proper diet for a budgie

[TheNzJessie]

hi there, i have owned all sorts of birds in my time but i have got to admit the budgie is probably the hardest bird to feed i have owned...why?

because there are so many options but not all of them are always good....as budgies are mostly grain eaters (not seed eaters of the supposedly budgie mix) why does the pet stores not sell grain mixes and only seed mixers? why is soak seed not on the list for daily food to give them? and also there are the pellets, i have had a lot of different view points from people about pellet diets. for people who own budgies what *IS* the perfect diet for them? are pellet diets better than seed diets? (besides millet) or what about a grain diet?

post yours here as it is really confusing me and would like some help as most of the birds i have owned over time were nectar feeders

[TheNzJessie]

anyone?

[MandyG]

I hope somebody replies! I just started researching budgie care and there's a lot of vague and conflicting information out there. It would definitely be helpful to see what people on here feed (or have fed) their budgies.

[TheNzJessie]

exactly, i have tried researching on the internet at university library and at public libraries for information and nothing is really set in concrete its all very vague answers but no real information

[alight15]

I've also been hoping for more parakeet info on this forum...and i didnt see this till now
feel free to tell me if there's anything you see wrong with this or if I need to add something..

er..well I've had budgies since i was 12..so for more than half a decade its been mostly the the seed mix for parakeets,along with hand fed broccoli,green peas,and mostly carrots(usually baby carrots)."Remember when in doubt,dont bother."

My sisters parakeet is also on a seed mix diet (I have little say in its care)but eats almost everything she does,even currys(although we're careful about this)once it made a fuss and found its way to her plate on the table to try what it was smelling(is clipped and is left to run loose when shes home, but in a fun way) and even took a couple piece of rice mixed with it and ran off to eat it,it has eaten spicy things,and still likes to eat them...

well now that that vague and horrifying part is said...
I, feed mine what my former parakeets liked seed mix,carrots,celery,bread
(often "whole grain seeded"it has seeds inside but i rarely eat it)usually Enriched white bread(I find it better than the normal white bread) sometimes a bite of my
vegetables sandwiches/bread(though not ones with avocado)even "Subway" whitebread.I've left whole crackers(Always read the ingredients ALWAYS) in his cage or on his perch,he especially likes the Special K crackers,also I sometimes break down peanuts,cashews,almonds into his feed.When you buy things like this make sure the nut's "Ingredients" contains ONLY the nut's name( E.G. Trader Joe's Cashews, Ingredients:Cashews ) and nothing else(I'm not certain about pistachios though...since I'm not sure I don't feed them.

Now for the treats and such:

Chicken
I've given chicken, usually fried chicken, I've given tandoori chicken,and other forms where the chicken is in large pieces the way i do this is by breaking into the meat and finding a strand or fiber inside it that's not been exposed but cooked and pull it out and let my parakeet eat the strand(make sure its not been exposed to oil,flavoring etc)...Chicken bones have been mentioned but,not if fried(if you eat KFC or something this could work)

Turkey
I've given turkey the same way(just avoid the baloney or any types not natural)
( <---dont use this,it's unfit for humans,giving it to a parakeet would be a crime)

Egg whites
My parakeet doesn't like anything soft(even vegetables and meat), he prefers things he can take off in crumbs, so this one's a hassle to get into his mouth,but he does like it as a treat, in order to make it come off in crumbs,when boiling eggs,I poke a tiny hole in on while it's happening with a toothpick to let some seep out,or take a bit or sometimes sliver of the egg white from the inside of the boiled egg and nick it with something to make it have deep ridged and present it,if he can get a crumb of it he enjoys himself and is more attentive during training.but it takes like 3min to get a bite of the treat(I havent tried the omelet or sunny side up methods)

Fruit Gummies
I also managed to snag a pretty elusive multi-flavored version of this at Petco
mine has papaya,pineapple,mango, it's flavor on bag is "Hawaiian -----"something ,I don't have the bag right now, but it's a nice surprise of flavors I guess. Dont worry yourself on this product too much,they dont eat a lot, (only like 2 bites),it's supposed to be a topping,and i alternate in training
treats,especially with this since they tend to get bored of it easily.

Pastas
I've also given him spaghetti ribbons before adding sauce..i guess any spaghetti things are ok slightly softened(mine isnt fond of this as much as the rest)also,for those of you who make your own sauces,you might be able to make a bird friendly sauce for us. Budgies like tomato based things like that,I've tried the tomato sauce cans which have the least ingredients and very little salt and he dove his beak straight into it after a taste,but it was messy and his bottom,upper neck feathers were orange for a couple of days even after a bath.

Millet
And naturally I give him Millet,it's good for people and helps us sleep and is the favorite of many birds.Just be picky on what kind,theres so many people selling it and there's so many kinds(i guess)you could get one that's too hard for your budgie to handle(I just posted on this 15 min ago XD)

Rice
Yes,rice is a good one,but no just dry rice,not if you're using the mixed bird seed it's in there already and without anything harmful you need to wash out,I mean cooked rice,not much of a treat but he does like to walk over when i offer him something from my plate,and he's satisfied when its rice,I'd be wary if it's mixed in something,but as i've stated my sis's parakeet likes it flavored.

Chips and Crackers
Yes,chips and crackers..no not slang for money,or that parrot in philly and not gambling tokens(though that would be interesting)...actual chips and crackers,I'm assuming that those plain potato chips that no one buys arnt bad for them i've not tried them but there are only 2 lines of ingredients on some bags,I did however give a garlic/salt and vinegar crumb to mine and he had a mixed reaction, he ate it but slowly...so i didnt persist...

Crackers
My budgie likes them,I dont use the usual choices, cause of the saltyness,and they're dry.
I have used some bland crackers,multi grain crackers,and mostly the "Special K" crackers,the fact
that it's a cracker,and that it has an actual flavor makes mine chew it loudly and finish about half of these 1 inch squares with in minutes(though i'm not letting him anymore it seems like overeating to me)...I also put a water filled bottle cap of bottled water to his beak once in a while with dry foods in case he's thirsty,and crackers do make him gulp some down as long as I hold it there.

or you can combine the last 3 i mentioned together and get these Rice&Millet Crackers or cook budgie food like this millet seeded muffin by finding recipes online

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Ok, dont hate me at this point,but from here on it goes from treats used, to once on a whim experiment nibble I have given my pet budgie >.< :

Mexican food
No budgies don't like burritos(neither do I) I mean tortillas or something,i only did this once..he seemed ok with it. However i haven't since because i'm not fond of all the salt and such in it,but i take it the nacho chips are about the same.I believe the ones you get can bring home that arn't shaped into taco shells yet would be ok.

Green Grapes(liked)
Mangoes(Liked a lot)
Several very tiny crumbs of Poprocks candy( on 3 occasions,one of each flavor )he likes these
-enough to fly into my face when i was eating some infront of him*(I actually dont recommend
-this but if i buy pop rocks a year from now(that's about on average when i buy them)I probably -
-will give him one or 2 pieces,though small enough to not have any "pop" in them
Inner cupcake,and a bit of it's edible sweet frog shaped sprinkle/topping(liked,mostly the
-topping)
Several pinches of the inside of a actual vanilla cake(liked but was too soft and messy)
A strand of cheese(once,didnt like)
A drop of ginger ale on my finger(2 times on one ocassion,liked but i dont like the idea myself)

and childrens cereal
I should know better but It started with "Rice Crispies" these have no flavor
Then i tried the "Fruity Pebbles" another rice cereal,it went on to cheerios,then the honeynut cheerios,then apple jacks...no chocolate cereals. I only hold one piece and let him nibble 1-3 bites and no more.

Oreo Sandwich Cookie
This one is actually a bit more acceptable...though not much, Oreos arent unhealthy in small amounts, BUT I warn you...a lot..Oreos are chocolate..so NEVER feed the cookie parts,only a millet seed sized piece, of nothing other than the icing/cream not even a speck of the cookie must be in it.
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I havent tried these but I heard on several sites:

You can feed a parakeet fresh fruit like apples and cherries, but be careful the seeds of a lot of them have toxins in them. Lettuce is fine, but it really has no nutrients in it. It's better to give them other, healthier greens,like yams,spinach,dandelion greens(I put a dandilion in a bowl outside but it's not growing any big leaves yet),they like and eat beans from what I've read.

Definitely no grapefruits,chocolate,avocado,or fish (except tuna that's been keep in water)any fish oil is hard on them.

Finally Water:
Clean water only,dont give your budgie water you wouldnt drink(on 2nd thought make it water you want to drink)the water from your sink is probably not the best.
I have Arrowhead spring water containers for me,and a stack of the Arrow head bottle water from Costco, I tend to use the bottle water cause it's easier for me to fill the water bowl with it.
There are sites that tell you how clean your budgie is and how they wont drink from bowls with stuff floating in it(especially poop,or feathers)and you want your birdy healthy so be sure to change it often if it's in a bowl.
I try to change it daily(i really end up changing it every 2 days),I dont use soap on it or even dishsoap, I turn my sink to hot till its too hot for my hands and rinse the bowl in it,then pour in the water from the bottle(I sometimes even wipe the bowl before adding water).

Finally Don't put any supplements or other items into the water.Some places sell you 'liquid vitamins' that you put into your bird's water to super-nutrient the bird. I've learned long ago those vitamins can make the water taste funny, and I have seen parakeets avoid the water spiked with it,
vitamins also apparently promote bacterial growth, which can also make your bird sick if it does drink after a while.

[alight15]

for people who own budgies what *IS* the perfect diet for them? are pellet diets better than seed diets? (besides millet) or what about a grain diet?

ok well I cant answer most of these but first of all budgies in the wild eat stuff of the ground,even some itty bitty bugs..

Pull up a chair get some popcorn and get ready for a long middle school grade special:


Part 2 of the condensed special:


But the captive diet is very different,I've heard some say they even like leaving these: in their cages for the parakeet's natural chewing instinct towards it to get the calcium they need,but may say their budgies show no interest,or just climb on them.


Now the seeds are easy for budgies to get used to,many eat these from the beginning cause they're weaned on to them,these are a good choice.

The pellets are kinda like the bird equivalent of dry pet food, these are kinda like...
well cats in the wild eat rats and mice,and dogs in the wild eat...like shoes or monkeys or something I donno...but you cant just feed your cats or dogs: mice and rats,or monkeys...that's weird..shoes maybe .So the "kibble"(noun.2.grains or pellets resulting from a kibbling process.) is used instead.The "Kibble" is made from things like what cats and dogs eat, like mice and monkeys or chicken and cows or w/e to keep them healthy without forcing an evolutionary change on them.
I dont think i made much sense ...


Grains, I havent heard much on this actually...but think,are these bigger or smaller than millet?
If they're too much smaller your parakeet will spend more time eating them,and if you start feeding veggies it may prefer the ones it can get in better bites,but make sure these "grains" as you called your mysterious space food...arnt bigger than 2 millet seeds combined, or your parakeet will end up having to break this into smaller bites to eat it...


Veggies,hmm..they can eat cantaloupe,strawberries,corn,asparagus and Sunlight...wait...is sunlight a vegetable?

The thing I should point out about the fruits and vegetables is that they can get messy (2) ,they'll get on their faces and parakeet beaks are tiny and hard to clean afterwards,but then again letting it be makes them rub their beaks on stuff to wipe it off or use their buttsto try and remove it. (3) However, since in the wild, budgies get most of their water intake from food,so it's a good idea to feed it to them. Parakeets they like eating lettuce,it's a good starter vegatable,also carrots and their sweet taste has good results(assuming that yours sweet).


Footnotes:(Fact:You cannot use feet as wind or string instruments)

(2) Especially that sunlight..it has to be kept it dark tinted bottles, and it just splashes everywhere. it's so hard to get out because it stains..,some people just give up and hang it outside so it dyes the whole thing... the best thing to do if you accidently get sunlight on your clothes is to take it off and wash it quickly,before it sets or get crinkly

(3) I have know parakeets to wipe their beaks clean on their top,lower back feathers in an attempt to clean it, More specifically:I gave him a piece of pure soy,and after it got everyone, I wiped it off his beak,then he rubbed his beak on the perch to remove the liquid and then reached back and wiped his head(the same way as he did on the perch) on his butt.Guess he doesn't like ridiculous notion people have that it can replace meat/meat byproduct, as much as me..*sniff* I'm so proud .

(Fact: Feet can be used to make music provided you have several different items to come in contact with your feet/one items to come in contact to several parts of your/someone's feet. Doors are preferred by children on parents' as it is the easiest to play)
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Keet Korner
http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Pets:Birds
http://www.birdcagestand.net
http://www.birdguys.com/pet-bird-articles.html
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_1422_caring-parakeets.html
Parakeet Forum
http://www.budgieplace.com
http://www.upatsix.com/faq/budgie.htm
http://www.zille.com/gates
http://www.upatsix.com/chats/budgie

[TheNzJessie]

wow so much information! thanks!