Caring For Your Budgie

I have often been asked "What Do Budgies Eat?"

The following is a list of tried and tested foods that budgies love to eat. Obviously all animals are different and like people some birds have exotic tastes but the following foods are those which all my budgies found delicious.

The foods are in no particular order but I will tell you when I list the food how much they liked it.

The image on the left is Chickweed but I couldn't include all images on this page but I do have a link to images if you don't know what it looks like click the Picture link after each food type.

1. Carrots

Fresh crunchy organic carrots (organic if possible, otherwise thorough washing is required because small animals are much more sensitive to pesticides, chemical fertilizers etc. than us human beings and what might give us bellyache could do a lot more damage to your birds...this goes for all fresh fruit and vegetables you buy which are non-organic) can be cut into strips or hung by string in the cage. I recommend hanging it low because I have found that the birds love the juice inside and tend to spit out the rest which will decorate your floor with orange colored flecks if it is placed too high in the cage.

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2. Stale Hard Bread Rolls (Brötchen)

Yeah...I know....."What ... stale bread for my push-kins ...is he crazy???? lol

Really.... not only do they love the taste but it keeps them amused for hours.

You need to take an old bread roll and drill (scissors) a hole through the middle and hang it in the cage again with string or cable making sure to secure the ends so that your birds don't catch their claws. They love pecking the bread to play and they find it delicious to eat. Watch day-by-day as the bread roll begins to disappear piece by piece....mmmmh!

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3. Stem Cabbage Leaves (Kohlrabi Blätter)

Budgies also love the leaves from stem cabbages (stem turnips) and eat them ravenously, but unfortunately, they find them so yummy that sometimes they don't know when to stop.... therefore you must only give them this treat in small doses (one leaf per fortnight) as the strong taste can cause diarrhea if taken in large doses. Think very hot Thai Curry .... you can eat it every so often and it is delicious but not every day! It contains vitamins that they love but in small doses as a treat. Place them in a small feeding dish or basket.

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4. Cucumber

My birds go wild for cucumber and they don't leave even the skin go to waste. It is great for them because besides the minerals it contains it also has a high pure water content. This can be cut into cubes/strips and put into their feeding dish or hung whole. (1/4 of a regular sized cucumber) You can give this as often as you like cause it is good for your birds health.

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5. Lettuce

Lettuce should be treated the same as No.3 because although budgies like to eat it too much is not good and so it should be given in moderation. Again try to use organic whenever possible.

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6. Dog Biscuits

Really.... I swear... I'm not pulling your leg!!!!

Take a Bonio type dog biscuit (can be a regular generic dog biscuit as long as it contains similar ingredients) and hang it from a piece of string. Don't ask me... I am not a budgie, contrary to popular belief... but whatever is in these doggie treats is a pure delicacy as far as my feathered friends are concerned. Again, like the cucumber, their is little leftover by the time they have feasted. lol

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7. Cuttlefish Skeletons

Of course you shouldn't replace the regular beak sharpening stone or chalk but the skeletons of cuttlefish which are available to buy in pet stores. (we take a trip to the beach once a year and collect a dozen or so which is more than enough for the year). But if you do collect it yourself make sure that it is totally dried out before you give it to your birds. It serves the same purpose as chalk but it must taste great because the budgies can't get enough!

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8. Chickweed

If it were possible for budgies to have a barroom brawl over food then this would be the cause of the fight. But budgies aren't really aggressive by nature but they are very protective of this particular treat and will push and shove to be first (not normal pecking order lol) to partake of this special meal. Therefore, if you have more than one bird it is better to put a few sprigs in separate corners (parts) of the cage. This plant grows wild and can also be cultivated but needs really moist soil.

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9. Red/Yellow Millet

When you buy most budgie food mixes either at the pet store or the supermarket it will contain millet seeds. This is a standard part of the diet of budgies. So why is this a treat?!?
My birds love it when I give them dried/fresh millet that is still on the stalk. Did I say love it...I meant that they crave it almost as much as the Chickweed. Also, for some reason they sing like opera singers after a dose of this delightful surprise. We have also found that if you take the red and brown millet seeds from regular "store bought" seed mixes and grow them for a few days (like mung beans to make Chinese water sprouts) in a dish with a little water (so the bottom of the dish is barely wet...let them grow till they are about an inch tall...make sure they stay moist or they will shrivel and be sure to rinse them before giving them to your budgies) the birds really love this vitamin rich gourmet side-dish.

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10. Apples

Appropriately, apples come at the bottom of the list. They eat it and realize that it is good for them but they don't necessarily go crackers about it! Again, this fruit should be sliced and placed into their feeding dish or quartered and hung for them to eat as they wish.

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It should be common sense, but besides the bread rolls, cuttlefish chalk and the dog biscuits, you should keep an eye and see when it starts to wither... usually the next day because we are responsible for our pets and no matter what type of food we give them if it goes bad then it will likely cause problems and the vitamins and minerals will also be gone. So lets keep it fresh folks!!!

I hope this guide will help you but don't forget that every animal also has their likes and dislikes and although I have tested these treats with many budgies (all of whom were completely satisfied) this is only a guide and it could be that you find the one exception....but I doubt it....

Please feel free to add suggestions by leaving a comment.....

Labels: budgie care, budgie food, budgies, what do budgies eat

One of my readers has few very ill budgies at the moment and has asked for some advice so I thought rather than just emailing her the answer I would publish it here because the tips involved may be of benefit to all budgie keepers.

My email went as follows:


There are a number of things to do to help the situation.

Firstly make sure that the birds that are separated stay separated….what we think as mean to separate them may save all their lives and when they are well again they can go back together.

1. Make sure that the birds are kept out of drafts and cold places. They should be kept warm.

2. If you are using plastic water feeders/dishes throw them out and buy new ones because plastic is a great carrier of infections and if you have metal water containers then sterilize them in boiling hot water. (don’t use any cleaners or disinfectants—birds are too sensitive) and make sure to change their water and clean the water containers twice a day.

3. Put a red warm light over one side of the cage (but not the middle) so that they can go to the other side if they want a break from the light. Red light has soothing and healing qualities. Put a thermometer on the inside of the cage near the perch to check the temperature of the red lamp…remember too hot and you will cook the poor bird too cold and they won’t benefit from the healing properties. An ideal temperature is between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius. Adjust the height of the red light over the cage as necessary in order to achieve this temperature.

4. Make sure the birds are getting enough vitamins and minerals mix…those little packets in the store with seed and minerals mixed and put them in a separate feeder from their normal seed so that they can take only what they need.

5. Don’t give them any fresh fruit and vegetables when they are ill.

6. Change their ground paper and sand and make sure the cages are always feaces (diarrhea) free as this can infect the other birds.

7. Ask your Vet which medicine he used because there are two types normally used for this illness and sometimes the birds don’t react to one so the other should be used. They are called Tetracyklin and Chloramphenicol.

8. Play some light classical music at a very low volume and talk regularly to the birds.

The tips above are only my opinion as I am not a qualified Vet but have been holding budgies for most of my life and have lost very few birds.

I hope these tips help you and that your budgies return to full health soon.

Labels: baby budgie, bird flu, budgie illness, sick budgie, viral infection

Well...as you can see...the baby budgies are no longer babies but toddlers lol

As you can tell from the pictures of the baby budgies below, they were taken a few days apart but they are really growing fast. We are feeding them freshly cut cereals which they devour and also fresh grass stalks. We have 5 budgie babies and it is the pairs first batch. We expected one or two baby budgies but now we have a small army. lol

My daughter loves to hold them so I told her I would put her picture on my budgie blog.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Labels: baby budgie, breeding budgies, budgie

Baby Budgies

Well...I haven't written anything for a while because I have been busy with work and my Harlequin budgies just had 6 baby budgies. LOL

They are a beautiful pair and I wanted to show you the mother, father and baby budgies but the father was too busy so today you only get to see the mother and baby budgies.


All the baby budgies are totally healthy but I don't want to disturb their feeding and the mother gets irritated so I let them in peace. I suppose if a giant hand came into the roof of my house and tried to grab my newborn child...then I would be a little irritated and stinky too!

The only one that looks a little worn out from the whole feeding regime is the father but you can see in his eyes that he is really proud.

The oldest is about 10 days old because the female has been laying like a battery hen. It is their first batch and we thought they may not be able to handle it but budgie couple really surprised up.

Now we have to increase our cage to a full size aviary. LOL But we don't mind as there are many people here that dsaid they would love to have a harlequin baby budgie.

Labels: baby budgie, breeding budgies, budgie breeding, budgie eggs

Dirty Blue Widgets probably means nothing to my readers and I know it probably looks strange as a title on a budgie site. But dirty blue widgets is the theme for one of my other pages where I am currently promotin SEO tutorials. If you don't know what this is then simply ignore this post. But if you would like to learn more then click on the title above to go to the dirty blue widgets website.

Labels: dirty blue widgets, seo

Exotic Bird Cages have suddenly come back into fashion.

In my opinion they look great and my favorite are those made from wicker.

The only problem that I have with Exotic Bird Cages is that budgies have a tendency to eat things and crap all over the place, so despite the beauty of such objects, I prefer the more practical and easier to maintain metal cages.

Here are some tips on buying a bird cage:

How big should it be?

The cage should be big enough for the number of birds you are holding.
(i.e. 1/2 m2 per pair of budgies)
But remember that if your birds don't get regular free flight (you don't let them fly around outside the cage for a while every day) then I would at least double the recommended size.
Birds can also become claustrophobic and this will lead to either aggression or depression.

Should the cage be round, rectangular or square?

There are different opinions on this theme but I have used all three and found that the shape itself isn't really important but the amount of room inside.

How big should the bar spacing be?

About 1/2-1 centimeter is needed between the bars to prevent the budgies from sticking body parts out and damaging or killing themselves. Budgies are playful creatures which like a challenge and see such things as a game.

Is it user friendly?

If you have kept budgies for a long time then you know that a practically designed cage can save many headaches. I prefer those with 4 - 4 doors. One main bigger door on the front and a few smaller ones on the sides and back. Make sure also that the doors are secure and that they close tightly. Budgies can and will open loose or badly fitted doors for fun. This makes it easy to get into the cage from any side and is necessary for changing toys, water, food etc.
Also try to get one where the floor slides out without having to open the doors. This makes for easier paper changing.

What kind of perches are the best?

Avoid thin perches at all cost as these are not good for the birds feed. I try to keep away from plastic perches and only use wooden ones. These can be cleaned by hand and afterward be put in the dishwasher for extra disinfection without damage. But a budgies favorite is a branch that you find in the park. Just strip off the leaves but leave the twigs on and they enjoy picking and sitting on it. But make sure it isn't poisonous. I use oak, birch and horse chestnut personally.

Can I build my own cage?

If your budget is too tight to buy a cage and believe me we are all feeling the pinch at the moment then it is possible to build your own cage. Please be sure that all wood is sanded and oiled but not varnished. Budgies pick off the varnish which can be fatal when ingested. Also try to use a strong gridded material for the bars. If you must use chicken wire be sure to NOT leave any loose ends to injure the birds. Or better still place a lat of timber over the areas where the ends meet.

Labels: bird cage, birdcages, budgies, exotic bird cage

Well... It's been ages since I wrote an entry so today I figured I would post some new pictures of my budgies. I have been up to my eyes in personal work and didn't get a chance to show you them till now!
I am not an expert photographer by any means but I find my budgies still look fantastic ...maybe you could tell me what you think.

Nigel.

P.S. These are 3 of my 6 current birds...and sadly I lost 3 to illness during the summer through buying a female from a different seller...lesson learned!

Labels: bird anatomy, bird food, birds, budgie, budgie pictures, photos