Future Budgie Owner - Few Questions

[zmazza]

I think I have finally talked my wife into letting me get a budgie or two! :D :budgie: :budgie:

I'm looking into cages right now, and am thinking about trying to get at least a 20x20x20 or similar sized cage.

I work at least 45-50 hours a week, and my wife is going to college and will have a part time job soon, plus we are planning on having a child. I'm afraid that this won't leave the amount of time I want to spend with our new birds available. I want to get two, so that if I am not around, they can keep each other company. I also want to leave some room so that if I get two, and one becomes extremely close to my wife, the other one has a chance to become 'my bird'. I'd hate to get one bird and it not even like me, haha!

I plan on changing the newspaper at least every day or two, and from what I have read, a few toys in the cage that are switched out monthly help to entertain the birds. Can you keep rotating the same toys? Or does it have to be different ones? Can you use toy A one month, and toy B the next, and then back to toy A? Or will the bird remember? Also, are mirrors a bad idea?

I'm going to try and set the cage between our living room window and our front door. I'm afraid that people coming and going out of the house will startle our birds. I want them to be as comfortable with us as possible, and from keeping salt water fish, I know that animals do recognize their owners and the more time you spend with them the more tame and affectionate they will be. We spend a large majority of our time when we are home in the living room, and when the birds aren't out jumping around on the furniture, I want them both to see my wife and I in the room. I'm hoping this will help to develop trust.

I don't believe we have any teflon in the house, because we use cooking grease and oils to help prevent sticking. My wife uses very little perfume and all my cologne is in a non-spray bottle.

My salt water tank is in the living room, so we tend to shy away from spray cleaners. Both of us are non-smokers, so we won't have to worry about that.

I'm looking for some good budgie resources or information, and am having quite a bit of trouble finding it online. I'm wanting to find out as much information about these birds before I purchase them as possible. If anyone knows any links, it would be great if you could share them to a new future budgie owner!

Is there any important information I need to know before purchasing my first budgies?

Thanks a bunch!

[Joey]

Even though the budgie itself may not be very expensive, feeding, housing, and caring for a budgie is a continual cost which includes cages, food costs, veterinarian visits and bills, toys, and time.

Choose a store or breeder that has a good environment for their budgies. This includes a clean cage and play area, plenty of toys, fresh water, fresh foods, and well trained employees. Buying any bird from a place that has bad conditions, unhealthy birds, and untrained employees only rewards those business and reaffirms them to continue their bad practices.

Make sure that your budgie purchases come with a written guarantee of health where you have the option of returning the budgie if any health problem is discovered by your veterinarian.

Choose a bird with a clean vent area. A dirty vent can be an indication of bad hygiene, digestive problems, or some other medical problem.

Count the toes. A normal, healthy budgies should not be missing any toes. Also watch to see the bird perching, grasping, climbing, and basically making good use of its toes. If the toes show any abnormal scaliness this could also could be an indication of the existance of mites which is something to avoid.

If you are shopping for a young budgie, look for the horizontal bars on the forehead of the bird. After the first molt, (at about 3 or 4 months) these bars will disappear.In some budgies.


Look for clean, clear nostrils. Avoid buying a bird with caked on mucous on its beak or nostrils. This is a clear indication of a respiratory problem.

Listen to the bird breathe. If you can hear 'clicking' sounds this may be a sign of air sac mites or other respiratory problems. A wheezing budgie is not a healthy budgie.

Feathers and Wings: A healthy budgie should have complete wings. The wings may be clipped, but make sure that all the feathers are there. The feathers shoud be shiny and full.

An alert and playful budgie is generally a better bet than the small, quiet budgie that sits alone in the corner. Alertness and activity is usually one sign of happy, healthy budgie.

Look for a bird that is a good weight. Overweight budgies often show an obvious indented 'line' down the breast where the keel bone is. The fattier tissues are pushing beyond the keel. In an underweight budgie, the keel bone sticks out from the rest of the body tissue and is often a sign of a digestive problem or other health issues.

Check the beak. The beak should meet cleanly, be relatively smooth, and not overgrown. An overgrown beak is often a sign of mites, or other more serious problems.

Look for a budgie with good socialization skills. A socially happy budgie will be playful with other budgies and even humans if someone has taken the time to tame them.

A roomy cage with minimum dimensions of 20" long x 12" deep x 18" high. Still an ideal size of 40" long x 20" deep x 32" high is even better. You want a cage that has horizontal bars so your budgie finds climbing much easier. Attaching perches with different diameters or branches with some angling is more comfortable for your budgies feet. A swing comes in handy, especially at night for sleeping. Cage covers can be provided. Some budgies like to be covered; others do not to it. In reaching a decision, cover one side or part of the top so that no light shines in directly on your budgie. This will give it a chance of either resting under the cover or coming out to see things for itself. Mirrors are optional, in my opinion. Do not over crowd your new budgies home, as you want it to have some flying room. A bathing cup is good; unless you teach your budgie later on to bathe under a running faucet. Clips to hold spray millet and fresh food are ideal.

Do not place your budgie in the kitchen, as the fumes from cooking, especially if you cook using nonstick cookware, may be toxic.

Budgies require a constant room temperature. Extreme changes in air temperature can prove fatal. Most budgies need a humidity level of 60 to 70% and 12 hours of daylight.

Remember to place your budgie's cage where no draft, air conditioner, fan will blow directly onto its cage.

Care Guides home


Budgerigar or Budgie Parakeet
Melopsittacus undulatus



Experience level: beginner

For ages: 8 & up, with adult supervision
Pet lifespan: approximately 15-25 years
Pet size: approximately 7" in length

Traits & behavior
Things to remember
Nutrition
Health
Habitat
PETsMART cares
Supply list

Traits & behavior


Social
Parakeets love to be stroked and held and want to interact with their Pet Parents as much as possible. They require at least 30 minutes or more of daily interaction.

Intelligent
Smart and easily trained, these birds should be taught basic commands such as "step up" onto your hand and "step down" when putting them back into their cage. This will ensure easier handling.

Great disposition
Their friendly, loving personalities make parakeets the most popular companion bird.

Limited speaking ability
With their raspy voices, male parakeets can sometimes learn to talk.

Messy eaters
Your parakeet will drop a lot of food while eating.

Things to remember
Supervision
Don't forget that children, pets and unfamiliar guests should be supervised when interacting with your parakeet.

Long-term companions
Before purchasing, be aware that a parakeet requires a long-term commitment of approximately 15-25 years.

Safety & cleanliness
Please remember that all pets may bite or scratch, and may transmit disease to humans. Keep your pet's home clean and wash your hands before and after handling your pet or cleaning his home. Infants, young children, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and the infirm or elderly are at greater risk of infections and should use caution when in contact with the pet or its habitat. Consult your doctor for more information.



Nutrition

Staple diet
Feed her 1-2 teaspoons per day of a pellet or seed-based, fortified parakeet diet. Also, parakeets only eat off the top layer of the food dish, so if feeding seeds, be sure to check the food daily and remove empty seed hulls.

Fruits & vegetables*
About 5-10% of a parakeet's diet should be bite-sized fruits and veggies like apples, grapes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, mustard greens and shredded carrots. Offer daily or every 2-3 days.

Supplements
Be sure to provide a cuttle bone in your parakeet's cage at all times.

Water
Parakeets should always have access to clean, fresh water in a bottle or bowl.

*Remember that fresh food requires its own dish and should be removed from the habitat within four hours to avoid spoilage.

^I got this information on the internet I hope it helps^
I recomend you get the book - Parakeets A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by Arthur Freud This book was my first book an told me everything Hope this helps I know its alot but....:)

[Budgiekin]

It sounds like you have given a lot of thought to purchasing your first budgies. Good for you! It is great to hear that there are still people who actually consider the pet's well-being BEFORE actually bringing them into the home.

It sounds like you two are busy, so yes, I would suggest getting two birds. They will appreciate the company, and since budgies are very much flock birds, they will benefit from having their own kind nearby.
Changing the newspaper everyday is a great idea. Also be prepared to wipe their perches off daily and anywhere else poop seems to land! (It can end up in some pretty strange places!).

As far as toys go, variety is key. Not only do you want to have several different toys to choose from, it is also great to have toys made from a variety of materials such as leather, plastic, wood etc. You can buy a few and then rotate them every so often. I change them every week or two and then they will get those same toys eventually again. They seem to have their favourites that I offer them more frequently though. You'll find out what kinds of toys your budgies like soon enough.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to post them. We've got a lot of very knowledgeable people in this forum who would be happy to offer you their advice.

One other thing, I hesitate to mention this, but a budgie's lifespan is typically a lot shorter than 15 to 25 years. More realistically, I would say that budgies would live to be between 5 and 8 years. This is largely influenced by genetics as well as partly by lifestyle (diet and exercise).

Please keep us up to date with your budgie endeavour! We would love to hear what you decide to do!! :p

[bluebird]

:D i think joey & budgiekin have covered everything,;)

[Amy]

So do I! They must be longest posts ever, especially Joeys'!

[Joey]

srry......i had nothing else to do.....:o

[zmazza]

I really appreciate you taking the time to put that reply together, Joey. I think it's one of the most helpful replies and information PERIOD that I've gotten since I started researching budgies. The more I see them, read about them, and study about them, the more I want one! I'm going to go look at cages the first day I am off work and try and work out a way to bring one home. My wife wants to wait until we have a baby, but if the cage is sitting in the house, we don't want it to stay empty, do we? :rolleyes:

One thing about cleaning their cages though... is there a certain way to go about it? Certain chemicals to use? I was never too fond of bird 'messes'. Out of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, birds seem to have the worst in my opinion. I'm not letting this turn me off about getting a budgie, though! They seem like very interesting, intelligent, and affectionate birds. It will certainly give me some experience that I can use when keeping more difficult birds in the future. I'd like to have a talking parrot someday.

Maybe my budgies will learn to talk sooner or later.