Budgies anyone?

[pip]

Anybody else have budgies? Or, parakeets? We just got three today, and although we've have many kinds of animals, we've never had birds. Any good advice would be welcomed.

[TreasureFinder]

I love birds as pets. We once had a cockatiel who lived 13 years. We also had a budgie who learned to talk, and it was adorable. All they need is repetition of whatever you want them to say. Be careful, though, because our budgie learned a word by accident, and it wasn't a good one (it was what my mother said when she was cleaning his messy cage).

Bird cages do tend to get rather messy. If you've ever seen the mess birds cause on the sidewalk, that's what you'll get in the cage, and on the perches. Regular cleaning is important.

Oh, and watch out for bugs in the birdseed. We had a few problems with that.

Enjoy your new pets!

[PrairieRose]

We don't have any birds now but down through the years we've had several. We had a couple of parakeets that were so much fun. If you want to have tame birds that you can handle, don't cage them together. They remain more wild if they are caged together and never really learn to 'appreciate' your touch as much. They can be trained to be loving little tame pets and love time out of the cage on your shoulder. They are so much fun. One of our budgies talked a blue streak and he did indeed pick up some 'french' that I wished he hadn't

[Jayne]

I love budgies!!..I have had 2 and got so much joy from them!!...If you want to let them out of the cage, you should have their wings clipped by a vet so they can't fly away..don't use those sand paper covers on the perches, it makes their feet sore...you have to clip their nails ocasionally...keep your seed in the fridge to prevent bugs...give them a cuttle bone so they can keep their beak sharpened ...have fun with them they are so sweet and loving!!

[pip]

Thank you so much for the replies! We do have them in the same cage, though. My hubby wasn't too keen about one cage to begin with, so I'm not sure I could get away with having three! I guess we need to find a vet to clip their wings, too. Does it need to be one that specializes in birds? I'm not even sure if they've had their wings clipped yet, should I assume they haven't?
What do you use to clean off the cage/perches with?

[TreasureFinder]

Keep newspaper on the bottom of the cage to catch everything, and just change it regularly. I think we had a scraper to clean off the perches.

Do you have toys in the cage, like bells and mirrors? Since they're together, they may not need as much distraction as a lone bird, but it's fun to watch them interact with things in the cage.

I think that most birds from pet stores already have their wings clipped, but they'll grow back. Watch when they stretch their wings, to see if the feathers look like they're cut. Look for a vet that regularly handles birds now, so that you'll have someone to go to when it's time.

[miss_thrifty]

I have one budgie. male . because we werent allowed animals. . Mine is cross at strangers , he thinks hes the king of this castle at times. lol
I sue alittle gravel on the bottom of the cage, makes it easier to clean.
I try to change the food once in awhile and mix small amounts in it. I use Hertz and then go to Walmart brand mutli colored ones with extra vitamins. he only picks out certain ones and waste the rests lol
I also buy Prime concentrated vitamin mineral supplement. I use it once amonth and put in on some millet spray(long lenghts of it still intact on the vine). He loves it and helps with his moulting. Moulting is hard on the little guys, it takes energy out of them.

Dont keep them near drafts.
Make sure when u let them out, its really safe , no windows, front door locked (kids come in and out here all the time ).
They love attention and people talking to them. Theyre like us in the community way. they love to interact and are nosy sometimes lol
When we got ours theyre housed in large cages nothing on them to cover at night. We tried to cover ours so he wouldnt be scared, he was terrified. So we cant .He wouldnt stop puffing. poor thing.
http://www.budgies.org/info/resinfo.html
http://www.astepupbird.com/budgies.html
http://www.letstalkbirds.com/budgie.htm
http://www.budgieplace.com/

hope these help you. Just watching and observing how they interact with you and your family, youll get to know them and know if somethings wrong.



heres some links i have.

[miss_thrifty]

Oh if they have the bands on them, make sure they remove them. In canada they use to sell Budgies with bands and the % was really high in infections, and mortality. We use to clip it off when we got ours. They dont do that anymore here.

[dcompton]

I would add:

Be sure to have perches of different diameters in the cage. If they are all the same size, they can develop problems over time -- an arthritis type condition if I remember. Imagine never being able to flex your fingers to any other position! Natural branches are probably even better with the natural gradation of size and texture. When they get dirty they can just be replaced from the nearest bush!

Give them a shallow dish of water from time to time. Many love to bathe -- but be prepared -- it's very messy! My cockatiels didn't like dishes of water as much, but were in bliss when I would take a spray bottle of warm water and mist them. They would twist around, spreading their wings to make sure they got REALLY wet. You might see if your birds like that. Some don't. They'll let you know!

Someone mentioned being careful of doors and windows when they are out. I would add, have something over the windows, even partially opened blinds, so it doesn't look like a straight shot to the great outdoors. They can be seriously injured or killed if they fly into it hard. Same with big mirrors, that really confuse them. If their wings are clipped so they can't fly freely, this won't be such a problem.

I agree to call around and find a vet who is comfortable with birds. Some won't accept them at all. Chances are you won't need one after you learn how to clip nails and feathers, but I had a cockatiel who developed pneumonia every winter and needed antibiotics. Now that was a mess -- more of it on me than down her throat! A vet can also show you the best way to handle a small bird without injuring it. I leaned a trick from mine. When she had to clip the parakeet's nails, he was always convinced this monster was intent on killing him and was not going to go quietly. On the first visit she clipped the first nail, and then -- after she got her fingernail cuticle to stop bleeding -- popped a nearly empty adhesive tape roll over it's head. Perfect fit, end of biting. He got a note in his chart and was always met with "beak restraint." Also, if you clip their nails, have a styptic pencil or powder at hand. Once my vet accidentally clipped a nail too short, and this is what she used to stop the bleeding -- with many embarrassed and profuse apologies. But it happens. My cockatiels were lambs, but the budgie did not take kindly to pedicures! That will depend on the individual bird's temperament.

A seed dish can look like it is full when it isn't, because birds hull the seeds and they often fall back into the dish. Step outside with it, and blow across the top of the seed, and all the hulls will be blown away. They may appreciate a little fruit or raw vegetable occasionally. Not much or you will encounter a whole new dimension of "dirty cage." One of my cockatiels doted on watermelon, and liked to share an orange with me -- I liked the orange, she loved the white inner peel. As they say, there's no accounting for taste!

A great free toy that my birds liked is the plastic netting on some items from the grocery store. I would wash and attach pieces of the net around frozen turkeys to the cage near a perch. They have very sensitive tongues, and would endlessly entertain themselves playing with it, feeling the texture at the intersections. Of course, I may have just had psychotic birds....

They were great pets. I have had cats, dogs, and other critters, but my very favorite pet of all time, was my first cockatiel, Lady Bartholomew. She had an eagle sized personality packed in that little bird body. I hope you enjoy your new budgies as much.