Food Amounts and Type?

[Dronak]

I've read a bunch of different things on the subject of what budgies should be fed. Being new, it's a bit hard to figure it all out since I don't have much experience. I thought people here could offer some advice.

I originally planned to use mainly seed and add in some fresh fruits/vegetables. Then I read about pellets being generally more nutritious and less fattening than seeds, and thought about switching to that. However, it kind of seems like a combination of seeds and pellets might be better, providing some benefits from both without all of the drawbacks of either. I still plan to provide some fresh foods, but what sort of seed/pellet combination is good to use?

Something that I haven't seen that much on is how much food to provide. I could just fill a dish with seeds or whatever and let the budgie eat its fill, clearing out the husks and refilling regularly. But the bird could overeat then, and I think I read that feeding just enough to maintain the bird's weight is better. Maybe it takes some experimenting to find the right amount, but is there some starting point I can use, some guideline on how much food to offer? I think I've read anything from like 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons per day (per bird). I suppose I could fill a dish and do before and after weighings, but I'd probably have to find a decent scale to use for that.

I've seen lists of fresh foods to try and ones to avoid, so I'm not terribly concerned there. If there are any particularly good fresh foods to try, things that most budgies seem to like, it might be good to know about that.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks! :)

[Babyluv12]

:) Hi-
well, to be honest, I don't weight mine every day-I do it maybe every week or every other week-with 9 fids that's gonna take up alot of time...I also don't "measure" their food. As far as pellets and seeds, you have the right idea- a combination is ideal. First, are your babies eating pellets yet or no? If they are on seed diets there are several ways to get them to eat pellets too. There are SO many different ways of doing it, sometimes you have to try more than one. The way it works for me is to buy Zupreem Natural Diet or Fruit Blend and grind them in a food processor. I give them the majority of their pellets inside food (like birdie bread, egg food, veggie smoothies) but they also have it mixed with the seed. It really depends on what is easier for you and what works for them. Mine get seed, pellets, veggies, fruits, nuts, egg food, birdie bread...and some millet once in a while. You can try looking up some methods of converting to pellets but I wouldn't recommend 100% pellets. Seeds are natural things they would eat in the wild and should always be provided. Seems that you've done your research on the veggies and fruits already so I won't really comment on that. Parsley is a GREAT replacement for millet though and it's VERY healthy. Also, I put a drop or two of apple cider vinegar in their water bowl every few times a week and it has done wonders for their health but that's a different story.
Every owner has a different precentage that works for them and their fids- if I had to estimate I would say mine is:
40% seed
30% pellet
20% veggies and fruit
10% other (honey sticks, millet etc)

Variety is key.

[Dronak]

I don't have the bird yet, but I'm pretty sure it's on a seed-based diet right now. The budgie's still quite young though, so hopefully it won't be terribly difficult to alter its diet a bit after I get it. I have seen some web pages on conversion methods, so I can reference them and just not go all the way to 100% pellets. As you said, wild budgies will naturally eat seeds, so they should have it available. I think I can get pellets at a nearby pet store, and a bag of seed is coming with the bird. Maybe I'll get the pellets, then try breaking them up into smaller pieces and doing a roughly 50/50 split in the food dish, making sure that there's something fresh regularly as well. I'll have to track the fresh foods I try and make note of what the bird likes so I know its favorites in the future. Thanks for the suggestion about parsley. I have some fruits and vegetables around that I was going to start with, but picking up some parsley on my next grocery shopping trip may be worthwhile.

Edit: Oh, is there anything wrong with leaving the food dish available all the time? I know I'll need to clean out seed husks, refill it regularly, etc. as well as removing and fresh food that sits around for a while. I was just wondering if it's better to have food always available, or to have specific meal times. Will budgies overeat if the food is there for them?

[Babyluv12]

Edit: Oh, is there anything wrong with leaving the food dish available all the time? I know I'll need to clean out seed husks, refill it regularly, etc. as well as removing and fresh food that sits around for a while. I was just wondering if it's better to have food always available, or to have specific meal times. Will budgies overeat if the food is there for them?

Mine have their dish all day. I can't be bothered with blowing seed hulls (since one got in my eye before:eek: ) so I fill it half way with pellet and seed. I work a really weird schedule and my babies have been very good about getting accustomed to it.
I work 3pm and get home about 12am...I change the food, water, replace parsley, fresh foods, etc and then they are up with me until about 3am. I wake up at about 11am depending on what I have to do and repeat the same process. The only "fresh" food that I NEVER leave in more than an hour is anything with eggs (egg food, egg in birdie bread, boiled eggs..etc) .

[BUUZBEE]

I have too many to measure out seeds daily, they get one big bowl with seed daily and other bowls around the aviary with their pellets. they get fruits and veggies daily, and also soak mix, but that is on hold while the heat is on! it spoils to quickly!

[Animallover]

Will budgies overeat if the food is there for them?

Well, I read once that birds will never eat more than they're hungry for, & that the only way for them to be fat, is by lack of exercise or a fatty diet. But I don't know if this is true or not. :budgie:

[Lemonade]

Well, I read once that birds will never eat more than they're hungry for,
Depends on what you serve them.
Most budgies love foxtail millet an if you offer them a whole panicle they' eat definitively more than they are hungry for. ;)

My budgies are fed with an mixture of different sorts of millet, orchard grass and canary grass, 1-2 teaspoons per bird a day.
In addition I feed them all sorts of fruits and veggies as well as thin branches e.g. from a willow.

[Babyluv12]

Well, I read once that birds will never eat more than they're hungry for, & that the only way for them to be fat, is by lack of exercise or a fatty diet. But I don't know if this is true or not. :budgie:


Correct- they will not overeat- they know what they need daily. Only starved budgies overeat.

[suberu4lez]

I wouldn't worry too much about pellet food.
Ive been keeping and breeding very health budgies for a few years now
and never used a pellet. A good seed mix, as much as they can eat, EMP egg food every second day with grated carrot and grated broccoli mixed through it. I give them as much natural food as i can, things like grass,dock leaf, chick weed, dandelion leaf and flowers but be careful where you pick them, and wash them well. they love sweetcorn and apple. I think the more natural the diet is the less chance you have of having any bother with weight. But thats just my opinion every one has their own idea of whats right.

[Babyluv12]

I wouldn't worry too much about pellet food.
Ive been keeping and breeding very health budgies for a few years now
and never used a pellet. A good seed mix, as much as they can eat, EMP egg food every second day with grated carrot and grated broccoli mixed through it. I give them as much natural food as i can, things like grass,dock leaf, chick weed, dandelion leaf and flowers but be careful where you pick them, and wash them well. they love sweetcorn and apple. I think the more natural the diet is the less chance you have of having any bother with weight. But thats just my opinion every one has their own idea of whats right.

I agree with this- Pellets are not a natural way to supplement their dietary needs but for those who do not have access to these items everyday, pellets do help ensure they get their nutrients. Mine are not 100% on pellets either.

[suberu4lez]

Yes thats right pellets are fine if you dont have access to natural stuff.
But the birds just love it when you give them lots of natural greens and they have more fun as well. picking at a dried pellet cant be much fun eh?

[Dronak]

I intend to provide some fresh foods, but probably can't lay my hands on all the varieties of things that would be a good match to a budgie's natural diet. Providing both seeds and pellets seemed like a good way to help provide a more balanced nutrition than using either one alone. I'm going to try to make sure my budgie gets good food and is on a healthy diet.

I just bought a 2.25 lb. bag of ZuPreem Classic AvianMaintenance FruitBlend Flavor Diet. I remember reading about ZuPreem here, and that was what the store had, so I went with it instead of one of the other brands. The pellets are much smaller than I expected from some pictures I saw on the web, but since budgies are small birds, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I also bought a medium sized playset (with perches, ladder, swing, bell, and rope with a sliding toy) for when the budgie's out of the cage, a mineral block, a rope perch, and a manzanita three-branch perch. Most of the rest of the stuff I need (seed, cuttlebone, toys, spray millet, treats) will come with the bird, from my brother, and I'll reimburse him for the costs. I'll probably go buy a few more toys and maybe a bath tub after I see what toys my brother already got. It seems like I've spent a lot of money already and the bird isn't even here yet (7 days to go!), but it'll all be worth it to have a happy, healthy budgie. :D

[Babyluv12]

Sounds like you are very prepared!

[Dronak]

I'm trying to get prepared before I get the budgie, to hopefully make the transition to a new home a little easier for it. It will also get me ready to take care of the new bird.

Shifting the topic a bit, but still on care, what about using sand-covered perch covers? My brother uses them and says the baby birds are used to them already, that they add some traction and help trim nails/beaks. But I've read that they can hurt a bird's feet and I'll have a separate perch that's meant to help trim my bird's nails and beak. I don't think it matters much whether I replace the covers or the perches themselves. Do I need the perch covers?

[Babyluv12]

I'm trying to get prepared before I get the budgie, to hopefully make the transition to a new home a little easier for it. It will also get me ready to take care of the new bird.

Shifting the topic a bit, but still on care, what about using sand-covered perch covers? My brother uses them and says the baby birds are used to them already, that they add some traction and help trim nails/beaks. But I've read that they can hurt a bird's feet and I'll have a separate perch that's meant to help trim my bird's nails and beak. I don't think it matters much whether I replace the covers or the perches themselves. Do I need the perch covers?

The sandcovered perch covers are a rip off and all they do is hurt their little feet. I guess they are suppose to make it easier to clean but I would rather scrub the perches down more often than hurt their feet.
I will never be using those. I have a variety of different perches so they can pick and choose which one they want.

[Dronak]

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought. It would be better to replace the perches and/or clean them off a bit more than to use sandy perch covers that could hurt the bird's feet. My brother's going to put covers on the perches for me, but I can take them off when I get the bird and cage. I bought two other perches (natural wood and rope) and will get a trimming one with the cage, plus the plain wood dowel ones in it, so there will be some variety for the bird. I may get more later, when I look at getting more toys to be able to rotate them in and out.