I Was Given A Budgie Bird, Any Advice On Care ?

Someone moving away gave us the bird, but the feeling was mutual.

Now we have the Budgie, and she came with the sweet name of Apple.
She has a cage, a box of bird seed, one bag of sand, and a water dispenser.

I put the cage up so the cats don't get at it, but seriously, the cats are wondering when I'll get out the can opener and just feed it to them.


Any advice on bird care would be welcome.

What foods do they eat ?
Can it stay in a small cage ?
What do I do with the sand ?
Are they able to learn or talk ?
Why do I love it so much when it sits on my finger ?


This is almost what she looks like but it's a stock photo.
She has more yellow on her, and how do I tell if it's even a she.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2cd3ce386826.jpg[/atsimg]

I was also told that it's a year and a half old.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


What the hell is a budgie? Are you British? It looks like a parakeet.. I ask if your British because I have known several Brits to mention a Budgie before and I never knew what they where talking about lol.

Anyways .. my mom had a Parakeet and it pretty much just sat there and screeched and did it's best to look yummy for the cats. It ranked up there, as far as excitement, with a rabbit. That is to say, none at all.

Dried cuttle fish in the cage, plenty of toys - don't keep them all in the cage at once tho, instead have a box of them somewhere and keep rotating them so every week the cage is a little different.

Do you have a ceiling fan? Or any other type of fan? Because they are a very quick way to break a birds neck, happens all the time, when the little fella is having a little fly around make sure it's off.

Birds - especially the smaller ones are VERY susceptible to fumes of all kinds, you know they used to take them down mines to check for bad air? - the bird drops dead you pick up your kit and get out! Watch out where you go spraying things like air freshener, deodorant stuff like that... Also non stick pans can give off a very toxic fume that will even damage humans!! Some times people forget to take a pan of the heat, they reach a certain point and all the birds in the house die!! Bummer if it's a canary, big bummer if it's your collection of very expensive parrots! It does happen!!

NO CHOCOLATE!! (or almonds I think, I know almonds are poisonous to parrots, I've never had a canary).

And hopefully you will be able to handle your bird, handle and play as much as possible, once they get used to it they really get to like it... And if your up for it learn how to 'towel' your bird, it's a very comfortable way for you to examine the bird, clip the wings and all that. - Some people say that clipping the wings is cruel but my take on it is that it's more cruel to let the bird escape and inevitably die (house birds do not last long at all in the big bad world)... Clipping is actually easy, a vet will charge you but they will also usually show you how it's done, I taught my self from a book I had.

Just so you know I do have experience with pet birds, I inherited a Kakariki (sp?) And I also had a Grey (the parrot not the space man) for 3 years, had to sell him on though because I had to move a lot because of my job - he was a great bird though. he was not hand reared and came frm what I later found out to be a bad breeder, so he was a serious handfull for the first 3-4 months!! We got on really well after that tho... Shame I had to let him go.

i had a couple when i was a kid, and my auntie had one that she taught to say "
"Suppertime Margie,suppertime" and "hello" and "pretty bird"
cats could be a problem.
just make sure you keep the gravel clean,always fresh water, and budgie food.
easy.

ahh, i love budgies! (yes, uk .. its short for Budgerigars)

also, cuttle fish is essencial.

and just make sure you close all doors and windows when you let it out for a fly about, or she will fly out the window.

and keep them away from cold draughts.


(also, dont feed after midnight!!!!!!!!!)

[edit on 25-6-2009 by boaby_phet as he is a tard and suffered an epic copy and paste fail!]

[edit on 25-6-2009 by boaby_phet]

Oh yhea little mirrors usually with bells and stuff on them, they are vein little critters- they love looking at them selves.

And when he's having a little fly around you should watch out for the windows - of course keep them closed but also they really don't get the concept of glass straight away - all they see is the big beautiful world out there and (until they get used to the surroundings that is) they usually fly as fast as they can straight for the window... They can kill them selves doing that, maybe draw the curtains or something. Have you ever been in a high rise and some dumb bird tries to fly right through the window? I have! It was a pigeon probably being chased by another bird - sat there drinking coffee - BLAMMO! I spat coffee and burnt my self - birds can be pretty dumb sometimes!

I never had a budgie but I have had canaries and Zebra Finches and the deadliest things we came across were cold drafts and open windows.

My birds loved sprigs of millet seeds and the cuttle fish, it sharpens their beaks. The sand is important too. (gravel for digestion)

And yes we Americans call them parakeets.