Ron's Budgie Box
Pet Budgie Information.
This is general information I have gathered on keeping budgies as pets who are in good health and happy. Choosing your budgie To get the right budgie you will need a few pointers on what to look for in a young bird. A bird in nest feather can be recognised by the barred lines across the brow of the bird just above the cere. These clearly indicate that the bird is under three months of age. As for gender, young cock birds have a fleshy-coloured cere, sometimes described as purplish-pink, whereas young hens tend to have a pale white-grey cere with a powder blue suffusion, concentrated mainly at the opening of the nostrils. Another way to distinguish a young hen from a young cock is that hens generally bite as though they were hatched with teeth! Cocks, on the othe hand, will only give token bites. The Cage. It is wise to invest in a good cage and, logically, this should be done before you purchase the prospective occupant. Budgerigars, like nearly all living creatures, require plenty of exercise; hence, a cage of reasonable proportions should be sought. The cage should be approximately 60 x 45 x 45 cm at the minimum and should be equipped with two perches, one at either end. The larger the cage the better for the bird. Clean the cage out every week making sure to clean the perches or replace them with tree branches. Water Supply. There should also be a suitable drinking container. A guinea pig waterer can hold enough water for about three days and the bird is not able to soil the water supply with its droppings. The water must checked daily. Seed Hoppers. A good-sized feed container is also invaluable, the best type being that which requires refilling every day. Budgies, like almost all birds, prefer to select only particular seed types, so that if there is unlimited supply, the wastage will be extremely high. However, you can also purchase quite good hoppers which allow you to leave enough feed for a number of days. Buy one for use not looks. Check seed daily. Keeping the cage tidy. A sliding metal tray should be on the floor of the cage, as well as a high plastic shield or wall surrounding the lower portion. The metal tray makes cleaning easy, while the high surround the bottom makes it difficult for the bird to throw out seed husks and shellgrit. General Information. Supply your budgie with a good seed mix, fresh water daily, shellgrit and cuttlefish. A piece of celery or apple makes a nice treat. Keep your budgie where there is a lot of activity but keep them out of the kitchen. Budgerigars are quite clever, and soon begin to recognise people. If yours is the normal precocoious cock bird, he will be interested in making friends with you, as they are a very sociable creature. He will soon realise that you mean him no harm, and will respond fairly quickly. Making friends. To begin to tame him, first ensure all doors, windows and any other possible avenues of escape are closed and then attempt to coax him out of his cage and onto your hand with a fresh piece of apple or silverbeet. Talk to him quietly repeating the same simple word, like "hello" until he starts to mimic it. You will find that he will soon come for the treat, and he will recognise your voice and associate it with a tempting tit-bit. He should climb onto your finger after a few attempts. If at first you don't succeed, leave the apple or silverbeet in the cage when you go so that he becomes fully aquainted with what it is and then try again a little later. Once you have established in the bird's mind that you are his friend, the rest of the tricks will soon follow. Exercise. Unless your budgie's cage is exceptionally large, it will not really afford him adequate opportunity for exercise. Like all animals, he really needs to be exercised four or five times a week or every day being best. For a budgie, the requirements are quite simple; after making quite sure he cannot escape (and remember to allow for people coming and going from the room), entice him out of the cage and encourage him to fly around the room for about half an hour. At the end of this period, return him to the cage. If you cannot do this regularly, it is bes not to do it at all, because occasional severe exercise will only strain your budgie, and if nothing worse happens, sore wing muscles are likely to make him miserable for serveral day afterward. Remember, a cage bird will not thrive if neglected or abused; he will be less alert, talk and sing less, be less tame and look less attractive, and his lifespan is likely to be shortened even if he is not thoroughly unhappy. So if you do take on the responsibility of a pet budgerigar, you owe it to him and to yourself to give him the proper facilities and the necessary care and attention. Observe these few points, and you can expect your pet budgie to provide you with many years of delightful companionship. HOME
This is general information I have gathered on keeping budgies as pets who are in good health and happy. Choosing your budgie
Choosing your budgie
To get the right budgie you will need a few pointers on what to look for in a young bird. A bird in nest feather can be recognised by the barred lines across the brow of the bird just above the cere. These clearly indicate that the bird is under three months of age. As for gender, young cock birds have a fleshy-coloured cere, sometimes described as purplish-pink, whereas young hens tend to have a pale white-grey cere with a powder blue suffusion, concentrated mainly at the opening of the nostrils. Another way to distinguish a young hen from a young cock is that hens generally bite as though they were hatched with teeth! Cocks, on the othe hand, will only give token bites.
The Cage.
It is wise to invest in a good cage and, logically, this should be done before you purchase the prospective occupant. Budgerigars, like nearly all living creatures, require plenty of exercise; hence, a cage of reasonable proportions should be sought. The cage should be approximately 60 x 45 x 45 cm at the minimum and should be equipped with two perches, one at either end. The larger the cage the better for the bird. Clean the cage out every week making sure to clean the perches or replace them with tree branches.
Water Supply.
There should also be a suitable drinking container. A guinea pig waterer can hold enough water for about three days and the bird is not able to soil the water supply with its droppings. The water must checked daily.
Seed Hoppers.
A good-sized feed container is also invaluable, the best type being that which requires refilling every day. Budgies, like almost all birds, prefer to select only particular seed types, so that if there is unlimited supply, the wastage will be extremely high. However, you can also purchase quite good hoppers which allow you to leave enough feed for a number of days. Buy one for use not looks. Check seed daily.
Keeping the cage tidy.
A sliding metal tray should be on the floor of the cage, as well as a high plastic shield or wall surrounding the lower portion. The metal tray makes cleaning easy, while the high surround the bottom makes it difficult for the bird to throw out seed husks and shellgrit.
General Information.
Supply your budgie with a good seed mix, fresh water daily, shellgrit and cuttlefish. A piece of celery or apple makes a nice treat. Keep your budgie where there is a lot of activity but keep them out of the kitchen. Budgerigars are quite clever, and soon begin to recognise people. If yours is the normal precocoious cock bird, he will be interested in making friends with you, as they are a very sociable creature. He will soon realise that you mean him no harm, and will respond fairly quickly.
Making friends.
To begin to tame him, first ensure all doors, windows and any other possible avenues of escape are closed and then attempt to coax him out of his cage and onto your hand with a fresh piece of apple or silverbeet. Talk to him quietly repeating the same simple word, like "hello" until he starts to mimic it. You will find that he will soon come for the treat, and he will recognise your voice and associate it with a tempting tit-bit. He should climb onto your finger after a few attempts. If at first you don't succeed, leave the apple or silverbeet in the cage when you go so that he becomes fully aquainted with what it is and then try again a little later. Once you have established in the bird's mind that you are his friend, the rest of the tricks will soon follow.
Exercise.
Unless your budgie's cage is exceptionally large, it will not really afford him adequate opportunity for exercise. Like all animals, he really needs to be exercised four or five times a week or every day being best. For a budgie, the requirements are quite simple; after making quite sure he cannot escape (and remember to allow for people coming and going from the room), entice him out of the cage and encourage him to fly around the room for about half an hour. At the end of this period, return him to the cage. If you cannot do this regularly, it is bes not to do it at all, because occasional severe exercise will only strain your budgie, and if nothing worse happens, sore wing muscles are likely to make him miserable for serveral day afterward.
So if you do take on the responsibility of a pet budgerigar, you owe it to him and to yourself to give him the proper facilities and the necessary care and attention. Observe these few points, and you can expect your pet budgie to provide you with many years of delightful companionship.
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