Home/Science & Technology/Zoology

Question/Subject:

Budgie jregner asked this question on 6/4/2002: I am looking into getting a bird. So far, the one that seems best suited for my lifestyle/preferences would be a budgie. Is there anything specific I should know before getting one? I will probably attempt to train him a little bit to build a vocabulary he is capable of learning. Should I get more than 1? I have also read that teflon based cookware is a harm for the bird. Is this just when the bird is out of the cage and in the same room as the cooking? I use calphalon and I am not sure if that has a teflon base. Any thoughts? Also, are there any other common everyday items that pose a health threat to the bird? I have managed to find some info on the web, just nothing very extensive. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

beainsc gave this response on 6/4/2002: If you get more than one Budgie (Budgerigar), they will most likely not attempt to copy you, i.e. they will not learn to speak, as they have each other and will basically chit-chat among themselves. Also: the MALES are more likely to pick up words from you (if they do not have a mate other than you). Do not keep the bird cage in the kitchen.. fumes and grease will harm the bird (apart from teflon). Make sure that you get a RINGED bird from a reputable breeder, to ensure the bird is healthy. Buying a Healthy Budgerigar =========================== During the course of research work at the University of Liverpool, sponsored by the Lancashire, Cheshire and North Wales Budgerigar Society, it has become obvious that many outbreaks of disease in aviaries are started by buying diseased and unhealthy stock. Many fanciers, when obtaining new out-crosses to improve their studs have in mind the defects in their own birds and the features they want to introduce, but take no regard of the health status of the stud and the healthiness of their proposed purchases. Buying a sick or ill bird is dangerous as, not only can years of work be wiped out but also, with a few diseases, the fancier's own health may be placed in jeopardy. Assessing the health of the selling stud and individual birds will not totally eliminate the risk from purchased birds as some carry disease without showing symptoms, but it will certainly help. Quarantining purchased birds outside the main birdroom for 3 weeks will also help as the stress of movement, the new environment and quite possibly a change of water and food will often trigger illness in these carriers of disease, so that they can be treated or disposed of without placing the birds in the main room in peril Quarantined birds should be attended to, fed and watered after you have finished your chores in the main bird room. Health assessment of a stud starts before you get to the bird room. As you are walking down the garden path, listen for the amount of noise from the birdroom, healthy budgerigars make a lot of noise, a quiet bird room is a danger-sign. When you, as a stranger, enter the bird room the birds will be quiet for a few minutes and a little while can be spent chatting to the owner while the birds become used to your presence and the noise starts up again. Budgerigars are active birds, when you enter the bird room they may stop what they are doing, and eye you up with their heads cocked to one side, but their activity should soon resume. If there is not much activity and the birds remain quiet make your excuses and buy elsewhere. If the noise and movement appear satisfactory cast your eye over the seed bowls do they contain seed and husk or has the food been ground to a powder, indicating a digestive problem? Look at the floor of the flights or cages, are the droppings the normal black and white and dry or are they wet, sloppy and an abnormal colour? Look at the birds, are they bright-eyed, their feathers groomed and lying properly and the feathers round the vent free from soiling? If more than a very occasional bird is affected in this way go elsewhere for your out-crosses. Only when you have decided that the stud is healthy, (and a surprising number are not) should you start looking at individual birds. Having discussed with the vendor the types of birds you are looking for and having picked out a few likely ones he will probably present these to you in show cages for you to make your choice. Are these birds an overall normal shape? How do they behave? Are they bright, alert and upright on the perch or are they skulking on the floor half hidden by the bottom of the cage front? The latter are very probably highly stress-susceptible and are best avoided. A healthy bird will watch what is going on and you can judge this by the way it will turn its head so that one eye is pointing directly at anything moving in its field of view. Some birds are blind in one eye these will always look at you with the same eye, move the bird around the cage with a judging stick to check that it can watch you with both eyes. While looking at the eyes, are they bright and clear? Any sign of redness around the eyes, matting or loss of feathers around the eye and any swelling in this part of the head are signs of disease. You should also check the beak and cere, avoid hens where the cere has grown into a little brown horn and of both sexes in which the cere is not good blue or brown (except in lutinos and albinos where the cere colour is different. Also have a good look at the cere and beak for any sign of scaly-face. Have a look at the bird's feet and legs - does it put its weight equally on both legs or does it hold one off the perch or out to one side; does it grip the perch properly with two toes in front and two behind? Look closely at the feet and lower part of the legs for signs of scaly-face as this part of the bird can also be affected. Also examine the toes for smell pin-head sized swellings - these are a sure sign of kidney problems. How does the bird hold its feathers, all fluffed up or in the normal way which gives a smooth outline to the body? Are the individual feathers of normal shape and more important, are they all there? Missing flights and tail feathers sometimes never re-grow. Are the undersides of the tail feathers clean or covered with droppings of either the black or white variety? The latter ran be a sign of severe internal problems. Are the feathers around the beak on the "chin" and on the top of the head clean or are they matted with vomit? This is not always easy to see, feeling the feathers is often better. While the birds are being shown to you may pass droppings, are these normal or not? Having picked out two or three birds that you are interested in, get hold of them and handle them. Are they of normal weight, too thin (with a prominent keel bone) or too fat (large masses of fat at front and back of the keel bone, easily felt). Is the crop full or empty? Has the bird got a hernia (prolapse), a swelling in the vent region? Consider the bird's age, old hens in particular may take a long time to settle into their new home and may never breed. If the fancier is reluctant to let you handle the birds don't buy. Don't be pressurised by the selling fancier and don't rush in to buy a bird with features you want without assessing the health of the stud and the individual birds put up for sale. If in doubt don't buy, there are fanciers elsewhere with equally good and healthy, birds. Controlled feeding system : It is most important to recognise that Pro-System provides a balanced diet, and additional feeding of supplements is both unnecessary and undesirable. The author is always willing to discuss matters of feeding with fanciers who may have a favourite nutrient. To give some ideas of the straightforward nature of the diet, the main breeding trials were carried out using the following menu: Menu Category Amount : Plain Canary seed 50% White Millet 25% Yellow Millet 7.5% Panicum Millet 7.5% Japanese Millet 7.5% Niger 2.5% Mineralised grit with oystershell Available at all times Pro-mineral Supplement Available at all times Vitamin Supplement Solution: 1 tablet to 1.5 litres water (renewed daily).This liquid is used to supply the drinking water for the birds. A fresh solution is made up of each day and drinkers are cleaned and replenished with fresh solution each day, as a matter of good hygiene. It is also important as a general principle to ensure that all utensils and equipment such as nest-boxes are kept in a high state of cleanliness. Where practicable, boiling for several minutes in a suitable disinfectant solution is desirable. Some observations made during the course of the trials are particularly noteworthy. Levels of fertility and hatching rate were excellent, this even applied to older hens whose age ranged from four to seven years. Several very obese birds which had been acquired, were placed in the main flight, where Pro-Mineral and Pro-Vitamins were available. The majority of these birds slimmed down, became active fliers and returned to breeding. The occurrence of adult birds failing to feed their chicks was almost eliminated. Excessive swelling of breeding hens was not encountered, even on leaving the nesting-box in the morning, hens appeared to be comfortable and passed firm fæces. The fæces from the breeding hens during egg-laying and incubation, were small, firm and free from objectionable odours. All nest-boxes were completely dry during egg-laying, sitting and rearing of chicks. This in itself is a very important feature, since it does not encourage the multiplication of bacteria. Within minutes of introducing the birds to the feeders containing Pro-mineral, they were sampling it with obvious enjoyment. Earlier observations and calculations with regard to consumption of cuttlefish, had created a puzzle, since the amount consumed was far in excess of what should be required for egg-laying needs. After the introduction of Pro-mineral it was clear that the birds had been consuming the cuttlefish for the trace mineral requirements and, in doing so, had been taking in an excess of the main minerals in the cuttlefish. As mentioned above, one feature of this system is that it makes it possible for the birds to live on a diet closer to that of their original desert habitat. The dry droppings are part of their natural water conservation and are a sign of normality. A good additional supplement to give to breeding birds is Whole Groats soaked in Cod-liver Oil and allowed to soak prior to feeding, for 24 hours. Give 1 oz per pair per day only. Rate of usage: to 1000 g Groats add 4000 I.Us Vit A (the ratio of vit A to vit D should be 10:1). The above has been added in order that those who use this may check the ratio of A to D on the particular brand of Cod-liver Oil they use as this can vary widely. A possibly interesting diagnostic feature may arise from the state of the droppings, since during the extended period of the trials, only two birds continued, for a period, to have wet droppings. This was diagnosed as due to a small infection of Trichomonas, though it had not reached the point of causing "reaching" which is normally associated with this problem. It may be that having established dry droppings as the normal, a deviation can be taken as a warning to examine the bird closely. Housing Your Budgerigar: Pet budgerigars need the shelter and protection of a good cage. As a natural flying creature, birds must be housed so that they can do just that. Budgerigars should be provided with all the room possible, and in a group situation that means an aviary. There are a great many aviaries of varying designs on the market or you may prefer to construct your own. Aviaries must be located so that they do not receive driving rain or hot midday sun - in the southern hemisphere the best position is facing North. Metal aviaries may become very hot in the summer and it is best to provide some means of insulation. Budgerigars are natural chewers and if the aviary is constructed of wood it is necessary to check regularly for weaknesses and repair where necessary. Budgerigars are very inquisitive creatures and will thoroughly investigate their cage for any potential weakness. When a budgerigar is kept as a solitary pet the size of the cage becomes a major concern. The minimal space in which they can be successfully kept is one which allows them to fly easily from perch to perch. Cages made of cane are not safe for budgerigars as they quickly chew their way to freedom. As a member of the parrot family, the budgerigar likes to climb and a wire cage should have some horizontal wire bars to allow this. Budgerigars are also entertained by bird toys, ladders, bells, mirrors etc but not so many that the cage is cluttered and the birds ability to fly is restricted. Toys should not have small, narrow gaps where the bird can get its feet trapped. Buy a cage with a secure latch as budgerigars often learn to open their cage door! Perches should be either small branches or natural hard wood dowels to give your budgie a good grip and help to keep his claws and beak trim. Perfectly smooth perches of all the same diameter should be avoided because they can cause feet and joint problems. Perches should never be positioned above food or water dishes so as to avoide contamination from droppings. The best feeding containers are made of hard plastic, which are easy to keep clean. The cage should have a slide-out tray in the bottom to make cleaning easy. The floor should be covered with a sand sheet, or sheets of newspaper. Never used paper with coloured newsprint as it is often toxic. Where am I going to put the cage? Budgerigars are very greagrious and enjoy the company of humans. For this reason a family or rumpus room is an ideal location for the cage. Avoid kitchen areas as cooking fumes from overheated nonstick cookware is toxic. Budgerigars require a constant room temperature. Rapid and extreme changes of temperature must be avoided as these can be fatal. Your budgerigar's cage should be placed in a draught free area. Air conditioned rooms are acceptable so long as the bird is kept away from direct airflow. More on: What to look for when buying a budgerigar If buying a budgerigar for a pet the main requirement is that it is healthy. It should have closely fitting feathers, a bright, clear eye and no scaly growths around the eyes, cere, or legs and feet. The area under the tail (vent) should be clean. Sick birds will often have their feathers "fluffed up" and the breathing may be laboured or rapid. Healthy budgerigars are alert, active and interested in their surroundings and companions. Be wary of birds which appear sleepy or lethargic when other birds around them are not. There are a number of diseases and afflictions which can affect budgerigars and if you suspect that your bird is unwell you should seek veterinary assistance immediately as birds often do not show signs of illness until they are almost at the point of no recovery. Many budgerigars become quite tame and also are excellent talkers. To hand tame a budgie or teach it to talk it is necessary to obtain one while it is very young - preferably straight out of the nest. It is generally believed that cock (male) birds make better pets. How to tell the age and sex of a budgerigar In the adult, the cock bird has a blue cere (fleshy part above the beak) and the hen has a brown cere. The colours deepen during the breeding season. The young birds all have a somewhat similar mauve shade, as do certain coloured adults outside the breeding season. Young birds which have "barring" on the head will have the barring continuing almost down to the cere and are called "unbroken caps" while the adult birds will have a white "cap" between the barring and the cere. In adult birds the eye will have a white ring and a black pupil while the baby birds have a black eye without the white ring. An experienced breeder can usually accurately assess the sex of young birds. If a bird is bred by a breeder it will have a closed ring on its leg. These rings are provided by the Budgerigar clubs and are placed on the baby bird when it is a few days old. They cannot be removed nor can they be put on older birds.Each ring will be engraved with a number which identifies the breeder, and also the individual bird and the year it was born. The colour of the ring issued is changed every year so that the age of a bird may be identified from a reasonable distance. Feeding your Budgerigar: Budgerigars are quite economical pets to feed. They will do best on a commercial Budgerigar mix, eating approximately 2-3 teaspoons of seed Different species of birds eat different types of seed and seed mixes for canaries or wild birds are not suitable for Budgies. Budgerigars crack the seed, eat the kernel, and leave the husk. Often the husk is left in the seed bowl giving the impression that the bird still has a seed supply. Always remove the husks daily and top up the seed. Fresh fruit and vegetables help provide the budgerigar with variety in its diet - apple, brocolli, green leafy vegetables (no cabbage or lettuce) are ideal. You can also supply a mixture of sprouted seeds by taking half a cup of your budgerigar seed mix and soaking it in fresh water overnight, then pouring the seeds and water onto folded absorbent kitchen paper towels. Within two or three days you will have a nutritious mixture of sprouted seeds. Remove all uneaten sprouted seeds, fruit and vegetables daily as old fruit or vegetables can make the bird ill. Cuttlefish bone is excellent for keeping the birds beak trim, and is a welcomed treat. Only feed cuttlefish bone bought from a pet store or supermarket as this guarantees that it has been throughly cleaned. Budgerigars should not be fed biscuit or cake as they make the budgerigar fat. Budgerigars are not big drinkers but fresh clean water in clean containers must be available at all times. Budgerigars tend to dirty their water so regular care must be taken to renew the supply. Hand taming your Budgergiar !!! ============================ Taming a budgerigar is easy and a very rewarding activity. Initially only one person should begin taming the bird. This person should be alone with the bird to avoid confusion which will stress the bird. To tame the bird, begin by placing your hand in the cage without trying to touch the bird. Talk in a calming tone to the bird and be careful not to frighten it. Once the bird has accepted a hand in the cage without flying about the cage, you may slowly move your hand closer to the bird. Eventually you will be able to get your hand close to the bird. When you have reached this stage put your index finger against the birds breast just in front of the legs and press very gently at the same time saying "up". The bird will step onto your finger. Do not attempt to take the bird out of the cage until it is stepping up on command. Should I let my Budgerigar out of its cage Before letting your budgerigar out of its cage you should have the bird to the stage where it will readily step up on to your finger. Birds often panic when let loose so there are a few precautions to take: Make sure that all door and windows are shut. Cover mirrors and windows to prevent the bird from flying into them. It must never be out of the cage if a fan is operating, a fire is lit, a pot is cooking on the stove, dogs and cats are in the house. Some budgerigars are reluctant to come out of the cage but if he will sit on your finger in the cage, you can gradually and gently move him out. Be prepared for the bird to take fright and fly to a high area. Never chase or grab the bird. Give it time to settle and then try to get it to step up onto your finger if you can reach it. Teaching your Budgerigar to talk !!!!! ================================ Many varieties of parrot have the ability to mimic human speech and budgerigars are among the best talkers. Young birds learn to talk quicker than older birds, as do solitary birds. Start off with a simple phrase or the birds name and repeat it everytime you pass by the cage. It helps to have a "school" time where the bird sits quietly on your finger and you repeat the phrase over and over for ten minutes. Do not teach the bird a new phrase until it has fully mastered the first one. Most budgerigars easily learn a vocabulary of up to 20 words, but the record is held by a bird who knew over 1000 words! Why you might consider owning a Budgerigar Pet budgerigars make cheerful companions.They have lots of character and personality and are easy to train. Budgerigars are hardy pets: they are an ideal first bird for young children because they are easy to care for. Owning a budgie can teach children a sense of responsibility, and they will be rewarded with amusing antics, interaction, chattering and even talking. A Budgerigar also makes a bright, pleasant companion for an older person, or people in flats or units who may be unable to keep a larger pet. Things to consider before buying a bird Keeping a bird healthy in captivity requires serious consideration of its accomodation and environment. It is not at all difficult to provide a proper situation for most birds but their requirements must be thoroughly understood. Both the physical and psychological needs of a budgerigar must be met if it is to be kept healthy and comfortable. Budgerigars are unable to fend for themselves. Pet birds are quite different to wild birds. Selective breeding of Budgerigars has changed their size, shape and colour. A cage-bred budgerigar is unable to survive in the wild. Budgerigars enjoy the company of man and are dependent on their owners for food, protection and shelter. Because of a lack of understanding of proper care, many budgerigars die needlessly in the first few months of purchase. ENJOY YOUR NEW COMPANION !!!! You can find valuable info here:http://www.budgerigarworld.com/

Back to FAQS

Back to beainsc's FAQS