minding my sons budgie

[bigfellasdad]

Hi there, im looking after my sons budgie for 10 days whilst he is on holiday. She is the cutest thing ever and next to my CAG, absolutely tiny. She is clearly trying to talk to my CAG but as yet no mutual calls are taking place.


Sunny, the budgie is on a good seed mix, millet and cucumber diet it seems, im wondering if this is acceptable at all? Ive tried carrots, peas and other veg in her cage but she doesnt go any where near them. Tonight ill try some fruit, grapes and apple maybe.

She had 2 quite long toe nails which ive managed to groom for her, for such a little bird she has a strong bite, a hard pulsing, im not letting go bite! She didnt like being handled but I got her back to her cage and spoke softly to her until she returned to a relaxed state.



Any tips please?

 

[lplummer52]

Try hanging a piece of kale or other dark greens in her cage. They also love sprouted seeds.

 

[EllenD]

With Budgies it's pretty difficult to get them to switch to pellets after they are weaned onto seed-mix and have been eating it for a long time, and honestly most Budgie seed-mixes don't contain the same junk seeds as others, for example they don't have any sunflower seeds in them, so as long as it's a fortified seed-mix of a quality brand, and not a cheap seed-mix from Walmart or a grocery store, then the seed-mix is fine as a staple. You can always try to slowly transition him onto a Budgie pellet, or a Budgie pellet and seed mix, it never hurts to try.

I've not ever fed a Budgie Cucumber, lol, but if he likes it that's fine. As already stated, they typically love dark, leafy greens, and not in a bowl, but rather clipped to the cage bars at the end of a perch. Kale, Mustard, Collards, Turnip Greens, etc. And then try other veggies, in fact you can try any and all veggies except for onions, as they are toxic to birds. Broccoli (try pulling the little buds off a floret and put them into a bowl), green beans, sugar snap peas or sweet peas and the pods, carrots, any type of squash, sweet potato, etc. With Budgies it's usually important that the veggies are cut into extremely small pieces for them, otherwise they may not even try to eat them (except for the greens, they love to just pick at them and eat holes through the greens). The other way is by making a "mash" and putting it in a bowl. They need to have lots of fresh veggies every single day.

As far as fruit goes, it should never be fed like the veggies are, and should only be an occasional treat that he gets 2-3 times a week maximum, and in small portions. Fresh fruit is completely loaded with sugar, and although it's "natural" sugar (fructose mostly), it's still sugar, and it's still turned into fat that will accumulate in his liver, causing Fatty Liver Disease in a captive bird who doesn't fly all day long very quickly. Budgies are unfortunately very prone to dying way before what their lifespan should be (15-20 years), and Fatty Liver Disease is one of the main causes of this, due to them being fed seed-mix as their staple instead of pellets, and then a lot of fruit. So if you feed him fruit, make sure it's only 2-3 times a week, and it's a very small portion, like a single grape or a quarter of an apple slice, and that's it for that day. And never feed avocados to him, as just like onions, avocados are toxic to birds.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Thanks Ellen, same rules on onions/garlic etc for the CAG then, thanks. Ill try more veg then as you suggest. Enzo gets fresh every day so im sure Enzo wont mind sharing a little bit of hers.




thanks again

 

[MonicaMc]

Within reason, the budgie can have everything your CAG does, just in smaller size and portions!

A seed only diet isn't healthy for them, nor is a pellet only diet. They need a good variety of foods to be healthy.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Apologies, ive forgotten to update you all.

I have been putting a small bowl of finely chopped veg in each morning but I don't think she has touched them, but she has had lettuce and cabbage 'pegged' to the side of the cage and she seems to enjoy them so a small step in the right direction. She has also had a few nibbles on a small grape too,.

Enzo is talking to her now as well, both her normal greeting call and the quiet 'chunnering/cheaping' that she does, so hopefully they are enjoying each others conversation and company. One thing to note, Sunny is hardly ever quiet! She isn't loud as such, more a pretty constant chatter. Ive really enjoyed her staying in the flock.

 

[MonicaMc]

Makes me wonder if Sunny is in fact a female budgie or maybe she's a male?