have their favorite sleeping spots in the cage, which are usually on opposite sides of the cage. It must be the two male thing, as they are not really bonded like a male/female pair would be. They are buddies, but still very independent.

When I put them to bed, I turn off all but one light in the room which allows them to eat and get settled. Then I come back in about 20 minutes and they are all settled in for the night. The light goes off and they stay in their spots all night long.

Here's the thread about when I got the big cage if anyone is interested in doing something like this.
Pogo Hit the Lotto

I know how peased you are with your brakthrough. These guys always amaze me. You think they are set in there ways and then bingo one ventures out.

We have talked about a huge flight cage for the budgies to share, and one day I'm sure we'll do it. Of the few that we've browsed at online and in magazines, they may not be tall enough with our new large dog addition So that needs some more thought, along with space in the house.

There's lots of things on my "To Do" list - one major thing is getting an outdoor aviary built so that they can enjoy the natural sunshine once the weather warms up. I've recruited two "builders" who want to help me and in the coming weeks we plan to discuss designs and materials.