Budgie Parakeets are more than just a pet bird.
Read stories about Budgie Parakeets that their owners have written, see pictures and more.
The Budgie Parakeet is one of the most owned little parrots around the world. The Budgie, or Budgerigar as they are called in their native land of Australia, is also called a Parakeet here in the U.S.
As far as pet birds are concerned, these little parrots are the most affordable and come in the widest variation of colors. There are three varieties of Budgies, the Australian Budgie, English Budgie and the American Budgie.
Only the English and the American Budgie is readily available in the U.S. The English Budgie is the larger of the three. They are much less active and not usually found in pet stores. The American Budgie is the one you’ve probably seen in pet stores
Budgie Parakeets have the ability to speak 100’s of words! Their voices are tiny squeaky voices, but they really can talk. My daughter’s Budgie will often repeat things we say the first day that we say them.
Most say that a male will talk more than a female. Some say females won't talk at all. We only have a male so I can’t say from experience.
Maybe some of you out there that own a talking female can write us so that we can post your stories and photos.
Is it a boy or a girl?
Many color varieties of Budgie Parakeets will have either a blue or reddish-brown cere (the area above their beaks) that will help you distinguish if it is a male or a female. Blue for boys, how convenient, and pink for girls…well at least in the pink family.
It is not always possible to tell in some varieties. The Fallow and the Inos have the same color cere. Also, the color doesn’t change until about three months of age, so you can’t tell when they are a baby what they are.
All Budgie Parakeets are loud sometime, just not as loud as the larger parrots. You will have more noise if you have two or more birds, especially in the same cage. They will play and argue with each other, and that makes for more noise.
You will also have more noise if you have a noisy household. Almost all parrots enjoy making as much noise as you, or your vacuum and the like, make. When we sing, they "sing" right along.
Some Budgie Parakeets are cuddlier than others. Most of it depends on how they are raised as a baby and how they've been treated since then.
They often have a favorite person, and that will be the person they will cuddle with. Experts suggest that you socialize your bird when you bring it home so that it will be comfortable with many people handling them.
Even still, that is no guarantee that they will like everyone. Some birds just pick one person to like. You can’t make a parrot like anyone, but you can help it tolerate them and accept them. (To learn more about training your parrot, click on the Parrot Training button to the left.)
Often a bird will not "like" someone because they feel that person's apprehension. Encourage people to relax when they handle your parrots. If they are really nervous, it might be best for them to wait until they have more confidence.
Fortunately, a bite from this little bird will not likely cause a trip to emergency. This is why they are recommended as a “first pet bird.”
Visit our Parrot Training page for more help with biting.
Known Behavior Problems
With Budgie Parakeets, the behavior problems are usually problems with the owner not handling the bird often enough or in the proper way.
Providing Budgie Parakeets with lots of little toys, some for shredding, will help to keep them from getting bored.
Visit http://www.birdsafestore.com for some unique toys at great prices!
Your Budgie Parakeet should only have pellets make up 20 - 40% of their diet. We like the Totally Organics Pellets because they are 100% organic and don't even have artificial vitamins in them. This is important if you have a bird with allergies. We also like Harrison's Organic Pellets.
I suggest that you pick one that is organic and not artificially dyed. Anything artificial has to be cleansed by the kidneys before it can be used. A lot of pellets are just junk.
Switching Budgies To Pellets article
You should add some seed blend along with vegetables, beans, rice and a little fruit, again preferably organic. The Totally Organics All In One Seed Mix is a great choice!
CAUTION: Never give your parrot alcohol, avocado or chocolate - these can kill your parrot! Also avoid asparagus, eggplant, cabbage, caffeine products, junk food, milk and cream, raw potato, and rhubarb (including the leaves).
No matter what the manufacturer of pellets say, most experienced parrot breeders and owners will tell you that parrots on an all pellet diet are not as healthy as those that get a variety of healthy foods.
Any chemicals or artificial coloring makes their kidneys work hard to filter it all out. Who knows what may have been sprayed on all that stuff?
Get some high quality organic pellets and dehydrated veggie and fruit mixes here.
When fresh fruits and vegetables are not possible, dehydrated fruits and vegetables are great! Many birds love to crunch on dried fruits and veggies.
The best thing about them is that they don't spoil, so you can leave them in the cage for hours or even days. This is handy when you are trying to get them to accept fruits and veggies.
When you are going to be home with them, you can moisten them with warm water to provide fresh-like fruits and veggies. Boy does this come in handy when you are traveling or on an outing!
See the Lixit Bottles sold at competitive prices here!
We provide bath water in the morning and sometimes in the evening on warm days, but we only leave it in there one to two hours so that they don’t drink nasty water all day.
Also, invest in a water bottle. You will avoid lots of potential health problems by insuring they have clean water to drink that hasn’t been bathed and pooped in.
If your parrot has not used a water bottle before, you will need to provide both a water bottle and a dish until you see that they are drinking from the bottle.
Lixit makes a glass water bottle that has a wire instead of a spring that keeps it on the cage if you are worried about safety. (Some birds get their foot or beak stuck in the spring attachment on other bottles.)
The minimum requirement for Budgie Parakeets is 16x9x15 inches, with the bar spacing no larger than 1/2 - 5/8 of an inch. In my opinion, a bigger cage is better because you can provide more toys without it being crowded. We have a nice 18 x 18 with a playtop that works great on our Discount Parrot Bird Cage page.
If you are short on space and you have a small Budgie Parakeet, then our adventure pack below can work as an every day cage and a travel cage! It is really a nice quality cage.
Make sure you have plenty of toys to rotate in and out if you choose a small cage since you won't have room for a bunch at a time.
You might give some thought to how you are going to retrieve the bird from the cage when necessary. Some cages have little doors and tall roofs that are impossible to get to the top of, especially when filled with perches and toys.
Think about your tolerance for cleaning the cage before purchasing one. Some cages have slanted sides down to the tray that will get covered in poop. Others don’t have proper fitting drawers that will allow poop and debris to get underneath it. Also, don’t buy some cheap cage at the flea market that has toxic paint!
Visit our Discount Bird Cage page if you need a nice looking, high quality, easy to clean cage.
As mentioned earlier, provide lots of stimulating toys and healthy things to chew. Buy a cage that has a safe coating on it, because these birds will use their beak to climb around the cage a lot.
Cages for Vet Visits and Outings
You need to consider what type of carrier you will use for transporting your Budgie Parakeets in. You never know if you might break down or may decide to take your parrot with you on a trip. Purchase a comfortable cage for these occasions.
Budgie Stories Written by Owners
Below is a list of Budgie Parakeet Pictures and some have short informational stories written by their owners. You will want to read all of them! Have fun.
When done reading about Budgie Parakeets, visit http://www.birdsafestore.com