Budgie Food

[mommyof2bettas]

Well, we've had a budgie for about 2 years, and she's not really the best-treated pet...
We keep her healthy and all but it seems like all the other pets get toys, special food, ect.
I just want to maybe spoil her a little. She hates everybody, especially my cat, and I think she wouldn't play with all those toys you hang from the cages, besides, they're pretty much as big as her. We used to have another male budgie, and we thought they were the best of friends. Sadly, the other budgie died and since then she seems lonely. She's very agressive and bites anything that gets nears her.She is my brother's bird but he only cleans her cage and replaces her food & water sometimes, don't get me wrong, she gets enough food & water and has a clean cage but it's not always my brother that does that. Anyways, I just added little pieces of apple to her food, not sure she'll eat it but might as well try. Anybody know what other things I could feed her that might be tastier than the regular budgie food?

P.S.
Are budgies and parakeets different, if they are, how do you tell them apart?

 

[black angel]

Parakeet i think is a general term for a group of birds which the budgie is one of.
We used to feed our budgie lettuce, grapes, cucumber. Just try her with different things, oh and banana and orange as well.
Ours liked beer and would try to jump in and have a bath, not that im saying do that of course
It might be too late to try and hand tame her but you could try first with a long feather to just touch her and then gradually move on to your finger.

Hope someone has some better advice for you

 

[Betta5]

i thought in america they said parakett and in england we said budgie. On the tyra banks show they had a cage of 50 parakeets which were budgies. they like mirrors and perches up high in the cage.

 

[Saedcantas]

Your budgie should be eating about a 50/50 diet of fresh greens, fruit or vegetables and high quality seed.

Good fruit, veg and greens to use are;
carrot, broccoli, sprouts, peas, spinach, celery, dandelion, melon, nasturtiums, apple, banana, mandarin, orange, spring/collard greens and curly kale.

All of these that you choose to use must be very thoroughly washed before use, whether bought or from the garden. If you get them from outside you must be certain that you do not use pesticides or other chemicals in your garden

Be sure to avoid ever feeding your budgie, alcohol, apple pips, avocado, dairy products or chocolate as these are toxic to them

Also take a look at this forum, it's crammed with great information on Budgies by specialist breeders and enthusiasts B)
BudgieBreeders Forums

 

[omen666]

Yes, in America we call them parakeets and in the UK they are budgies.

"Budgies are commonly referred to as parakeets but the word parakeet actually describes any small parrot-like bird with a long tail. The term budgie was derived from the word budgerigar, which is based on a similar sounding Aborigine phrase that means, "good eating" and refers specifically to the species Melopsittacus Undulatus. "


Now for your little hen...chances are she will never be tame at this point in her life. I would suggest introducing her a " little man" Keep them in seperate cages at first. Keep him in the same room with her and move them closer every day until they are side by side. Then when they show interest in each other introduce her into his cage. She might be a bit nasty to him at first but they will soon settle down. Provide them with a box that you have access to and hopefully you may get babies from them that you can handle once they open their eyes and these babies will be lovely tame personalities.

As for food, sometimes if they are not fed on these foods from birth they will never take to them. Some do some don't. I gave mine a varied diet of seed and fruits and veg and also peanut butter as a treat occasionally.

Here is a pic of my little guy , I called him Pepsi...he was hand reared. Sadly he died from old age.

 

[Saedcantas]

Pepsi is adorable

But can I just raise the issue that, Mommyof2bettas has already confessed that the budgie in question is really not cared for as well as it could be. Is introducing another pet with the potential to make lots more really the best course of action in this situation? I dont think it is and it would merely add to the problems.

Just saying my bit about responsible keeping

 

[omen666]

I'm thinking the one who is doing the upkeep could be her ??? I think she has sort of adopted it from the way it sounded and is the responsible keeper of the bird now. If not then I agree , by no means should more be bred. I would suggest letting her go to someone who has an aviary to place her in. She did sound as if she was a bit miserable since her mate died and possibly this is why she is unhappy. I'm hoping the case is that she has taken on responsibility for the bird .......I do tend to assume too much at times.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Actually, the bird isn't mine, I just give her food and water, and sometimes clean the cage. I am scared that if I add another budgie they might fight, and if they actually do have babies, it would be too much to take care for. Thanks for the advice on the food though. I will try to give her some. I don't think that taming her is neccessary, we don't really pick her up, just occasionally let her fly around the room to get some excercise.

P.S.
She came to us from a pet store that said she was female. But her cere is pink. Is she really a female?

 

[Betta5]

Budgies wont have eggs with out you putting a nest in!

 

[Kiarra]

If the cere is pink and she's over a year old, then she's a girl. In males over a year old, it's a bright blue. Depending on color, of course. But if she's an average green/blue, and it's pink, then she's definitely a girl.

 

[Nerwign]

Just a note, parakeets (and many other birds) *WILL* lay eggs even without a nest. The instinct to breed is stronger than that. Please do not get a male parakeet if you are not going to breed them. You could get another female to keep her company and then you would not have to worry about babies.

-Nerwign

 

[SPLiSH]

Budgies wont have eggs with out you putting a nest in!

They can - my female budgie Tweety, who passed away several years ago, laid several eggs and incubated them on the bottom of the cage, even though she lived alone.

Mommyof2bettas, what Saedcantas said just about sums it up. Budgies need a lot of fresh food - a purely seed diet is very high in fat and can kill the bird - that's how my above-mentioned girl died. Budgie or small parrot pellets are great if she will eat them, try offering some along with the seeds, as she may not take pellets at first.

If she will not take pellets, make sure she gets heaps of fresh food. Apples, carrot and broccoli were Tweety's favourites. If I were you, I'd also steer clear of those seed bell things, and millet seed sprays, they also are very fattening.

Try making a vegetable or fruit kebab - just cut up some of her favourite fresh foods and hang it from the cage, most budgies love to play with those.