Proper care of a budgerigar. Caring for a budgerigar

The budgerigar (lat. Melopsittacus undulatus) is a bird species from the order of parrots, the parrot family, the only representative of the genus of budgerigars (Melopsittacus).

The Latin name of the species is formed by 3 words: the Greek word "melos", meaning "singing", the word "psittacos" - "parrot" and the Latin word "undulatus", which means "wavy". Therefore, in literal translation, the name of the bird sounds like a singing budgerigar. A number of ornithologists suggest calling the bird a wavy singer.

Budgerigar - description, appearance and characteristics.

All of the above names are absolutely true: budgerigars are really very noisy and talkative, perfectly remember and imitate individual words and phrases that are repeated many times, often without much meaning.

The budgerigar is a beautiful and slender bird, which, due to its long tail, looks much larger than it really is. body length of a budgerigar, excluding the tail, reaches 17-19.8 cm with a body weight of about 40-45 g. Domestic birds participating in exhibitions often have a body length of 21 to 23 cm.

Wings budgerigars 9.5 to 10.5 cm long are used by birds exclusively for flight and are completely unsuitable for support when walking or sitting. The flight is beautiful and arched, similar to the flight of a swallow, and when landing, the wings of a bird are bent to the bottom, like a quail. Thanks to this structure, the budgerigar flies quite rapidly and is able to cover considerable distances in search of food.

The budgerigar has a fairly long tail stepped shape, growing up to 8-10 cm in length, and in young individuals the tail is much shorter.

limbs feathered developed and tenacious, ending in 4 long fingers: 2 of them are directed back, 2 look forward. This design allows the birds to grab various objects, food with their paws, as well as deftly climb trees and walk on the ground. At the end of the fingers grow strong curved claws of dark blue, black or almost white. The paws of the budgerigar can be painted in gray-blue, reddish, bright scarlet and pale pink.

In wavy parrots living in nature, eyes dark blue, and the color of the iris is yellowish or almost white. These birds are able to distinguish colors, and a sufficiently large viewing angle allows you to view 2 perspectives at once.

The budgerigar is distinguished by its strong beak, protected by a strong horny substance, and its curved shape resembles the beak of birds of prey. At the base of the beak of a budgerigar, a cere with nostrils is clearly visible. The bird's beak is quite mobile, the upper jaw is not fused with the bones of the skull, but is held by a ligamentous apparatus, while the lower jaw is much shorter than the upper one. Due to its peculiar morphology, the beak of these birds serves as an excellent mechanism for breaking off and crushing shoots, foliage and seeds of plants, and at the same time it is a convenient tool for carrying objects, eating and climbing tree branches. In the event of an enemy attack, the beak of a budgerigar acts as a reliable object of protection.

Budgerigars have a small, short and thick tongue, and its rounded tip is protected by keratinized epithelium. In almost all individuals, the inner surface of the beak is equipped with special horny teeth, which act as a file that sharpens the beak, help clean grains, and also pluck and break fruits. The beak of the chicks is dark in color, but with age it becomes intense yellow, with a slight greenish tint.

Thanks to the natural grassy-green coloration, budgerigars are invisible to enemies against the backdrop of the natural landscape. Cheeks all individuals are decorated with symmetrical elongated purple marks, and below, on both sides of the goiter, there are black spots - special signs inherent in all representatives of the species. As a rule, the markings partially overlap the throat spots.

Goiter and surface of the head wavy parrots living in nature are painted in intense yellow, in the occipital region a thin and light dark brown waviness passes to the back, where it becomes much wider and brighter against the general yellow background. In young parrots, the waviness is not so noticeable and starts right from the wax, and as it grows older, it is replaced by a characteristic yellow mask.

Feathers Budgerigars on the forehead of males have a unique feature: when exposed to ultraviolet light, they fluoresce, due to which females in nature choose their partner for nesting. Moreover, the human eye can catch this radiation only at night, and budgerigars see the glow even in daylight.

Determining the sex of a bird is not difficult. To find out the sex of a budgerigar, you need to look at its wax, which is located at the base of the beak.

• Young males have a purple cere, in a young female it is intense blue with a light border around the nostrils.
• In mature males, the cere is dark blue or purple (in albinos). An adult female can be distinguished by the beige-blue or brown color of the cere. By the way, the brown color of the wax in females appears during nesting.

Left male, right female

Types of budgerigars, photos and colors.

Today, the budgerigar is considered the most common and favorite decorative bird for home keeping. Over the long years of breeding work, more than 200 varieties of these birds have been bred with a wide variety of plumage colors, including recessive varieties that lack the characteristic waviness.

Photo from budgerigar.com

The yellow color of the budgerigar is the first mutational color and was obtained in Belgium in 1872, and subsequently all modern color variations based on a yellow or white base appeared. Below are some varieties of budgerigar colors:

• Natural, traditional color budgerigar plumage - light green(Light green) with a glossy sheen that covers the breast, belly and lower back of the birds. The traditional mask is light yellow, with black dots on the throat, and purple marks on the cheeks. The head, wings and back of parrots are decorated with pronounced black waviness. The long tail feathers are dark blue, the bearing surface of the wings is painted black with a minimal light yellow edge.

• dark green wavy parrots (Dark green color) are especially brightly colored, they appeared in France in 1915. The breast, belly and underside of the back of these parrots are dark green, the mask is light yellow, the dots on the throat are black, slightly overlapped by purple zygomatic spots, and there is a characteristic waviness on the body. The shade of the plumage of the wings is identical to the classic variety, but the tail feathers are darker.

• olive green budgerigars (olive green) are descended from dark green individuals and were bred in France in 1919. The predominant color of the plumage of birds is olive green, the mask is bright yellow. The black waviness is marked in contrast against the yellow base. The wings of budgerigars are black with a green sheen, the tail feathers are darker compared to dark green specimens.

• sky blue The budgerigar (Skyblue color) was bred by the Belgians in 1878. The breast, belly and underside of the parrot's back are blue, and the mask of the birds is pure white. The characteristic waviness is clearly defined on a white base, the tail is blue, the primary flight feathers are black with a minimal white edge.

• cobalt budgerigars (color Cobalt) were first shown at the London Exhibition in 1910. Their breast, abdomen, back and tail are distinguished by blue color, the mask of birds is pure white, bright waviness is well expressed on a white background. The wing color of the budgerigar varies from black to blue. Tail feathers are darker compared to sky blue parrots.

• Lilac budgerigars (color Mauve) are the result of mixing 2 dark factors, giving a deep lilac color without the presence of a gray tint.

• Grey-green budgerigar (color Gray Green) - the fruit of the labors of Austrian breeders, which was obtained in 1935. The front, lower part of the body and the bottom of the back of these birds are distinguished by a very light mustard or gray-greenish tone. The mask of parrots is bright yellow, the spots on the throat are black, and the cheeks are gray, a clear waviness contrasts well with the yellow background. The tail plumage is painted black, the primary flight feathers of the parrot are black with a minimal light yellow edge.

• gray budgerigars (color Grey) appeared in Austria and England at the same time, in 1943. In representatives of the variety, the breast, lower body, cheeks and lower back are gray in color, the mask is snow-white, the marks on the throat are black. The characteristic waviness is clearly marked on the white base, the tail is black, and the wing plumage is black or greyish.

• Violet The budgerigar (color Violet) first appeared in Germany in 1928. The breast, abdomen and underside of the back of the bird are distinguished by a deep purple color. The mask of the budgerigar is snow-white, the throat markings are black, the tail is dark purple, the primary flight feathers are black with a minimal white edge.

• Yellowfaces budgies are of two types:
  • The first type, one-factor, implies the presence of a lemon-yellow mask in the bird, which rarely goes beyond the occipital region and onto the chest. A lemon yellow tinge may cover the white tail feathers and other white areas of the bird's plumage. The yellow tint does not extend to the rest of the feathers. Two-factor birds do not have a yellow mask.
  • The second phylum of yellow-faced parrots also includes two varieties, one-factor and two-factor. Both of them have a yellow mask. At the same time, the yellow color extends not only to the white feathers of the budgerigar, but also to the main plumage of the bird, turning it from light green to turquoise, from cobalt to dark green, from mauve to olive.

• Lutinos(Lutino) - a very unusual variety of budgerigars with a bright yellow egg-yolk shade of plumage. These parrots have red eyes with a light iris and cheekbone markings of a mother-of-pearl shade. The feathers of the tail and wings of the budgerigar are light. Males are distinguished by a pink or purple hue of the cere, in females the cere is brown. Paws of birds are red-brown or rich pink.

Albino on the left, Lutinos on the right

• Albinos(Albino) were first obtained in Germany in 1932, and by two amateur breeders at once. Such budgerigars are distinguished by pure white feathers and red eyes with a white iris. The cere and paws of albinos are the same as those of lutinos.

• Crested budgerigars are presented in a wide variety of color variations, but differ in the type of crest. Some individuals are decorated with a pointed tuft of feathers growing on the forehead or crown. In others, the crest has the shape of a semicircle formed by feathers that grow to the very beak in a kind of shield. The third variety of budgerigars is decorated with a double or round crest growing from 2 points, while the feathers are arranged symmetrically and can form crests of various shapes and lengths.

Where do budgerigars live in nature?

Budgerigars live in most of Australia, in Tasmania and other nearby islands and are the most familiar and numerous species of Australian parrots.

Under natural conditions, budgerigars live in flocks of 2 dozen to several hundred individuals and roam the mainland in search of food all their lives. Usually birds keep semi-desert and steppe landscapes with light forests, therefore they inhabit the entire eastern and western coasts, as well as the central part of the mainland, with the exception of the northern regions with dense forests.

The composition of a flock of budgerigars is constantly changing: individuals fly away, others join, small groups can gather in giant flocks of up to a million individuals, which is an unforgettable sight in beauty.

The birds usually wait out the hot time of the day in the shade, hiding on the branches in the dense foliage of trees. At night, budgerigars sleep, and with the first rays of the sun they gather in small flocks and go to a watering place and feeding areas located a few kilometers from the place of lodging for the night. Some birds drink at the water's edge, others descend to the very surface and quench their thirst on the fly. Often the company at the watering place is made up of cockatoos and zebra finches.

What do budgerigars eat?

According to scientists, the basis of the diet of budgerigars in nature is the seeds of terrestrial plants, to a greater extent these are the seeds of kangaroo grass. Due to human intervention in natural biotopes, birds are forced to restructure their diet depending on changes in environmental conditions. Today, the main crop of Australia, grown everywhere, is, but the grains of this cereal are too large for small birds. In addition to grains, budgerigars eat young shoots and leaves of plants, various berries, vegetables and fruits, and occasionally feed on insects and other invertebrates.

Budgerigars nest in their natural habitat all year round: the northern part of the population begins to breed immediately after the end of the rainy season, in the south nesting begins in November and December. Breeding pairs occupy hollows, creviced stumps and any other hollow niches.

The mating games of budgerigars consist in various courtships, an important part of which is “kissing” and burping food by the male. Thus, he demonstrates to the female his ability to feed future offspring. In the chosen place, practically without any litter, the female budgerigar lays from 4 to 12 white eggs, their incubation lasts about 3 weeks. The entire period of incubation, the male budgerigar feeds the female, being nearby in a relentless search for food.

Budgerigar chicks hatch from eggs naked and blind, weighing about 2 g, the mother warms the offspring, and both parents are engaged in feeding. 10 days after birth, the eyes of the chicks open, at the age of 1 month they completely fledge and can leave their native nest, although some young individuals stay near the nest for some time. At the age of 3 months, grown individuals are already able to reproduce.

Breeding budgerigars at home is a rather laborious process. Male and female, unlike most birds, should grow up together and feel great sympathy for each other, and artificially created pairs, as a rule, do not give offspring for several years.

How long do budgerigars live?

In nature, budgerigars live for about 7 years, and at home, with decent care, birds can live up to 10-15 years. The life expectancy of some individuals in captivity can reach 22 years.

Budgerigars at home: maintenance, care, feeding.

It is better to stop choosing a feathered pet for home keeping at 3-4 months old: at this age, budgerigars easily get used to their owners and a new home. But before you bring the bird home, you need to stock up on everything you need for decent care and maintenance of the budgerigar at home.

A rectangular cell is considered the best option. The size of the cage for a budgerigar should be such that the bird can fly from one perch to another without touching the walls with its wings. A cage measuring 25x40x40 cm is enough to keep one budgerigar. A cage with frequent vertical and rare horizontal rods will ensure unhindered movement of the bird and prevent slipping. The best material for a cage is unpainted stainless steel. If the rods are painted, the bird will gnaw on them and may eat paint particles.

It is not difficult at all, the main thing is to keep the cage clean, give the bird proper food and drinking water on time, and also maintain an optimal microclimate for the pet in the room.

Cage for budgerigars

Food for budgerigars

The basis of the diet of budgerigars is grain food, which can be bought at a pet store. If there is no ready-made cereal mixture, then give the bird oats, soaked in water for a day, and then washed under running water or millet. By the way, these cereals can be germinated in a small container and put in this form in a cage with a parrot. Spikelets of wheat diversify the diet, which will also prevent excessive growth of the bird's beak, flax seeds, sunflowers, pumpkins, wild herbs, corn, nuts (of course, additives must be dosed and not mixed).

A necessary component of the diet of parrots is finely chopped greens - dill, St. John's wort, knotweed, dandelion, plantain, wood lice, but it is better to refuse parsley and basil. By the way, be sure to give your pet fresh branches of fruit trees - they will help him clean his beak.

Do not forget about proteins, which are abundant in boiled chicken eggs, cottage cheese and cheese, stale white bread soaked in milk. From time to time, the parrot needs to be fed fresh vegetables and fruits.

But fatty, fried and spicy foods, smoked meats, raw meat and meat products, animal fats that are heavy for the stomach, black bread, strong tea, coffee and alcohol are contraindicated for budgerigars.

And, the last. Accustom to a varied "menu" initially, because the bird quickly gets used to a certain diet and it will be quite difficult to retrain it later.

Was last modified: September 29th, 2013 by admin

Buying a budgerigar and putting it in a cage, after pouring food and water into it, is not quite the care that your new family man needs. By purchasing a budgerigar, you take responsibility for its health.

Many will immediately ask, so how to care for a budgerigar?

Here, fortunately, there is nothing complicated, but failure to comply with these requirements can lead to the death of the bird. The first moment - a new family member needs to be let out of the cage to fly around the apartment, at least for 30 - 60 minutes a day. If you bought a chick, and having bought a large cage for him, you think that this is enough, then it’s better not to torture the animal and give it to someone who will give his new curtains and cornices to be torn to pieces without pity. Not only these objects can suffer, but everything that is at a height. It is likely that the top of the wallpaper will be gnawed off. You should not open the windows, be sure that the parrot will feel the fresh air and will surely fly away, and do not hope that he will return. Perhaps your pet will fly to strangers who will try to find the real owner, but most often parrots are victims of pigeons and simply die in an unusual environment for them. If you have not yet changed your mind about giving away the already purchased chick, then move on.

An important point that you want to focus on is the care and maintenance of a budgerigar. The cage where your feathered pet will live should contain: a drinking bowl, a feeder, a perch, a bath and, if possible, a swing with a mirror. A mirror is needed only for lonely parrots who live alone. At the bottom of the cage, put river sand and crushed eggshells, you can put charcoal. All these components will provide the “feathered” with good digestion. The cage with the bird should be in a room where there are no drafts. Do not allow direct sunlight to hit the cage with a bird. Do not forget that the parrot loves to swim very much. In the care of budgerigars, bathing must be included. Just put a bath on the roof of the cage once a week, and a regular plate of warm water will do. After bathing, it must be removed, otherwise there is a risk that the bird will get drunk on dirty water.

If there are other pets in the house, try to make their introduction to the new family member as friendly as possible. It is unlikely that the cat Vaska, who will hang on the cage with all his limbs, will bring positive to the life of a small bird.

Have you paid attention to the fact that there are two types of budgerigars in the store. The first type is an ordinary budgerigar. The second is a Czech exhibition parrot, which is twice as large as its congener. Caring for a Czech budgerigar differs only in that it needs a large cage, otherwise the care is no different from the usual "wavy".

Many people wonder about feeding budgerigars. The store has a very rich assortment of grain mixtures, at a variety of prices. What kind of food is most suitable for poultry and is it worth overpaying for seeds and cereals produced by well-known manufacturers.

In the care and feeding of budgerigars, trial and error will help you. The bird will choose which food is the most pleasant for her. Of course, for this you will have to buy more than one grain mixture, but in the end you will understand what the parrot likes more. Do not limit yourself to just seeds from a pack, periodically put grass, a roll soaked in milk, sunflower seeds in a cage. Be sure to push chalk or mineral stone through the bars of the cage - the parrot will receive all the necessary substances and sharpen its beak.

By the way, we must not forget about caring for the beak of a budgerigar. There is nothing complicated here, just give him pebbles, twigs and other hard objects so that the parrot has the opportunity to grind it down.

Most bird lovers are interested in the question, who is better to buy a female or a male?

Caring for a budgerigar boy is practically no different from caring for a female. The only thing is, the boy has the opportunity to learn how to talk, but if you bought a pair in advance, a female and a male, or put a mirror in a cage, then most likely you will not hear the phrase “Kesha is good” in the Russian-parrot language.

To determine the sex of a wavy friend, the color of the wax will help you. In other words, you need to determine what color the parrot's nostrils are. In boys, after 4 months, the wax becomes blue, in girls it remains pink.

It happens that after buying a female and a male, you want a new offspring, but for some reason, it does not appear.

Strange as it may sound, the love-dislike factor plays an important role in the care and reproduction of budgerigars. It happens that the birds live together, receive proper nutrition, care, but the chicks, as there were, are not. I don't want to upset you, but they are unlikely to appear already. Try to solve the problem by changing the pair. Transfer the female to another cage and buy a new one or swap with familiar males or females. If you notice that the relatives are scratching each other's feathers, kissing and feeding each other from the beak, then expect an early replenishment (see).

Do not count on the fact that the female will rush right on the perch or in the corner of the cage. For breeding chicks, she will need a house. She will lay her eggs in it. You can make such structures for breeding future parrots with your own hands, for example, take an ordinary birdhouse and do the same, only according to the size of your cage. That is, the breeding house should not occupy half of the free space, but should not be the size of a matchbox.

So, you have decided to purchase a budgerigar.

Before you go to the store or to the market for him, determine for yourself the purpose of acquiring a bird: do you need it as a companion or will it be used for breeding.

Further care for the budgerigar depends on this.

Budgerigars: proper care. How to choose a feathered pet?

Rules for choosing a budgerigar

It is important to take the choice of a bird seriously and buy it better from an experienced breeder, where you can personally assess the conditions in which the birds are kept and observe their behavior. The risk of buying a sick bird here is much less than in the poultry market.

The selected bird must be examined. Healthy parrots are active, their plumage is close to the body and looks shiny, their eyes are clean and clear, without clouding. The paws should have 4 toes (2 pointing forward and 2 back) with claws, the scales should fit evenly against each other. A sick bird is inactive and indifferent to what is happening, sits ruffled, its plumage is dull and disheveled, and around the cloaca it can be stained with liquid feces.

Sick parrot sits ruffled

You should buy young parrots aged from 1.5 to 3-4 months. During this period, they most quickly get used to a person and a new place of residence. Older birds are more difficult to endure a change of scenery, they are less tamed.

How to determine the age of a parrot?

In order not to be deceived by the seller when buying a budgerigar and not to buy an old bird instead of a young one, you should learn to determine its age yourself by the following signs:

1. There is a black “smear” on the beaks of chicks up to 2 months old, which disappears as they grow older;

2. Parrots under 3 months old have a characteristic “wavy” pattern on their heads from beak to back;

3. At the age of 3.5-4 months, the first "juvenile" molt occurs. After its completion, the parrot will have a yellow or white “cap” on its head with the remnants of barely noticeable “waves”;

4. Chicks have completely black eyes. By 5-10 months, the iris of the eyes brightens. Adult birds have a white rim around the pupil;

5. Throat spots at a young age of the bird have a semicircular shape with blurred contours. In parrots older than 6 months, the spots are clear in the form of an oval;

6. The cere of young birds is pale lilac or pinkish. After 4 months of life, the upper beak of males becomes bright blue, and females become beige or light blue. By 8-9 months, the cere of females becomes brown;

7. Tail feathers in young animals are shorter than in adults.

The above criteria for determining age are not suitable for variegated birds, albinos (all white) and lutinos (all yellow). Their beak is always light, their eyes remain black (in albinos they can be dark red) for life. Therefore, it is better to buy birds of this color from trusted breeders who will not hide the true age and health of their parrots.

How to determine the sex of a budgerigar?

Females and males can be distinguished by the color of the cere (the upper beak where the nostrils are located). At a young age, it has a pale lilac or mauve color in both sexes, only in females there are light rings around the nostrils. By the 4th month of life, the mandible in males turns blue and becomes brighter. In females, the cere acquires a pale blue or beige hue, and after puberty (8-9 months) it becomes brown.

On the left is a female (brown cere), on the right is a male (blue cere)

Budgerigars: proper care. Cell selection and placement. How to equip the "home" of a budgerigar?

Where to put a "home" for a parrot in an apartment?

The necessary criteria for the safe living of parrots at home are high-quality food, a bright location in the cage, and cleanliness in the cage.

It is best to place the cage in a bright place in the room. It is not recommended to put on the windowsill, as budgerigars are afraid of drafts. However, these birds need a long daylight hours - at least 12-14 hours in summer and 10-12 hours in winter. Therefore, in the autumn-winter season, additional lighting is required. In order for a feathered pet to quickly get used to the owner, the cage must be at the level of human growth.

How to choose a cell?

A bird cage is selected according to the following criteria:

Shape - the best is rectangular with a flat top. They make it easier for birds to move around. In addition, it is easier to hang toys, a mirror, a swing to a flat “ceiling”;

Size - depends on the planned location of the cage in the apartment, the number of birds and their size. The size of the cage is selected so that the bird can freely spread its wings, fly from perch to perch. The minimum parameters of the cell are 25x40x40cm;

The location of the twigs - horizontally located twigs are more convenient for moving birds along the walls of the cage. Climbing over them, the parrot will not slip;

Bird safety - parrots like to walk on the bottom of the cage, so it should be solid, not twigs. Otherwise, the bird's fingers or claws can get stuck between the twigs, and the bird, trying to free itself, can easily break its paw;

It is necessary to clean the cage every day, and general cleaning is carried out monthly. For disinfection after washing, the cage is wiped with a decoction of wormwood or chamomile.

Cell equipment

In order for the parrots to feel comfortable in their home, perches of various diameters (at least 2 pieces), feeders, drinkers, baths, toys and a mirror should be installed in the cage.

Equipped cage for wavy parrots

The perches are placed so that the bird can easily fly from one to another and not pollute the feeder and drinker with its droppings.

It is better to choose glass or porcelain drinkers (the water in them stays fresh and clean longer). Every day they should be washed with hot water and soda and wiped dry.

Feeders made of porcelain or plastic in a cage need at least two: one for grain feed, the second for soft.

Baths with clean warm water are placed in a cage periodically, especially on hot summer days. After the bird has taken "water procedures", the bath is removed.

If the parrot lives alone in a cage, then you need to hang a small mirror from the ceiling so that the bird does not feel lonely.

On a note! After purchase, all accessories and the cage itself must be disinfected by dousing with boiling water and wiped dry.

Budgerigars: proper care. Feeding, diet

The diet of budgerigars is quite diverse and includes grain mixtures, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mineral supplements.

Grain mixtures include peeled oats, canary seed, flax and millet of varying degrees of maturity. It is better to purchase such food in sealed packaging with a transparent "window" in order to visually assess the quality. In cardboard boxes, the grain may be moldy due to improper storage.

As a source of vitamins, minerals and vegetable fiber, vegetables, fruits, berries and seasonal greens should be present in the menu of budgerigars. Birds are happy to gnaw on such juicy root crops as carrots, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage. Favorite fruits for them are apples, peaches, pineapples, pears, citrus fruits. From berries, feathered pets will gladly eat raspberries, strawberries, strawberries.

In the spring-summer season, you can give parrots leaves of dandelion, clover, plantain, spinach, horse sorrel, and in winter grow oats and millet for greens.

Important! You can not feed persimmons, mangoes, all kinds of nuts, celery root, dill, meat and dairy products, potatoes, cheese, chocolate to parrots.

For the full development of birds, mineral supplements are also needed. For example, offer organic sand, chalk or sepia (the skeletal part of a cuttlefish). These substances enrich the body of parrots with calcium and other trace elements. In addition, by gnawing on chalk, parrots naturally wear down their ever-growing beak.

Budgerigars: proper care. First days at home

After buying and delivering a budgerigar home, it should be kept separate from other birds (if you have them) for the first 2-3 weeks.

At first, the bird will experience stress due to the change of scenery and transportation. Therefore, you should protect your pet from frightening factors: loud sounds next to him, the obsessive attention of children and other animals (if any). Communicate with the bird in a calm, gentle voice, do not try to force it into your hands - this is how you will establish a trusting relationship with it. This process takes time, patience and perseverance. After the bird gets used to you and fearlessly sits on your outstretched hand, you can start learning colloquial words.

Budgerigars: proper care. Diseases of budgerigars

With improper care and non-compliance with sanitary conditions, budgerigars are exposed to diseases such as scabies, inflammation of the goiter, and poisoning. Possible injuries to the paws, damage by downy eaters.

Budgerigar infected with knemidokoptosis (mange)

If you find the following signs, you should show the bird to the veterinarian:

Refusal of food;

Faded, disheveled plumage;

Lethargy and apathy;

Discharge from the nose;

Growths on the beak and legs.

The health of a feathered pet is in your hands!

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Many decide to get a parrot, naively believing that these are the most trouble-free pets. Like, caring for a parrot is easy. In fact, small birds need more care and attention than we used to think.
How to care for budgerigars and what should never be done, we will tell further.

Place for a cell

The first commandment in the care of parrots is to protect from drafts and noise.

So that the nervous system of the bird does not suffer, budgerigars should live in a quiet room, preferably remote. Ideally, there should not be any equipment such as speakers or a TV. Because wavy do not like sharp and loud sounds. And also because the wonders of modern technology interfere with the observance of the bird's regime of activity and rest.

If there are no options, carefully monitor the behavior of the birds. And when the budgerigars begin to nod, hide it in feathers, cover the cage with a thick blanket that does not let light through. Just leave one side of the cage open so that air can pass through and the parrot is not lost in space.

Caring for a budgerigar in the early days is to provide him with maximum peace. Let the pet get used to the new house, look around. The cell all this time should be located at the level of human growth. So the budgerigar gets used to the face of its owner, his voice. Later, the cage can be rearranged a little lower. On a dresser or coffee table, for example.

You can not place the cage in the kitchen or in a dark hallway.

The content of parrots in these premises adversely affects their health and longevity. So, in the kitchen, a feathered comrade will be surrounded by various pungent odors, to which the tender nostrils of a bird are sensitive. Again, people are talking loudly, the hood is noisy or the refrigerator is buzzing. People do not notice these noises. And the bird reacts to them anxiously. There are often drafts in the hallway.

And budgerigars will not be able to navigate in time: the biological processes in their bodies are subject to daylight hours. In conditions of constant darkness, they even stop eating.

Proper lighting

Caring for budgerigars at home is a tricky thing.

Take at least lighting for these birds. In the absence of daylight, so that miniature organisms do not know malfunctions, you need to take care of its additional sources. And ordinary lamps will not work. In its light, everything will be seen by the birds in black and white.

Ornithologists advise purchasing a full-spectrum fluorescent lamp.

By the way, it is easy to find it among the goods for budgerigars, in pet stores.

They can and should be included in the breeding seasons of birds. And also for young individuals, whose body is just beginning to form.

Under the influence of special light, vitamin D3 is produced - an important component of bone tissue.

Its deficiency can even lead to pathologies of the endocrine system, behavioral disturbances, and metabolic problems.

High-quality UV lamps are equipped with a timer that regulates the on and off lighting. The term of operation is not more than a year. Since the phosphorus in the lamp tends to decay. And the lamp ceases to be effective.
Thus, caring for a budgerigar is impossible without proper lighting in the cage.

Balanced diet

Caring for budgerigars also means regular feeding.

The basis of the diet is grain feed.

There is a great variety of bird food on the shelves of pet stores. But not everyone will benefit. Those who have kept these ornamental birds for more than a year and know everything about budgerigars say with one voice: they eat mainly millet.

Oats and other useful, from the point of view of the manufacturer, ingredients remain at the bottom of the feeder. Where to go for pure millet? It is sold by parrot sellers. But it is better to buy food from a trusted person. Since unscrupulous distributors do not follow the rules for storing food, which is the cause of poisoning of parrots.

When choosing food for a budgerigar at a pet store, look at the packaging. It doesn't have to be cardboard.

In it, the food dampens, and is also saturated with foreign odors if the boxes are stored next to goods that have a sharp aroma. It is good if the package is equipped with a zipper, which will allow you to “seal” the food package after pouring.

Do not get carried away with food enriched with vitamins and iodine.

They should be given as food to a bird, unless the body has a deficiency of some trace elements or problems with the endocrine gland. Of course, after one pack of food, no pathological changes in the body will occur. But next time, be careful - do not overdo it in caring for a budgerigar.

Chalk is what a budgerigar needs at any time of the year.

It is available at any pet store. But pieces of chalk should be changed periodically. After all, the parrot will constantly clean its beak about it or grind its claws. As a result, a dirty coating forms on the chalk. As mentioned above, the main danger for parrots is food poisoning. And constant contact with a piece of dirty chalk is exactly what threatens.

It does not hurt to add mineral supplements to the diet once a week. To make sure your budgerigar gets a dose of nutrients, mix top dressing with millet.
There are also a variety of "spikelets", which include a variety of seeds soaked in egg yolk. As practice shows, birds do not eat "spikelet", but simply gnaw. As a result, all the usefulness and goodies lie at the bottom of the cage, and the budgerigar frolics with a piece of wood on which it was all attached.

Proper care of a budgerigar involves the presence of several feeders. One is for dry food and mineral supplements. And in the second they put juicy food: vegetables and fruits according to the season. You can also purchase several holders for seasonal gifts of nature, because the budgerigar can throw everything out of the feeders to the bottom of the cage.

Caring for a parrot also means feeding it seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables.

To avoid having to spend money on vitamins for poultry, provide daily availability of juicy fruits and pieces of berries or vegetables.

In small doses, grapes, quince, apricots will benefit. In winter, please the feathered with steamed dried apricots or a slice of kiwi. Naturally, most of the treat will pass by the beak, but what is digested will benefit the body.

By the way, caring for a budgerigar at home in the summer is regular cleaning of the cage. Indeed, in the hot season, the processes of decay of the same fruits that you give to the bird are accelerated. Do not be too lazy to once again clean the bottom of the bird house from debris.

Water procedures

How to care for a budgerigar during the heat?

Provide him with access to saving moisture! True, not all parrots tend to plunge into specially equipped bathing suits. Some "conservatives" prefer saucers with water. Or green leaves soaked in water at room temperature. It can be cabbage, lard, parsley - whatever. Even tree leaves will do.

When pouring water into a saucer, cup or bathing suit, make sure that its level does not exceed 2 cm. At a greater depth, the bird may choke or be frightened.

In special cases, bird fright ends in death. In order to avoid tragedies, we recommend playing it safe.


About budgerigars that do not like to swim - a separate item. To gradually accustom cowards to water, put a mirror on the very bottom of the bathing device. The bird will become interested and gradually begin to enter the water.