General Guide for Budgies

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Budgies "Parakeets"

General:

Budgies, also known as" Parakeets" are sweet, social,

active

little birds.

There are two types of Budgies, the

American

Budgie and the English

Budgie. The English

refers to a budgie

that is larger in size and was bred

for

show quality. American

budgies are more common and

seen in the pet

industry. They

both make excellent

companion birds.

Along with the popular blue and green parakeet, there

are a

variety of

other fun color mutations available today.

Some of

these but not limited to

are lutino, albino,

fallows, pied, and

pastels. Budgies are recommended for

those starting with a

first bird and for those that have the

desire and

passion to own

a smaller bird.

Budgies have a great talent to sing and chatter. Many

are able

to learn

several words and phrases. They are

easy to tame

and can be trained to

perch on the finger

quickly. All that is

required to accomplish this is

patience,

consistency (taking the

bird out of the cage daily), and

lots of

unconditional love.

Budgies love their toys and will entertain themselves and

the

family. To

enrich your parakeets daily play it is good

to supply

them with several

good, safe toys that are

different in color and

texture. As with all parrots,

clean

and rotate the toys often

(every 2 weeks) to prevent

boredom.

Always remove any

broken or soiled toys

immediately.

Environment:

Budgies originate from Australia's mainland. In the wild,

Budgies are green

with black markings. The colors

available

today are the result of captivity.

Diet:

Proper parakeet care and diet is very important. In the

wild,

budgies eat

greens and fresh seed. In captivity,

they should be

given a balanced diet

of fresh fruits and

vegetables, a high

quality seed mixture that contains

many different small seed

elements, and commercial

parakeets pellets.

Cuttlebones are

very beneficial and

will provide the additional calcium for

the

budgie diet.

Replenishing clean drinking water daily and any

time

water

has been contaminated is a necessary step to

maintaining a healthy parrot.

Millet Spray is a favorite among the smaller birds. Using

a fun

millet holder

will provide your budgie with

enrichment at getting

to the treat. Check out

the fresh

foods you should be feeding

your parrot on our

fresh

food list

Breeding:

With the proper diet, environment, and mate, budgies

can

easily be

successful at producing offspring. Sexual

maturity for

budgies is at one

year of age. It is fairly easy

to determine the

age of the bird by looking at

the crest or

forehead. An adult

parakeet will have a solid color

forehead,

followed by the

traditional black stripes, babies

are born with several black

stripes at the beginning of

the head moving back.

The sex of the bird can usually be determined by looking

at a

mature adult

budgie's "cere" or nostril tissue.

Females will have

a brown or cream color

and a male will

have a blue cere. Some

mutations such as the lutino and

albino may not be able to be

accurately determined

because of the lack of

pigment.

Once the breeding environment is established

with a suitable mate, cage,

and nest

box, the

female will lay two to six eggs

The female parakeet

will

lay one

every

other

day.

Incubation is for 18 days. The

hatchlings will be

ready to leave

the nest if parent-fed

between 5 to 7 weeks old.

Breeding

eason

typically

from

fall to winter

but breeding can occur anytim

e of the

year

Parakeets can be pulled to be handfed by their human

caretaker but it is

recommended to leave them in the

st box

to be weaned by parents. It is

more challenging

and time

consuming when hand-feeding budgie chicks

because of the

size and

sometimes

difficult feeding response.

In our

experience with handfeeding parakeet chicks, they have done very well

with handfeeding. In fact, they are crazy little birds that beg and hand

vigorous

feeding responses. Only the very experienced hand feeder

should take on this task.

Captivity:

Budgies as pets are the most popular, well-known first

bird to

own in

America and around the world. They are a

small bird in

a big package with

a playful personality, and

are available at a

reasonably low cost. Budgies

like to be

around the family so it

is best to place the bird cage in

an area

free of drafts and

where the family spends the

most time, usually the living

dining room.

ll parrots will naturally flick food out of their food bowl. In

the

wild, parrots

are very neat and rid unwanted food out

of the

nest as to keep it clean.

Unfortunately for us

humans, it leaves

a big mess to clean up. There are a

variety of items now

available to help manage seed from

falling to the floor

such as

cage guards and skirts.

When choosing a cage, we highly recommend

purchasing an

lic cage

for your bird to be housed in.

These cages provide

a practical solution to

birdie

messes and add beauty to your

home. Budgies are a

great choice

for a family who has the love

for a parrot

but has to work with a small

budget

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Parrot Education

Fun Feathered Fact
The word "Parakeet"
means a small parrot
with a long tail.

One week old Budgie

Two week old Budgie

Four week old Budgie

Female American Budgie

Male American Budgie

Four days old parakeet
Two days old parakeet
Just born parakeet

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