Singel budgie

Question
Hi, I have a lovely handfed male lovebird now I was thinking of getting another handfed male lovebird for him to live with but heard he wouldnt be quite the same afterwards and thought maybe buying a parent raised budgie and housing them side by side would be better... he woulsd still have someone t talk to/play with Out of cage only but wouldnt get mean or not like me much anymore. I am aware the budgie would need to be taed and let out just like my lovebird but I have a few questions for you about budgies below:

Cage size.. how big should it be?, My little 'Merlin'(lovebird peach faced) has a huge cage it is 18x24x18 with a large playtop on top and a seed catcher I got it for a steal of a price from someoen who didnt need it anymore because they upgraded cage sizes.

I'd be buying from a petstore because nonoe around hear breed budgies just tiels and loveies... it will likely be eating just seeds any tips on swiching to half or more pellets/veggies?

And lastly I work 8 hour days which is why I was thinking of getting 'Merlin' a friend in the first place will I be able to properly bond/tame a parent rasied budgie while working?

Thanks,  

Answer
Hello,
thank you for your question.
Lovebirds and budgies don't get along well. Lovebirds can be aggressive and have been known to kill budgies or bite their legs off.
I do recommend getting another lovebird for Merlin, he will be a lot happier with a friend of his own species. If you can, let him choose his own partern at a breeder, that way you can make sure that they will get along fine, after all lovebirds mate for life. Merlin will stay tame and the new bird will get tame if you spend time with them, getting another bird does not mean that Merlin will suddenly become shy or mean.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer