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