5 Common Budgie Care Mistakes
Every budgie/parakeet owner wants to do the best they can. I have made countless mistakes when it comes to caring for budgies, as all new owners do. The goal for this post is to give you 5 key things to work on before or when you get your budgie! Do not feel bad if you make all these mistakes everyone starts somewhere! Just the simple fact of you taking the time to learn more about your budgies makes you and AWESOME budgie caretaker!
Only Feeding Pellets/Pet Store Food
It is super important that your budgie gets a diverse diet. Sticking to just one food item all the time is a less than ideal diet. Since we don’t know what a balanced diet for a budgie is there is no way anything we feed them can be a “complete” diet. The best thing we can do for our budgies is to feed them a diverse blend of seeds (I make my own seed blend with budgie safe seeds from the grocery store), veggies, sprouts, herbs, edible flowers and some fruit.
To learn more about the diet of a budgie; Basics of a Small Parrot Diet, and look up Dr. Jason Crean he has tons of youtube podcasts available packed with information!
Not Having Shred-able Toys
Budgies/Parakeets have a constantly growing beak. The best way to keep this trim is by providing shred-able toys. Parrots are also highly destructive beings by nature, that is how they find their food in the wild. If your budgie’s do not have an outlet for this energy and desire your birds will turn to an outlet such as screaming, feather plucking, and other less desirable behaviours
Small Bird Cages
Small parrot cage size is one of the places most new parrot owners go wrong, and not at a fault of their own. When you walk into most pet stores that sell bird cages you will see a photo of a bird similar to yours on the box so naturally you would think that is the size of cage your bird requires.
Flight cages are what everyone should strive to have for their small birds, flight cages can be expensive but provide your bird with so much room to fly and play and be a bird. you will have a much healthier and happier bird if they can play with more toys and use their little muscles the way they are designed for.
To learn more; How To Pick Out A Small Parrot Cage?
Out of the Cage Play Space
“my bird wont come out of the cage” I personally have received this comment/message to often!
Does your bird have a play stand or perches outside their cage they can hangout on? if they don’t then your are probably chasing them around the house as they get into things you don’t want them in. Why would your bird want to come out of their cage if they don’t have a fun safe place they can hangout on.
Learn more; Parrot Enrichment: Think Outside The Cage
Only Having One
Having lived with both 1 and 2 I personally will never go back to only having 1 here’s why,
Budgies are incredibly social and highly interactive with their flock in the wild. Wild budgie flocks consist of hundreds of bird that all flock together, eat, drink, migrate, and forage together. It is VERY rare to see just one budgie in the wild!
These birds are designed to be in large flocks the best you can do for your budgies is provide them with at least 1 friend.
To learn more; Can you have a budgie/parakeet alone?