Does anyone have experience with budgies?

[FishFinatic77]

I have kept budgies and parrots and bred cockatiels. If you get one make sure its a male if you want a pet. Fine in the bedroom as long as you cover the cage at night. They will quieten immediately when covered. As well as cuttlefish bone and grit have sandpaper sheets on the floor and perches. I'm sure they aren't called sandpaper but a pet shop will know what I mean. Otherwise you will need to clip their claws. Some of mine used to get dry beaks and feet, coconut oil works well for this.

I would trim the flight feathers (one side only) initially. Doesn't stop them from flying but they don't fly far because they are unbalanced. If there are kids in the house or windows/doors are regularly left open keep doing this. They won't find their way home if they get out. I also used to empty the seeds into little trays and put these back in the cage once they are growing.

All this applies to budgies and cockatiels.

Thank you!
I'll watch out for dry feet and beaks.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

All female parrots bite harder than males because the females sit in the nest and have to defend it from snakes, lizards and other things that might prey on the eggs or young birds. Tame birds don't bite hard but female aviary birds will draw blood if you grab them and they don't want you to. They won't rip your finger off and you won't need to visit a doctor but the females can bite hard.

This is how we used to sex young birds, catch them and hold them and if they nibble your hand they were male, if they latch on they were female.

I never knew this, but as you explain this, it makes complete sense! Thanks for teaching me a new fact
I just remember the first time I was bitten by a female budgie I was holding, it hurt enough that the memory has stuck with me for 20 odd years! My orange winged amazon has only bitten me harder than that once, and that was before he was tamed and he was panicking. Even a sharp warning bite from my Amazon didn't hurt as much as that bite and twist move.

That makes sense. I'll see if I can find any breeders near me.

Have a look for cage and aviary groups near you, clubs, hobbyist groups etc, best way to track down local hobbyists with birdrooms and breeders.

 

[FishFinatic77]

I heard that some people use pellets as the main part of the diet. Is this better than the seeds?

 

[Colin_T]

Thank you very much. This is really helpful.
Do you know if budgies could transmit any sicknesses to chickens? If yes, how do I prevent that from happening?
Also, would it be better to have 2 males, or a male and female?

Budgies can transmit diseases to chickens and vice versa. It is more likely the chickens will transmit something to the budgies if the chooks get sick.

If you go out into the chook pen and work in it, make sure you wash your hands with soapy water and change your clothes if they got dust on them from the chook pen. If you are just collecting eggs from the chooks, wash your hands with soapy water before handling the budgies.

re: soaps, don't use anti-biotic soaps/ disinfectant soaps because they leave a residue behind and the birds and ingest that when nibbling your fingers.

If you want to give the birds some boiled egg, that is fine and most birds will eat hard boiled egg, especially if it's mixed with some crushed cornflakes. You can boil the egg shells from the chooks and crush them up and put them in the cage for the budgies or put the egg shells on the garden or even back in the chook pen.

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I heard that some people use pellets as the main part of the diet. Is this better than the seeds?

All birds will eat seed but most have to learn about pellets and they do this by watching other birds. personally I would use a good seed mix because that is what birds have been eating for thousands of years.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Budgies can transmit diseases to chickens and vice versa. It is more likely the chickens will transmit something to the budgies if the chooks get sick.

If you go out into the chook pen and work in it, make sure you wash your hands with soapy water and change your clothes if they got dust on them from the chook pen. If you are just collecting eggs from the chooks, wash your hands with soapy water before handling the budgies.

re: soaps, don't use anti-biotic soaps/ disinfectant soaps because they leave a residue behind and the birds and ingest that when nibbling your fingers.

If you want to give the birds some boiled egg, that is fine and most birds will eat hard boiled egg, especially if it's mixed with some crushed cornflakes. You can boil the egg shells from the chooks and crush them up and put them in the cage for the budgies or put the egg shells on the garden or even back in the chook pen.

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All birds will eat seed but most have to learn about pellets and they do this by watching other birds. personally I would use a good seed mix because that is what birds have been eating for thousands of years.

Okay, thank you!

 

[evanb]

Hey cool. Your getting a budgie!
I've kept all sorts of stuff during my life (I'm only 19) I've had budgies, kakarikis(I used to breed them), lots of chickens, Guinea fowl, gecko's, rabbits, hampsters, cats and um ummmm fish.
You'll really enjoy a bird. I'd say definitely get a cage that gives them a bit of room to fly around. I had one which escaped once. A few days later I found it literally trying to get back in! The cage was outside. They live well with other breeds of birds as well. One thing I will say is that they're very vocal which might be something you want to think about. Other than that theyr really cool little birds which are affordable and can become really friendly with their owners. Mine used to fly up onto my head with food and continue to eat it on my head!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

They chirp constantly

Only reason why I don't have any...

 

[FishFinatic77]

Hey cool. Your getting a budgie!
I've kept all sorts of stuff during my life (I'm only 19) I've had budgies, kakarikis(I used to breed them), lots of chickens, Guinea fowl, gecko's, rabbits, hampsters, cats and um ummmm fish.
You'll really enjoy a bird. I'd say definitely get a cage that gives them a bit of room to fly around. I had one which escaped once. A few days later I found it literally trying to get back in! The cage was outside. They live well with other breeds of birds as well. One thing I will say is that they're very vocal which might be something you want to think about. Other than that theyr really cool little birds which are affordable and can become really friendly with their owners. Mine used to fly up onto my head with food and continue to eat it on my head!

You've had a lot of animals! I have chickens, and I had a rabbit. And I have fish too, of course!
I don't mind the noise. I like all their cute little chirps and trills.

 

[evanb]

I don't mind the noise. I like all their cute little chirps and trills.

And the shrieks!

 

[Fishmanic]

If you have only one, you should plan on spending extra time with him as they can get lonely. A small mirror in his cage might help as he will think there is another bird in the cage and he will "talk" to the image.

I've had a few budgies over the years. They can be very interesting to watch. One of my males used to roll a marble on the kitchen counter. And he was a great talker and wolf whistler.

If you have a large mirror in the room, he might fly into it thinking it is more space. You could remove the mirror or cover it to prevent that from happening.

 

[FishFinatic77]

If you have a large mirror in the room, he might fly into it thinking it is more space. You could remove the mirror or cover it to prevent that from happening.

This is good to know. Thank you!

 

[TheTenthDoctor]

I really want to get a budgie, but I have never owned a bird (besides chickens), so I have lots of questions. Does anyone have any experience with budgies? @Colin_T, you keep birds, right?

-Can I keep a single budgie, or do I need to get two?
-How big does the enclosure have to be? Does it have to be bigger for two budgies?
-How loud are they? I don't want to put the cage in an area where they will disrupt sleep, etc.
-Are they very messy? Will they spread seed husks everywhere?
-Is there a way to clip their wings so that they can fly for short distances, but they cant escape through an open door? Or do I just have to be very careful when I take them out?
-Are there any health issues that budgies are prone to?
-Do budies have to be vaccinated against anything?
-Are the budgies at petco healthy, or should I go to a breeder?

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!

I kept 1 for a long time. Just make sure they have plenty of toys, also make sure to spend a lot of time with him
The bird needs to be able to flap and fly.
They are loud in the morning. But it is not bad, and its not disruptive
They poop, and pee. But its not hard to clean and it doesn't go everywhere
I'd take them to the vet for the wing clipping. Make sure they can still fly
I have never had any diseases in my budgies
I have never vaccinated them
I got both of mine from petco, make sure they are reputable

 

[FishFinatic77]

I kept 1 for a long time. Just make sure they have plenty of toys, also make sure to spend a lot of time with him
The bird needs to be able to flap and fly.
They are loud in the morning. But it is not bad, and its not disruptive
They poop, and pee. But its not hard to clean and it doesn't go everywhere
I'd take them to the vet for the wing clipping. Make sure they can still fly
I have never had any diseases in my budgies
I have never vaccinated them
I got both of mine from petco, make sure they are reputable

Thank you! How long did you have your budgie? I know they can live quite a long time for such a small little bird.

 

[TheTenthDoctor]

I am rounding the

Thank you! How long did you have your budgie? I know they can live quite a long time for such a small little bird.

I am rounding the two year mark with Kiwi and the on year mark with Coconut

 

[evanb]

I think the oldest living budgie was 29 years old!!