Budgie Care

“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

 Maya Angelou

Cage size and placement

Cage size of atleast 1.5 feet x 1.5 feet is recommended. If the budgie is fully tamed and let outside the cage during day time, a little smaller size is okay too.

When buying a new cage, it is advisable to wash well without using detergent. If using detergent, then very light detergent is fine but the cage needs to be washed thoroughly.

Placement of the cage needs to be away from direct vents. Keeping them away from kitchen is advisable. Brighter place in the house is a good choice. Direct sunlight during morning or evening time for some part of the cage is good.

Night light is advisable since some birds get scared at pitch dark.

Maintenance

Water cups need to be cleaned and washed everyday. Night time is ideal for this activity so that budgies will have fresh water when they wake up early in the morning.

Normally birds need to be given seeds and pellets in equal quantities and budgies are no exception. When eating seeds, budgies open the shell and eat the content inside. So seed cups also need to be cleaned everyday by blowing the empty shells away with a gentle blow of air. While filling up the seeds it might be a good idea to fill up to 75 percentage of the cup capacity.

While serving soft food, keeping them on a plate instead of bowl is advisable.

Instead of feeding same soft food everyday, feeding different types each day would interest the birds.

Taking bath: Budgies like taking bath. On sunny days if we fill up a tray with water and keep them inside the house where there is sunlight, they wash, play and clean themselves.

New Home

When the budgie is bought from outside, the bird will not know the new place or the people. For the initial few days it is advisable to remove the perch at the top and keep the lower perch closer to the food cups. Also, if there are any hanging toys, removing them helps. Once the bird is used to the new place and people and starts eating normally, then the top perch and toys can be kept back one by one after few days.

Care during winter

During winter, heating system removes moisture from the atmosphere. It is advisable to use humidifier.

Clipping and Trimming

Clipping the wings a little helps taming and bonding initially. During molting stage, new feathers grow back. Once tamed clipping is not needed. But clipping is optional since birds can also be tamed without clipping with necessary effort.

Nails once done trimmed need to he done frequently. So natural methods are advisable like use of sand perch.

Finding company

If there is just one budgie and the owner is able to spend more time with him/her everyday then the bird might do okay. Otherwise getting a company is advisable. If the budgie is male, tamed and alone with owner, then he can be trained to speak few words.

Some final thoughts

Normally healthy and active birds keep themselves engaged the whole time. They either sing, play, eat or preen their feathers. If they stay on the bottom of the cage in a corner, or stay fluffy all the time, then it is advisable to pay closer attention to their health.