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Best food for baby budgies


What can budgies eat? - ExoticDirect

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Up until a few decades ago, it was customary to feed budgies mostly on seed mixes, Trill being the favourite with a cuttlefish bone clipped to the cage bars, maybe a spray of millet as a treat. And that was it.

These days pellets have become the choice of many vets and you will have to choose whether pellets or seeds or your own mix will form the major part of the diet.

Current feeding advice is that 40% of the diet should be fresh foods. Choosing the correct food needs plenty of research and advice from trusted sources.

What fruit can budgies eat?

Budgies can eat banana, strawberries, apples, grapes, oranges, peaches, blueberry, pear, raisins, mango, melon (all varieties), nectarines, cherries (ensure you’ve removed the stone) and kiwis. Tropical fruits are also a favourite.

  • What salad vegetables can budgies eat?
  • What vegetables can budgies eat?
  • Food and drink budgies can't have
  • Pellets or seed mix
  • What seeds can budgies eat?
  • Calcium for budgies
  • What do baby budgies eat?
  • How much should you feed a budgie?
  • How often should you feed a budgie?

What salad vegetables can budgies eat?

You may like to offer small portions of: Cucumber, lettuce, beetroot, tomato, rocket, celery and pepper.

Budgies enjoy cucumber along with other salad vegetables

What vegetables can budgies eat?

Budgies can eat: Green beans, carrot, peas in pods, cabbage, cauliflower, sweet corn and sweet potato – this should lightly cooked and your budgie would only want a teaspoon full.

There is controversy that onions, mushroom and garlic should be avoided. Some of us have used them successfully. Others do not. It is true that often a food stuff like parsley or fruit pips if taken in large amounts can cause harm but not in small amounts. Unless your fresh food is home grown or organic, it’s a useful precaution to wash well.

Food and drink budgie’s can’t have

You should avoid letting your budgie eat: Fried food, salt, crisps, bacon, coffee and caffeinated tea, although herbal teas are fine, biscuits, pastries, alcohol, cakes, chocolate, pizza, chips, bread, vanilla, peanut butter and cheese.

These foods aren’t that wonderful for humans either 😊. But most parrots, like toddlers with junk food, adore these human foods. The solution is to try to have unsuitable food out of sight.

If she’s out of her cage, don’t beat yourself up if a tiny bit of cookie or a chip was stolen or offered. Our family meals improved a lot, once we had free ranging parrots around at meal times.

This budgie is enjoying a piece of cabbage

Pellets or seed mix

Pellet diets for captive birds originated in USA. Avian vets nowadays recommend pellets because a good pellet is considered to provide nutrients, minerals and vitamins that an amateur cannot match.

Seeds contain too much fat and lack other ingredients for health, so vets choose pellets. Several manufacturers produce pellets designed for budgerigars and other small birds.

The nugget shaped pellets are made from grains and vegetables and easily digestible. The formula is fortified with essential minerals and vitamins that will meet your budgie’s various needs better than an all seed diet.

A well-chosen pellet is a sensible choice for budgies, canaries, and finches. If you choose a pellet be sure it contains no artificial preservatives and buy in a small quantity.

A useful serving for a budgie would be one tablespoon a day, with the rest of the diet made up of fresh food. Usually around a thumbnail amount.

If your bird was not weaned onto pellets but onto a seed-based diet you can accustom her to the change by gradually substituting the food she’s currently eating with the food you want her to eat. It can be done with patience.

If you are feeding seeds, and don’t wish to switch, you can provide sprouts and seeds for 40-60% of her diet and a varied selection of fresh foods for the rest.

What seeds can budgies eat?

Most budgie owners buy a ready-made seed mix to feed their birds, which is fine as long as you are sure the seeds are fresh as they have a limited shelf life. Once past their sell by date the food has little nutritional value.

It’s easy to test if seeds are fresh. Soak some seeds overnight. Rinse and drain them and spread out on wet cotton wool or kitchen paper and keep them warm for 24 hours.

If less than 50% of the seeds start to sprout throw them away. At least 90% of good seeds will sprout.

Seeds can make up between 40-60% of your budgies diet, with fresh vegetables and fruit being the rest

Grass seeds for Budgies

Grass and grains are in the same category and make up 50% of your birds intake. They are the budgie’s staple food in the wild.

If you have a garden or access to open spaces here are some grasses that you can forage for free and feed the budgies.

Your budgie will pick out the seeds from the grass you give her.

  • Annual meadow-grass (Poa annua)
  • Meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis)
  • Orchard grass, aka cock’s-foot grass (Dactylis glomerata)
  • Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
  • Poverty brome, aka barren or sterile brome (Bromus sterilis)
  • Rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis)
  • Soft brome, or soft chess (Bromus hordeaceus)
  • Velvet grass (Holcus lanatus)
  • Timothy grass (Phleum pratense)
  • Yorkshire Grass, aka Meadow soft grass, velvet grass or tufted grass (Holcus lanatus)

Budgie grains

You can feed your budgie these grains: Amaranth, barley, buckwheat (whole), canary seed, oats, quinoa, rye, sweetcorn kernels and wheat.

Budgie herb seeds

Herb-derived seeds can form a quarter of a good seed mix. You can store herbs in sealed jars and give a varied selection of the following: Alfalfa, cabbage, chia, clover, dill, fennel, fenugreek, kale, mustard (yellow, red and black), radish, red clover, groundsel and coriander leaves. 

Budgie seeds that are high in fat

Parrots love many seeds that are bad for them. The following seeds need to be used sparingly because of their high fat content: Sunflower, flax, hemp, millet, niger, pumpkin (soaked and allowed to germinate first), rapeseed and sesame.

Millet, hemp, niger and rape are actually grains but they’re included here due to their high fat content.

Budgies in particular - like Galahs or some Amazons - can become obese and this shortens their life spans.

Budgie legumes

Peas and beans are high protein foods. They can be detrimental if fed in too large amounts as they can be a trigger for hormonal behaviour. If you use one or two sprouted legumes in a homemade seed mix that should be fine.

These are suitable for budgies but do not ever feed raw:

  • Chickpeas
  • Black-eyed peas
  • Green peas
  • Lentils (yellow, green, black NOT split)
  • Mung beans
  • Yellow peas

What is the best source of calcium for budgies?

Cuttlefish bones are the best source of calcium under normal circumstances. Parrots love to gnaw on the cuttlefish bone and it provides a great deal of enjoyment – far more than a couple of drops of calcium added to water or moist food.

If your birds are breeding you may need to use additional calcium in the form of supplements, although you always need to be careful not to over feed vitamins and minerals.

Budgies and drinking water

Many carers prefer bottled water. Also, the addition of a few drops of cider vinegar is a choice for many. The most important consideration is providing fresh water daily and more often in hot weather or aviary conditions. 

Budgies - mealworms, chicken and egg

If you want to add an occasional treat some budgies adore dried or live mealworms. Although with a pelleted diet a budgie will be getting enough protein.

Also an occasional bite of hard-boiled eggs or a fragment of chicken or meat can be offered one or twice a week. Remember that small amounts should be given.

What do baby budgies eat?

Here’s a suitable recipe from the excellent Omlet website. You would not need it in everyday care but it’s helpful for young birds, breeding birds, moulting birds and unwell birds.

  • 1 egg, with shell
  • 1 tbsp cooked brown rice
  • 1 tsp millet
  • 1 tbsp crushed budgie pellets OR milled, mixed seeds
  • 2 tbsp mixed chopped and grated fruit and veg

Boil the egg for 15 minutes, remove the shell and grind it up. Finely chop the egg and mix all the ingredients together and serve cold.

The fruit isn’t essential, but some budgies take more readily to the mix if it has that sweet kick.

Never be tempted to add honey or other sweeteners, though; and don’t be tempted by recipes that suggest a boiled egg and a couple of digestive sweet biscuits can do the trick.

No biscuits sold for human consumption are suitable for budgies, due to their added sugar, salt and fat. 

What to feed budgies when breeding

If your budgies are in breeding mode, both parents need adequate calcium.

The hen needs more than the cockbird and to absorb calcium from cuttlefish or grits the birds need exposure to sunlight.

If your budgies are kept wholly indoors then a liquid or powdered form which also contains Vitamin D3 can be sprinkled over soft food and seed. Using calcium products in moderation does not have adverse effects.

You can also feed the recipe from the Omlet website that’s explained above.

If you're planning on breeding your budgies, the diet is more specialised that we’ve discussed here.

How much should you feed a budgie?

A reasonable amount for a budgie would be 15 or 16 grams of food and 3 or 4 grams of treat items like nuts, sunflower seeds or a piece of human food.

Individual birds just like individual humans vary in their food needs and preferences. If your bird has sufficient exercise and you like to err of the generous side, as long as the dish is emptied the budgerigar will remain healthy.

How often should you feed a budgie?

First option: The day’s food is put in bowl and left all day. Treats are given during day during in training sessions or out of cage time.

Second option: The food is divided into two and fed twice a day – you should take the morning bowl away after 15-30 minutes.

This can be advantageous in hot weather when fresh food can spoil. Feed fresh in the morning and dry in the afternoon.

Hygiene is essential so never put fresh food on top of stale food. Garden birds will finish off what our house birds leave.

Can two pairs of budgies live together?

The trend now is to keep birds in pairs which makes their lives more enjoyable when they have to be left alone and enable them to realise more natural behaviours when they are with other birds.

Birds prefer to be with their own species but will make friends with other species.

Exercise

How much exercise your budgie gets is a key factor in how much food she needs. I believe cages for small birds are often too small.

Certainly, if you have tame budgies watching them flit across rooms or aviaries and with training land on your hand is a delight you will never tire of.

How to sex a budgie

Visual sexing: Mature hens and mature cocks over 12 months show some physical differences.

The female is generally smaller with a smaller head. The cere, the little tuft of feathers over the beak is brown in a hen. In a cock bird its blue. A hen’s legs and feet will be tinged brown. While a cock bird’s will be tinged blue.

In juvenile birds these attributes have not yet appeared.

If you need to sex younger birds there are several reliable methods:

Feather testing can be done at your vets, or you can ask for a kit from the laboratory and pluck the feathers yourself and send them off. Instructions are clear and simple and I have used that method successfully for years.

A few drops of blood will also contain enough DNA for successful testing. If you feel competent enough you can get a kit to draw blood at home and send the lab the results.

Another method is testing the eggshell of just hatched chicks. When chicks hatch, they leave some DNA in the broken shards of eggshell.

If you can get some eggshell and are sure it has not been contaminated, the lab will test that.

Genetics laboratories now have the ability to determine the sex of a broad range of avian species and types. Being such a common pet, budgies are included on a list of testable bird breeds.

Did you know?

Wild budgerigars are ground feeding seed and grass feeders. Grains and grasses provide the bulk of their intake in the wild. They move in flocks often thousands in number and fly enormous distances in their native Australia.

Earthflight - Black Falcon and Budgerigars captures budgies in their massive flock in Australia.

And finally…

If you become fascinated with the species you will find a lot of interesting information in Cage and Aviary Birds, a weekly publication which lists all the bird shows and has a free For Sale and Wanted section.

The Budgerigar Society founded in 1925 deals with show birds but provides an excellent resource and information for any keen owner.

Homemade Baby Budgie Food, How and When?

Homemade Baby Budgie Food? We gathered the top 5 homemade baby budgie food recipes! For hand-feeding Babies!

Since forever budgies have been fed with different seeds. This has been the prevailing way of feeding them. We have to be careful when choosing their food because these birds, especially babies, depend on us most of the time.

As we know, the best type of food even for us is homemade. Stay tuned because in the next few pages we will talk about homemade baby budgie food.

Mother budgie not feeding the baby

Like every baby in the world, baby budgies need their mother too. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that female budgie stops feeding her babies for some reason. That’s where we come in.

Female budgie abandons their babies for different reasons. Either the baby is sick or the female budgie just stops feeding one of her babies but continues feeding her other babies. Also, one of the reasons mentioned is that if a baby budgie falls off the nest, mother budgie refuses to give its baby extra care. Maybe the mother cannot provide sufficient food for her babies and therefore, she abandons them.

In order to be prepared if this happens to you, we give you a guide you can follow to save your baby budgie. What you need are formula and a needleless syringe. The syringe needs to be sterilized so wash it with soap and water, and then boil it for some time.

First, you put the formula into the syringe and then start injecting the food slowly, every 15 seconds. You continue doing this until you notice the baby’s full. You need to put the syringe on one side of the baby’s beak. Mind you, do not use force, but be gentle! After the feeding, use a piece of cloth to clean the baby’s beak.

One more thing you can do in order to make your baby budgie feel happier and to fill the void of an absent mother is playing budgie sounds. This can make them feel better as if they are surrounded by their own kind. But if you notice that your baby budgie starts screaming or moving after you play budgie sounds, then turn off the sounds. All baby budgies are different and some of them cannot stand these sounds.

Female budgie may abandons their babies

How often do you hand feed baby budgies?

Now we come to the most important part. How often do you hand feed baby budgies and how much food do baby budgies need?


You should feed them 6 times a day, basically every 4 hours and once they are 5 weeks old, you can give them solid food. When it comes to solid food, baby budgies can eat fruits such as blueberries, cherries, bananas, grapes, strawberries, etc.

You can also notice if the baby’s hungry by observing when its crop becomes empty. When it’s full, it’s firm. This means that the usual advice to feed the baby every 4 hours does not have to apply to every baby. Don’t take this rule for granted but instead observe the baby and if the baby needs feeding every 2 hours, then do it. Some of the hunger symptoms are crying and moving as if the baby’s looking for food.

At 2 weeks old, babies need 2-4 ml of food each time you feed them. At 3 weeks old, they need 4-5 ml of food. At 4 weeks 5-7 ml. When it comes to a 3 week old and 5-week old baby budgie, it’s much easier.

How often do you hand feed baby budgies?

What to feed a baby budgie?

Now, you must be wondering what is the formula or rather what to feed a baby budgie? In order to make the formula, you can buy a powdered baby bird food mix in a pet store. Then, mix the food with boiling water and let it cool a little bit. And there you go Budgie owners, you have the baby budgie formula!

The food should contain vitamins and minerals necessary for baby budgie’s development and consequently, its survival. Be careful to follow the instructions on how to prepare the food. It cannot be too cold or too hot because it can be damaging to the baby.

But since our topic is homemade food, we’ll provide you with a list of ingredients you can use to make a homemade formula for your baby budgie. You can use cornmeal, ground oat, coconut oil, boiled egg, chia seeds, dried pumpkin, dried peas, brown rice, soy protein, etc. These ingredients and many others can be combined in order to make a formula. These ingredients can definitely replace the store product because they contain the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Now you must be wondering, how am I supposed to hold the baby? Well, it’s pretty simple. Put your hand around it gently and place it on the warm cloth. The warm cloth is important for the baby’s body temperature. While feeding the baby, hold it gently with your hand. In addition, you have to make sure that your budgie has access to fresh water, especially in the summertime!
If you notice any complications or if the babies acting weird and not eating, please contact your vet! The problems could be that the baby’s sick or you are not feeding it correctly and your vet can definitely help you.

How am I supposed to hold the baby Budgie?

Homemade baby budgie food recipe

You’ll agree with me when I say that now we come to the most interesting part. There are many food recipes out there, but we’ll give you just the very best! These are the top 5 homemade baby budgie food recipes!

Budgie Recipe with brown rice

The first recipe that can be prepared quickly and easily is the recipe that contains brown rice, dried peas, and dried sunflower seeds. This recipe is rich in vitamins such as B, A, and E that are good for the baby. Also, rice is rich in fiber and carbohydrates that are good for babies. There are false statements that rice is not good (Ranjan, 2021). Like human babies, you can notice if your baby budgie likes the recipe. If it doesn’t like the recipe, try some of the others we prepared for you. In order to make this formula, you need to put all the ingredients in a big bowl. Then, you need to blend them all together and you can use your blender for this. Afterward, boil the ingredients in a saucepan for three minutes in order to get a really nice texture. Finally, let it cool and it’s ready for your baby!

High-protein Budgie Recipe

The second recipe is probably much easier since you can find most ingredients in your kitchen. You need high-protein baby cereal, sunflower seeds, glucose powder, almonds, and cornmeal. You mix it all together, boil it and cool it off („How To Make Baby Parakeet Formula“, 2022). According to dr. Muscarella, a well-known researcher at Cornell University’s Veterinary Medical Center in New York, when it comes to choosing the right cereals, it is better if they are low-sugar (Chewy Editorial, 2014).

Budgie Recipe with nuts

The third recipe contains nuts, cereals, and peanut butter. You boil it shortly and it’s ready for hand feeding. Be sure that it’s not too hot („How To Make Baby Parakeet Formula“, 2022). You probably noticed that peanut butter is mentioned in the recipe. Budgies can eat the same peanut butter we eat and buy in our stores. It is just important to give them small portions of it (Kaufman, 2020).

Baby Budgie ready for some homemade recipes

Budgie Recipe with egg shell and brown rice

The fourth homemade baby budgie recipe includes one egg with its shell, cooked brown rice, mixed seeds, millet, and grinded mix of fruits and vegetables („How To Make Baby Parakeet Formula“, 2022). Eggs are rich in calcium that is good for young baby budgies. Fruits and vegetables are part of normal budgies’ diet and if their diet is balanced they don’t need any supplements. Millet is good for budgies but does not contain many nutrients. Therefore, it can be omitted from the recipe (Hess and Axelson, n.d.).

Budgie Recipe containing oats, chia seeds…

Last, but not least we have the fifth homemade budgie recipe. In order to make this recipe, you need to use ground oats, chia seeds, corn, and dried beetroot pulp („What Can I Feed My Baby Parakeet? 5 Homemade Baby Budgie Food Recipes“, 2022). When it comes to chia seeds, budgies can eat them. They are rich in calcium and proteins that are easily digested by budgies („Can birds eat chia seeds? Benefits, Serving, and What to avoid“, 2021).

As you can see, we talked about feeding baby budgies, and finally, we mentioned 5 homemade recipes that you can easily follow. Of course, there are many more available recipes.

If you want to do the best for your baby budgies, follow our pieces of advice. You can combine different seeds and fruits and vegetables. The most important thing is to be careful when choosing ingredients and the right dose.

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What to feed a budgerigar? - Sami with Mustache

Most people who have budgies for the first time start out feeding them only grains. But the diet of birds should be varied: you need to include fruits, vegetables and even branches in it.

The second common mistake when feeding a pet is to give him human food, such as cheese or bread.

What products can be included in the pet menu, and which ones can be abandoned forever, we will consider in this article.

Grain mixtures

Cereals are the basic food for birds. This is the easiest answer to the question of how to feed a new friend.

Grains normalize the work of the digestive tract. Make sure your pet has constant access to food.

You can buy grain mixture at the pet store or make your own. The food is available in transparent and opaque packages. The advantage of the former is that you see the composition and quality.

In the second case, it is worth buying from trusted manufacturers. Grains must be sold in vacuum bags.

The best option is to make your own mixture. Optimal ratio of grains (in percent):

  • yellow millet - 50;
  • red millet - 25;
  • white millet - 15;
  • shelled oats - 10.

It is necessary to monitor the state of the mixture. If she has grown old, mold has appeared or bugs have started, you can’t feed the parrot with this.

The healthiest fruits and vegetables for parrots

Budgerigars' favorite treats are fruits and vegetables. They contain vitamins, trace elements and fiber, which are necessary for birds. It is recommended to add these products to their menu all year round.

  • Cabbage. The main vegetable for a parrot in winter. It is stored for a long time, contains many useful trace elements. Give the leaves raw, without the stalk. Broccoli, white cabbage or Beijing cabbage are allowed.
  • Carrot. Cut into small pieces or rubbed on a grater. Use only fresh vegetables. Bird from carrots receives vitamin C and beta-carotene. You can mix carrots with other vegetables.
  • Cucumbers. Helps to better assimilate the rest of the products. Quench thirst, contain vitamins E, microelements.
  • Tomatoes. In the summer season, be sure to include them in the bird's diet. Tomatoes contain vitamin B, ascorbic acid. Give the pulp only ripe fresh fruits. Unripe tomatoes are contraindicated for birds.
  • Beets. Contains a large amount of antioxidants. It, like cabbage, is given raw all year round. In addition to saturating the bird's body with vitamin A and C, beets normalize digestion.

Zucchini is a storehouse of fiber. Be sure to give it raw. Helpful for proper bowel function.

From fruits and berries, you can give a feathered pet:

  • bananas,
  • apples,
  • pears,
  • peaches,
  • pineapples,
  • kiwi,
  • citrus fruits,
  • pomegranate,
  • cherry,
  • raspberries,
  • strawberries,
  • strawberries.

In summer, the parrot can be fed with melon and watermelon.

Fruits and berries must be peeled and pitted. Cut large fruits into pieces. In winter, fresh fruits are replaced by dried fruits, such as raisins or dates.

And now let's take a closer look at the vitamin and mineral composition of fruits:

  • Bananas are rich in potassium. This microelement is necessary for pets as well as people.
  • Apples contain many vitamins and enzymes useful for poultry. The use of these fruits normalizes the digestive system. It is advisable to give them every day.
  • Pear contains pectin, carbohydrates, iron and phosphorus. Thanks to it, the pet's body is saturated with minerals, energy, and the digestion process improves. When choosing, give preference to hard fruits.
  • Peaches improve digestion, contain copper and iron. These fruits are given to weakened birds to stimulate their appetite.
  • Pineapples strengthen the muscular and vascular systems. It is recommended to give in canned form.
  • Give kiwifruit to pets during beriberi (end of autumn, winter, beginning of spring). The fruit will strengthen the immune system and protect against diseases.
  • Pomegranates will ensure the healthy functioning of the budgie's cardiovascular system. The maximum daily allowance reaches 1/6 of the fruit. A few grains are enough for a bird.
  • Of the citrus fruits, oranges are recommended: they contain carbohydrates, fiber, and antioxidants. Like kiwi, a great immune boosting food.

It is worth refraining from persimmons, mangoes, papaya and avocados. What harm they bring to birds, we will understand further.


Herbs and greens

Some types of greens can harm the pet's body. Do not give him parsley, dill and green onions. It is strictly forbidden to feed the budgerigar with tomato tops.

Will bring benefits:

  • horse sorrel,
  • arugula,
  • celery,
  • plantain,
  • clover leaves.

Wild plants cannot be collected near the roadway.

Do not let the parrot peck at houseplants and bouquets - they are toxic to the bird.

Twigs of trees - how to give?

If you have had parrots before, you probably know how they love to “nibble” everything. Therefore, it is worth placing branches of fruit trees in a cage. They will be both a toy and food.

Choose trees away from roads, industrial areas. Check the branches for resin.

After pruning, the branches are soaked in water for 4 hours, washed and doused with boiling water. Branches of what plants can be given to a parrot?

  • apple trees,
  • birches,
  • willows,
  • rowan,
  • viburnum,
  • sea buckthorn,
  • hazel.

You can also cut a bush of currants, raspberries.

Kashi

Porridge will give the parrot the necessary minerals, normalize metabolism. When cooking, only water is used, without the addition of oil, salt, sugar. Do not use instant cereals.

Cook for your pet only from high-quality buckwheat, oatmeal, lentils, barley. Grains should be boiled for 10 minutes.

You can also give rice and wheat porridge. Their cooking time is 20 minutes.

Germinated sprouts

It is necessary to include sprouted grain in the diet of a parrot so that its body receives vitamins E and B2.

How to cook sprouts at home?

  1. Fill the bottom of a deep dish with grains, fill with water to cover them a little.
  2. Change fluid every 4 hours and rinse beans.
  3. After a few days, sprouts will appear. For a parrot, a shoot up to 2 mm in height is enough.
  4. The sprouts are dried before being given to the bird.

Before the first molt, small chicks are given 1 tsp. sprouts 2 times a week. Then once a month.

Mineral additives

The key to feeding a parrot is mineral supplements. For example, a bird will benefit from feed chalk saturated with calcium. You need to buy special chalk for birds, because intended for rodents can harm the health of a parrot. Other sources of minerals:

  • Combined mixtures. Those sold in pet stores contain a 70:30 ratio of shell rock to chalk. Manufacturers often add small amounts of eggshells and charcoal to them.
  • Stones. They come with iodine, iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. These elements are responsible for the health of the skeleton, endocrine glands.
  • Sepia (cuttlefish shell). Rich in Na, K, Mg, P, which protect the beak from deformation. Give preference to sepia white with a slight yellow tint.
  • Organic sand. Consists of crushed shells. Promotes the grinding of food in the goiter.
  • Chicken eggshell. Due to the content of potassium, it strengthens the skeleton, creates a protective layer of the shell when laying eggs
  • Birch charcoal. Storehouse of calcium and iron. It will be a detox for your pet.

Large solid minerals are attached to the bars of the cage, the mixture is poured into a plate.

Rehydration for parrot

Water is an essential element for all living things. When caring for a pet, make sure that the water in the drinking bowl is clean and fresh.

Change fluid every day. Its temperature should be 15-20 degrees. It is better to pour water in small portions.

However, water is not the only way for a parrot to replenish its water balance. There is another one - juicy fruits, vegetables and grass. He receives part of the necessary liquid from these products.

Periodically, to protect against a fungal infection, the parrot is given water with 2-3 drops of lemon vinegar or lemon juice. This amount is calculated for 100 ml of liquid.

Juices are useful for birds, but only cooked at home. From the list of allowed fruits and vegetables, prepare freshly squeezed juices. They can be diluted with water.

Natural products spoil quickly - make sure that the juice does not ferment, otherwise it will harm the pet.


Prohibited products for budgerigars

In some sections of the article, products that are prohibited for parrots have already been mentioned. In addition to them, you can not give your pet:

  • salt and sugar;
  • nuts of any kind;
  • seeds and stones of certain fruits and berries;
  • onion and garlic;
  • meat products, fish;
  • mushrooms;
  • coffee, tea;
  • dairy products;
  • soda;
  • alcohol;
  • chips, crackers and other fast food.

For chicks aged 3 to 4 months, a boiled egg and cottage cheese are added to the diet. After the first molt, these products are excluded.

The most dangerous foods for a budgerigar that can lead to his death are avocados, alcohol, chocolate and salt.

Let us consider in more detail why it is forbidden to give the rest of the products from the list.

Herbs such as dill and parsley are high in essential oils. These substances, toxic to the bird, eventually lead to disruption of the functioning of its internal organs.

Opinions differ on spinach. It contains a large amount of oxalate, which binds calcium and other trace elements. Because of this, useful substances are not absorbed, and oxalates are deposited in the form of kidney stones.

Spinach can be given to birds with healthy organs, but in a minimal amount. If in doubt whether your pet has kidney problems, refrain from these greens.

It is imperative to peel and pit fruits and berries: apple, pear, and cherry seeds contain cyanide, and pesticides accumulate in the skin of fruits.

Fresh onions and garlic can sometimes be given to your pet as a prophylaxis against parasites and fungi. But in small quantities. Excessive consumption of these vegetables will lead to hemolytic anemia, and subsequently to the death of the animal.

Coffee and tea contain caffeine, an overdose of which will cause a bird to have a heart attack. This is also the danger of energy and carbonated drinks.

If your parrot is sick, feels weak, it is permissible to give him weak tea: the drink will have a tonic effect.

Mushrooms cause indigestion, and some of their species - liver failure.

Finally, a few more restrictions:

  1. The nuts are too fatty.
  2. Sorrel causes kidney problems.
  3. Mango and papaya are supplied unripe and therefore contain toxic substances.

The body of a parrot is designed to digest grains, tree bark, fruits and berries. If your pet gets all this, he will be healthy and cheerful.

How to feed a budgerigar at home?

Contents

one Corn 2 Vegetables 3 Greens four Fruit

4 minutes

estimated reading time

Budgerigars are amazingly beautiful birds that are unpretentious and do not require complex care. The most important thing is to organize the right diet, because their health will depend on it!

What to feed budgerigars? The choice of "dishes" for the pet is varied. They love vegetables, fruits and herbs, but grains are the basis of the diet.

  • Grain

Almost any pet store sells special grain mixes for parrots. It is better to choose food in transparent packaging, so you can evaluate the quality. And from opaque packages, you need to choose those in which the grains are stored in a vacuum (without air and other gases). Otherwise, be prepared for the fact that the products may not be of the best quality or even moldy.

If you want to combine food yourself, use only high-quality millet and oats. Grains are the basic food for birds, they determine the proper functioning of the digestive system, so the pet should always have access to them. The following ratio is recommended:

  • yellow millet - 50%;
  • red - 25%;
  • white - 15%;
  • oats (peeled) - 10%.

In the process of determining what to feed a budgerigar at home, one must remember that sprouted grain must be included in the diet: it contains useful vitamins E and B2. You can easily cook it yourself. To do this, put the grains on the bottom of the container (in one layer) and pour warm water so that it covers the grains a little. It will be great if you can renew the liquid in the container and rinse the grain every four hours. After a couple of days, sprouts will be visible, they will be tiny - only 2 mm in length, but it is at this stage that the grains are most useful for parrots. Rinse and dry before feeding.

Make sure that they do not become moldy and do not overgrow, as such sprouts lose their valuable properties.

What else can you feed a budgerigar? First of all, these are vegetables, fruits and herbs. Often young birds are wary of such food, but if you cut vegetables and fruits into small pieces or pass them through a grater, your pet will definitely appreciate them!

Before feeding, be sure to rinse the fruits and greens with running water!

  • Vegetables

Parrots love them very much, and still: it is tasty and healthy! They contain many vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, so you should include such foods in your diet throughout the year.

Vegetables such as carrots, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, zucchini, etc. will be useful for your pet. You can also feed parrots with turnips and various types of cabbage, but first you need to pour boiling water over them.

  • Greenery

Do not feed dill, green onions, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. to birds - these greens are harmful to them!

When you are planning the best food for your budgerigar, be careful with the parsley. It only works in small quantities. But horse sorrel, arugula, celery (not roots), tops of carrots and radishes can and should be included in the diet! In the summer, pamper the birds with strawberries (both berries and leaves will go with a bang), plantain, clover leaves and flowers, etc. Plants for feeding a parrot should be collected away from roads and factories, in areas with clean healthy soil.

Spinach can also be added to the diet, but not much, and if the bird does not have kidney pathology.

If your house has indoor plants or flowers in bouquets, do not let the parrot eat them: they are dangerous!

So that the pet does not lack greenery during the winter months, you can grow cereals and vegetables at home right on the windowsill. It's easy and the benefits are huge!

  • Fruit

Among other things, feed budgerigars at home should be fruits and berries. It is recommended to include in the diet bananas, apples and pears (the seeds and the core must first be removed), peaches, pineapples, kiwi, peeled oranges, tangerines and lemons, as well as some grapes. Of the berries, pitted cherries, raspberries, strawberries, strawberries will be useful. You can also feed melon and watermelon to your pets, but it is better in the summer season.

In the winter months, include dried fruits in the parrot's diet: raisins, dried apricots (steamed), dates, etc., as well as frozen berries, for example, lingonberries and blueberries are useful.

You can not feed the birds persimmons, mangoes, papaya, avocados, as well as any nuts!

You can already see how varied the diet is, but that's not all! They will be happy to taste porridge, boiled or steamed in boiling water. It should be cooked only on water, you can not add oil, salt and sugar. Use only high-quality cereals, and never feed your parrot instant porridge, which contains additives that are harmful to birds.

The last key point on the question of what you can feed budgerigars is mineral supplements, which should always be freely available in the pet's cage. So what is it like and what is its use? For example, chalk saturates the body with calcium, mineral stones containing iodine and seaweed provide useful trace elements, sepia is used by parrots to sharpen their beaks, organic sand allows you to control the state of the digestive system (it should be given no more than once a week), etc.

Choose only special quality top dressings and in no case use inorganic sand, this will harm the bird!

Ready-made quality balanced food for budgerigars is another way to organize the ideal diet.

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