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Homemade baby budgie food


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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.

What Can I Feed My Baby Parakeet? 5 Homemade Baby Budgie Food Recipes – My Pet Parakeet

Your baby is growing up! They're no longer a tiny newborn parakeet but are now an adolescent parakeet that needs to be fed.

Feeding your little feathered friend can be a daunting task, and there are many things you need to know about what they should eat.

In this blog post, we will discuss 5 homemade baby parakeet food recipes with step-by-step instructions. These recipes provide healthy nutrition without any dangerous chemicals or artificial flavors in them.

You'll also find out what types of foods baby parakeets can't eat and how much each recipe feeds!

You can feed any of these recipes to your newborn parakeets from day one to weaning if, for whatever reason, the mother parakeet is unable to feed and nurture them.

Table Of Contents

  1. 5 Homemade Baby Parakeet Food Recipes
  2. How To Prepare The Formula (Step-by-Step Guide)
  3. How To Feed The Formula To Your Baby Parakeet
  4. How To Preserve The Formula
  5. FAQ
  6. Don't Forget Your Pet Parakeet Must-Haves!

5 Homemade Baby Parakeet Food Recipes

The following recipes are hand-feeding formulas that can be fed to your baby parakeet from the time it is hatched from the egg until it is time to wean and eat a regular diet of seeds and pellets.

  • Check this post out to learn more about caring for baby budgies when their mother cannot!

These homemade formulas will help your baby parakeet to grow quicker and wean sooner, in addition to developing a brighter, fuller plumage.

We tend to gauge the measurements by eye when it comes to the dry ingredients such as ground oats and ground wheat, as you will find yourself adjusting the recipe based on what you have in your pantry and what your bird prefers. 

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As long as you include good, whole sources of protein and fats and stay away from foods your bird shouldn't eat, your parakeet will be happy!

Baby parakeets require a high-protein diet and their stomachs are relatively small which requires them to eat small amounts of food at each meal.

1) Cornmeal, Ground Oat, Boiled Egg (whole), Coconut Oil

Cornmeal is a good source of protein, calcium, and Vitamins B & E. Ground oats provide fiber as well as minerals iron, copper, and zinc.

Boiled eggs have a lot more nutrients than raw eggs, which are difficult to digest when eaten by baby birds who do not produce the proper enzymes needed to break down such food items quickly.

2) Ground Oats, Chia Seeds, Ground Corn, Dried Beetroot pulp

In this recipe, the ground oats provide a source of protein, calcium, and Vitamins B & E.

Chia seeds provide fiber as well as minerals iron, copper, and zinc.

Ground corn is rich in antioxidants and dietary fibers, while beetroot provides Vitamin A, which leads to a vibrant bright color of your baby parakeet's plumage by providing beta-carotene.

3) Ground Wheat, Egg Protein Powder, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Pumpkin

In this recipe, the pumpkin provides a source of Vitamins A, C, and E.

Flaxseed is rich in Omega- fatty acids while wheat provides a good amount of protein and fiber.

Egg Protein Powder contains all the essential vitamins and minerals for baby parakeets that are not able to be found from other ingredients listed in this recipe, as well as beta-carotene.

4) Ground Brown Rice (or Arrowroot Powder) , Dried Peas, Dried/Ground Sunflower Seeds

This recipe contains rice which is naturally enriched with Vitamin B.

The peas provide a source of protein and fiber, while the whole wheat flour provides Vitamins A and E as well as zinc for your baby parakeet's feather coloration.

Some birds do not like rice, so if you find that this is the case, for any recipe with ground brown rice listed, try replacing it with arrowroot powder).

5) Ground Oats, Ground Brown Rice (or Arrowroot Powder), Soy Protein, Flaxseed

This recipe contains oats that are naturally rich in Vitamin E. The brown rice provides a source of Vitamins A and B as well as zinc, while the soy protein is enriched with all eight essential amino acids.

The flaxseeds contain omega-fatty acids, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and phytoestrogens.

How To Prepare The Formula (Step-by-Step Guide)

We recommend that you only use one of these at a time and see how your baby parakeet likes them.

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Place them in a high-speed blender for 30-60 seconds until you have a smooth (not thick and sticky) consistency.
  3. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil with constant stirring for three minutes.
  4. Add more water if/when needed to maintain a thick liquid consistency.
  5. Remove from heat and let cool until the mixture is lukewarm but not cold.
  6. Feed your baby bird!

We also recommend adding some bird vitamin drops to your homemade formula for a vitamin boost. This should be added to the individual feed and not the entire batch, so you can manage how much you are giving your parakeet at any given feed.

If you have quite a busy schedule, it can be quite time-consuming to make your own baby bird feed. No worries, we've got you covered. This high-fat, nutrient-dense hand-feed formula will do just as well.

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How To Feed The Formula To Your Baby Parakeet

You will need baby bird feeding syringes to feed formula to your baby bird. This is the “least messy” way to feed them. The tip of these syringes curves to allow easy feeding into your bird's beak.

You can also use a baby spoon, but it will be more difficult to get the food into their tiny beaks.

How To Preserve The Formula

If you have used any wet ingredients, you will need to freeze the formula. We recommend freezing it in an icecube tray so you can separate and defrost smaller portions.

If you wish to preserve the formula as a powder instead, replace the wet ingredients with a dried variety (or dry them yourself).

Combine the ingredients and place them in a blender for 30-60 seconds (or until they become a fine powder.)

Store them in an airtight container until needed.

Once you have the blended powder formula in a container, you simply take out a few teaspoons at feeding time and blend with boiled water. Let it cool, or add cool boiled water before feeding your baby bird.

FAQ

Can Baby Parakeets Eat Baby Food?

No. Baby parakeets, regardless of age, require a high-protein diet. Baby parakeets are relatively small, and their smaller stomach requires that they eat small amounts of food at each meal.

Seeds and pellets should make up the bulk of a baby parakeet's diet, supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables every day (in appropriate portions). 

The problems seen in captivity documented by avian veterinarians include stunted growth of the body organs internally as well as halted growth on the outside. When these birds are fed foods that are not natural to them, they may not grow properly and exhibit behavioral disorders.

Do Baby Parakeets Need To Be Hand-Fed?

Newborn parakeets who do not have their mother to feed them do need to be hand-fed their formula.

This is just to ensure that they are getting the nutrients and energy that their bodies need to grow. It can be quite difficult for a tiny, developing bird to get the formula into its mouth and consume enough of it to grow.

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Feeding it formula through a syringe directly into its beak is the best way until they begin to wean, and you can put a thicker formula mixed with small pellets on a surface or in a dish.

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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 this greenery.

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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