Budgie Care Tips: Essential Care Guide For Pet Budgie Owners!

Akinwalere Olaleye
Feb 19, 2024 By Akinwalere Olaleye
Originally Published on Nov 04, 2021
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Age: 3-18
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Budgies, or parakeets (their more commonly known name), are a wonderful pet option for you if you are starting your journey to be an owner of a pet animal or a bird.

Budgie care is something that you can learn without any experience just by listening and following your bird instructor or veterinary doctor’s instructions and tips. A pet bird, like a budgie or parakeet, can make your life more colorful and bright.

The parakeet bird is a small kind of bird species from the parrot family. Their long tail with colorful feathers is indeed a beauty to our eyes.

They might have got their name of ‘budgie’ from an Australian slang word ‘budgery’. You can find wild budgies in the inner regions of the Australian west areas of the great dividing range.

Commitment to your pets is an important factor to make sure that your companion is happy with you. Spending enough time with your bird, playing and talking with them, giving them fruits and vegetables to eat, and giving attention to them are ways in which you can raise them, get them to trust you, and become comfortable with you.

After reading about the diet of budgies and how to care for them, why not read our fantastic Kea parrot facts or find out about the budgie lifespan?

Are budgies easy to take care of?

Many people would love to have a pet for comfort and companionship.

Some may choose cats, others dogs, or any other mammal pet animals like hamsters but for some, winged avian birds with colorful feathers appeal as pets for their beauty and easy behavior. The budgie, a species of the avian family of birds, is a great option to choose as a pet animal.

Birds like budgies, parakeets, and parrots are social birds and are easier to handle than a pet dog but they won’t be as easy as getting a goldfish!

Just like any animal, you need to give your budgie some time to adjust to your company and the environment that you provide them. Also, they need you to give them attention and affection, just like a baby.

It is very important that you meet all your budgie’s needs and give them your physical attention to make them more comfortable around you and with you.

Before buying a budgie, you need to know some beginner's notes that are a good idea to follow to raise your pet bird.

You can find the right healthy bird from a breeder or pet store.

After getting the pet bird, you should find a clean and dry place to keep your bird in your home. The birdcage is where you are going to keep your bird most of the time so you should make sure that you buy a comfortable and big home for your bird, budgie, or parakeet.

If you plan to buy and include food dishes, toys, perches, and other items in your birdcage, then buy a cage accordingly with more space to accompany the movement and comfort of your birds.

Parakeet or budgie food is an essential necessity. Make sure you get good food in a good quantity.

You could buy a variety of seeds and pellets from the pet market. It may also be a good idea to ask your veterinarian for a food and diet plan for your bird.

Your veterinary doctor might help you to take care of your pet in a healthy way, by giving you the proper instruction.

Including a perch in their cage can make them more active and happy, as staying in their cage all day without anything much to do would be extremely boring for them. Getting your pet out of their cage and mingling with them is considered to be a healthy way to get a human bond with them.

Do you cover a budgie at night?

If you are getting a single pet budgie, then you should ensure you attend to its needs and care for it.

As you might have heard, parakeets that are not being attended to and are bought as single birds have high chances to die due to depression and loneliness, and improper care and attention. Therefore, you should make sure to give your single pet parakeet or budgie the opportunity to be social and have a chit-chat with your pet budgie.

If you buy two budgies together, allow them to preen themselves and groom as it is a naturally social activity that they do.

Covering your budgie’s cage at night in a thick, dark color cover can simulate your budgie’s sleeping pattern and sleep environment.

The dark color cloth or towel or the cage cover that you buy from the pet stores could be used to cover your budgie’s cage to restrict light from falling on them and make them feel like it is morning.

This can help you to tame your bird and get them to sleep.

The room in your household where you place your bird in their cage should be dimly lit during the night to give them a feel of the night. This will help them to sleep, and slowly get used to your routine as well.

Do you know that parakeets are cuddly pets? They love to be held and cuddled.

The parakeet and budgie are interactive birds, who recognize you and your behavior and trust you for how you behave with them. If you want to show more care to your pet parakeet, a great way is to hold them gently in your hand and give them soft head rubs.

Budgie birds perched on tiny branch.

Are budgies happy in cages?

Budgies or a parakeet might be happy in their cages with perches and bird toys to keep them active and amused. Sometimes, however, they can get lonely in their cages or become bored.

It would be better if you can take out your budgie once every day or at least once every two days and mingle and bond with them. Some bird owners have reported their budgie’s suffering with loneliness and some parakeet deaths have also occured due to keeping them all alone in their cage.

In nature and wild forests, these birds are always seen to be in a flock as they are social creatures. They are seen to be in pairs or with more of their kind.

At first, a parakeet might feel lonely without any company of its own when you buy single budgies as pets but it is okay to have a single budgie in a cage if you socialize with them.

Reports from owners say that budgies get sad being alone especially when they aren't able to groom and reproduce with another parakeet or budgie partner. This loneliness might be a reason for their deaths but health problems and ageing can be a factor too.

The lack of a partner makes them lonely and budgies need constant attention in order to stay in shape and to keep all their feathers, body, and skin in good condition.

If you plan to buy a budgie, it can be beneficial to get a partner to go with it too although when females and males are paired together there is a strong chance of mating. If you hear your budgie or parakeet singing, whistling, chirping, and mimicking sounds, then know that your pet is a happy budgie.

You might also try to entertain them with mirrors, swing toys or perches, rings, placing small ladders in their cage, and toys with bells that make sounds.

If you don’t have anything like this, don’t worry! You can also take your budgie out of their cage and spend time chatting, softly holding, and talking with them.

Time of their cage out should be done routinely. You should get your parakeet out for two hours a day minimum.

You might also take them out of their cage for exercise and socialization.

Even though taking them out of their cage is healthy, it is not advised to keep them out for a long time.

If you have kept your birdcage inside your home, taking them out of the cage for too much time might cause injuries to their wings when they try to fly inside your houses, especially if you have fans on.

How do you take care of a newborn budgie?

Budgie care is very much important when it comes to an infant baby budgie or a parakeet. Budgies love to get care and attention from you as it is their natural instinct of socializing with humankind or their own kind.

The developing beak of a budgie is to be taken care of while handling a newborn budgie. This is the age in their life where a lot of care has to be given to them.

For better health, a budgie needs to be fed foods for a balanced diet such as fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. Also, natural food like seeds is a favorite among young birds like parakeets, budgies, and parrots.

They eat this food using their beak to put the morsels in their mouth. While taking care of a newborn budgie, it is better if you let its parents do the parenting work.

Newly born budgies are blind and naked when they come out of their eggs so you should make sure that you don’t let any direct sunlight fall on them as they are very sensitive to light. Proper hygiene and cleanliness are also something that you should maintain when a new budgie comes into your birdy family.

For that, you can wash your budgies regularly. Try to give plenty of love, care, and attention to your budgie pets and mingle with them for at least three hours a day.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for budgie care: essential take care guide for pet budgie owners! then why not take a look at cockatoo vs cockatiel: amaze-wing difference facts between pet birds, or chipmunk vs ground squirrel: burrow animals different facts for kids.

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Written by Akinwalere Olaleye

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English Literature

Akinwalere Olaleye picture

Akinwalere OlaleyeBachelor of Arts specializing in English Literature

As a highly motivated, detail-oriented, and energetic individual, Olaleye's expertise lies in administrative and management operations. With extensive knowledge as an Editor and Communications Analyst, Olaleye excels in editing, writing, and media relations. Her commitment to upholding professional ethics and driving organizational growth sets her apart. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Benin, Edo State. 

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