Guide for bringing home a new budgie
Basic necessities before Bringing Home s new Budgie
Budgies are small parrots, generally called parakeet. Budgies are natives of Australia. There are two sorts of budgies, American Regular budgies and British Budgerigar which is larger in size than the regular budgies. The main diet of budgies are fruits, vegetables, seeds and pellets. These small parrots are the best companion for those who like to have birds as pet. Budgies can be easily socialized once they are given proper training.
Budgie Training:
Budgies use to live in groups. If you want to interact with a budgie, you should have only one bird in the cage, other way it will be closer to other birds than you. If it is given the proper care, it will be your best friend for several years. Budgies are very intelligent and can be trained to speak few words and perform tricks. While training your budgie to speak keep on repeating the same word before trying a new word. You can get a budgie from either a breeder or a pet shop but prefer one from a breeder if possible. When you get a budgie from a pet shop, they will not be friendly at first as they are into the cage along with a moderate-large number of other budgies.
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Determination of Sex:
Budgies sex can be easily determinated when it grows into an adult bird. The cere which is at the top of its beak will be lavender blue for the males whereas for the females it will be in tan or dull brown. All young budgies have pinkish color cere so it is difficult to group them as male and females.
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Things to Be Looked Before Buying the Budgies:
When you decide to buy a budgie, there are certain things that should know before bringing a budgie to your home. No matter where you are purchasing the bird, the budgie should be of free from sign of illness with vents clean, ceres not crusty, eyes clear, no labored breathing, no sign of mites and no corner sitting with ruffled feathers. Even if the bird which you have decided to buy seems to be healthy, check if there is any bird in the cage that seems to be sick. If so, do not buy any bird from this cage. You must also check if the bird has any physical issues. It is preferable to buy the youngest budgies as it will be easier to be trained.
Cage for the Budgies:
The most important thing for a budgie is its cage. The cage must be big enough to ensure the free movement of the budgies, otherwise they will become unhappy and stressed. The cage should be at least of 14 inches L x 11 inches W x 12 inches H. If you place many toys, perches and food dishes inside the cage, there may not be sufficient place for the birds to move around. Avoid putting many toys and items in general or offer them a bigger cage.
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Necessity of Big Sized Cages:
Let’s face it, most of us are busy with work or other pets and sometimes we can not spend much time with our budgies. Providing a large cage is important and can help in such situation. Before getting a cage for your budgies, be sure that there must be less than half an inch of gap between the bars so that you can prevent the head of budgie to be caught in between the bars. You must also check that the bars are strong enough otherwise they will be easily bent. The cage should also have a non-toxic painting or coating over the bars so that the formation of rust could be prevented.
Accessories inside The Cage:
Most of the cages are made with two dowel perches. It is better to remove one of the dowel types and replace it with 2 or 3 other types of perches such as perches made of natural wood or shaped sand perch. This is because, budgies could enjoy a different kind of perches to be seated on and keep their feet healthy. Most beneficial are the shaped or sand covered perches.
Dishes for Foods And Water:
The cages should also be equipped with separate dishes for food and water. You should also have separate cups for placing the seeds, fruits, vegetables and pellets. The dishes for food and water should be kept clean to avoid bacterial infection to the budgies. When you are having number of budgies in the cage, it is recommended to provide food in separate dishes for each budgie in order to avoid fighting between them. Don’t get the big sized dishes for your budgies otherwise they will occupy more space inside the cage.
Knowing the Budgie Diet:
When you are getting a budgie to your home, it is always better to know the food which are provided to them at the pet shop. This is because, when you are bringing a budgie to a new environment, it will take some days for it to get adapted to the new environment. In this situation if you offer a new variety of food, it may not eat the treat. So it is always better to provide food which offered to the pet shop.
Budgie Accessories:
Budgie accessories include cuttle bone and mineral blocks. Budgies are in need of calcium and mineral in addition to vitamins to ensure a healthy body. As the cuttle bones are made from cuttle bones, they are not harmful for the budgies. You can also give soft mineral blocks for budgies so that they could chew them when they are bored. These bones and blocks will keep the beak of the budgies to be trimmed to a proper length. There are also several vitamins supplements which are available in the pet store or you can even get them from the pet vets.
Toys for Budgies:
Toys are very important for budgies so as not to be bored inside the cage. While buying toys for your budgies, you must avoid the ones that have mirrors over them as they could assume this mirror image as another bird. Toys that are suitable for budgies are small balls, rings, twirly toys, bells and chew toys. All budgies love bells. For this reason many toys for budgies are featured with bells. There are several shops which offer you toys for budgies without any toxic substance coated on them. If you place a new toy in the cage, budgies will be thinking that as an enemy. Only if they make sure that it does not cause any problem, they will start playing with it. The cage skirt is also one of the essential accessories to be placed outside the cage so as to keep the mess inside the cage itself.
Foods for Budgies:
You should provide your budgies with seeds, pellets, vegetables and fruits. You must avoid giving the mixture of seeds and pellets as budgies will leave the pellets and eat only the seeds. You can provide them separately on another day when you are not offering seeds to them. Always provide moths-free seeds and pellets to ensure good health to your budgies. Try to provide fresh vegetables and fruits such as cucumber, carrot, spinach leaves along with some grated cheese. Fruits such as apple, mango and other tropical fruits can be also offered to them. Try to serve them in a clean bowl to avoid bacterial infection. Don’t give them alcohol, chocolate, citrus fruits, cabbages, raw beans and other dairy products as they cause digestive problems to budgies. Always provide healthy foods for your budgies especially at the time of budgie mating and breeding to get healthy chicks.
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