Budgies as pets (9)
A pet budgie can learn a vast vocabulary of words and phrases. A male budgerigar is more inclined to speak than a female budgie.
Some pet budgie owners might not even realize that their budgie is repeating words or phrases because a budgie tends to have a very low, quick voice that might be mistaken for chatter.
When teaching your pet budgie, a word or phrase, speak slowly and clearly and keep an ear out for these words and phrases when you hear your budgie chattering away.
No not at all, the only smell could be a very dirty cage or uneaten food in the cage.
A budgie has an average life of 5 to 8 years, but if take care of properly they can live 10 years or even longer.
Not really, provided one obtained the pet young enough normally soon after it left the nest and can eat on its own. It all depends on you providing the time and effort.
Male budgies usually have a blue cere. Females have either a whitish brown (non- breeding) cere, tan cere, or brown cere.
The cere is the area above the beak of the budgie containing the nostrils.
On the male side there are some exceptions to the rule: Albinos, Lutinos and Recessive Pied cocks, for example, have a fleshy pink colour cere.
A budgie will normally preen his feathers daily, keeping them clean and free of dust. So you might see your budgie sliding his feathers through his beak, nibbling at his feathers, scratching his head with his claws, and fluffing up. This is all normal behaviour.
If you find your budgie is actually “yanking out” feathers repeatedly (or yanking out one of his flock mate’s feathers) it’s time to talk to a vet.
Good question and normally based on the feeling that the one budgie would get lonely on its own. Getting a young budgie will as they are easier to tame, is the best as previously stated. The budgie will then see you as its family and a mate would distract from that. If you get more than one I suggest you get 2 males because they are less likely to fight and most people confirm they talk more readily than females. It actually makes sense as the male does all the courting!
Budgies are primarily vegetarians, although they often eat insects in the wild. In captivity, there are many ways to provide a budgie with a balanced diet. To be extra safe, however, you should always keep a mineral block in your budgie’s cage. It will make up for anything that his regular diet may be lacking.
- Vegetables – Budgies enjoy a wide range of different vegetables including carrots, cucumbers, squashes, turnips, beetroot, corn on the cob, cauliflower and spinach.
- Grains – In the wild, budgies thrive off grass seeds. In captivity, grains like oats, whole rice, wild rice, white and jap millet and plain canary are all excellent options.
- Hazardous Foods – You should never give your budgie banana, avocado or chocolate, for example.
Budgies are friendly, easy to train, might learn to talk (although not that clearly), and are flock animals. They either need a human around most of the time or some budgie mates in an aviary.