Housing,  Other

Realistic Budgie Startup Cost

How much does it really cost to own budgies/parakeets. obviously these prices vary a bit based off your area how many birds you have and where you shop but this is a rough estimate of that it will cost you to get set up. I will go through my maintenance costs for my flock further down this post.

  • Budgie cost up to $100
  • Vegetables (monthly if you have multiple budgies) $30
  • Pellets cost $25.25 for a medium bag of TOPS at the pet store I shop at
  • perches range from $12 -32 a perch at least 5 = $60 – $160 you want to go for a variety of natural wood perches I buy mine at an online parrot store and encourage you to do the same, I have purchased perches from amazon but they came covered in dirt and mold so honestly it is better to be safe than sorry.

Start up cost not including the cost of at least 2 budgies Why you need multiple $970.35

Maintenance costs for my flock

  • bird toy supplies – i make my own bird toys to save money and i estimate i spend roughly 15$ a month on supplies for my 2 budgies, some months are more and some months i am using what i have left over but it probably all evens out to roughly 15$
  • food – I make a batch of chop that lasts my 2, 3 months and spend anywhere from 30 – 40$ on produce for that so call that 10$ – 13$ a month on chop.
    • pellets – my 2 only get a couple pellets a day as so to speak a multi vitamin so a 12$ bag lasts me an estimated 6 months $2 a month for pellets
    • seed – i make my own mix and spend roughly 40$ on different seeds and that lasts me 5 months ish 8$ a month on seed
    • TOTAL TO FEED MY BIRDS – 20 – 23$ a month to feed my 2 budgies
  • cuttlebones vary sometimes they go through one a month and other times they have one for 4 months.
  • Vet bills – everyone’s favourite, an annual check up is roughly $100 per bird so I expect to pay at least $200 a year on my birds vet bills that being said i put away 30$ per bird per month as my own version of an insurance policy since anything can happen you really want to be prepared. I know people with larger flocks who can easily spend 300$ a month at the vets office.

My monthly total for my 2 budgies is – 98$ (that includes the 60$ to my insurance but does not include their annual vet visit fee)

Want to learn more about Budgie birds? on optimal avian you can learn all kinds of information about Budgies like;

  • What is a budgie
  • Budgie vs parakeet
  • How to tame a budgie
  • How much do budgies cost
  • How to take care of a budgie
  • How long do budgies sleep
  • How long do budgies live
  • What are blood feathers
  • Budgie cages
  • Budgie toys
  • Natural perches for budgies

And other information you will need to know if you plan to adopt a parakeet.