One of the things you need to consider before getting a new pet is their care needs. Budgies are the most popular pet birds because they’re small, friendly, and not as noisy as other bird species.
Budgies are low maintenance compared to other parrot species. However, they’re energetic birds that require a lot of activity to stay healthy and mentally stimulated.
Provided with enough toys, budgies can occupy themselves for hours, but they still need regular out-of-cage bonding time with their owners.
Budgies are exotic pets that have specific care needs. Without the right diet, stimulation, and environment, they experience behavioral problems and illnesses.
Once you understand how to keep budgies happy and healthy, they’re easy to care for in captivity.
Are Budgies Easy To Take Care Of?
Budgies are easier to take care of than other parrot species for the following reasons:
- Easy to train
- Less destructive
- Entertain themselves
- Less messy
- Easy to mentally stimulate
- Get along with humans easily
- Make less noise than other birds
- Have a weak bite
Budgies make great family pets because they’re docile and friendly. You don’t have to worry about your budgie attacking a visitor, although they can become jealous.
Budgies are very smart and emotional, but their thought process isn’t as complex as a bigger bird, such as a hyacinth macaw or an African grey parrot.
Bigger parrot species tend to be smarter—about as smart as human toddlers. While this is very impressive, it also means that they get stressed a lot easier.
Budgies can also get stressed, but not as easily as larger birds. Barring any physical injury or illness, they will avoid stress and frustration if they can channel all their energy into playing and exercising.
So, budgies are quite easy to care for if you can get them the right kinds of food and set aside some time to play and engage with them.
Are Budgies Loud?
Budgies are quiet birds compared to other parrots.
They’re capable of mimicking speech and can learn human words, but their vocabulary isn’t as extensive as an African grey. When budgies chirp, it’s a soft, high-pitched sound that is pleasant to the ears. A healthy, happy budgie has little need to scream.
Budgies are more likely to chirp when around other budgies, but there are exceptions. Some budgies, especially males, are very talkative and enjoy having conversations with their owners.
When they interact with you, they sometimes get overly excited but at a reasonable volume. Budgies are adored by bird-lovers who live in apartments because of how quiet they are.
The only time a budgie will scream and squawk loudly is when it’s bored. A lack of mental stimulation is torture for intelligent birds like budgies.
The boredom frustrates them greatly. In an attempt to get your attention or entertain themselves, they’ll make a lot of noise.
How To Maintain Budgies
Maintaining budgies is all about:
- Keeping them mentally stimulated throughout the day
- Giving them a nutritious diet
- Ensuring their environment is clean
Other factors, such as sufficient sunlight and training, are important, too. However, when it comes to making sure that the birds are kept low-maintenance, it’s all about these core areas of care.
Caring for your budgie is easy when you build a routine around these areas:
Mental Stimulation
Wild budgies spend most of their day flying in order to find food and water.
Because they evolved to fly long distances, budgies naturally have a lot of energy. As pets, budgies can’t fly around and forage for hours, so they are at risk of becoming stressed, frustrated, and bored. A happy budgie is easy to care for, but a stressed budgie develops behavioral problems.
When you’re with your budgie, you can mentally stimulate them by offering toys or playing a game of tag. Budgies love being chased, which is something you can do with your hands.
You should play with your budgie for 20-30 minutes several times a day. Keep a single budgie in your main living space, and remember to engage with them whenever possible.
You can leave your budgie alone for a few hours a day. Budgies can keep themselves entertained if they have toys in the cage.
Leave the TV on or play some music so that the budgie has something to listen to while it’s alone. If you’re able to, consider getting a second budgie so that they can keep each other company.
Proper Diet
Because budgies have so much energy, they need to be fed a healthy diet.
Your budgie’s diet should consist of more than one type of food. Pellets, seeds, fruits, and vegetables are all good sources of nutrition, and they each have their pros and cons.
Pellets are easy to acquire, inexpensive, and allow for an easier time measuring nutrition values. However, their manufacturing process removes a lot of the raw nutrition.
Budgies love seeds, but they only pick out their favorite seeds. According to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, thyroid gland problems are common in budgies with a seed-based diet.
Fruits and vegetables need to be prepared in advance, and it can be hard to calculate how much calcium, fat, and vitamins your budgie is getting from each piece of food.
Once you have the diet figured out, you can help your budgie exercise its forager instincts by making a game of finding some of the food. Not only does this entertain the budgie, but it may also encourage it to eat foods it would otherwise ignore.
Hygiene
Keeping your budgie’s environment clean is important for its health.
The cleaner everything is, the fewer chances for the budgie to get sick. A sick budgie is harder to care for, and the vet fees can get very expensive, so keeping things hygienic will save you trouble.
The cage should be thoroughly cleaned once a week. Don’t use any cleaning products since the harsh chemicals are difficult to wash off, and the remaining fumes can cause respiratory problems.
Air contaminants are one of the leading causes of premature death in budgies.
Birds That Don’t Need a Lot of Attention
Budgies aren’t the only birds that are easy to care for. If you’re looking for another low-maintenance bird to care for, here are some options:
- Finches
- Doves
- Canaries
- Linnies
- Quaker parrots
- Cockatiels
- Lovebirds
Though these birds are considered low-maintenance, it’s important to recognize that all birds need some form of attention.
Having a budgie in the same room means that you can spend lots of time together. Just close all of the windows/doors and keep out predatory pets when giving your budgie some out-of-cage time.
