budgies, how to provide a healthy diet
About a proper Budgie Diet:
Although budgies have the natural ability to adapt to any environment within a short period of time, they require a special diet to keep them healthy and happy.Diet is the number one factor for a budgie’s well being. Choosing the correct food and supplements is essential for their growth and development into a healthy adult parrot.
Especially during budgie breeding, they require nutritious food to produce healthy young. Most budgie owners think that feeding budgies with seeds will be more than enough but this is not at all true and they are just a part of the diet of the proper budgie food. The diet includes a combination of vegetables, fruits and pellets in addition to seeds. Besides that, in order to enhance the appearance of the food, most companies are manufacturing the grains and seeds with green and red color additives. These seeds will be more attractive but they are not suitable to their diet.
There are certain things that should be known by budgie owners who want their pets to be alive for more than 10 years.
Did you know that budgies are omnivores? They can actually eat both greens and meats.
Feeding Budgies with Pellets:
The pellets as a food are very much preferred by budgies. Before providing pellets to the budgies you should be aware of the fact that it should not contain any added preservatives, artificial colorings or flavorings. There are several good quality brands of pellets are available in the market. Before buying the pellet packs just be sure that the mixture does not contain sugar. You must also check whether these pellets are kept in a sealed container and in places of high average environmental temperature they are placed in the refrigerator. You can also find some brands which are providing pellets inside jars which will be more useful in storing the pellets. When you purchase the pellets in a packet, be sure that you have properly sealed them after every use. If the pellets have moths or appear to be in bad shape you should not under any circumstances provide them to your budgies. It is always better to purchase them in small quantity to avoid wastage.
Avoid Feeding Mixtures Of Pellets And Seed:
You should avoid feeding your budgies with a mixture of pellets and seeds. From my experience most of the budgies avoid the pellets and only consume the seeds. They will almost certainly leave the pellets unconsumed. It is always better to provide the seeds and pellets in rotation. You can feed them with seeds for 4 days and pellets for 3 days which ensure the healthy diet for your budgies. This type of feeding will provide all the essential nutrition to the budgies. Also when feeding pellets remember to avoid offering millet and honey sticks as they will avoid the pellets if you are providing them with options. Always prefer high quality pellets to avoid illness and the right nutrition.
Essential Fruits and Vegetables:
A proper budgie diet needs more than just seeds and pellets.
Essential things which should be added into the diet of budgies are fruits and vegetables as they provide all the necessary nutrition for the budgies that ensure their good health. Adding vegetables and fruits in their diet is very much important to the budgies as it is easy for them to digest and provide a plethora of nutrional elements.You can provide broccoli, lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, parsley and squash. Be sure that the vegetables and fruits offered to budgies are fresh as it is well known that only the fresh vegetables will provide all the necessary vitamins. Grated cheese with broccoli and carrot stems are enriched foods that will be very much liked by them. You can also provide them with fruits such as pears and apples. Thinly slice them and hung them inside the cage. Be sure to replace or remove quickly as they will change to brown color within a few minutes. When you are providing tropical fruits you can cut them into pieces and place them into the bowls. You must provide fruits to them as it plays a major part in their diet. Even if you cant provide fresh fruits everyday for your budgies it is essential to offer at least one vegetable a day. Some budgies love to eat plenty of broccoli and spinach leaves and some other budgies love to eat flower parts. (always be careful and make sure they dont contain toxic substances, fertilizers or other harmful additives).
Additional Sources of the Diet:
Budgies are also in need of proteins to grow so you should not avoid providing protein rich foods. Some budgies will be addicted to the seeds and they will not eat any other thing. Budgie training for eating other foods is also important so that you can convert them to eat everything. You can provide them some slices of well cooked chicken pieces. You need not specially buy chicken for them; instead, you can remove a part of chicken breast which is cooked for you. Then cut into pieces and offer them to the budgies. You can use this for four days when they are preserved in the refrigerator. Avoid using it for more than 4 days and replace it with the new chicken piece. Eggs are also the best source of proteins and vitamins. Whenever you are providing the protein rich-foods you must take them out of the cage after an hour as to avoid harmful bacteria from killing your budgies. In addition to these, you must also provide calcium rich cuttle bones and mineral content blocks to ensure a good health. These cuttle bones will make the female budgies to be more interested in breeding. There are also several budgie accessories with vitamins and pro-biotics which play a vital role in their development.
Foods to Be Eliminated From Budgie Feeding:
The above mentioned foods are very important to budgies and there are certain foods that should be strictly avoided as they are toxic to budgies. You should provide only the fleshy parts of the apple and avoid offering seeds or other parts that are touching the pits. This is because; these parts contain cyanide which is a poison capable of killing your beloved budgies. The fruit pits will also lead to vomiting, diarrhoea or even coma. Most of the kids will be trying to feed budgies with chocolate but you must avoid it is highly poisonous to the birds and can cause seizures, vomiting, diarrhoea or even death. You should also avoid providing Avocados to your budgies as it may cause difficulty in breathing and may lead to heart failure. Even a small amount of avocado is very much harmful to the them. You should not offer dried or raw beans as they contain toxins which can affect budgies adversely. Instead you can provide the cooked foods.
Other Foods to be avoided:
Potatoes which have become green color from being exposed to sunlight should not be provided to budgies. Potato leaves as well as tomato leaves should also be avoided as they contain an alkaloid compound which is toxic. You should not provide grapefruit, plums, lemon and mushrooms as these foods cannot be digested by the budgies easily. As the peanut shells contain fungus which is toxic to birds, it should be avoided for the budgies as well. You can offer cooked nuts instead of raw peanuts. The dried fruits which are treated with SO2 which is commonly known as sulfur dioxide is not good for birds so before getting the mixtures for your budgies, it is better to see the ingredients of the mixture. If it contains any SO2, the mixture should not be given to budgies. The food which is contaminated by your saliva contains bacteria as well as toxic substances which may be harmful to budgies. You should avoid providing dairy products to the budgies as it will cause some digestive issues. Toys with metal parts that are coated with lead or zinc should not be placed inside the cage as it is very toxic to budgies. Make sure that the toys for the budgies are lead and zinc free. There are several toys which are specially designed so you you should prefer ready made toxic free toys. Finally avoid soda, chips, alcohol and sugary desserts as they are very harmful. It is always best to get the suggestion of an expert to provide proper diet for the budgies instead of making a (possibly lethal) mistake.
