Keeping Budgerigars As Pets

How to Feed Budgies

Here’s what our vets recommend for a balanced budgie diet:
good quality, pellet budgie food as their ‘base’ diet. We recommend pelleted foods specially designed for budgies because they contain the right nutrients in the right amounts. Pellets are better than seeds because your budgies can’t just pick their favourites. Follow the feeding guidelines on the back of the packet and make sure to give them fresh pellets every day.

Just like any pet, budgies can easily put on weight if they don’t get the right diet and exercise. Pet obesity is a growing problem in the UK and causes all sorts of health problems. You can keep your budgie at their ideal weight by:
choosing a good quality pellet food and following the feeding guidelines on the packet. Avoiding seed-based diets. Seeds are high in fat and aren’t a balanced diet.

Preventing health problems in budgies

Your budgies will need a perch or two in their aviary so they can rest safely. The perch you choose can have a big impact on your budgies’ foot health, so it’s important to get it right. Avoid smooth, tube-like surfaces (like the wooden dowelling perches sold with many birdcages) and perches covered with sandpaper. These are bad for your budgies’ feet and could lead to health problems.

Stopping your budgie putting on too much weight

Budgies require daily exercise to build muscle, trim fat and stay healthy; they are prone to putting on weight, especially young females, and can develop fatty livers and tumours that could shorten their lifespan to just a few short years. Provide daily exercise outside the cage in a location that is “budgie-proofed” — lacking open doors and windows, mirrors they may crash into or other high-risk areas such as the kitchen with hot stoves, open pots and other dangers.

Budgie exercise: free flying

Help your budgies stay fit and healthy by giving them a spacious aviary that they can fly around in. If your budgies are tame and used to humans, you can let them fly free from their aviary, in your home. This is a great exercise for your birds. Make sure you only let them fly in a safe, secure room and that you supervise them at all times.

Shop for your budgie

Fresh vegetables. You can give your budgies treats of fresh greens to boost their daily nutrition. Mineral supplements. Your budgies will benefit from a source of minerals such as mineral block designed for budgies or a cuttlefish bone. Water should be available at all times. You can buy suitable water drinker from pet shops. Clean it every day to keep water fresh and safe to drink.

Changing your budgies’ diet suddenly can give them an upset stomach and can make them quite poorly. It’s best to introduce new foods slowly over at least a week rather than giving them lots all at once. If your budgie eats a seed diet and you’d like to change this to healthier pellets, you’ll need to do so gradually. Budgies that are used to only seeds often don’t recognise other things like food and so you’ll need some patience!.

Even though pellets provide everything your budgies need, it’s nice to have some variation and offering them fresh foods can help with this. Just remember to introduce them slowly if your budgies haven’t had them before. Up to 10-15% of your budgies’ diet can be fruit and veg – this usually works out as one or two thumbnail-sized pieces per budgie per day. Focus more on vegetables which have lots of good nutritional value. Fruits are sweeter and more sugary but can be used as a treat. Out of the fruits, berries and wild fruits have the best nutritional value for birds compared to fruits grown for humans to eat (which are sweeter and more sugary).

1. Homemade DIY Budgie Toys Ideas

Twist twigs and blades of grass together into a messy ball and watch as your budgie spends hours trying to undo it.

This exhaustive list of homemade DIY budgie toys, how to look after your birds helps you get started on making grooming playthings, swings and noisemakers so your pet won’t ever get bored when you’re not around to entertain him.

 DIY Budgie Toys Under

The best thing about budgie toys is that they can be made with the simplest of supplies, so if you have humble beginnings with maybe a plastic cup, or a stray piece of rope,

The thing about popsicle toys is that they are fun to rotate around at different angles and can be assembled in versatile ways to create a look that will actually appeal to your budgie.

DIY Cardboard Budgie Toys

Birds find the texture of cardboard irresistible. Combine that with a colourful string of beads and you have an adorable budgie toy that is a breeze to put up and gives a nice platform for beak action.

With a chewy, irresistible texture that birds just can’t get bored with, this cardboard foraging toy
helps your budgie condition his beak instead of pecking at your wooden furniture.

From colourful beaded danglers to paper foraging toys,  has it all to please your pet budgie.

Bird Toys Quick and Easy Swing

Budgies need toys and other objects to keep them busy and stop them from getting bored. Things like rope ladders and swing perches are ideal. Make sure they’re zinc-free and safe for birds, as zinc can be toxic for budgies.
Mix it up and give your budgie different toys each week. It’ll make playtime more interesting for
them and give you a chance to properly clean their toys.

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