how to take care of a budgie budgerigars, or budgies for short, are delightfulbirds that make great pets. in fact, they are the third most-kept petafter dogs and cats. this australian bird costs little to keep,is happy in a home environment and will even try to copy your words over time. if you've just brought home your first budgie,you will want to ensure that it stays healthy and happy. setting up its homebuy a big cage. birds need to have some space to play andstretch their wings.
if you care about their well-being, try tofind a model which lets the light go through. try to buy a cage that is wider than it istall and with a square top. budgies fly horizontally, not vertically likequails. fancy-topped cages are simply a waste of spaceand money. do not buy a circular cage, as a budgie cannotstretch its wings and fly properly in one. your budgie must be able to spread its wingsand fly. do not crowd the cage with toys, perches orother budgies. test a few cages and look for one that youcan clean easily. can your hand enter the cage easily?
remember that budgies poop every ten to fifteenminutes! you can keep the same cage if you decide tohave one more budgie. try to buy a bigger model if you have morethan two. add a bath. budgies might poo a lot but they also liketo stay clean. they even like to go under water for fun. look at your favorite pet shop for a stablemini-bathtub made out of plastic that you can hook to the cage. it must be accessible for the budgie and easyto refill from the outside.
don’t fill the bath too much. you don’t want the budgie to spill wateron the bottom of the cage every time he goes in its bathtub. budgies will clean themselves if you spraysome water onto them, it's not a must for them to have a bird bath. add a few toys and perches of different thicknesses,shapes and textures. natural perches are great, especially comparedto dowel or plastic perches. they also look far better. make sure that the perch is stable to avoidany injury.
there is a great variety of toys. look out for ladders, bells, balls, etc. they will keep your budgie stimulated. check that the wood is safe for the bird,such as eucalyptus. dowel perches or plastic perches can causefoot problems due to the lack of foot exercises. avoid perches and toys made out of prunustrees as they might contain cyanogenic glycosides. also avoid oak because of it contains tannins. there are no confirmed bird deaths but it’salways better to be on the safe side. try to avoid concrete perches, as they arehard on the bird's feet, but if you must use
them, position them at the lowest point possible. don't give the budgie too much toys or perches. two or three different toys are perfect forone budgie but you don't want to fill the cage up with unwanted toys so that the birdfeels crowded. budgies should always have toys in their cagefor 'mental stimulation', no toys can cause boredom which leads to feather plucking. think about the room. try to put the bird in a warm room where thereis no temperature fluctuation. a light room will keep your bird stimulatedand happy.
avoid placing the cage in front of a sunnywindow or next to an open door. cold drafts and over-exposure to the sun cankill your bird. taking good care of the budgiefeed your budgie properly. good budgie food mostly consists of seedsand fresh fruits and vegetables. you can purchase budgie feed from your petstore or grocery store, this will make up most of your birds diet but you can also supplementit with other types of food like coriander leaves, greens etc., try to introduce pelletsin the diet as well as a seed-only diet can lead to obesity. never feed your budgie avocado, chocolate,caffeine, or alcohol.
these are toxic to the bird. make sure the budgie has enough water to drinkin its dispenser. the bird will know how much to drink. change the water daily to prevent bacterialbuild-up. add a cuttle-bone. this is a good source of natural calcium forbudgies. mineral blocks can also be bought too. some people may use liquid vitamin and mineralsupplements, but those will be consumed through the fresh fruits and vegetables.
clean out the budgie's cage at least oncea week. this will keep the budgie safe from diseasegerms. clean only with mild dish soap and water andavoid using any cleaning products unless you are one hundred percent sure that they aresafe for birds. try misting your bird with a fine spray froma misting bottle to keep the bird cool. create the good environment for sleep. when it's time to sleep, simply throw a lighttowel or blanket over the cage. make sure there is sufficient air ventilation- you don't want to suffocate your new bird! this is also helpful when it’s noisy.
the blanket will block most sounds. if your budgie is frighten by the dark, adda little night-light. don’t let your bird panic. it might fly around the cage and injury itself. check the towel to make sure your budgiescannot get their claws caught. don’t forget to monitor its health. take the budgie to the veterinary surgeonat least once a year for a check-up. if your bird acts weirdly or if you spot anythingunusual, go to the veterinary surgeon as quickly as you can.
look out for abnormal breathing, dischargefrom the eyes or the beak, mucus on the feather, abnormal behavior and a loss of weight. if any of these symptoms occurs, call theveterinary surgeon immediately. settling inmake sure that the budgie is comfortable on arriving at its new home. give it some time to get used to its new surroundings- about three or four days at least. never rush your budgie. it will adapt on its own. stay close to the cage.
talk to it sweetly and quietly as you waitfor it to adjust but do not try to handle it. it will get used to you in the course of afew days or weeks. avoid loud noises and screams. your budgie is likely to be stressed by thisnew environment. name your budgie. say it often, especially when you feed it,so that it get used to its new name. introduce your household progressively. your budgie might be overwhelmed if thereare too many people around.
bring your family members once at a time andmake them repeat its name. let your household feed the bird to gain itstrust. be careful if you have another pet, especiallya cat. cats are natural predators and they are likelyto find your budgie suitable for their next meal. check that your children treat the bird with respect. little children can get overexcited when theyhave a new pet. always make sure to be in the room when theylook at the bird. don’t let them hit the cage or try to grabthe budgie.
seek to win the budgie's trust. put your hand in the cage after a few days. just place it there and don’t move it forsome time. repeat this for some days, to allow your budgieto get used to you. when the budgie seems okay with your hand,place your finger inside the cage. then push it slightly against your budgie’schest. this will encourage it to climb on your finger. do this for some days. feed your budgie from your finger.
dip your finger in water and put some milletgrains on it. the water will make the millet grains to stickon your finger. place your finger near the budgie’s mouthand it will eat them if it's grown used to you. after doing this a few times, hold the budgiegently in your hand. do this briefly at first, then extend thetime. don't handle the budgie too much during itsfirst two to three weeks. eventually as it becomes used to its new environment,start interacting with it more and more and eventually it will know you are a friend andnot a predator.
if you rush things, the budgie may start beinga little anxious and afraid. this will cause it to fail to bond with you. always treat your budgie with love and kindness. remember that the bird is fragile given thestrength of a human hand and therefore requires that you handle it with care. always remember to teach people new to birdshow to handle and properly play with this delicate little creature. never kiss your budgie, human saliva is toxicto budgies and they might carry easily transmittable diseases.
keeping your budgie stimulatedweights the pros and cons of a mirror. adding a mirror in the cage of your budgiecan keep the bird entertained for hours. they love to look and talk at their reflectionbut be aware that there are debates about potential psychological damages. instead of a mirror, consider a second bird. budgies love company and will probably welcomea new friend. a mirror will most certainly with male, oftenalso with female budgies lead to crop infections as parakeets regurgitate to feed their mates. a mirror (the feeding bird itself) will notprovide the needed feedback that has to come
from a real mate. if you decide to install a mirror, make surethat it’s fixed to the cage and doesn’t present a risk to your bird. talk and play to the budgie often. your bird will love the interaction and thegames and is likely to become very chatty. move your finger in front of it–– if itis shaking its head in the same direction, it means that it loves to play and is veryactive. let the budgie fly in a room. once the bird is at ease with you and itsenvironment, you can let it fly in a room
with all of the windows and doors closed. to call it back, switch off all the lightsand the curtain of one window open, but remember the window must be closed. the budgie will be attracted towards the light. hold it gently and put it back inside thecage. make sure that the bird is safe. put the cat away and look out for potentialescape routes.
