Budgerigar?
The budgie (aka budgerigar) is the most
popular cage bird in the world. The inexpensive little budgerigar
can become a most faithful companion because of its cheerful personality,
its adaptability to new surroundings and the ability to chatter
in a very short time. It can be easily trained, has a great talent
for acrobatics and has an incredible capacity for mimicry of many
sounds, including the human voice. The budgie will generally learn
to talk (both sexes have the ability to talk), and become more affectionate
if it is kept by itself, due to the attachment formed with family
members.
The sex of mature budgerigars
is easily distinguished. Adult birds have a waxy skin around the
nostrils, called the cere, which is a rich blue color in the male.
In the female it is whitish, tan or brown. Young budgies can easily
be distinguished from adults by their coat feathers. Young birds
have striped markings running from the back of the neck extending
over the crown of the head to the top of the bill. When their first
adult plumage appears (between 3-5 months), the immatures moult
out these barred patterns, replacing them with a clear colored mask,
yellow in the green birds and white in the blue birds. The ideal
purchase for an indoor pet should be a healthy male baby bird, one
around 6 weeks of age and still in its juvenile plumage. With proper
care, your budgie may live 12 to 15 years.
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Housing and Safety
Cages should be a large as possible, since the budgie is a very active
bird. Even the smallest cage should at least allow for complete clearance
of the tail and open wing feathers; one in which it can flap its wings,
fly from one perch to another and have room to explore.
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If your bird
will be spending a good deal of time outside its cage or on a playgym,
the cage may not need to be as large as one for a bird that will be
spending most of its time inside. Birds fly back and forth, not up
and down. Keep this in mind when looking for a cage. Avoid tall, narrow
or round cages even though they may be appealing to the eye; your
budgie will do better in a cage that is longer than it is high. |
The cage should be at least 15" wide, 17"
tall and 14" deep. A cage 24" by 18: by 24 inches is the
most suitable. It must be equipped with wooden perches and preferably
have a sliding metal or plastic tray at the base to enable easy
cleaning. Budgies like cages with horizontal bars since they love
to climb. The cage should contain the basics: food and water dishes
(or a drinking tube), a treat cup, a cuttlebone and perches. Budgies
should be allowed a daily minimum of 2-4 hours outside the cage.
However, be aware that a variety of tragedies may befall budgies
because of their small size and bold, inquisitive nature. They can
be stepped on or sat on, shut in a cupboard or refrigerator, drowned
in the toilet of even in a narrow, partially filled drinking glass.
For your budgie's safety as well as to aid in taming, have its wings
clipped evenly on both sides by an experienced person. Watching
this being done, it is an easily acquired skill for the owner.
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Diet
Budgies, like small children, are notoriously
resistant to a change in their diet. However, they must eat
a varied menu as youngsters to avoid becoming fixated on seed.
Seed provides only about one-half of the nutrients that budgies
need daily. The Association of Avian Veterinarians recommends
that fresh seed, along with other grains and legumes (bread,
cereal, peas, beans, rice and corn), make up no more than 50%
of the budgie's diet. The next 45% should consist mostly of
dark green, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables (grated
carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cantaloupe and
carrot and dandelion greens, Spinach, Chickweed, and even broccoli
which provides nutrients as well as beak activity). The remaining
5% of the budgie diet should consist of meat or meat substitutes,
eggs and dairy products. |
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While not hearty meat eaters, they may accept water-packed
tuna, raw tofu, some hard-boiled egg, and low fat, low salt cheese.
Alternatively, avian pellets for small hookbills contain a balance
of nutrients in every bite. One successful method to convert a budgie
to pellets is to mix them with a favorite table food and/or add
diluted fruit juice to pellets that aren't already sweetened.
General
Thereafter, it may be taught to step
from one hand to the other, or to step on an arm or shoulder. When
giving these basic lessons, one must move slowly close to the body
and talk with a soft voice so the bird feels secure. Then, allow
your budgie to come out of its cage to explore, play and interact
with you. Speech training lessons should be short, frequently repeated
and concentrated on the same material until the budgie masters it.
The first lesson should be restricted to words of one and two syllables
such as "Hi" or "Hello". It is easier for the
bird to duplicate high-pitched sounds like the ones in a woman or
child's voice. Training records or tapes may be effective also.
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After you bring your budgie home, tame
it. Training sessions should be held early in the day when the bird
is fresh and eager. You can tame your hand-fed young budgie in a relatively
short time, especially if its wings have been clipped. For initial
trust, a training perch may be used prior to fingers. Once the budgie
is familiar with perches, it will then be ready to step on your fingers.
At the beginning the budgerigar may be scared enough to bite, but
it is important not to retaliate, its reactions must be ignored. |
For entertainment, home-made toys are
equally appreciated as the commercial ones. Budgies love shredding
computer paper strips and loofa sponges. They entertain themselves
with simple items such as paper-clip chains, marbles, natural wood
toothpicks, thimbles and other colorful household objects that "shake,
rattle and roll."
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