I fell in love with a bird.

[J.huff23]

I was at the local pet store today getting food for my other critters and I decided to browse the pets. Bad idea. I saw the most beautiful bird and I fell in love with it. It was a green and yellow parakeet, which I was told are also called budgies? This thing was so beautiful that I wanted to buy it on the spot, his ever I know nothing about them and the timing was bad so I reluctantly walked away. So they are under consideration as a future purchase. Anybody have one of these an particularly like them? I so, why?

Also I was just curious on a few things. First, I've heard people say that these need daily interaction or it is bad for their health. Is this true?

Also, the pet store lady told me that these need very little upkeep and only need room temperature and fresh food and water everyday. Is this true?

And just any overall opinions on these birds as pets?

 

[Niffarious]

What you saw was a budgie. They can make amazing pet birds, but get one from a breeder. The ones in pet stores are under socialized and a challenge to tame down (if they ever do). You should get a larger cage than what the store likely recommended.

Yes, they need a lot of interaction - if you get just one YOU are their whole flock. Yes, fresh food and water daily. (Pellets, fresh greens and fruits and veggies, and SOME seeds)They are very rewarding pets. Budgies are actually small parrots, and can be amazing when hand-reared. h

I have a parrotlet right now, and I've had many other birds (parrots and finches) as pets. If you can provide what they need and don't mind the noise, you will love them.

I would suggest hitting up some parrot and/or budgie forums. Most of the advice given from the pet stores will be crap, and there are a lot of misconceptions about their care.

 

[madamoisele]

When I was young, I had the same passion and zeal for birds as I now do for tarantulas. Still love birds, but I can have 40 tarantulas for little upkeep and to have a bird would be time consuming.

Birds are EXCELLENT pets and I agree with the above poster in all his comments. I'll go further - get a hand-fed English budgie from a breeder if at all possible. They're known to be a little less hyper and most love to be petted. They're also slightly larger but they have more fluffy on their heads - so adorable!

Anyhoo - unless you plan on interacting with your bird a lot, you may want to buy a larger cage and have two in there. Of course, the downside to this is that they may bond to each other instead of you. It's something you were wise to walk away from and research first.

Trust me, all budgie color schemes are available somewhere.

I once saw this tall flight cage with about ten different budgies in it (at a residence) and it was like watching flying jewels of all colors. I was quite fascinated by that.

Budgies are probably the easiest starter bird as well. Good luck! PM me if you have any questions about birds - I'll be happy to answer them.

 

[Jaymz Bedell]

I have worked with 1000s of budgies over the years and have one thing to say about them...incredibly underrated! they're incredibly intelligent like all parrots, many turn out to be excellent talkers... if not a little quiet and hard to understand due to their size. given lots of human interaction or a companion budgie they are pretty happy. lots and lots of toys, and other environmental enrichment are vital for all parrots. as is a healthy, varied, diet. once tamed down, or better yet adopted as a young hand fed bird, budgies are affectionate little clowns. many years ago i had a nice blue male that not only had a rather impressive vocabulary but was absolutely addicted to a good head scratch! i have hand fed dozens of standard and english budgies over the years and find that they quickly adapt to life in a new home. theyre also quite adventerous with eating habits. but can easily become "seed addicts". a lot of people find birds to be too noisy, without understanding bird noise. birds are vocal animals that communicate over large distances. i would suggest investing in a couple of good books on parrot behavior. guide to a well behaved parrot by mattie sue athen is a good place to start, as well as good parrotkeeping, i forget the author of the second. a few good books on budgies for ideas on housing, toys, food, and everything else. ive done a lot of work with companion parrots and captive parrot behavior, tho i no longer keep birds in my personal life...but i do often consider a hand fed grey english budgie as a companion parrot. if you need any help or advice please feel free!

J

 

[The Snark]

Budgie, English(British) slang for budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus, the common parakeet.

 

[J.huff23]

I'm going to read up on these a bit more. It's not a definite yet but it's definitely a desire. How big if a cage would I need for a single budgie?

 

[The Snark]

I'm going to read up on these a bit more. It's not a definite yet but it's definitely a desire. How big if a cage would I need for a single budgie?

I'll leave the animal husbandry to my betters but, from once owning and raising a couple dozen, some observations. Budgies are very social. They interact with other species readily, and are often emotional. They form attachments to things, other animals and people, as well as harbor resentments and hostilities. They love companionship of another budgies which need not be of the opposite sex. They will also pine at the loss of a companion, sometimes to the point of passing on themselves.
As for a cage, they prefer a smallish one, a couple of cubic feet, when first introduced to a home. This is their private space and security blanket. But once they become acclimatized, they don't mind being given the run of an entire house.

 

[Tarac]

I'm going to read up on these a bit more. It's not a definite yet but it's definitely a desire. How big if a cage would I need for a single budgie?

Be careful when you read- there are lots of really really fantastic "parakeet" species out there, check out the Rosella (Platycercus sp.) group to whet your appetite

As stated above, they are FAR more work than a tarantula. And do indeed buy one from a known breeder that hand rears, it makes a huge difference in their temperament and therefor the quality of experience you have with your first bird. The ones in pet stores are usually flock bred and are usually hostile and terrified of you without serious therapy. It's possible to tame them down but it's pretty close to snatching a bird from the wild and trying to force it to be your buddy. Works much much better if you start with one that was raised by a person.

They aren't the "smartest" birds of course but I have seen a couple in person that can say a few simple words and plenty that can whistle like no ones business. And they can be very affectionate if you are willing to commit the time. Birds do take a lot of socializing and time, it's more work than a dog even IMO.

As far as housing goes, obviously a bird is intended to fly. I suggest the largest enclosure you can get and if that isn't very large then make sure you have accommodations (i.e. a no cat room, no dangerous vessels it can fly into and drown or be boiled- yes, this happens in kitchens sometimes sadly, etc.) in your house to allow it some flight time. They often get defensive about their enclosure as they would a nest so if you can make it too large to consider all territory and just provide a nice nesting area for it it will be a supremely happy little budgie. Like I said, smart birds are a lot of work. I consider them to be more work, if properly cared for, than any other household pet group.

 

[Perocore]

I don't know much about raising budgies, but I have been around tons of them. My mom used to own several, and she loved them. They are very beautiful birds, most of them are a common blue/white or green/yellow coloration, but I've seen nearly all white ones, blue ones with white patches, lavender ones...they're amazing. They have beautiful, very cheerful little voices, and can be taught different songs. Being parrots, they are rather intelligent birds, and would probably benefit from a lot of environmental stimulation (new toys, mirrors, rope ladders, etc.) All of the budgies I've been around were very friendly birds, and I've had several perching on me at a time (mind you, I saw several people learn not to hold a recently fed bird). They would often sit on my shoulders and play with my hair and mess with my ears.

However, as my mom has told me repeatedly (I wanted a budgie at one point), they are a lot of work. They require regular cleaning, and a lot of interaction. I have actually been bitten by a rather grouchy little female, and MAN does it hurt!

All in all, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, than I think you'll find they are very rewarding animals to own that will bond with their owner much the way a dog or a rat would.

 

[Tarac]

I have actually been bitten by a rather grouchy little female, and MAN does it hurt!

All in all, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, than I think you'll find they are very rewarding animals to own that will bond with their owner much the way a dog or a rat would.

That is absolutely true! Those little guys can draw blood without much effort, don't be fooled by their cute little faces and diminutive size.

I would wager they bond better than a rat and possibly even a dog if you care for them correctly and get a hand raised specimen. Although unlike many of the other captive bred parrot/parakeet species, these are flocking birds so it is probably not a strictly bonded as something like an Amazon might be.

 

[J.huff23]

I just remember having a pet dove as a child that would unlock his cage from the inside and wait in front of my bedroom door for me to get home from school. That bird bonded with me greatly and it would be nice to have that back. I just so happen to know a lady who use to have a bird farm who would know where to get a baby budgie. Her son coincidentally works on my car. So getting a young one will be no problem.

I was reading that a 16 x 16x 18 is the minimum size cage for a budgie? And also that they can have a staple diet of pellets with seed offered occasionally with fresh water given every day. They do fine at room temperature and require daily interaction. I wanted to get a pair of them but when I was told that they will bond with each other instead of me that cancelled this all out. Is this accurate information?

Is there anything else I should know that is incredibly important to know about these birds?